We left Blagaj and headed to Mostar.
Mostar is the 5th largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and historically the capital of Herzegovina .
The world famous Stari Most Bridge is the most popular tourist destination. Stari Most simply translates to ‘Old Bridge’.
It was originally built between 1557 and 1566 on the orders of Sulimam the Magnificent. The Bridge is over the Neretva River.
It was destroyed during the Bosnian War in 1993, but rebuilt and reopened in 2004, then added to the UNESCO World Heritage list
After wandering around Mostar across the bridge and looking at the bazaar we headed to a park up that was roughly 10km away and on the banks of the river Neretva.
It was a lovely chilled park up and I got to swim in the river Neretva which is probably the coldest river in the world. It is approximately 230km (140 miles) long and originates from the Dinaric Alps in Bosnia and Herzegovina at an altitude of about 1,227 metres to the Adriatic Sea in Croatia. It is formed by the runoff of three large glaciers and by an underground spring situated below the Jabuka Mountain. This high elevation contributes to its extremely cold temperatures, which are often as low as 7 degrees.
I absolutely loved swimming in The Neretva river. As you can see it is a beautiful turquoise colour and so clear and clean.
Yes it was cold and it had been a long time since I had swum in anything that cold so I didn’t stay in long and was very mindful.
For anyone who is into cold water swimming you will know it gives you a ‘real buzz’. I hadn’t felt that ‘buzz’ for ages as I hadn’t done any ‘proper’ cold water swimming for a long time. But here in this amazing spot in this beautiful clear river I got to experience and remember that buzz again.
That in itself made this experience special, but what made it really special was to have that ‘buzz’ and get out into glorious sunshine and 34c degrees temperatures. I am so used to Brighton beach where after emerging from the sea on a freezing cold winters day it’s a real scramble to get as many layers on as you can whilst wrestling with numb fingers! Then having to get a hot drink down as soon as you’re dressed and jig about to warm up! Here you could just stand or sit in the sun and it was glorious ! A very special experience.
We would have loved to have stayed at this park up for a few more days but we were aware that time was against us as we had to get to France early September as we’d arranged to meet friends. Reluctantly we moved on to Sarejavo
Sarejavo
Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, rich in history and culture it was once known as the Jerusalem of Europe due to its diverse mix of cultures and religions. Today the city is predominantly Muslim with around 100 mosques, but you can still find large Catholic and Orthodox cathedrals and both Ashkenazi and Sephardic synagogues, although most of the Jewish population was decimated during WWII. Most of the Orthodox Christian’s live in East Sarajevo.
As most people know the war between Bosnia and Serbia between 1992-1996 took its toll and almost the entire city was reconstructed.
Today it is a vibrant city full of life with numerous museums. It also has a vibrant art scene, numerous theatres, galleries and music venues as well as an annual film festival.
We found a park up that was a car park and quite high up with great views of the city but also easy to walk down to the city. It was also our wedding anniversary that day. As you can see on the way down I got a photograph with a very tall soldier. The beer and pancakes were anniversary treats along the way.
The two photos of Dee at the bottom are in the streets around Sarejevo .
The last photo is The Sebilj, an Ottoman style wooden fountain in the centre of Baščaršija Square. It dates back to 1891 and according to local legend visitors who drank water from this fountain will return to Sarajevo someday.
The War Museum
There were many museums in Sarajevo and many of them were related to the war. We chose to just visit one of them and went to ‘The siege of Sarajevo Museum’ which talks about life under siege and displays personal items and also personal stories and accounts from some of the people that lived through those times of war.
It was very humbling and well worth visiting if you are in Sarajevo.
After the museum we had a meal out in the city which was ok but not the best meal ever.
We then headed back our park up to catch the sunset
In the morning we moved on to the town of Scit which is where our next post will start .
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Our Life on the Road 
love that photo of you both whilst in the bazaar. You are so brave getting into that cold water. I remember many years ago we went to a place called Buchan Caves, it was quite hot so decided to jump into the water near the caves. Boy of boy, did I get out of there quickly, it was like getting into an ice bath.
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haha! I always dip a hand or foot in first so that I’m prepared either way lol
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