Overview of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Details
Bosnia is not an all in one resort kind of place and as said above it barely has access to the sea. Unlike my past review of Slovenia it is less developed and is cheaper than EU member states. Taken from Wikipedia, this explains how it is divided: Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), the Republika Srpska (RS) and one condominium named the Brčko District.
So, what is there to see? castles, Ottoman architecture, waterfalls, pilgrimage sites, war remains, communist remains, bunkers, bridges, rivers and abandoned buildings. A big mix of things to do and it houses all major mono theistic religions.
My plan was standard. Book a return flight to Croatia since it was cheaper, hire a car, hop the border, use multiple sites (esp. Atlas Obscura) to find items to do, map it and book hotels as I go along. This trip like many was solo as many are. Ten days was enough to see all I wanted to with a big focus on war and communist sights.
How were the people? Zero complaints about the people though English was not as good as in the EU states. It is very much a developing country which personally I like. I had no problem with the cops though I imagine they are not too “straight”, as one man said if you are drink driving and are stopped by the cops, just give them ten euros! Not that I was drink driving.
On the topic of the people, I had one nice and odd hospitality encounter whilst in Republika Srpska. Whilst out looking for two communist memorials in the middle of nowhere, the phone took me on some odd roads and directed me into someone’s remote private farm. The three Serb man and one boy invited me in for simple food and drink.
Communication was a struggle and there was no phone signal. The complex comprised of a single storey house, external shack toilet and 1-2 basic barn style buildings. It was basic a lifestyle with wood/coal used for heating instead of gas since there were no pipelines. They told me about motorcross, snipping animals and brought out a real shotgun! In the barn was a dead deer thing which they butchered in front of me.
I must have been there for 2 hours or more and then they took me to another house of a family member in a simple village where a boy who studied in Croatia spoke decent English. They offered food and I left with instructions to track down old memorials off the beaten track, with heavy rain, poor phone signal and some unknown creature appearing at the side of the road. A true adventure to re-tell. See photo below.
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Would I return? Unlikely not since I ticked off all the sights I wanted to see. Still, Bosnia is a great country to explore in under two weeks at a fair price.
Hospitality
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Republika Srpska
Brcko District
