Bosnia & Herzegovina travel and Mostar's Stari Most

Phillip and I are now in Bosnia & Herzegovina. We are traveling by bus because we've gotten to the part of the Balkans without train service. Our bus rides from Split to Mostar and from Mostar to Sarajevo were both about 3-1/2 hours, the perfect length for us. And the scenery on both of those trips was great.

Scenery on the trip from Split, Croatia, to Mostar

On Saturday, we had the choice of catching an early direct bus or leave at 10 am from Split and make a transfer in a Croatian town called Ploce. We chose later and had an hour layover. We stayed at the bus station and were the only people there except for a ticket agent. 

The Ploce bus station.... a very quiet location!

Our Ploce to Mostar bus crossed the Croatian/Bosnian border, our first foray on this adventure outside the Schengen Zone. The Zone consists of 29 European countries who agree to have no border control among themselves, so no passport checks or even stops at the countries' borders with each other. The bus stopped at the Croatian customs kiosk and all passengers got off the bus and presented their passports to the officer. She just looked at our passport picture and stamped the passport. Back on the bus for less than 1/4 mile and then we stopped at the Bosnia & Herzegovina immigration area. The bus driver collected our passports, the border officer looked them, and the bus driver returned them to us. No pictures of the process as it's prohibited to take photos there. 

Our two nights in Mostar were enough to see the town's damage from the Bosnian War (1992-95, ethnic conflict that rose to the level of war when Yugoslavia dissolved, 100,000 people killed) and Mostar's UNESCO World Heritage site: the Old Bridge.

Bullet holes and mortar damage on every street

Some damaged buildings are still vacant 30 years later

Numerous streams feed the main river in town, the Neretva River. 

On our way to see the Old Bridge, we came across the Crooked Bridge. It didn't look crooked to us, but it was built as a test bridge on a side channel in the 1500s, before the bridge builders invested in the Old Bridge construction. This area was part of the Ottoman Empire, and the Old Bridge had been commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent. Construction workers did not want to disappoint the sultan. 

The Crooked Bridge, a mini-version of the Old Bridge

We arrived to visit the Old Bridge at about the same time several hundred other people arrived. 

Two men are on the outside of the rail. Local young men will collect money from the tourists to dive off the bridge into the river below. We didn't see either of these guys jump off the bridge, but we did hear the crowd cheer while we were walking on a nearby street, so at least one of them did jump.

The river just west of the bridge

The Old Bridge from about a block away

As we were leaving Mostar on Monday, we passed acres and acres of vineyards. 

Bosnian vineyards

What we enjoyed tremendously on the Mostar to Sarajevo bus were the views of the river and the rock walls of the gorge the road went through. 

Sea Organ of Zadar and Split's Diocletian's Palace

After Zagreb, Phillip and I traveled south to the Croatian coast, first to Zadar for two nights and then to Split for another two. Of the two cities, we definitely prefer Split. I planned the stop in Zadar because the bus trip all the way to Split would have been seven hours, too long for a travel day. So, three and a half hours on two separate days instead. Zadar did have two unique art installations, the Sea Organ and the "Greeting the Sun" installation. The "Greeting the Sun" attraction was a large set of solar panels installed in the boardwalk that activated at night and changed colors. We saw the panels during the day, when they were absorbing energy, but not at night when they were colorful. Our hotel was over a km away and we weren't keen on being out late enough to see the color light show.

"Greeting the Sun" during the day as it absorbs solar energy

We did hear the Sea Organ and spent over thirty minutes sitting on the seawall steps, waiting as passing boats made waves. The Sea Organ is a series of organ pipes drilled in the concrete under the water level. As water pushes in from waves, air is forced thru the organ, creating musical sounds. The higher the waves from the passing boats, the louder and more varied the music. 

The sea wall steps had holes from which the music came

Zadar had a fortress, but it wasn't picturesque as too many newer restaurants and shops were built next to the walls and within the fortress. The medieval and Roman castles and fortresses we've already seen were nicer. 

Water wells inside the fortress, but notice the modern restaurant on the right

The road from Zadar to Split ran right along the coast, so we saw beautiful water vistas from the bus window.

Numerous places along the bus ride where we saw islands

Split was a larger city with a UNESCO World Heritage site, Diocletian's Palace. The Palace was built at the end of the third century AD as a retirement residence for the Roman emperor Diocletian. Diocletian was unique among Roman emperors because he actually retired. The Palace is one of the most famous and complete architectural and cultural features on the Croatian Adriatic coast. As the world's most complete remains of a Roman palace, it was designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1979. Phillip and I viewed it from the coastal boardwalk on the evening we arrived, then walked thru it on our full day in Split.

One of the main gates into the Palace

 

Walking thru the narrow streets of the Palace

Some of the walls were older and still in ruin

After walking thru the palace, we came out one of the northern passages and found a "train" tour that would take us thru the city, into Marjan Park, and to the city overlook. The "train" was a tractor-like vehicle pulling two covered trailers of seats. 

The Adriatic Sea views were similar to what we had seen on the bus ride, beautiful blue water. I enjoyed the mountain view as the Marjan Park road snaked up the side of the mountain to the overlook. 

Working our way to the top of this mountain.

Note, if you can, the holes in the side of the mountain about midway. Built into clefts in the cliffs are a group of Renaissance hermitage caves, first used in the 15th century. We zig-zagged up the hill and saw a closer view.

A closer view of the hermitage caves used by monks over 500 years ago.

From near the overlook, this yucca flower stalk was bigger
in diameter than my wrist and resembled asparagus

 

View of Split from the overlook, a Norwegian cruise ship at the port

Although a cruise ship was docked in Split, we did not notice huge crowds. More vendors were set up near the palace and all the shops were open, but walking thru the Palace wasn't bad. We just turned down alleys to avoid tour groups. 

Tomorrow: we head for Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina. We have to transfer buses midway, and it will be our first non-Schengen border crossing of the trip. That means a passport stamp! Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia are part of the Schengen Zone with free borders with each other. There are no border stops when traveling between the member countries.  

UNESCO Plitvice Lakes in Croatia: Nature at its finest

Our bus ride from Slovenia into Croatia was uneventful. We were delayed about ten minutes during our trip by road construction, but that is nothing different from travel in the USA.  Our hotel in Zagreb (the capital city of Croatia) was renovated in 2022 while it was closed for Covid and is still very nice. For four euros more a night, I selected the deluxe room, so we have plenty of space and a real king-sized bed. We've been happy with all our hotel rooms except the one that developed the bad smell in Bologna, Italy.

I selected a visit to Zagreb not for the city itself; it is a rather simple Balkan city with an old part of town and a newer section, fresh fruit and flower markets and many cathedrals. We are here so that we could travel to Plitvice National Park and its four UNESCO-designated lakes and waterfalls. Sixteen named waterfalls and hundreds of other waterfalls based on the rainfall and lake water levels. We did a 10-hour tour yesterday to Plitvice Lakes and the waterfalls were spectacular! We made a stop enroute at Rastoke, where waterfalls channeled thru the houses and, in olden times, turned mill stones. The entire town's population ground grain using the water channeled thru the lower level of their house.  

Rastoke watermills

We arrived at the main event, Plitvice Lakes shortly before 11 am. Phillip and I were in a group of 8 people, led by Bojan, our tour guide. He knew the right route to take to avoid the worst crowds and the best spots to get great pictures. My Fitbit showed over 20,000 steps, 8.67 miles, by the end of the day. We began with a walk along the upper edge of the lakes, then went lower, right on the edge or even over the lakes. The beginning and ending photos of this series are the same waterfall, just from a different elevation and angle.  

Most walkways were these wooden platforms 

Some walkways were barely above the water level

More of Slovenia: Ljubljana and Predjama Castle

I shared the Slovenian Postojna Cave photos in my previous post, now for more locations in Slovenia, mostly in Ljubljana. We arrived, via bus from Italy, on Tuesday, May 6. Now that we are in the Balkans, bus travel will be our most prevalent method of transportation. The buses are comfortable and clean. A company called FlixBus has new buses, with wifi and a restroom; serves most of the major cities; and is reasonably priced. 

Flixbus, view from our seat

The weather here has been either raining or overcast and rather cool, highs in the mid-50s. Fortunately, I packed our travel jackets. We pulled them out of the suitcases and have worn them every day in Slovenia. I even had to dig out my Cambodian krama scarf that I'd brought for the cruise to add to my ensemble for warmth. Even with cool, damp weather, Phillip and I walked around Ljubljana every day. 

one of 4 dragons at corners of Dragon Bridge over Ljubljana River

On Wednesday, before we went on the 2 pm tour that took us to the Postojna Caves, we took a boat ride on the Ljubljana River. Forty-five minutes, only 6 passengers because of the weather. Before we left the dock, we saw a critter swimming across the river. Not a beaver, according to the boat driver. Probably some form of nutria. A big river rat.

Ljubljana river critter

The boat ride was chilly but nice. More nature than architecture, but we did go under the Triple Bridge, a highlight of the city. 

The Triple Bridge

The boat took us thru some really quiet, nice areas.

Wednesday afternoon, we took the tour to Predjama Castle and then on to Postojna Caves (caves covered in previous post). Predjama Castle is the largest cave castle in the world, over 800 years old. It is built inside the mouth of a cave, halfway up a 123-meter cliff. 

We had audioguides as we waked thru this castle, seeing how the rooms were incorporated into the cave. 

Different rooms, including the armory room. Just like at the armory in the Prague Castle, I looked for the armor of the Knights Who Say "Ni!" Darn, it wasn't there. 

Thursday, it rained steadily in the morning, so we did not go out until lunch. Friday was forecast to have better weather, so we just walked to find the funicular entrance to get to Lubljana Castle on Friday.

The funicular and ticket pavilion

Every day as we walked around, I took pictures of the public art. Quite a bit, some of it rather odd.

a water fountain 

Friday's weather was much better. We still needed our jackets, but not our umbrellas. Knowing where the funicular began, we headed straight for the ticket office. 3.3 euro per person to ride the funicular up to the castle. We made it to the area before the crowds, so we did not wait in line to get on the funicular. A funicular is a cable car on a track instead of a cable. 

view from inside the funicular as we headed up the hill

Because we have seen and will be seeing more castles, we did not pay the 16 euro per person to tour inside the castle. We were still able to see some of the interior rooms and walk around the castle walls. 

An interior room, original stone and renovations

some of the original 900-year-old walls that have not been restored

Walking down a very steep grade back to town

We found out coming down the path leaving the castle that if we had not taken the funicular, we would never have made it up the walking path. It was that steep, probably a consistent 15-20 degree grade. The front of our thighs had a workout and are now sore. I did not expect pain from a downhill trek!

We recommend Slovenia as a travel destination. The prices are reasonable, the food (subject of a future post) is delicious, the locals are friendly, it is not overrun with tourists, and historical sights are everywhere.  Tomorrow morning (Saturday), we take a FlixBus to Zagreb, Croatia.