Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

monster at mostar

Posted by Hippobean at 11:03 PM
The drive to Mostar along the Neretva river was again filled with scenic mountains on one side of the road, absolutely gorgeous, picturesque villages, and the river on the other side. Our second most scenic drive on this trip. The Hippo was stuck on the window looking out the whole way. Alen played us the Bosnian folk songs, the Sevdah, slow tempo and intensely emotional melodies, that sounded like Portuguese Fado. One particular by Kemal Monteno called Sarajevo Moja (1995) was a heart stealer. Absolutely need to get his CD. he unfortunately passed away with a weak heart in 2015.

Our hotel was just a few steps from the Stari Most, the iconic old bridge at Mostar, and the entrance the old city. The bridge was stunning and Small Snowie absolutely went ecstatic seeing the bridge and demanded photos with it. The lights went on early in the evening, and Small Snowie took yet more photos with it. D called him the monster at Mostar and T said 'there he is'.

Our boutique hotel is a Comfortable hotel ( which means slightly better than a standard hotel) and my room on the second floor had a grand view of the mosques and minarets and roofs of the old city. snowie again sat in front of window to look out at Mostar old city. couldnt be more euphoric.


For lunch i had 2 long sticks of beef and lamb Će Ćevapi the bosnian Ražnjići (shishkebab) on a mountain of lettuce and onion, tomatoes and cucumbers, hot peppers and goat cheese, with Ajvar, the famous eggplant and garlic red peppers sauce, all on a flat bread. It was absolutely out of this world. The TimaIrma, a national restaurant that served traditional Bosnian food, was in the old town and we had the loft all for ourselves. When the BBQ started, the loft was filled with smoke but the AC was blowing also, so we survived. The waitress (family owner) was funny and insisted we each doubled our drinks which were free. We had heck of a fun time lunching here. After lunch we visited a local mosque (not much to see) and the Biscevic House a Turkish house open to visitors, with very colorful floor carpets and nice sitting rooms with decorated cushions and little tea tables with gorgeous tea/coffee sets). The rest of the day I simply painted town. I walked all cobble stoned streets of the old town, lined with restaurants and souvenirs shops on both sides. Bought quite a few souvenirs here. Crossed the newer small bridge over the narrow Radobolja river and this area was quiet and the river narrow, creating a serene part of town that reminded me of a place from long ago, but its name and exact location now escaped me. I paused a moment for recollection. crossed the famous most photographed old bridge that connected the 2 sides of the Neretva river, into the east side, the moslem side of the old town. The parabolic bridge was entirely made of stone, the wide curved steps going up and down it were slippery and demanded a bit of careful effort. The iconic bridge is picturesque and the views all around simply gorgeous. East the Velež mountain and west the Hum Hill. We had wine tasting at a local wine shop, with local cheese (goat and cow) and french bread with eggplant and garlic dips. The white was bland but the red was smooth. I had wanted to get one of their wine glasses but they refused to sell. evening came and the light went on on the building and bridges. young students congregated in the area south of the illuminated old bridge and the evening was filled with their happy carefree chatting. I stood there, a little above them and simply admire the bridge. So picturesque. Absolutely digged this town. Never seen one so pretty and intimate despite the horde of tourists.


Mostar photos:

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