Merry Christmas all

Well, I know that I am a little bit behind in my blog updates. The last month has been, shall we say unorthodox. With accommodations that dont have internet (or internet running at 1995 pace), a Spanish air traffic controllers strike, a 'near death experience' at sea in a Mediterranean storm that made us miss Egypt (well, near death if you ask the Yanks on board) and the first time ever that snow hit the U.K causing airport closures, we are finally in a place were blogs can continue. So, watch this space, more updates will arrive when I get more organised. Until then, we wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Just up the road from Montenegro is Bosnia and Herzegovina. To get there we had to go via Croatia and I think the border guards are so used to people going through this small piece of Croatia to get somewhere else that they just glanced at our passports, pretty much just to make sure we had one I think, and sent us on our way. The drive up to Mostar in southern Bosnia was spectacular. The road followed a river through gorges and forests which meant that it was hard to keep two eyes on the road and not wander through the scenery. Mostar itself is famous for its bridge and even more famous for having it blown up. During the war, the bridge was unceremoniously destroyed by Im not sure who. The whole thing was captured on film. I cant help wondering why an army would blow up a monument like this bridge, KNOWING they will only have to rebuild it again later. It is a small bridge so it is not really strategic, you cerainly couldnt get a tank across it. It is the main drawcard in the city and really, is the only drawcard. Mostar is not a bad little town, but if it wasnt for the bridge, I dont know if people would come. There is a charming little old town that has a real Turkish feel, something that is common throughout the Balkans, having been under Ottoman rule for so long. Actually it was rather disappointing that the area was so like Turkey, since we spent a month haemorrhaging money in Turkey, we could have just come to Bosnia. In the old town here is a small bazaar selling toursitic trinkets, mostly made of copper since the town was fmaous a long time ago for its coppersmiths. But more interestingly was the trinkets made from things found from the war such as artillery shells, engraved with the bridge. It was a good way to bring about some good from something that wasnt.
Moving on, we made our way to the capital, Sarajevo. The city still has the scars from the siege which lasted over three years. It is hard to find a building that does not have bullet holes or shrapnel holes in it. It is a constant reminder of what can happen and I dont think people are in a hurry to paper over the cracks. The city also has a Turkish influence and feel about is, with numerous mosques and a large undercover bazaar. The best influence though is in the food. Cevapcici's have their origins in Turkish food but have been adopted by the people here, and they have done a very good job with them too. It is so simple, just small, rectangular minced meat sausages with a round piece of bread and some chopped onion. You get 10 for about $2 and it is so good and the city is famous for them. Apart from the food, the main other thing Sarajevo is famous for is the war, and maybe the Olympics, and of course being the place where WWI started with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. We found the spot where the Serbian Gavrilo Princip shot the Archduke and were surprised to find there was no plaque or memorial. Apparently there was a golden imprint of Princip's feet but that was discarded when the recent war started, because he was Serbian. When the city was under siege in the recent war, it was almost completely surrounded apart from a small area with access to the mountains. The U.N took control of the airport so to get resources like food, water and medical supplies in to the city, the people dug a tunnel 800m long and 1.6m high. Goods were brought in through the narrow stretch of 'free Bosnia' in the mountains and then transported into the city t=via the tunnel. Part of the tunnel still exists and the lady who owned and ran our hostel took us on a tour of the tunnel. She actually used the tunnel during the war so she had first hand experience of how it worked. It was good to see it still there, although not all of it since it went under the main runway. It is hard to know who was on the right and wrong side during this war, since all sides did some pretty ordinary things, but the Serbians do seem to be the main antagonists. So, lets go to Serbia.

Montenegro

Montenegro wil be the next big thing in Europe if our visit is anything to go by. Some stunning scenery even at this time of year. It looks like it is mostly set up for summer, and Germans, but I think once the word gets out the rest of Europe and the world will be there soon. All it will take is a cruise ship to visit and it will become as popular as Dubrovnik. The people are really frienldy and willing to chat to anybody. They have some nice old town cities and fortresses and as I said the scenery is its main drawcard. It wasnt as cheap as we expected but that is probably due to it using the Euro. Any country that has adopted the Euro has gone from dirt cheap to reasonable overnight, which is quite a big jump. We stayed in a locals house, with an old fishing boat captain who rents out his rooms. As soon as he arrived, he had us drinking his home made alcohol and we were having a chat. A very friendly guy and typical of old sailors, with lots to say and lots of opinions. They must have a lot of time to think out at sea. I think I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story. If you think you would like to go to Montenegro, get there soon because it wont be like this for long I think.