Leaving Sarajevo I took the train to Mostar. One of the nicest train journeys I’ve taken. The train snakes along the sides of the mountains, through tunnels and along viaducts with beautiful views out the windows of turquoise lakes, lush valleys and forested peaks.

Mostar was another place I was really blown away by. As per usual I arrived knowing little about the place and was very pleasantly surprised. In fact first impressions were not great actually. You leave the station and walk along Tito Avenue to the main town which I later found out was the worst road in the the city. The street is still dominated by derelict buildings, still ruined from the war. As you approach the old town however you are greeted by narrow cobbled streets and Ottoman style buildings scattered either side of the river with the famous bridge ‘Stari Most’ connecting the two sides. Despite most of the old town (in fact most of the city) having been rebuilt since its destruction in the war you’d be hard pushed to notice.

A huge amount of the city has been rebuilt in the past couple of decades, but there are wrecked buildings everywhere with bullet holes and extensive damage. It’s hard to escape the past.

Whilst the city has seen peace it is still divided with Bosnian Croats in the west side and Bosniaks on the East and tensions still exist. Žica, the hostel owner who was shot twice during the war at the age of 17 and has half of his high school class buried in the cemetery, explained that the person who shot him in all likelihood still lives in the city and he may well walk past him in the street every day.

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At the centre of the old town is the famous bridge, the Stari Most. I was told Mostar means ‘keepers of the bridge’ and to be a true Mostarian you have take part in the ancient tradition of diving off the bridge into the icy waters below. It’s a 25 metre jump which is incredibly dangerous and usually only attempted by the experienced locals who are part of the famous dive club. You can try this as a tourist if you pay and do a day’s training from the 10 metre practice board. You have to be ‘signed off’ before giving the big one a go. I heard many stories of people breaking backs, limbs and an American who died a couple of years ago. In fact recently someone broke both their knees. Apparently you enter the water at over 70km/h. I was not tempted.

Watching the locals dive is quite the site.

The saddest chapter of the city’s history was when following an artillery bombardment from a Croatian tank the bridge was destroyed, disappearing into the river. The one you see was restored and completed in 2004.

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Whilst I was in Mostar I took a tour to some of the sites in the countryside around:

The beautiful and pleasantly icy cold waterfalls at Kravice (it was around 40°C)

The castle and fortress at Pocitelj – a stopping off point for travellers seeking safety

The Monastery at Blagaj Tekke.

The view from Hum hill overlooking Mostar

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This was surprising. Following the war they built a park between the East and the West to symbolise peace and coming together. They wanted a statue of an important figure who would look over Mostar. The authorities couldn’t agree on anyone and so it went to the people who voted for Bruce Lee! Haha