Oh Bosnia

We're currently working on a great spot in Croatia. For hours, I've been watching these kitesurfers and I'm envious that I can't do it (and too cheap to learn). Now we're opening the wine and I'll tell you about our short journey through Bosnia.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, what can I say. Great people, with not such a great mentality when it comes to garbage and cleanliness in their own country. But let's start from the beginning. On Friday, August 21st, we drove from green Slovenia to the eastern hinterland of Croatia. We were expecting a dry landscape, half-finished houses, closed shops, and trash on many corners. A contrast compared to the richest country of the former Yugoslav countries. After about 1.5 hours, we reached the border to Bosnia (the reason for this route was to avoid tolls, which are really expensive in the hotspots in Croatia). In Bosnia itself, there was initially no difference in the landscape, but there was more going on in the streets, and the people seemed more awake. We found a place to sleep near a lake. After asking a nearby homeowner via gestures if our chosen spot was okay, we stayed. While we were cooking, two Bosnians returned from fishing. It didn't take long for one of them to pull out his homemade apple brandy and offer us a few sips. Luckily, we had bought pear brandy at our last camping spot, so we had a good base. Nenad (in German: Günther) could speak a few scraps of German, so we spent about 1.5 hours drinking schnapps in front of our cars.

The next morning, I wasn't feeling so well and we spent the rest of the day in the car. At noon, we made a quick stop at a lake that was not only a tourist hotspot, but also used by locals. We didn't really want to swim there, there was trash, glass, or barbecue leftovers everywhere. However, the drive to our next spot offered a change of scenery. Surrounded by mountains and wide valleys, the southwest of Bosnia seems to be a hidden gem, which is why I would like to take another look at it on the way back, including the city of Mostar.

Now we're enjoying Croatia a little more, after leaving the mass tourism on the coast behind us. There's also a beach bar here, so we probably won't continue to Montenegro tomorrow, depending on how good the Mojitos are.

By the way, we found quite a few edible things in the wilderness in Croatia. Like figs (a green variety that doesn't turn violet, and you can tell they're ripe when a sweet juice comes out and they're very soft), common fennel (good for making tea), and Basti even stole some rosemary from the hotel garden today (not really wilderness, I know).