Mostar - 8th October

As expected the rain from overnight has cleared to the point where you would hardly know it has been raining the next morning.  Nevertheless it is still pretty chilly as we being our walk around Mostar.  Our lodgings were quite close to the bus station to save us from the rain, but it means we are a few minutes away from the centre of town.  Also we discover that maps can be deceptive, as what look like streets on the Lonely Planet map are little more than alley ways.

Eventually we make it to the centre of town, and after a quick Burek breakfast, we continue down the main shopping street towards the main goal, the old bridge.  To get there we must walk past rows of shops selling what can be called junk, tat, or souvenirs if you fall for that sort of thing.  It really is amazing that the same Chinese produced rubbish gets everywhere.  However we can see why, the place is actually quite full of tourists.  In fact they seem to come in waves as each tour bus turns up, unloads 20-50 tourists (mostly Italian) and they swarm the shops, and the old bridge.

We of course only want to see the old bridge (well Dorota would buy some trinkets if she could find them, but even this junk is too much for her).  After we see the old bridge from all angles, we go to a museum where we see a video showing how it was rebuilt after the war.  To get away from the tourists we have a wander through the war damaged parts of the town.  Some reconstruction has occurred, but there is some shocking damage still visible.  Other than seeing the old bridge, the war damage, and one or two old preserved Turkish houses, there isn’t really much more to do in Mostar, so a full day is long enough for us.

In the evening we go to one of the touristy restaurants.  It’s a bit more expensive than eating locally, but it is our only meal in Bosnia and they have a platter for two that covers all local specialities.  I have to say it was very good, and very filling, and it was all washed down with Bosnian wine and beer.  A very good meal to end our Bosnian stay.