Driving from Mostar to Dubrovnik

We hired a driver to take us from Mostar to Dubrovnik and to stop at all of the lovely destinations along the way. First, we went to the Blagaj Monastery, which was founded by Dervish monks in the 16th century. It was built at the foot of a cliff and was designed using classic Ottoman architecture. 

This was Michael's favorite spot inside the monistary. 

I loved this quote from the Quran. 

We then traveled to the Kravice Waterfalls for a swim. 

The water was freezing!

We then drive to a little town called Pocitelj, with very dramatic ruins of an old castle. Clearly, Teddy is thrilled to be here.

The view from the top.

Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

We have had an amazing time in Mostar, which is about a two hour train ride from Sarajevo. This city was heavily damaged during the war. In particular, the main bridge, Stari Most, was bombed but has now been rebuilt. 

We loved watching people jump from the top of the bridge into the water. It is very high and you have to be specially trained to jump.

We had dinner overlooking the bridge as the sun set on the city. 

The next morning we went back to the bridge, as it is the center of town. It was fun to go over it and take a few pictures.

Of course, we had to have our morning coffee/tea over looking the bridge. Teddy wanted to wear my hat!

We then walked to the Crooked Bridge, which is a smaller version of Stari Most, as a test run. At the time, Stari Most was the only single bridge arch in the region and was a wonder of engineering. The Crooked Bridge actually survived the war but was washed away in a flood in 2000. It was rebuilt by UNESCO to the exact specifications originally used.

From here, we walked down below Stari Most for a beautiful view of the river.

The boys sat together nicely for a history lesson about the fall of Yugoslavia from Michael.

We also walked through a graveyard where almost everyone died in 1993.

Finally, out the window from our apartment, we could see old bullet holes.

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

What a wonderful way to end our time abroad with a trip through the Balkins for two weeks! We started our adventure in Sarajevo. Honestly, I was a little unsure if we should travel here because I don't think of Sarajevo as being a big tourist destination and it wasn't on my list of places to see...but I was totally wrong. Sarajevo is absolutely amazing and I feel so fortunate to have traveled here. 

After a night flight from Dubai, we arrived in the morning into the city. We stayed in the old part of the city, called Stari Grad. We first visited the Sarajevo Cathedral. The most interesting part was that an artillery shell had dropped right outside of the church during the war. These places are marked by the Sarajevo Rose. 

The Cathedral was damaged during the war but has been restored as one of the most important religious buildings in Sarajevo.

When we walked out the door of the Cathedral, we could see the mountains in the distance. Sarajevo feels like Istanbul, with the intersections of East and West, but in the Swiss Alps.

Everyone was hungry so we ended up in a small courtyard, called a Han, which used to house travelers and people carrying goods from one place to the next. Today, there were several restaurants and a beautiful rug shop.

We were all tired from the night flight so we went to the hotel in the middle of the day for a nap. After that, we walked through the park. I loved these evil eyes drawn on one of the trees.

We happened upon the Sarajevo Eternal Flame, which was installed after WWII.

We then walked to Sebilj, which is one of the public water sources, so see the pigeons. This is probably one of the most iconic sites in the city.

We lived walking down the side streets of the Old Town and looking in the little shops. 

We also walked to the Municipal Building, which was burned by Serbian War Criminals in 1992, which destroyed 2 million volumes of books. When Michael traveled here in 2000, he remembers the building being all boarded up. He was amazed to see the restoration!

We walked to the top of the mountain to the Yellow Fort to see the sun setting on the city. 

We walked past many graveyards with people who had died in 1993 and 1994.

The next morning, we enjoyed a Bosnian Coffee. 

We also visited one of the old markets and bought a coffee set for ourselves. 

I was very excited to visit one of the oldest Greek Orthodox Churches in Bosnia. 

We lit two candles, one for my Uncle Joe who recently passed away and one for Michael's Grandfather, Edward Bates.

We, of course, ended up at the Sarajevo Brewery for lunch!

We then walked past the House of Spite, which is a restaurant that the government decided it wanted their land but the owner refused. After dragging his feet for a very long time the owner moved the house, brick by brick, to its current location across the bridge.

After all we learned about Sarajevo, this is a fitting quote, from the outside of the Municipal Building.