Bosnia holiday review

Should you have ever wished to see a site Europe forgot to include in the brochure, Bosnia might be your subsequent amazing, unintentional discovery. I mean this in the most positive sense. Mainly because you came with embarrassingly low expectations, the nation has this strange capacity to surprise you at every turn. Part of the allure is that. Bosnia does not attempt to wow you. It simply does.

Usually, your first stop is Sarajevo, a town that resembles someone dropping the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and a sprinkle of Yugoslavia into a valley, then letting them mingle. The outcome is a place where, in about twelve steps, exactly enough time to choose between baklava and a schnitzel, you can stroll from cobbled marketplaces to Viennese-style streets. Sarajevo also has a tendency to make you think about history, typically just when you were about to get coffee. Standing on the Latin Bridge, you understand this is where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was murdered, and you now recall every high school teacher who cautioned you to pay more attention in class.

Naturally, a trip to Bosnia would not be complete without a visit to Mostar. The show revolves around the Old Bridge. It arches so gracefully across the Neretva River that you start wondering why your own stance has never attained such assurance. Local divers will sometimes jump from the top into the freezing water below. You observe, acting as if you might try the same, even though you are well aware you would need at least three days of psychological preparation and maybe a support group.

Then there are the smaller towns that sneak up on you with unexpected beauty. Travnik sits peacefully, its pastel buildings and fortress views almost as if waiting for someone to see how lovely it truly is. Jajce has a waterfall in the centre of town. It is a little flashy, but you forgive it since it is really beautiful. Everywhere you go, the landscape subtly flexes its mountains and rivers like a nation aware of its beauty but under no need to show off.

The food in Bosnia is one of its delights, mostly because it is comfort food that never attempts to be anything else. At least once every day and possibly more if you seem even a little bit hungry, you will be presented with ćevapi. You are going to agree. You will also speculate on how you managed to go so long without freshly baked somun bread. Coffee is served gently, with the expectation that you know the custom, and is strong enough to wake the whole Balkan region. You say you do.

Bosnian tourism seems refreshingly unrefined. It is honest in a way that makes you want to stay longer than you planned, scenic without being staged, and friendly without being pushy. You come to see, as you depart, that the nation never tried to persuade you about anything. It just existed, and that was more than enough.