Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Last week we traveled to Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina and then on to Sarajevo. It was a seriously long trip for our kids, but very much worth it. We’re thankful we finally got to see both and explore more of the country. The old town of Mostar was just as beautiful as I’d imagined it all these years– actually more so! The old town is small and feels almost entirely catered to tourists, but because we stayed overnight, we got to enjoy walking the stone pedestrian streets and bazaars along the Neretva River in the evening and first thing in the morning before the tour buses arrived. You can immediately feel the heavy influence of the Ottoman Empire– from the architecture to the strong Turkish coffee to the bazaars.

Our little man taking in the views from Stari Most… The most recognized part of Mostar is its old bridge, which was built in the 16th century to join the Herzegovinian (Catholic) side to the Bošniak (Muslim) side, but the original was destroyed in 1993 by Croat forces while the two sides were at war. It was rebuilt in 2004. And yes, we watched one of the famous bridge jumpers leap off!

We bought a beautiful copper tea kettle from this sweet man. He was showing us a photo of himself in the same spot when he was 20 years old!

The best Daddy! This photo and the one above of him make us laugh… my big, strong bearded man in Oakleys… wearing baby Georgia and continually having to discipline Gracie that day who was out of control.

Mom, I found you a pretty blue and white bowl here:)

I find myself yet again having a hard time summing up our time in Bosnia or even writing about it in a blog post. Luckily I still have a few more posts coming;)

Some Recommendations:
We ate dinner on the Neretva River at Hindin Han (above). The food wasn’t earth shattering but still good, very fresh and plentiful! We stayed in the old town at Pansion City Star and would recommend it for the included breakfast, parking, price and the spotless, newly renovated rooms.