Bosnia and Herzegovina - So Much More to See Than Bridges
Bosnia and Herzegovina was a Balkan country we were quite excited to visit. Just like most of the other Balkan countries, we really didn’t know what to expect before we travelled there, but we’ve left with great memories (and some great photos)!
As we’ve done in most other Balkan countries, we chose to stay in smaller cities and towns. In B&H we visited three places: Mostar, Konjic, and Jajce. We had a wonderful time exploring these places, and we were quite surprised with how beautiful they were.
Mostar
We started our time in B&H with a few nights in Mostar. We had chosen this city because of its famous Stari Most bridge. Honestly, it was the only thing we knew about B&H when we booked our stay!
Right away Mostar felt like a unique city, and unlike other cities we have visited in Europe. It actually felt like a small city you would more likely find in the Middle East than in Europe. There are mosques located throughout the city, and the call to prayer could be heard as we walked around the city streets. There are also numerous merchants set up throughout the old town, selling beautiful lamps, metal mosaic plates, coffee sets, and silk scarves. We really enjoyed walking through the town, window shopping, and enjoying the beautiful cobblestone streets. They were some of the most detailed streets we have seen so far on our trip.
Another thing that was quite unique about Mostar was how clean it was. We noticed it right away, and were surprised and puzzled by how clean it was given the amount of tourists that come each day. One morning we woke up early to see the sunrise, and we were walking through the old town around 6:00 am. We noticed a cleaning crew was picking up garbage and hosing down the sidewalks to make sure the streets were cleaned before the morning rush. It definitely made a difference, and it was quite nice to see the city maintained - although sad that people litter and don’t pickup after themselves.
As we mentioned, the one thing we knew about Mostar was that it has the beautiful Stari Most Bridge. We really wanted to get the best pictures we could, so we spent a whole day walking around town and scoping places to get the best photos. This is such a popular sight. There are many tour buses shipping people from Croatia, Montenegro, and other parts of B&H to come see the bridge. Some places we found were more quiet, while others had a ton of people. Here were the best places we found:
1. From the beach below Stari Most: This provides a great view of the bridge from below. It also is a great place to snap a selfie and see a member of the Mostar Diving Club jump off the bridge! This was our favourite location, however to get the best picture we could, we woke up bright and early to be on the beach just before sunrise. Surprisingly, no one was there with us for the first 20-30 minutes. However, just after sunrise people started to trickle across the bridge and it got a lot more challenging to take pictures without people in the shot. So if you go to this location, try to get there as early as possible (if you don’t want people in your photos).
2. From the Stari Pazar Bridge behind Stari Most. In this view you get to see more buildings and the view around Stari Most. The scenery around the bridge is really beautiful, so it’s a great location to snap a picture.
3. From a restaurant near the water. We went to Ristorante Mio Pasto and had coffee and a cheese tray on the patio. We were treated to a great view of the bridge and it was fun to snap pictures while we enjoyed our cappuccinos.
4. From the Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque. We decided not to visit the Mosque to get a view of the bridge, mainly because we were really happy with how our sunrise pictures turned out, but also because it was going to cost us about $20 Canadian to go to the viewing deck. The views from the deck look beautiful, but we were happy with the ones we had taken already.
The one place where the pictures aren’t the greatest is from the bridge itself! It was surprising to us how many people just stop and take pictures from the bridge. So many selfies, but the best view - especially one with the bridge in it - is not going to be found on the bridge itself. There are little lookouts on either side of the bridge that offer better views, but they weren’t our favourite.
There is more to Mostar than the Stari Most Bridge. We also loved walking the streets of Mostar. There are so many beautiful buildings, some of which still show scars from the Bosnian War. It was quite interesting to see bullet holes on the sides of buildings. It made us both really think about how lucky we are to live in a place where we did not have to go through something so devastating. A block from our Airbnb was an old bank tower that was used as a sniper tower during the war. That place was so surreal for us, and we spent a lot of time looking at the now abandoned building and seeing all of the beautiful graffiti on its walls. We were too chicken to go inside - as it is blocked off and it would be trespassing to enter - so we just admired the art from outside.
A trip to Mostar also wouldn’t have been complete without tasting some delicious Bosnian coffee. We had it a few times while we visited Mostar, and we quite liked its chocolaty flavour. We went to Café de Alma to have our first one where we were given a lesson on how to prepare and drink the coffee. It was one of our best experiences in Mostar and for sure worth checking out!
We also did two day trips from Mostar. One was to a beautiful monastery just 20 minutes outside of Mostar, and the other was to the town of Konjic, about an hour from Mostar.
Blagaj Tekija Monastery
This monastery is almost 600 years old, and was a great visit just outside of Mostar. It has become quite a popular tourist attraction, and lots of people flock here to have their picture taken by the monastery in the cliff. We had timed our visit around lunchtime, so we had a bite to eat with a great view of the monastery. It was really beautiful, but it was crowded. You can pay to go inside, but we were not properly dressed and we were happy to view it from the outside.
Konjic
We wanted to do one longer day trip from Mostar, so we decided to head to Konjic. It is a small mountain town north of Mostar, and the road to get there is stunning. The whole time we were driving along the Neretva River, through beautiful mountains and thick forests. We were surprised to find this scenery in B&H. The river goes all the way through B&H, passing through Konjic and Mostar before heading to the Adriatic. It’s considered one of the coldest rivers in the world, only reaching 7-8 degrees Celsius in the summer time!
The main reason we went to Konic was to see another bridge. Apparently there are unlimited cool bridges in B&H! It was a rainy day when we visited, but it was still a nice road trip. We enjoyed walking through the town and getting views of the beautiful bridge.
Jajce
After our trip to Mostar we headed north to Jajce for a few nights. It was the perfect place for a stop over as we made our way to Plitvice Lakes, Croatia. Jajce is a scenic town with a few beautiful sites.
The Old Town and Fortess of Jajce were really fun to explore. The town center sits right in the Old Town. There are Old Town walls, stone arch entryways, and cobblestone streets throughout the center. It made it really fun to walk through and explore. You could also look up and see Jajce Fortress, which is in a ruin state, but still beautiful. It sits right on top of the hill in the middle of Jajce, so when you climb up into the fortress, you have great views of the whole town, mountains, and countryside. Once inside the fortress, you can roam around and explore everywhere.
The town is probably most famous for its waterfall, which is right outside of the fortress walls. The waterfall is 20 meters high, and connects the Pliva and Vrbas rivers. There is a small fee to get up close to the waterfall, although you can go after hours or before it opens for free. There is also a great look out on the hill across from the waterfall. We didn’t make it there, but it looks like it would be a great look out if you wanted a picture of the falls with the fortress.
We feel like we say this all the time, but our trip through Bosnia and Herzegovina really surprised us. We didn’t know what to expect other than a cool bridge, but it ended up being a place we loved exploring. Mostar was the perfect place to plant ourselves for a few days, and it was a great city to walk through. We really enjoyed the whole vibe of the city. We had so much fun throughout all of B&H that we really regret not being able to go to Sarajevo – the capital of B&H. It would have been a great place to visit to better understand the history of B&H and learn more about the Bosnian War. It is about 3.5 hours from Mostar, so we just didn’t have the time to make it there. It’s something we will have to save for another trip!
