Bosnia and Herzegovina - Country of history and heritage

We spent too little time in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 4 days and 4 nights in total. Because of the geography of Croatia and our desire to get back to the coast so as not to miss Dubrovnik, the pearl of the Adriatic.

A friend joined us for over a week with his bike. He was rather light with his carbon frame and his backpacking bags, luckily, because he had only 8 days to reach Albania, where he was taking a return-home-ferry

After picking up Lucas in Split and stocking up on food, we left the coast to ascend all day the mountains overlooking the coast: this is where Bosnia and Herzegovina begun!

So far, all our borders we had to cross a pass, this time is not any different, but being accompanied by our friend Lucas, we were more encouraged! He gave us wings.

It was incredibly hot and the road was very steep. We reached the border after a final climb in full sun at 5 p.m.

A few formalities at the border and our first stamp: finally we were outside the European community! The currency also has changed and we went from the Croatian Kuna to the "Convertible Mark". First in a long list of Austro-Hungarian heritage. Then we got down to Lake Busko where we pitched the tent watching the sunset and a well-deserved swim. We were completely alone. Simply beautiful.

We aimed for Mostar and crossed Herzegovina to the south, because indeed, we were not in the Bosnian part, which is further north. The country is complex and wants to be a mix between Croats, Bosnians and Serbs.

Meeting the locals who invited us for a beer and later to pitch the tent in their garden (thank you!), it was obvious to us: the locals drink Croatian beers, speak Croatian, have the Croatian flag in their garden and support Croatian football team!

We were told that the standard of living was also quite high in the Herzegovina region, much higher than among Bosnians inhabitants. Here everyone has german cars and many have notions of German, some of them even lived there (second heritage).

Finally it was in Mostar where we met the most diversity, a mixture of the 3 communities, visible even at the level of the religious buildings. We appreciated the historic side of the city, which still bears the marks of the battles, 30 years ago. The iconic bridge that spans the river was a physical symbol of the connection between two peoples, separated by a river. It was dynamited during the war before being rebuilt identically. But we were definitely not alone - hords of tourists - and the contrast was pretty strong with the days spent alone on the roads of the backcountry.

We left the old town in the direction of Dubrovnik, taking the Ciro railway: an old railway that linked the two cities before the war. It was Lucas who found this path for us and it was perfect, far from the traffic... at least on the first day! The second part was more complicated, the path was no longer asphalted and climbs. After 200m, Lucas had his first puncture… a sharp pebble. We continued and push the bikes for several kilometers. It was very hard and hot, but we were rewarded with stunning ancient tunnels and old bridges.

Finally we escaped to join the asphalt road and push until 4 p.m. and the port city of Neum, where we devoured a local dish.

The town of Neum is an attraction in itself: the only coastal town in the country, it is supposed to give access to the sea for trade, but clearly the coast has turned into a jet-set and luxury hotels have flourished. No sea trade here!

We slept on the beach in front of the marinas before leaving the country to re-enter Croatia, towards Dubrovnik! The construction of a huge viaduct should allow Croatia this summer to connect the enclave of Dubrovnik without going through the neighboring country. A pharaonic project.

We loved Bosnia-Herzegovina and the kindness of the people. In the end we only discovered Herzegovina where the inhabitants and customs are very similar to Croatian. For the discovery of the Bosnian people, we will come back!

A big thank you to Lucas for accompanying us on this trip!