Beauty in the Shadows:
exploring the balkans

Dubrovnik

We took a shuttle, provided by TTC, to our first hotel, the AristonIt was beautiful, well maintained, and the views were unbelievable. My roommate and I also were lucky to have a balcony, overlooking the Adriatic Sea. It was a bit far from the port, but it was easy enough to get around with buses. The front desk was happy to provide schedules and information. The breakfasts were also notable; as a vegetarian they had so many amazing options, and it was a fantastic start to our trip!

Sarajevo

The next morning, we left for Sarajevo. We had no issue at the Croatia/Bosnia border and the entire process took about 30-45 minutes. The bus we had for the trip was large, spacious, and had overall good Wi-Fi connection (Sarajevo was only area where the connection got spotty). The countryside was so unbelievably beautiful that it often felt like we were in a fairy tale. We were brought back to earth, however, by the remnants of the Bosnian war which left many villages destroyed. We saw rows and rows of graveyards, where generations of families were buried.

We had lunch at a small restaurant with jaw-dropping views of the Neretva bridge which was used in a movie (The Battle of Neretva)! The restaurant’s specialty is roasted lamb, which turned out to be a very common and popular dish across Bosnia. I had a highly recommended dish made up of a soft cheese cream (like a mix of butter and ricotta) with fried puffs of dough with tomatoes and cucumbers on the side. An interesting and tasty dish!

We then made it to Sarajevo. I have lived in Eastern Europe, so I thought I knew what to expect from a post-soviet city. I was wrong. As we drove along "Sniper Alley" we were shocked by how many remnants of the war remained. The buildings were speckled with thousands of bullet holes, and many buildings still showed the marks of bombs that had hit them. We drove by the famous bright yellow Sarajevo Holiday Inn that was such a landmark during the war.

Our hotel for the next few nights was going to be the Swissotel Sarajevo; it was a modern hotel on the main street. The rooms were beautiful and comfortable, breakfasts were lovely, and there was a full gym and spa. It was a perfect location for all our day trips and excursions!

That same afternoon, we went out on a city tour of Sarajevo. Our local guide was lovely, and she gave us a great insight into some of the history of Sarajevo (before the war in 1992) and filled us in a bit about local customs and how religion plays a major part in daily life in Bosnia. Getting to hear the call to pray was a highlight of my time in Bosnia.

We finished our first night in Bosnia with a “Dine-at-Home Experience” in which they divided the travel advisors into groups of 6 or 7, and we went up into the old apartment buildings for a traditional home cooked meal. My group met with a lovely woman named Sanela and her two daughters. Learning from them, we got a firsthand sense of what life was like during the war. It was a lovely evening!

The next day we started with an intense visit to the war tunnels of Sarajevo, “The Tunnels of Hope”. We learned how important these were to the people during the Siege of Sarajevo. We went through the tunnels as our guide (who was also a survivor of the war) took us back in time.

In the afternoon, we went to a traditional café where we were able to take in and experience the Bosnian coffee culture. We took the afternoon to explore and had a great traditional Krompirusa (potato pie made in a large spiral and served with sour cream). That evening we went to an “Ethno Village” Begovo Selo which is an open-air museum full of artifacts. It is nestled in one of the country’s natural protected areas.

We left Sarajevo early in the morning and on our way to our next city (Mostar) we had the option to do one of two activities. One being a visit to Tito’s Bunker hidden deep in the hills or to experience the Konijc Woodcarving Museum, which is listed by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

I chose to visit the Woodcarving Museum as I wanted to see a lighter side of Bosnia and see how the people are moving forward, while bringing their traditions onto the world stage.

Mostar

The weather was much warmer in Mostar than in Sarajevo as we moved closer to the coast. The city of Mostar was fascinating; we did an old city market tour and met with a Coppersmith*. We got to see the famous Mostar bridge (which was steep and slick to traverse) and explored some of the old Mosques. That same evening, we went to a local vineyard for a wine tasting and dinner.

The next day, we started with a visit to the city of Blagaj. There we split into two groups, one going to the Blagaj Monastery (the one I picked!), a beautifully preserved 16^th century Sufi Abbey that is built into the cliffs. There we got to learn more about the Muslim faith and tried the area’s specialty Rose Lemonade (which was delicious!). The other option was to go to an Eco- Centre to learn about biodiversity and efforts to protect endangered vultures.

In the afternoon, we again split up and half of our group went to meet with a women's collective to learn about herbal soap making. The other half went to make and eat Herzegovinian Fig Cake with a 100-year-old recipe at Mehmedbašića Kuća.

That evening, we had some down time, and I led a group of fellow vegetarians to a highly recommend vegetarian restaurant called “the Food House Mostar". It was a fabulous find and I would highly recommend it to anyone!

Trebijne

After leaving Moster, we made our way to Trebijne. This was a gorgeous town located around a river and as we took a guided tour, we marveled at how classically “European” this town contrasted with some of the other cities we had gone to.

Here, we got to see the filming location of ‘On the Milky Road’. We unfortunately were told that due to heightened unrest in Bosnia, we should be preparing to leave as soon as possible, which was great timing as it was our last day.

We made it back to Dubrovnik where we checked into our final hotel; the stunning Hotel Dubrovnik Palace. It is built onto a cliff overlooking the ocean. What a fabulous way to end our tour!