This post is showing off some of the photos I took while I was in Mostar. It is a fascinating place to visit.
I hope that my photos do it justice.
Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.
Steve
Photo Essay – Mostar
Posted with BlogsyPhoto Essay – Graffiti Art, Sniper Building, Mostar
This post replaces the normal photo of the week. This week I am posting a photo essay of the graffiti from the sniper building in Mostar. Once the war finished the building was left abandoned to rot. It became home to alocoholics and drug users. Also graffiti artists started to the walls as their canvas. Here are some of the results of their efforts.
Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.
Steve
Day 11, 18 September – Everything Comes Together
This morning the weather looked more promising, time to explore Sarajevo properly. After a good breakfast in the hostel I made my way towards the historic centre.
My first stop was the Gallery 11/07/95. It is dedicated to Sebrenica massacre. I found this to me moving. The gallery tells the story of the events leading up to the massacre and why it happened. Watching the film I ended up feeling ashamed that the Western powers did not do more to stop this. It was clear what the Serbs wanted to do. Mladic even said that the Muslims were going to pay. The most heartbeaking moment was the scene where a woman was told that they were 99.994% sure they had found her husband's remains. A Japanese girl who was also watching just broke down in tears.
Moving on to the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque I needed to reflect on what I had seen. I could do with cheering up. At this point I bumped into Timo and Ahmed who I had met in Mostar. Ahmed is a bit of a legend as he had jumped the bridge in Mostar. He mentioned that others from the hostel had made their way to Sarajevo. Feeling somewhat better I decided to explore the city further by walking round in a circuit. I was not paying too much attention on where I was going. I was just happy to be ambling around.
Yesterday the bad weather had prevented me from joining the free walking tour. As the weather was better I thought I'd best check it out. As usual I was there too early but I did not mind. While waiting I saw a couple of familar looking figures. It was the German couple from Mostar. They introduced me to Ryan from Northern Ireland. While waiting more familar faces appeared. These were the girls from Ireland. We caught up with each other while we were on the tour. One of the girls had received some good about passing her law exams. So a night out was agreed.
Back at the hostel I bumped into another person I met in Mostar. She was from Korea. Today was getting better. While waiting to leave the hostel we starting talking to a couple of guys from France. We were getting on well and they started to share the red wine with us. It went down well so we asked them to join us on the night out and they accepted.
We all met up at the girl's hostel. It had a bar which we could use. Sadly, it had ran out of beer so we ended up drinking white wine and rakia. I am sure that this is not going to do me any good at all.
We made our way to the Hacienda Bar where we met up with Timo and Ahmed. It was too crowded so we went to the Blues Bar. This was more like it. Live music and a great atmosphere, what more could a man ask for in life? Drank too much and after a bite to eat staggered back to the hostel.
Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.
Steve
The Highlights of 2013
In terms of travel 2013 was an excellent year for me. I felt that I had become a proper traveller. This gave me a sense of achievement which was added to the growth of the blog.
2013 saw me undertake two trips in Europe. In March I visited Vienna and Budapest. Despite the weather being cold I had an amazing time. While both cities had come up to my expectations, I was particually taken by Budapest. The city had a faded charm to it and I was left wanting more.
However, the main highlight of 2013 was the trip to the Balkans in September. I was lucky that work allowed me to take three weeks off work. It was also my first multi-country trip too. I enjoyed the constant travelling and experiencing different hostels. The people I met along the way was also a bonus. For the first time I felt like a traveller. This trip changed me and the smile has still to leave my face.
I am looking forward to 2014. In my head I have more trips planned which I will announce soon in a future post. If it is half as good as 2013 I will be a happy man.
Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.
Steve
Day 9, 16 September – Jump to it
Yesterday we were teasing Renud the French guy about the joys French toast or eggy bread depending where you come from. Matia must have overheard us as for breakfast we were served French toast. I am enjoying this hostel. Sitting outside in the sunny weather sharing breakfast with good people. Today as with most days travelling I will be saying goodbye to most of the people who I was with at the restaurant last night.
As this was the last full day I would be spending in Mostar I thought I would explore the town more. Mostar is quite small with the places of interested situated around the Stari Most. This is the focal point of the town. I popped into a nearby bookshop. Inside they showed a continuous video of the bridge destruction and rebuilding. It must have been devastating to witness at the time. I even jumped when I saw the mortar hit the bridge.
Following on from that I visited the museum that was next to the bridge. It is interesting as it told the history of the Ottoman occupation. You move on to another section where you are told the story of how the bridge the original bridge was built. You can only admire the ingenuity of the engineering. It is also worth watching the video of the reconstruction too. I found that to be moving.
Mostar is definitely split into two sides. One Croat, the other Bosniak. There were obvious differences. The Croat side seemed to be more wealthy while the Bosniak side appeared more run down. As I walked across the city I noticed a large shopping mall that looked totally out of place. The Mepas Mall is a typical modern shopping mall. I had been told that a hospital was demolished to make way for it. Aledgially, money changed hands and a replacement hospital was built out of town. I moved away feeling sad. I needed something to cheer me up, ice cream.
For the second day in a row I made my way to the Palma Ice Cream parlour. Two scoops of ice cream washed down with a complementary glass of water was just what the doctor ordered. Feeling refreshed I made my way back to the old town.
I had yet to see anybody jump off the Stari Most. However, when I reached the river bed I saw two people practicing from a smaller diving platform. One of the swimming club members was training them. Another member was checking from the bridge. Once he said everything was alright then they could jump off the main bridge. The crowd was waiting for the first person to jump. Dressed in a wetsuit he jumped in. A round of applause followed. About ten minutes later the next person appeared ready to jump in what looked like the same wetsuit. How very hygienic! He also jumped in to great applause. Had I considered jumping? No way.
I had to be back at the hostel for 5pm and the evening meal. Tonight it was a hearty soup with bread. Met new people and we seemed to get on well. The evening was spent chilling out in the lounge. We then decided to head out and ended up at the Coco Loco. Sitting outside with no light seemed a surreal way to end my final day in Mostar.
Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.
Steve
Photo of the Week – Graffiti Art in the Sniper Tower, Mostar
This week's photo of the week again comes from my visit to Mostar.
It is piece of graffiti art in the sniper tower. As the building fell into disrepair it was taken over amongst others by graffiti artists to create their own permanent gallery. I will post more photos from the tower in a future post.
Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.
Steve
Balkans Day 8, 15 September – What a Pleasant Surprise
After one week on the road I was moving on to another country, Bosnia Herzegovina and the city of Mostar. It was an early start to the day and I tried my best not to wake anybody as I left the hostel. I think I succeeded in that regard.
The coach journey started by crossing into Bosnia and then back into Croatia before crossing again into Bosnia. I noticed that the signs were both in Latin and the Cyrillic alphabet. However, reminders of the war were evident as the Cyrillic signs were spray painted out. Eventually I arrived into Bosnia and the first thing that I noticed was the beautiful scenery. It was spectacular. Normally on a coach journey I would either read a book or catch up on some sleep. On this journey there was no chance of that as I was struck in awe.
Eventually I arrived into Mostar Bus Station. I needed the loo before I left for the hostel. The toilet had seen better days. Both urinals were broken and the main toilets were squat ones. I think I'll hold on until I get to the hostel.
The Hostel Madjas was something else. It felt more like somebody's home than being in a hostel. So much so I was told off for not taking off my shoes before entering the building.
After checking in I went off to explore the city. I was with Audrey an American who was also staying at the hostel. Audrey wanted to climb the minuet at the Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque. It did seem a good idea at the time. However, this view changed as I realised how unfit I had become. That was a hard climb. That said, the views were worth the effort. We could see the old bridge and we were lucky that somebody had decided to jump off.
Making our way across the bridge Audrey had agreed to meet up with a couple of Australians, Jonno and Claire. They were on an adventure of their own tomorrow by flying to Amman, Jordan via Istambul. Jonno pointed out a empty sheel of a building. Apparently this was used by Croatian snipers during the war. If this was the UK the building would have been closed off due to health and safety fears. Here, we were free to explore. The building is now used by the homeless, drunks and drug addicts but you could climb all the way to the top. You could see the used cartridges that were left. It was chilling to be able to pick them up. It all seemed surreal. Again at the top of the building you get great views of Mostar.
Moving on we crossed through a park. Here we came across a sight that only Eastern Europe could bring. A statue of Bruce Lee. Why is it there? Nobody could answer.
We were told about the abandoned Partisan war cemetery, so we made our way there. As we entered we were given some funny looks by the local population. There were no signs and it had all become overgrown. I felt sad as I came across the broken gravestones. It was clear that this cemetery has been allowed to fall in disrepair. These stones were Muslim and I was in the Croatian part of Mostar. A Croatian state was established by Hitler during WWII.
Back at the hostel I enjoyed my first Bosnian coffee. The ritual behind it was interesting. However, being left handed pouring became awkward. I met up with more travellers. They were from all over the world. Australians, Germans, Belgians and French. We all decided to go for a meal. In the evening Mostar becomes quiet. It felt that we were to only people there.
We ate at a restaurant called Hindin Han that served traditional Bosnian food. The food was delicious and proved to be of excellent value. The atmosphere was great as we were people who loved travelling. Swapping tales of the road was a great way to end the day.
Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.
Steve
Photo of the Week – Statue of Bruce Lee, Mostar
This week's photo is a real curve ball. It is the statue of Bruce Lee.
Why it is there? To be honest I cannot tell. It is another case of a bizarre statue in Eastern Europe.
Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.
R.I.P. Mandela.
Steve
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