The bus to Mostar took longer than expected as Bosnian border/passport checks were convoluted and painfully slow. Arrived at the dumpy bus depot in the afternoon under a blazing sun. It only took a second to decide to hop in the car of a woman holding a picture of a decent looking hostel near Old Town. It turned out to be a spacious room with a great view of the surrounding hills (that looked a lot like Southern California foothills) and a balcony overlooking a shady lawn. The owners gave us great insider information about where to eat and what to order and they were right on! We found the tiny restaurant and feasted on Cevapi (tender pork and beef sausage) stuffed inside a homemade pita and loaded with onions and Ajvar (relish made out of eggplant, garlic, peppers, tomatoes) and local beer. Turkish coffee and baklava for desert!

Next day we explored the Old Town area which included The Old Bridge (Stari Most) built in 1566, Mostar's most famous landmark. The bridge was destroyed in 1993 during the Bosnian War but was rebuilt using the same technique, materials, and pieces of the original bridge. Didn't get to witness any of the famous dives from it but we did visit "The Bridgekeepers", a workplace for divers and bridge maintenance workers. Inside was a large photo collection of the divers in action and a book with the signatures of all the outsiders who have jumped off.

Our hostel owner took several of us on a "Bosnian War Tour" next morning, warning us in advance that it would be based on his own memories of the war and would be graphic at times. Our guide, Zeka, was very knowledgeable about Bosnian history and all aspects of the war. He was wounded himself and lost half of his highschool classmates and several family members during the war that killed 100,000 people, 65% of them Bosnian Muslims. We visited several bombed buildings that remain exactly the same as when the war ended (hotels, shopping mall, office buildings) and some that were rebuilt (school, town hall) thanks to donations from the U.S. and countries all over the world. We also visited a war cemetery where many of the casualties are buried and the town center (former front line) that is deserted as it is the dividing line between the eastern Croatian National side of town and the western Bosnian Muslim side. The new town hall in the city center remains deserted because each side of the city has it's own facilites. The city remains one of the most ethnically segregated cities in the world and more than once reminded us of Northern Ireland.

Sarajevo

We had a hostel lined up by our previous hostel but they didn't show at the bus station so we were forced to take an expensive taxi to the city center. Next day in my "Sarajevo Navigator" I read "not to take the black, Mercedes taxi's driven by big guys." That was our guy! Got lucky and found a really nice hostel on the main shopping street, Ferhadija. The best part was that we were the only guests. Checked out Cathedral of Jesus' Sacred Heart Church and tried to see other churches, mosques and synagogues but most were closed or charged entrance fees. Our timing was apparently off so we gave up and spent the next three days catching up on shopping, laundry, errands and postcards. Checked out the Turkish quarter, Bascarsija, that's famous for it's gold, silver, and copper jewelry. We ended up spending most of our time eating the amazing food of Bosnia (Turkish influence) such as dolmas, cevapcici, bosanski lonac, bamija, and pljeskavica. Bakery items were heaven also.