(no subject)
I swear, hostels in the Balkans are something else! They provide free pickup from bus stations, call the hostels you are staying at in the next city because you forgot your key deposit and make sure it gets back to you (the equivalent of about 10$), and drive you around in their car to various viewpoints so you can take nice photos. The hospitality here is overwhelming!
Two American girls (I met them in Dubrovnik) and I "hiked" up a mountain near the town today. By hiking, I mean we followed the road/path, because in Bosnia, one does not ever want to stray from the well worn path. There are still landmines in some areas from the war, and I had no intention of getting blown up. We explored an old fort at the top from one of the World Wars (pefectly safe to explore) and ate some Burek, this fantastic balkan pastry filled with meat or cheese or spinach and baked or fried... the lady who owns the hostel drove us out to the best burek place in town! It was magnificent.
Walking through the town of Mostar is also an interesting thing, because in the midst of all the buildings are scattered many ruins of buildings, some with tape around them and giant "danger" signs. In a row of apartment complexes sits the old, bombed out shell of one of their sister buildings, that nobody had the time to fix up yet. There are still bullet holes in a lot of the buildings. It's a sobering reminder of how recent these events were.
Tommorow, I am going on this epic, 12 hour tour that the hostel offers. Essentially, the brother of the lady who owns this place piles people in his car and drives them around the surrounding area of mostar. Every review for Majdas hostel (which was voted Best Hostel in Europe recently) says the tour is NOT to be missed, so I am very excited. I think it involves jumping off of waterfalls though, and I haven't got a swimsuit. But I can't NOT jump off the waterfall.. alas!!
Two American girls (I met them in Dubrovnik) and I "hiked" up a mountain near the town today. By hiking, I mean we followed the road/path, because in Bosnia, one does not ever want to stray from the well worn path. There are still landmines in some areas from the war, and I had no intention of getting blown up. We explored an old fort at the top from one of the World Wars (pefectly safe to explore) and ate some Burek, this fantastic balkan pastry filled with meat or cheese or spinach and baked or fried... the lady who owns the hostel drove us out to the best burek place in town! It was magnificent.
Walking through the town of Mostar is also an interesting thing, because in the midst of all the buildings are scattered many ruins of buildings, some with tape around them and giant "danger" signs. In a row of apartment complexes sits the old, bombed out shell of one of their sister buildings, that nobody had the time to fix up yet. There are still bullet holes in a lot of the buildings. It's a sobering reminder of how recent these events were.
Tommorow, I am going on this epic, 12 hour tour that the hostel offers. Essentially, the brother of the lady who owns this place piles people in his car and drives them around the surrounding area of mostar. Every review for Majdas hostel (which was voted Best Hostel in Europe recently) says the tour is NOT to be missed, so I am very excited. I think it involves jumping off of waterfalls though, and I haven't got a swimsuit. But I can't NOT jump off the waterfall.. alas!!