Never thought I'd find myself in Bosnia-Herzegovina..


But boy am I glad I did! This country is by far my most favorite country I have ever visited. I expected it to be a 3rd world country, dangerous and somewhere I would only ever go on a tour because it was included. I wish I had of discovered this hidden gem at the start of my UK adventure because I sure as hell would have returned in a heartbeat. While the history was gruesome and very real at times (almost too much to handle), the cities, along with the Danube River that we followed all through the country, were spectacular. 


We started off in Sarajevo - the capital. The bullet holes in the buildings down what was known as 'sniper alley', and the devastation caused by the Serbian war in 92-95, was all very much present and evident and really made you thank your lucky stars for everything you have today. The old town was quaint and gorgeous and so rich in character. Sarajevo had sold me. 

On our way to Mostar, another charming town that had me hooked, we stopped at Srebrenica. This was the site of a genocide where over 8,000 men and young boys were mass murdered in 1995. We had a guide, Hasan, explain to us his story and educated us on what really happened. His story, which you can find here, and the reality of what had happened struck me more so than I ever thought it would, as it was hard to comprehend that this awful tragedy happened during my lifetime without me having any knowledge of it. We were all quite affected by what we saw and heard and it was a quiet trip to our next stop. 

Luckily for us, Mostar was dressed to impress in gorgeous sunshine and pulled all the stops out for us. We saw the famous Mostar Bridge called Stari Most, known for the divers dressed in yellow budgie smugglers, that you can pay to jump off the 24 metre drop! I will admit, if it weren't so high the clear blue water below would have looked pretty enticing to me too. Even without the thrill-seeking jumpers, it was pretty breathtaking anyway. We followed the cobble stone paths through many little markets and stalls filled with things I so desperately wanted to fill my backpack with, but thankfully my bank account thought better! 

Overall, Bosnia-Herzegovina surprised me. The only thing I can say about it is that I cannot wait to go back! Here are some of my photo's from my trip: 









You can see some of my other travel stories here. Love, Jem x