Tuesday, September 17, 2024
2024 Crossroads of the Adriatic - Day #8 - To Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Day 6 - Travel to Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina • Explore Mostar
• Destination: Sarajevo
• Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodations: Hotel President or similar
Activity Note: Today, we'll cross the border from Croatia to Bosnia & Herzegovina. Please be aware that you will need your passport for all border crossings, and that sometimes crossing the border can take longer than expected as lines can be long and busy.
Breakfast: Served at our hotel starting around 7am, with European options.
Morning: Today, we say "dovidenja" (goodbye) to Dubrovnik as we depart our hotel around 8:30am for our drive to Bosnia & Herzegovina. As we journey north and inland into Bosnia, we'll cross the border around 10am. If we're lucky and crowds are light, we'll be through in about 20 minutes; if it's a busy day, expect the crossing to take up to an hour. Once we're past the border, we'll continue to Mostar, arriving around 11:45am.
Upon arrival, we'll enjoy a discovery walk through Mostar with our Trip Experience Leader, lasting approximately one hour. Established by the Ottoman Turks in the late 15th century, the ancient town of Mostar became a place where the cultures of the Middle East and Europe mingled, blending influences from the mainland and the Adriatic Sea. Mostar is named for the former watchtower keepers (mostari in Bosnian) of its historic bridge. A masterpiece of Ottoman Turkish architecture, the 16th-century bridge has long spanned the Neretva River, whose waters divided the town into Muslim and Croat sections. Destroyed in 1993 during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, the bridge and Mostar's historic city center were restored in 2004 and are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The bridge also represents a symbol of reconciliation and continued peace for the region.
Lunch: Around 12:30pm in Mostar at a local restaurant featuring fresh Bosnian and Mediterranean cuisine.
Afternoon: At around 1:30pm, we'll walk to the local Muslim market in Mostar, arriving at around 1:40pm, and taking about 30 minutes to explore. We'll board the coach again at around 2:30pm, and drive about 2.5 hours to Sarajevo (with a 15-minute stop), arriving at our hotel around 5:30pm. Most of the hotels we stay at in the area include an on-site bar and restaurant, with rooms that feature a mini bar, safe, satellite TV, wireless Internet, and a private bath.
Once you check in, you'll have some time to relax and settle into your room before our Trip Experience Leader takes us on a 30-minute orientation walk around Sarajevo at around 6:15pm, pointing out important locations like ATMs, restaurants, and pharmacies.
Dinner: At around 7pm we'll walk to a local restaurant featuring traditional Bosnian fare for an included dinner.
Evening: The rest of the evening is yours to explore Sarajevo. Maybe you'll enjoy a pint at the nearby Sarajevo Brewery, or get an ice cream and stroll Sarajevo's market-lined streets.
• Destination: Sarajevo
• Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodations: Hotel President or similar
Activity Note: Today, we'll cross the border from Croatia to Bosnia & Herzegovina. Please be aware that you will need your passport for all border crossings, and that sometimes crossing the border can take longer than expected as lines can be long and busy.
Breakfast: Served at our hotel starting around 7am, with European options.
Morning: Today, we say "dovidenja" (goodbye) to Dubrovnik as we depart our hotel around 8:30am for our drive to Bosnia & Herzegovina. As we journey north and inland into Bosnia, we'll cross the border around 10am. If we're lucky and crowds are light, we'll be through in about 20 minutes; if it's a busy day, expect the crossing to take up to an hour. Once we're past the border, we'll continue to Mostar, arriving around 11:45am.
Upon arrival, we'll enjoy a discovery walk through Mostar with our Trip Experience Leader, lasting approximately one hour. Established by the Ottoman Turks in the late 15th century, the ancient town of Mostar became a place where the cultures of the Middle East and Europe mingled, blending influences from the mainland and the Adriatic Sea. Mostar is named for the former watchtower keepers (mostari in Bosnian) of its historic bridge. A masterpiece of Ottoman Turkish architecture, the 16th-century bridge has long spanned the Neretva River, whose waters divided the town into Muslim and Croat sections. Destroyed in 1993 during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, the bridge and Mostar's historic city center were restored in 2004 and are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The bridge also represents a symbol of reconciliation and continued peace for the region.
Lunch: Around 12:30pm in Mostar at a local restaurant featuring fresh Bosnian and Mediterranean cuisine.
Afternoon: At around 1:30pm, we'll walk to the local Muslim market in Mostar, arriving at around 1:40pm, and taking about 30 minutes to explore. We'll board the coach again at around 2:30pm, and drive about 2.5 hours to Sarajevo (with a 15-minute stop), arriving at our hotel around 5:30pm. Most of the hotels we stay at in the area include an on-site bar and restaurant, with rooms that feature a mini bar, safe, satellite TV, wireless Internet, and a private bath.
Once you check in, you'll have some time to relax and settle into your room before our Trip Experience Leader takes us on a 30-minute orientation walk around Sarajevo at around 6:15pm, pointing out important locations like ATMs, restaurants, and pharmacies.
Dinner: At around 7pm we'll walk to a local restaurant featuring traditional Bosnian fare for an included dinner.
Evening: The rest of the evening is yours to explore Sarajevo. Maybe you'll enjoy a pint at the nearby Sarajevo Brewery, or get an ice cream and stroll Sarajevo's market-lined streets.
After six nights in Dubronvik, today is moving day.
I have really enjoyed Dubrovnik; it is a magical city. Unfortunately, I was surprised by the number of people in both Dubrovnik and Kotor. There were a lot of tourists. Based on how people were dressed and the conversations that we were hearing, there were a lot of American tourists. It was a little quieter in the morning and at night. Given that this is the shoulder season, the guide was a little surprised at the size of the crowds.
Apparently, they are limiting the cruise ships to two a day, but one of the cruise ships on Monday was a 3,000 passenger Celebrity ship. It made Sharon and I think about how we are impacting places when we are on a cruise.
In addition to moving away from the crowds, we are glad to be leaving the Hotel Lero. When I asked Wallen about the hotel, he said that it was "good enough." Sharon and I didn't like the room. I didn't feel like the hotel was very clean. It was packed with a large number of tour groups. The morning breakfasts at the buffet remained me of the World Cafe on our Viking Cruise. The hotel wasn't good enough.
Leaving the hotel at 8:30 am, the bus drove north along the Dalmatia Coast. At the Bosnian Border crossing, we turned east into the countryside. I was surprised at how rugged and barren the terrain was.
We stopped for lunch at Mostar. There were a lot of tour buses there! Interestingly, the tour groups were more international, i.e. fewer Americans. We had lunch and then walked down to the river to see the bridge.
The Stari Most (Old Bridge) is an iconic arched stone bridge that spans the Neretva River. It's a symbol of the city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built in 1566 during the Ottoman Empire, the Stari Most replaced an earlier wooden bridge. During the Bosnian War in the 1990s, the bridge was destroyed by shelling. However, it was meticulously rebuilt and reopened in 2004.
We actually got to see a diver jump off the bridge.
As we drove from Mostar to Sarajevo, the countryside got greener. The part of trip following the river was particularly scenic.
It was almost 5:30 pm by the time we got to Sarajevo. We are spending three nights at a Courtyard by Marriott. It is a clean, modern hotel that is located walking distance to the old town.
After getting settled in the room, the group met in the lobby and wandered into the Ottoman Old Town. We finished the day with a group dinner at Đulagin Dvor. There was a traditional Bosanian dinner of Ćevapi. It is considered a national dish of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is a grilled dish of minced meat usually served in groups of five to ten pieces served with a flatbread (lepinja or somun), often with chopped onions, kajmak, ajvar and salt. Still not feeling 100%, Sharon and Holly both skipped dinner.
When I got back to the room, Sharon was watching the Emmys. It was almost eleven by the time that we turned off the television and went to bed.
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