Blown Away in Bosnia

Advantages: A genuine eye-opener. Stunning views, friendly people.
Disadvantages: Watch out for the landmines. Hygiene and health and safety are a long way from what we're used to.

...I wanted that title to be as crass and tasteless as possible, for reasons I hope will become apparent later. It's taken me two months to get down to writing this piece, because no matter how I re-wrote it, the original article just ended up sounding like Beer Tears. Mostar lies three hours inland by coach from the seductive tourist trap of Dubrovnik, across the border into mountainous Bosnia-Herzegovina. Both cities suffered devastating sieges a decade ago, but since then, their fates have been so different. Dubrovnik basks on the Adriatic coast, smug as only a chic, cosmopolitan tourist haven can be. After the war, the world fell over itself restoring the city to it's former glory. Croatia also got a lucky break, acquiring 80% of former Yugoslavia's coastline. This, combined with the city's stunning beauty and wonderful...

Plissken 17.12.2004 · Read review
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Review of Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

Sarajevo - simply sublime

Advantages: Plenty to see; good value for money;
Disadvantages: No budget flights yet (but also a good thing!)

...the Bosnian War but has since been restored and stands in its original location once more. I dreamed of seeing it one day. Today Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Under the terms of the Dayton Peace Accord, Bosnia and Herzegovina was split into two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska. It was also stipulated that Sarajevo should be the capital of the whole country, but should also be split with east Sarajevo being in the Srpska Republic. The main business district and the historic old town of Sarajevo are in the Federation; the section in Republika Srpska has some business and some industry but is mainly residential from what I witnessed. Unless they make efforts to do otherwise, it?s unlikely that most tourists will see the Serbian part of the city, though we saw a small section when we took...

fizzytom 18.10.2009 (20.10.2009) · Read review
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Review of Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

When beggars can't be choosers

Advantages: Only book available in English so far
Disadvantages: Lack of attention to detail, overly studious and stuffy

...and include more or less the same information but in slightly different formats. When looking for a guidebook earlier this year for a trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina, I was surprised to find that neither publisher has yet published a book on this country. The only guide I could find was published by Bradt in 2008. I?ve used Bradt guides before but I wouldn?t buy one if Lonely Planet or Rough Guides have a guide for that destination. I didn?t get to look at the book before buying; I had a voucher for Play.com and bought straight from the website. That said, I don?t think that a quick flick through it in a bookstore would have alerted me to the shortcoming of the Bradt guidebook. From first appearances, the Bradt guide looks more strait-laced and scholarly than the Lonely Planet (slick and modern, for backpackers and high end travelers alike...

fizzytom 25.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Tim Clancy

Mostar's bridge over troubled waters

Advantages: Idyllic setting, fascinating history, friendly people
Disadvantages: Difficult to get to - limited range of facilities

...Writing any article on Mostar is very difficult for me as every time I think of this city in Bosnia Herzegovina I feel very emotional. I have only visited twice but the whole city and people left a great heartfelt impression on me. I am not sure if it is because of what happened to the town in the Bosnian War, where families who had lived together side by side for centuries suddenly started killing each other, or whether it is the destruction of the houses and buildings, and the famous old bridge or perhaps it is just because the town overlooking the river is such a beautiful, tranquil place. I don't know, but I hope you will read my review and hopefully go along one day to see this important and interesting city in Bosnia Herzegovina. Location The city of Mostar is situated in the southern part of Bosnia Herzegovina spread over both...

Praski 23.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

Banja Luka - the city I'd like to like

Advantages: Some stunning buildings
Disadvantages: Hard to get to know locals, run down with few signs of regeneration

..."How did you find the people in Banja Luka?" asked a Slovenian friend of mine when we met up recently. We had just been to Bosnia and Herzegovina and had made a point of visiting both parts of the divided country. Under the terms of the Dayton Peace Accord in 1995 Bosnia and Herzegovina was divided into two territorial entities - the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska; the country has one government and people live under the same laws no matter which entity they live in but this symbolic division of the country more or less along ethnic lines is what keeps a fragile peace on the country. I knew Darko's family were Serbian but I didn't know they were Bosnian Serbs. Maybe I wouldn't have been so honest with my answer had I known this. I told him I found the people quite unfriendly though, admittedly, I hadn't had...

fizzytom 11.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Banja Luka (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

Mostar - rebuilding bridges?

Advantages: Lots of culture and history, cheap, tasty food, kind people
Disadvantages: Those slippy footpaths!

...I remember seeing, as a child, a photograph showing daring young Yugoslav men jumping from a bridge into impossibly blue water below. It struck me as very exciting and must have made quite an impression on me as I told myself that one day I would see it for myself. The bridge was in Mostar which is now in the independent country of Bosnia and Herzegovina; more specifically, it is the regional capital of the province of Herzegovina in the south west of the country. There is a bridge there today but it is not the original; that was blown up by a Croatian rocket during the Bosnian war but after the war it was rebuilt, partly using the original materials which fell into the gorge below. In the summer of 2009 I was able to visit this city I had longed to see for so many years and found a small but charming place that has so much more to offer...

fizzytom 22.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

Welcome back to Sarajevo

Advantages: Historic, beautiful, cheap
Disadvantages: Not easily accessible, war damage

...My announcement that I would be spending my summer in Bosnia met with bemused silences. "But why?", they asked - "Be careful" or "Good for you". My neighbour told me "be sure to take a headscarf with you, it's a Muslim country y'know." So many concerned family members asked me if it was safe, that I began to have doubts. After watching the film "Welcome to Sarajevo" and reading graphic books about the conflict in an attempt at researching this forgotten corner of Europe, I felt even more unsure. My worries were to prove unfounded. The hijab I didn't pack proved to be unnecessary, and ironically, I felt safer in Bosnia than I do at home in Birmingham. I discover a country that is simultaneously familiar and foreign. Glamorous young people frequent the city bars, but one Bosnian girl tells me "we can only afford one coffee...

MissDirect 16.12.2004 (30.10.2007) · Read review
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Review of Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

The forgotten corner of Europe

Advantages: Beautiful, interesting, very little tourism, very cheap
Disadvantages: Ethnic divisions, poverty, disturbing past

...The war ended more than 10 years ago, yet there is still a common misconception of Bosnia as some sort of dangerous, dusty, battle zone. So when I applied to be part of a project in Bosnia in the summer of 2004, I had some worries myself. When my departure date came closer, I started to wonder if I was just a little bit crazy to be travelling there alone. Would I have to cover my head in public? Did they hate English people? Was I going to step on a landmine? I was in Bosnia for three weeks and I'm glad to say that the answer to all of those questions was a resounding no. I discovered an incredibly beautiful country, recovering from the scars of war, with lots to offer visitors. Bosnia and Hercegovina is in Eastern Europe, South-East of Italy, bordering Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro. It has a population of approximately 4...

MissDirect 07.09.2004 (30.10.2007) · Read review
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Review of General: Bosnia-Herzegovina

Sarajevo, Famous for the wrong reasons!

Advantages: Smart and quaint city. Peaceful now
Disadvantages: Still being fixed after the war

...My first visit to Sarajevo in Bosnia was a few years ago,- to think this place is twinned with Coventry! At the time, it was hardly a tourist desitination, and I made a Lada Riva shift like a Ferrari as my skin tone turned a whiter shade of pale due to the onslaught of bullets falling around me. Fortunately, I, and said Lada made it out of there in just about one piece (The exhaust fell off as I hand break turned around a corner to come face to face with an IFOR truck full of Germans) In latter years, certainly since the end of the war, the City has cleaned up a bit, and you can walk freely without stepping on a corpse, or indeed, joining the corpse on the floor courtesy of your friendly neighbourhood sniper. Sarajevo is the capital city and largest urban center of Bosnia, It is also the capital of the Federation of Bosnia...

gt5952 20.11.2007 · Read review
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Review of Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

Bosnia Saga

Advantages: Quaid in good form
Disadvantages: Not enough subtitles

...This is Oliver Stone back in familiar territory reminding us of the futility and brutality of war. But this time we are transported to Bosnia Not Vietnam.Dennis Quaid is the unlikely hero whose family is murdered by Muslim terrorists and is motivated to exact revenge by joining the foreignLegion and go on a killing spree in Bosnia. Needless to say we can see he is a good man deep down. Eventually he is given the chance to save himself by saving a baby and its mother. The film at times is very touching and certainly conveys the craziness and butchery of this particular conflict. Quaid does well in a tricky role but really has to carry the film. Best of all perhaps is the stunt baby who comes back from the dead in true saviour style....

TRABZON 28.08.2000 · Read review
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Review of Saviour