Herzegovina… Mostar… A place which suffered severely during the Balkan war in the early 90’s….
Systematic shot to pieces by people who didn’t allow to let each other see the light, sort of speak. For the outside word this was a religious war, but as always, politics did a ‘great’ job to start it, so we were told. Religion was brought in as a reason to ‘make sense’.
Everything in this city is as good as new, except the gosts wandering around. Goosebumps were al over our skin. People look at you with empty eyes, like they care for nothing anymore. Complete madness…
The world famous bridge has been restored. It was destroyed during the war to divide the ethnic populations in the city. Just to hurt each other.
We just had to get out of this f*cked up environment. Should have been here before the war, when everything was ‘right’…
The plan was fantastic. We should move from Mostar to the most southern part of Bosnia, to enter Montenegro the next day. We drove out of the city, following a small road up in the mountains, halfway taking an exit towards the top. Arriving there it looked clear that we had to go back. There was no ‘ride able’ track going down and everything was destroyed during foresting activities. According to the GPS there should be a track going down. Well, there was… But with 1,5m dropoffs, small rivers/streams crossing it, … The decision was made to turn back, also due to the fact that these mountains where a strategic base during the war and leftover ‘war toys’ could be all over the place. No risks taken here…
Later we were told that this was actually more or less a really no-go zone.
After a rather ‘hard’ descent of the mountain, we turned away from Mostar. The journey continues…
Partly gravel through the mountains, partly asphalt recommended by the famous Michelin maps. Crossing places where people live away from all the busy cities, with nothing more than poor infrastructure, electricity, water, … Probably traumatized by the war. They are absolutely not interested in us and many of them look at you with really empty, hazy eyes.
We want to get out of here…
Arrived, later than planned, in the south of Bosnia. Checked into a formar ‘Sovjet’ style hotel. Man was this a bad choice… Pieces of the iron coming out of the mattresses, dirty, greasy, … poor dinner, poor breakfast and only for € 65 euro per person (room + breakfast)… Complete rip off. On the other hand, it had something… something indescribable, something ‘real’.