August 10, 2024

As we finish up our month-long slow travel stay in Mostar, Bosnia, I wanted to reflect back on our experience here, what it meant for our family and what it could mean for yours if you were to travel here.  

Therefore, this will not be one of those posts where the traveler gushes over how amazing a certain place is.  I am going to tell it like it is, at least from my vantage point, including the good (and there was a LOT of good), the bad (what place doesn't have bad?) and the ugly (unfortunately Bosnia's relatively recent history is pretty ugly).   

THE GOOD

The Old City of Mostar is absolutely magical. It's as if you stepped into a fairy tale from Hans Christian Andersen.  The cobblestone streets, the winding passagways, the bazaar-like market stalls and of course, the amazing bridges spanning the Neretva River and her tributaries, all contribute to Mostar's enhangting charm.  

But there is more to Mostar than the Old Town.  We had been worried that the town would be too small for us to keep ourselves interested for a month, but it turns out, there is life beyond the cobblestone!  The Greater Mostar area boasts tree lined streets with cafes reminsicent of parts of Buenos Aires, it has large parks and open spaces and it even has, to the delight of our children, a contemporary, multi-level shopping complex with international chain stores, restaurants and a cinema (although it appears that the cinema only shows US films dubbed in Bosnian). 

Day Trips

There are 3 essential day trips that most people generally do when they come to Mostar: Kravica Falls, Blagaj and Pocitelj.  Here is my unfiltered take on each of these three. 

Kravica Falls (pronounced KA-rah-vitza Falls)

This one is definitely worth a visit to, but just know that in the hot summer months it will be CROWDED like you wouldn't believe.  Also know that this place has been built up and developed considerably since most of the videos (at least the ones that we saw) were made and there are now also significant limitations on human interaction with the falls. For example, you can no longer jump from the 15-20 meter high top of the falls nor can you explore the tunnels and caves behind the falls.  Indeed, there is now a barrier rope - you know the ones with boueys attached to them? - quardoning off the falls from the larger swim area. 

That said, the water is still refreshing and doesn't get too crowded since it's too cold for many.  I will also say that I enjoyed having a bevy of food options and the places we did patronize had pretty good food at fairly reaonsble prices. 

Now here is my advice for if you decide to go to Kravica Falls.  For sure, try and get there early so you can get a good spot.  We got there around 10:30am and it was alreay super crowded.  Also, you might want to spring for a lounge chair and unbrella rental (5 Euro per chair and 3 per umbrella) as there aren't really a whole lot of other options.  That said, my real advice is to make quick work of Kravica Falls - take your pics, take a swim, eat some food - and then take your group on a walk along the river to the Male Kravica falls or "Small Falls".  

The walk takes about 10-20 mins depending on your pace, but it's a flat, fun (and mostly shaded) walk along the river where you can jump right in if you get hot or take a ride on the rope swing right near the auto camping area. At the end of the walk you will be treated to an amazing oasis with water falls and a emerald green pool with a shallow area great for kids and some fun rocks to jump off for the more experienced swimmers.  Be forewarned there are water snakes around (we saw two of those suckers!), but they are small, harmless and more afraid of you than you are of them (if that's even possible). 

When you are done for the day you can take the 10 minute walk back up the stairs to the parking lot or take the little "train" shuttle for 2 KM per person.  It supposedly runs every 20 mins, but we waited for quite a while for it although it did eventually arrive. 

Blagaj (pronounced Blah-guy)

I'll be straight with you on this one.  I am thankful that it is only 15 minutes from Mostar as to me (and my family) it really wasn't all that and certainly wouln't be worth a longer drive to get there.  

If you are a history buff, then you might geek out on the backstory of this settlement (see below), but once you take the obligitory "Dervish House Built Into the Rock" photo, there is not much else to see. You can enter the Dervish House, a place of worship, which is midly interesting, but if you want to be dazzled by muslim religious buildings you have many better options among the multitude of mosques in Mostar itself.  You can take a little boat ride into the cave (which we didn't do) for 5 Euro and you can eat at one of the many restaurants.  The restaurants are all pretty, most of them built over the rushing water of the Buna River, and the food is decent (at least the one we sampled), but there is not a lot to see or do in Bagaj. 

The settlement of Blagaj is a protected heritage site in Bosnia. It is believed the settlment was started around 1423 during the period of Ottoman rule.  The Bosniak muslims were the majority unil 1835 when the Austro-Hungarian Christians dominated.  

The main house, built into the cliff wall, was built in 1520 by the Dervish, a mystic branch of Sufi Islam known for rituals that involve varoius forms of whirling - hence the well-known expression "like a whirling dervish". 

This monastary is considered a tekjia (or tekke) a place of spiritual retreat and reflection. It was built at the foot of the Blagaj Fortress which is actually thought to be at least two forts built at different times by different groups, one in the early medieval period and anoher during the Ottoman period. 

We were taken there by Amra, our AirBnB host, and after our meal she took us to a random park nearby where we could swim in the icy Buna River which the kids enjoyed more than Blagaj itself.  

Pocitelj (pronounced PAW-chi-tay - as far as I can tell)

Just a short 37 minute drive along the Neretva from Mostar, Pocitelj is a quick, fun 1/2 day trip that you should do if you have time, but if not, don't get too much FOMO.  Within the town itself there are only two restaurants, Bistro Stari Grad and Restoran Han. We ate at Restoran Han, the larger, main one and I have to say the food was some of the best we've had in Bosnia. Go figure! 

And the prices, as they are in all of Bosnia so far as we have experienced, are very reasonable.  We had a breakfast meal of chicken schnizel and the famous cevapi, plus 2 rounds of drinks for 3 people and a beer (yes a breakfast beer - don't judge!) and it was only about US $20.  There are a few other restaurants just ouside the walls of the town which may offer more variety and/or a lower price, but we did not investigate. 

There is not a ton to see in Pocitelj, but what there is is pretty cool.  Initally you walk up a set of cobblestone steps, making your way through the guantlet of vendors selling drinks and local craft items and you come to the Sisman Ibrahim Pasha Mosque, built entirely of stone in the mid 16th century.  The mosque was largely destroyed by Croatian forces during the Bosnian War (1992-1996), but was restored shortly after the war ended. For a small fee (2 KM) you can enter the mosque and see the prayer room and the beautiful stained glass windows. The access to the minarett is blocked unfortuntely.  

Leaving the mosque you can continue up to the fortress ruins. This is a fun place to walk and climb around including making your way to the top of the tower where you are treated to some spectacular views of Pocitelj and the Neretva River below. 

Getting Around

While it's helpful to have a car if you want to be self sufficient and enjoy many of the day trips from Mostar, a car isn't really a necessity. You can always book a tour for the day trips or pay a one-off for a taxi. The city itself is largely walkable depending on your fitness level and schedule.  But if you are in a hurry or don't relish long walks, you can rent one of the ubiqitous Bin Bin e-bikes or e-scooters or a non electric bicycle from NextBike.

THE BAD

The worst parts about Mostar, at least at the height of summer when we went, are the extreme heat and the throngs of tourists clogging the streets, bars and restaurants.

Let's address the tourist issue first since that is the easiest. First of all, it is not lost on me that I, too, am a tourist, but it feels a little different when we're staying here for a month and not rushing around to see all the main attractions in one or two days.  The best way to avoid the crowds in summer is to venture out very early in the morning (the shops all open fairly early).  You might strategize that going in the heat of midday would be a loop hole, but sadly, with most tourists here for only a day or two, they don't seem to be deterred by the excessive heat.  Believe me, I tested that theory. 

The other way to beat the tourist crush is to avoid the Old City in favor of the rest of Mostar.  Of course, people come to Mostar expressly to see the Old City, and for good reason, but if you have more time and want to see how the local Bosnians live then venture out to some of the less touristy places in the newer part of the city. 

We had a lot of fun visiting Zrinjevac Park which boasts a lot of green space, some water fountains (where we cooled ourselves off even if we probably weren't supposed to), a decent jungle gym (with a threetertotter - a three person seesaw (threesaw?) and a few statues/art work. 

We also enjoyed the amazing 360 views from the 75 meter high Franciscan Church Bell Tower, symbollically called the Peace Bell Tower. It costs 6 KM (~US$3) to get in and you take an elevator up part way (saving you 222 of the 370 steps) and then you have to walk up the last several flights past the huge bells that - WARNING - will ring LOUDLY in your ear if you are there on the hour.  The Franciscan church next to the tower is a replacement for the 1866 basilica that was badly damaged during the Bosnian War (1992-1995). 

Then of course, there is the aforementioned Mepas Mall which can provide hours of distraction without much in the way of crowds. 

Other than that, just wandering some of the quieter tree-lined streets or stopping off at a cafe or restaurant (we recommend Gusar Pizza near the mall if you are a pizza fan). Or you can take in a local soccer game as Ryan, Finley and I did.  We saw one of the two local teams, Hrvatski Sportski Klub Zrinjski Mostar, or Zrinjski for short, at the Stadion Pod Bijelim Brijegom.  Zrinjski - their team name is the "Ultras" - play in the Premiere League of Bosnia & Herzegovina and have been one of the top teams in the country over the past few years (although they were in 5th place - out of 12 teams - when we saw them).

They played against Bulgaria's Botev Plovdiv who are 6th place in their league - out of 16 teams.  Plovdiv had won their home match, but the Zrinjski Ultras won 2-0 at home the night we want to win the series 3-2 on aggregate. 

If you have a car or have a budget for a taxi - or you can also take an organized tour - I highly recommend visiting the relatively new Skywalk up at the Fortica Park.  It is about 10 km from the town of Mostar and offers spectacular views of the city.  The Skywalk is free and there is a restaurant there that has decent food at reasonable prices (that, by the way, is a theme for Mostar - good food at reasonable prices - they don't appear to be trying to gouge tourists too much here).  

That by the way, should be included in the "Good" column of the ledger.  Certainly compared to Greece and Croatia, where we were before Bosnia, Mostar is considerably cheaper.  We even found that eating out was not really any more expensive than buying our food at the grocery store and preparing it ourselves, and it's a lot more fun!

There is also a Zipline operated by the folks who operate the restauant up there which is a frightening 1,000 meters long over a canyon (and back).  We did not do it for budget reasons - not cuz I was scared! You take that back!! - but it actually wasn't too unreasonble - 50 KM (US $25) for the two rides (there and back). 

Regarding the heat, I once overheard a tour guide tell a joke, "What is the difference between Mostar and Hell?  Hell is several degrees cooler!"  Indeed, Google tells me that Mostar is the hottest city in Europe along with Athens (two cities we hit in the height of summer!).

Unfortuantely there is not an ocean/beach nearby to help beat the heat, but there are some options. First, you are more than welcome to swim in the Neretva River.  The water looks so clear and refreshing I am not exactly sure why you don't see more people swimming there, but I suppose it's because it's super cold (apparently its the coldest river in the world!) or because it can be dangerous.  More likely it's probably both.  

But Ryan and I did find a "beach" (made of stones of course) where people were swimming.  I also took Finn there on one of our 1 on 1 dates. The river has a strong current, but as long as you stay close to shore you should be fine. But we were warned by some locals not to let our kids swim too far out as there are places where the river drags you under.  Yikes!

Towards the end of our stay in Mostar we spotted a large olympic sized pool - from the Skywalk actually!! - and paid a visit during one of our last days in Bosnia which happened to be one of the hottest.  

It's called Gradski Bazen pool and it's about a 20-30 minute walk from the Old Town.  Parking is free with validation if you pay for swimming and it only costs us 41 KM for our family of 5 (about $20 for all of us).  There is the large pool with some metal diving boards (don't expect much bounce from these) and some lounge chairs and umbrellas that appear to be free.  We just put our stuff against the fence and went swimming.

There is also a kiddie pool that has a fun twisting slide.  Woodwise, there is an ice cream stand, a bar and a restaurant serving burgers, dogs, fries and pizza - all the food was pretty good. 

There is also an option to at least walk or wade into the river by the Bridge Jumper viewing area.  Oh, yeah, that's a thing.  There is a "Dive Club" with its office right off the Stari Most Bridge where you can become a licensed jumper or diver (yes, apparently even as a tourist). I didn't see any toursits jump, but you will see local men (it's been all men as far as I have seen) in Speedos walking along the outside of the bridge railing calling for donations to see him jump. 

They tend to work in teams with other jumpers helping pass a hat to collect donations as well as another "agent" down below the bridge in the viewing area also collecting this "jumper tax". "If you see it, you should pay for it" seems to be the mantra.  Once they have extracted a suitable amount of KMs (or Euros, they take Euros too) then the jumper will perform his death defying leap. The bridge at his highest point is about 80 feet so it's not joke. 

THE UGLY

Just as one cannot ignore the wonderful history of Ancient Greece if one visits Athens, it is difficult not to confront the horrifiying past of Bosnia & Herzegovina as it seems to permeate the culture even today.  Only 30 years ago this country and this city were in the throws of a war tipified by human rights atrocities commited by all sides and a complex nature due to the fact that the combatants changed sides several times throughout the 5 years of conflict, with enemies becoming allies and back to enemies again. 

There are many sources you can dive into to research what is known as the Bosnian war, but the crib notes are that, after the fall of Communist Yugoslavia, the ethnic groups in the region - notably the Catholic Serbs, the Christian Croats and the Muslim Bosniaks all desired autonomy and were prepared to fight for it.  The Serbs were the dominant group having the support of the former Yugoslav army and therefore the Croats and Bosniaks teamed up to fight for their independence, except for an interlude where the Coats and the Bosniaks fought each other.   This short video does a great job of summarizing the war, it's combantants and the atrocities. 

There is also a decent museum in the old city called "The Museum of War and Genocide Victims if you want to immerse yourself in the human toll from the Bosnian War (1991-1995).   The museum, while very impactful, strikes a nice balance of telling the stories of the atrocities that were committed on all sides while not overly glorifying the gore of these atrocities. There were many kids there, and for the younger ones most of it goes over their heads anyway.

We just hope that our younger kids understand there was a conflict that involved different peoples who were unable to live peacefully together. Our oldest, obviously, understands more about the conflict and the ethnicities invovled.

Before the museum, we had the kids watch a short video called "The Worst War You Never Learned About" that does a really good job of laying out the history of this horrible conflict in a very clear and concise way. If any of you are like me, and know very little of this conflict other than it was the end of Yugoslavia and resulted in many diffferent countries by the time the fighting stopped, you may find this video interesting as well.

There is also an abandoned building referred to as the "Sniper Tower" that was bombed out during the Bosnian War and became a strategic position for Croat snipers to fire upon the Bosniak Muslim forces and civilians. It is technically not open to the public, but I read a blog that says a lot of people scale the wall and climb to the top so....since I believe everything I read on the internet, I took this as tacit permission to do so too.

It was definitely a thrilling adventure for Ryan, Finley (and Daddy) and while I was able to consider what it would have been like to be a sniper on the roof and feel some powerful emotions seeing the bullet holes in the nearby walls and some bombed out buildings reinforcing the images we saw in the museum, I think the kids just really liked clamboring around a forbidden, derelict building and seeing all of the graffiti (some really nice artwork by local and international artists).

I put together a short video of us going through the building if you want to feel the drama a bit more.

As a matter of decorum we have not asked any locals about the war, including our AirBnB host, but one gets the impression that the war is very fresh in people's minds. Indeed, you see the occasional amputee in the city and can't help but wonder if that person was a casualty of that war.  It is also impossible not to see the numerous buildings riddled with bullet holes or bombed out completely.  Bosnia is moving on, but won't likely soon forget.

Okay, let's end this post on a positive note.  Bosnia and it's people are resilant and they have rebuilt this city and created a thriving, lively destination for visitors from around the world.  There is much to do and see here, although I would say 3-4 days would be sufficient if you wanted to absorb the culture of the Old City and see some of the attractions within a short drive from Mostar.