Unesco Mostar Old Bridge / Pretty Bosnian with my travel companions
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17 - 27 Jun 2008 11-days Bosnia Hungary (Extension of Eastern Europe Trip)
I led a 17 pax group on a 19 days Eastern European trip that covered Slovakia, Poland, Czek Republic and Austria. 7 members signed up for another 9 days extension to Croatia, following my personal trip there in Jun07. After the Croatia trip, i travel with two members for another 8 days, traveling overland from Dubrovnik Croatia through Bosnia, Budapest Hungary and finally Vienna for our flight home. Like Croatia, we stayed mostly in apartments and cooked many of our meals.
Day 1 Tue Jun 17 Dubrovnik to Mostar - Group of 8 pax ended the 9 days Croatia trip in Dubrovnik. Group reduce to 3 pax and we. We took the 8AM bus 145km 4hr to Mostar. Although the distance is near, much time was taken for vehicle border clearance and passport checks. The bus also stopped at every town to pick up and drop passengers. We learn later that this is the norm as bus is used for town to town bus travel. We arrived relatively early at 12AM and was offered accommodation by Maida who is based at the main bus station in her apartment. It was a nice apartment and we had use of her kitchen to prepare our meals. Conveniently located some 15min from Maida's Apartment is the famous Old Bridge of Mostar and the surrounding area, which is a Unesco site. Here one finds a couple of Turkish mosques, legacy of the Ottoman empire in an almost completely Muslim area but there are also an almost equal number of Christians located on the side of the bridge.
Day 2 Wed Jun 18 Medjigorje Sarajevo - We assumed the bus from Mostar to Medjigorge would start from the main bus station but there was another bus station on the Christian side of the river. It took us a bit of time asking directions from a number of locals and by the time we got to the station, we had missed our 630AM No 48 Bus. Fortunately there was another private bus going at 9AM and so we took time to breakfast at a nearby café. It took 45min to cover the 36km trip. Medjigorge is an important pilgrimage site for Christians because of apparitions of Mother Mary, who first appeared to 6 local residents on top of a nearby hill. The 6 also claimed that they saw the Apparition on several occassions. According to the local brochure, some 20 million visitors have been here since the first Apparition. We return to Mostar on the 1215AM No 48 yellow bus in time for a quick lunch before our 3PM bus to Sarajevo 135km 2:30hr. We were met at Sarajevo bus station by Jamal, wife of Amra. We stayed in her very pleasant apartment who was recommended by Maida of Mostar.
Day 3 Thu Jun 19 Travnik Day Trip - The medieval town of Travnik is recommended as a day trip out of Sarajevo. Although the distance is only some 90km, the typical bus journey took a good 2hr. We started at 730AM arriving at 930AM. As the return buses are at 1215AM or 345PM or later, we opted for a quick look around. The local market was very busy with a good mix of multi-religious Bosnians going about their business in this small town place. We then proceed to the medieval Turkish castle, which was the seat of the Turkish viziers who ruled Bosnia from 1699 to 1851. This small castle is sited on a hill with good views of Travnik. The local specialty is the trout from the rivers that flowed around Travnik.
Recreational Lake and Mosque in Travnik / World biggest synagogue in BudapestDay 4 Fri Jun 20 Vrelo Brosne & Jarcedoli in Sarajevo - From the Bascarsija (Turkish Quarter), Vrelo Brosne is 12km away on Tram 3 to the last stop Ilidza. Purchased a day ticket but many newsstand did not carry this ticket probably due to lack of demand. Its another 10min to the beginning of Vrelo Brosne, which is tree-line road/path of 3km that leads to a series of natural springs and streams and a good-sized park, full of locals enjoying the sun. Tram back to Bascarsila and then took a small local bus up to Jarcedoli, a 15min drive up to the top of a high hill overlooking Sarajevo. It's a favorite spot for locals to enjoy views of Sarajevo.
Day 5 Sat Jun 21 Sarajevo Tuzla - Today we planned to leave Bosnia. Tram at 830AM to bus station but no bus to Tuzla at 930AM. Instead we took the 1030AM and arrived 3hr later at 130PM. Of course we missed the 1PM daily bus to Osijek Croatia, from where we were going to cross into Hungary. Stayed at Pansion Kipovi near the bridge called Most Kipovi. Interesting local market with cheap food shops inside the small Old town area. Also worth visiting is the Panonsko Jezero, which are open aired salt lakes surrounded by graveled beach. Crowds of of mostly Muslim Bosnians crowded in swimsuits and bikinis enjoying the sun and "sea". A good sized mosque is sited some 30 meters from the water's edge.
Day 6 Sun Jun 22 Tuzla to Osijek Croatia to Pecs Hungary - Morning in Tuzla spend browsing the local market but being a weekend, many shops and most eateries were closed. Ate brunch of burek (rolled dough with fillings) at a fast food place in the old town area. Left Tuzla at 1PM for the 3:30hr journey including a short immigration stop at the Bosnia/Croatia border town os Zapanska. At Osijek, learnt that there are no buses going into Pecs or Budapest Hungary. Direct trains run only at 750AM and 115PM to Pecs. Instead we opted for an indirect 6PM for a short 35min ride to Beli Manastir still in Croatia. From this small border town, we boarded another small two coach Hungarian train for a 2hr ride to Pecs, arriving at 9PM. We had dinner before walking to Diana Hotel, some 30 min away.
Medugorge Apparition Hill / Travnik MarketDay 7 Mon Jun 23 Pecs then Budapest - half day visiting Pecs. then to Budapest in the afternoon on the 355PM train 3hr. The early Christian tombs of Pecs are a Unesco site. Pecs has an impressive collection of medieval buildings but the Unesco listed Christian and Roman ruins are really nothing much to shout. Probably it has more historical and cultural importance. Lunch in the town square before going back to Hotel Diana to pick up our luggage and head to the train station. At the train station we were approached by Xander, who offered his old apartment locaed in Buda side. We visited a hostel hoping to find better accomodation but the standard was similar to our current apartmnet.
Day 8 Tue Jun 24 Budapest - From Buda, it's a long walk to the Info center in town. First stop was the Great Synagogue (Dohany utcai Zsinagoga), the biggest that I have ever seen. Hungary lost 600,000 Jews during the Holocaust. Today Hungary has the third highest community of Jews in the world after England and France. We then did the Millennium Walk which ended up at City Park and Szechenyi Spa. With hundreds of locals, we opted to bath here. Built in 1909, this is the largest spa of its kind in Europe. Yellow line Metro is the second oldest in the world after the London subway.
Budapest Chain Bridge / Hot Spa pools in BudapestDay 9 Wed Jun 25 Budapest - Second full day Budapest. Short walk to Buda Castle and the "town-within-a-town" with most of the medieval buildings in good condition. Visited the central Mathias Church with good views of Pest across the not-so-blue Danube River. The centuries old Labirintus is a multi-storey cave complex sited under the castle. A longer walk across the Chain bridge back to the Jewish area for lunch before visiting the Market Hall - a huge building housing a vibrant market of fruits, vegetables, meats as well as numerous stalls of clothing and souvenirs.
Day 10 Thu Jun 26 Vienna Dubai - We took the underground metro to Nepliget International Bus Station 30min. It's 3hr and this direct bus goes conviniently to Vienna International Airport. We flew Vienna 330PM- Dubai 1055PM. -
Day 11 Fri Jun 27 Dubai KUL- Long transit time 11hr in Dubai. At 955AM departed Dubai, arrived KUL 910PM.
Local Bosniaks / View of Sarajevo from Hill| Home |
