Mostar

After around two and half hours on the bus with a suicidal driver (sick bags were handed out 10 minutes after leaving town) trying to enjoy the spectacular views of the Dalmatian Coast (no actual dalmatians unfortunately), we arrived in Mostar. Our instructions from the guest house we had booked were to call on arrival which we duly did. After a very confused conversation with a guy I assumed was the guest house owner we were pretty amazed when he turned up at the bus station to pick us up. During the journey into town he gave us a running commentary of the sights in what I think was a combination of German and Bosnian: bombed out school, bombed out bank (I was slightly concerned at this point given we didn't have enough money on us to pay for the accommodation), bombed out government buildings... you get the picture.

We were very pleased when we arrived at the guest house as we had a lovely room right in the old town, only moments form the new 'old' bridge. The old Ottoman town, although tiny is very atomsopheric with cobbled streets, 16th-century mosques, old Turkish houses and restaurants clinging to the rocky river banks all viewing for the perfect view of the bridge. In particular once the day trippers have cleared out the atmosphere was pretty chilled and it felt like a place you could very happily while away the hours sipping coffee.

However, just one street back from the restored area backing onto the river there is a constant and poignant reminder of the area's horrific recent history. It is very hard to find a building that doesn't have some evidence of shell or gun damage and many buildings are still completely ruined.

During our first dinner out we experienced another wonderful dose of local hospitality. It appeared that the restaurant owner was dinning and he had a group of guest with him who could only be described as looking like Bosnian Mafioso. This has sent our poor waiter into a complete panic. The final straw was when Richard asked for the Vegetarian Plate. Apparently vegetables take far to long to prepare and the kitchen was currently too busy. When Richard looked somewhat crestfallen when he offered a tomato salad, the waiter looked exasperated, saying "what do you expect, this is Bosnia".

We had a very surreal end to the evening, watching a Spanish band do a cover of Sex Pistol's "Anarchy in the UK" (in Spanish) on the bank of the river in the shadow of the Mostar bridge.

In all, I would definitely recommend a visit to Mostar. After two nights we rose early to catch the train to Sarajevo.

Here's a video of a bloke jumping from the bridge - they do it for cold cash these days.


Kirsten's Flashpacker Review:
Pansion Gracia i Andy, Mostar (http://www.hostelworld.com/availability.php/PansionGraciaiAndy-Mostar-22694) – This modern and stylishly decorated apartment is unbelievably well located moments from the old bridge. Our room was a really good size with separate table and chairs and a digital TV. Despite a slightly odd smell coming from the bathroom, the place was spotless. The guy who runs the place speaks very little English but he was very friendly and helpful nonetheless and somehow we were able to communicate. He provided us with free transfer to and from the train station even though we left very early in the morning. Excellent value for money - I would highly recommend staying here.