By Geoffrey Morrison for Forbes,
Mostar is not what I expected. Bosnia is not what I expected. After several weeks travelling through Slovenia and Croatia, I found the people of Bosnia to be the friendliest, and the food to be the best, by far.
Mostar is a city still struggling with the effects of the Yugoslav wars of the 90s. It’s not too difficult to find buildings still riddled with bullet holes or worse.
But this isn’t the entire city, nor even a majority of it. Instead, it’s a tourist-friendly city with great restaurants and incredible old-Europe cobblestone streets.
I stayed at Hostel Miran Mostar, a cozy hostel that you should check out even if you don’t stay. They have an excellent tour throughout the city and environs, showing the long and varied history of the area.
Of course one of the main sights is the Stari Most bridge. It was over 400 years old when it was destroyed during the war. Rebuilt in early 2000s using local materials and construction techniques similar to the original methods. It now serves as a central scenic spot as well as a reminder of what the wars did to this area.
The bridge connects two commercial areas with restaurants, bars, and shops.
I ate twice at Šadrvan, right near the bridge. Delicious.
If live music is more your thing, most nights the Black Dog Pub (above, on the left) has musicians that play out front on the stone pathways.
Outside the city you can visit Blagaj Tekija, the monastery under a cliff, and an abandoned underground Yugoslavian air base, though the latter is best done with a tour.
There’s also the nearby Kravice waterfall and swimming area.
The nearby town of Pocitelj has some great views of the river valley.
I think what surprised me most was how different the Bosnia people are compared to their former Yugoslav neighbors.
Some of the friendliest, most welcoming people I’ve met in my travels. Mostar wasn’t initially on my travel plans, but as I traveled down Croatia it seemed too close to miss. I’m extremely glad I went. Definitely worth checking out.