This leg of the trip start after a long bus trip from Belgrade to Sarajaero in Bosina and Hertzagonia. The trip from Belgrade (Serbia) into Bosnia was interesting, both in terms of the ever changing landscape but more interestingly their recent conflicts. Boarder control were stern and stoney, no joking here and this tense relationship between Serbia and Bosnia was evident constantly throughout the trip. We Made a few stops during the bus trip including one at Srebrenica, Bosnia, which was setup as a UN safe zone during their conflict with the Serbs in July of 1995 (yes, incredibly in our very recent living memory). Sadly this was the scene of the largest mass killing since WW2 and saw the lives of 8000+ men (Muslim) aged 12-75 herded up, taken down the road an shot in front of the Dutch UN peace keepers (in a nutshell). There has been a lot of mass grave excavation and cemeterial burial which was a very stark and confronting reminder of wars ongoing and brutal presence. Interesting contrast having had ANZAC day only a week prior. From Srebrencia we head into Sarajevo again depressing but extremely interesting. Flash diggings and a provided meal were fantastic! In Sarajevo we visited the bridge were the disgruntled uni student assassinated Franz Ferdinand prompting the start of WW1. There was a nice little collection of photos and plaque at the site which detailed things fairly well. We also drove through Snipper alley and saw the pitted buildings from prolonged gunshot; quite remarkable to think people actually managed to get through the gunfire alive. The snippers were positioned on the surrounding hills and basically shot down into Sarajevo's main street.
We left Sarajevo early for another long day on the bus in order to have us in Dubrovnik at a reasonable time. It took a big bag of snacks to get us through this leg of the trip; surely one of the longest bus trips we'll do while away! 11? hours as we got lost an re route with road works!!! We did make a stop in Bosnia at Mostar, another place of significance during the conflict in the old Yugoslavian Republic in the early to mid 90's. Mostar saw the Serbs fighting the Bosnians allied with the Croats (allies prevailed) before the Croats then turned on the poor old Bosnians. The bridge connecting east and west Mostar was destroyed by the Croats and in effect broke the Bosnians spirits which had role in this conflict (bridge was built while the Turks ruled under the Ottoman empire and was of major moral significance to the Bosnians). Mostar, considering the obliteration it suffered, was a real highlight. It had an amazing old city (impeccably restored given the damage sustained) and identical replica replacement bridge which was something else! The people here, Bosnians, were delightful and complimented the great vibe of a city that only a decade ago was under siege.
Not hard to see now why there is so much tension between Serbs, Croats and Bosnians at home!!!
Eventually we rolled into Dubrovnik, Croatia which really was something else! Precariously positioned on the Adriatic coastline this place was spectacular! The old town (protected by a 2km wall up to 25m thick in some sections, parts of which were on built on top of the rock cliffs) was a labyrinth of small streets and shops hidden away in narrow alleys. It was a fantastic place to explore and take in the beauty of the coast. Thankfully the weather was impeccable which further added to our praise of Dubrovnik. To complete a terrific day we then hired scooters (with Aiden and Sarah from NZ on the tour with us) and rode around for 2 hours. Yes, I doubled Manda and yes she tried to ride it; need I say more?!?!?! Put it this way, Manda won't be getting a motorbike license anytime soon!!! Off to Zadar and the Plitvicka Lakes National Park to walk off some of the food we've stored while in Turkey!! Should be fun!
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