Mostar Old Bridge View Villas

... to the town of Medjugorje where in 1981 6 teenagers claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary. In my catholic opinion, the kids were probably high on drugs and totally made up the story, but somehow their story has been widely accepted by Catholics today and this site has become the third most popular religous trip for Catholics to take which to me is more of a miracle than the actual spotting of the Virgin Mary. After crusing around the town for about 30 minutes and going through all ...

... countless wars. But on November 9, 1993 (at 10:15am to be exact) the Croatian Defence Council destroyed this landmark on purpose. It has since been rebuilt using the same techniques as originally. In addition 26 of Mostar's 27 mosques dating back to the Ottoman Empire were destroyed as well. Churches stand side by side just as in Sarajevo.

I won't bore you with details but just know the city was under siege for 18 months from 1992 to 1993 when ...

... if someone had drained the bay of water and you were able to drive through all the peaks... stunning!!
I had made a reservation at a hostel and I was lucky enough that my host was waiting at the bus station searching for other tennants, that he had a sign with my name on it and I was able to get a lift back to the hostel, without wandering around aimlessly (as I never would have found it otherwise...) hidden ...

... respond positively. Then we walked away, quiet. It was awhile before we said anything to each other about it.

It did though, in a very poignant and personal way, remind me that many people of his age that we would meet that day had been there in the midst of it, fought, had their lives changed, and been perpetrators of extreme violence.

The bridge itself has been rebuilt and we watched as a young guy ...

... the beer.

Mostar has a lot of elements of war between newly developed buildings. Also, I jumped into the water, ahhh was it amazing. Felt great. Today, I plan to try something new and check out how much it will cost to go to sarajevo.

Updating my time at Mostar. I ended up meeting up with Ben and Andrew from a town close to Leeds in England. We just relaxed that day and they were looking for something to do. We heard that there might be a new years ...

... of drinking at the club which is inside a natural cave. Thats how diverse this place is. Narrow cobbled streets lined with Turkish artifacts made in China, only for tourists. People selling memorabilia from the war, postcards, local food that costs less than 3 euros, restaurants and cafes made on terraces overlooking the river or stream, or just built on a deck above the stream. Its like being in a Greek coastal town, there's hills with houses all around, the water is ...

... loaded up the car and off I am to Mostar. Originally I was going to go all the way to Sarajevo, but decided against it. There a many different ways to go from Split to Mostar, so I kinda did a little bit of everything. I drove down the coastal highway at first. It is simply beautiful and I could do it over and over and still find marvel in the beauty of the coastline. Then, a sign pointing to the left and a canyon/river road. Off ...

... into Croatia then back into Bosnia. As we headed North the countryside was lovely. You wouldn't think that so much had happened to this country only just over a decade ago. The further we went though the more this changed.. The sight of abandoned houses here and there was contrasted with those who have returned, rebuilt or repaired. This is a nation in a rebuilding faze. This is no more obvious than in ...

... a pressphotographer. Many sad pictures there. The frontline divides the city in two, one muslim part and one croat part. That's according to Lonely Planet, which should not be taken for granted these days. Anyway, the line stretches just west of the river and follows the river through the city. Seems to me that the city is not that divided anymore, I could be wrong though. It is with a bit of astonishment I hvae to admit to myself that the propaganda from USA against muslims also has ...

... demand a fee of 25 euro..... Anyway. Dobar Dan and till later. *Dobro jutro: good morning *Dobar dan: good day, have a good day. *Kako si / ste: How are you? *Dobro, hvala: fine, thank you / thanks for asking. [update may 4rd] Well i am back in Hollandija and did not have time to update the blog until now. After i wrote the above post, Majdas offered me a tour around Mostar for 15 euro's. I accepted and we left with a group of ten to see Blagaj ...