36. BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA

Before traveling to Bosnia & Herzegovina I arrived in Poland and Germany after more than a year in South Asia and the Middle East. I stayed a couple of weeks in my home town where I had a great stay spending time with family and friends. Going home for a few weeks a year is always a highlight and the best way to charge empty travel batteries.

My next plan was to fly to Tuzla and slowly travel back home via land with plenty of stops on the way. The city of Tuzla was my first step into Bosnia and a good place to get used to the region. I always liked the Balkans: Warm & social people, stunning landscapes, an abundance of amazing cafés and tons of historical places.

The country is actually divided into two entities: The Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina (with a majority Bosnian and Croatian population) and the Republika Srpska (with a majority Serbian population). All of that comes with a mix of Muslims, Catholics and Orthodox and makes up a very interesting combination with very friendly people from all groups.

I spent my nearly 2 weeks in Tuzla, Sarajevo, Mostar, Banja Luka and two villages in between. Every single place had beautiful landscapes, good food, friendly people and nice city centers to offer. Historically Sarajevo and Mostar were the most interesting places (recent Yugoslav Wars and WWI). Mostar has a stunning (rebuilt) old bridge and the highest tourism in the country. Sarajevo is amazing for hikes around and learning about interesting but cruel history. In Tuzla, you can have a bath in salt springs and just enjoy the calm atmosphere of the small city. Banja Luka was actually my favorite of the cities with its picturesque surroundings, super comfortable climate and pretty center.

Another highlight when traveling between places in the country is the bus and train rides. They mostly follow scenic rivers and stunning mountains. A 5-hour bus ride feels like 30 minutes with plenty of amazing landscapes out of the window.

Of course, I also met amazing people who I hiked with, slept at their homes or just had a coffee with. Many locals actually speak some German (after working as a Gastarbeiter in Austria or Germany) and I was very happy to connect with some old folks and learn about their life stories. Especially Jelena, Denis and Aleksandra helped me a lot with learning about history and life here, thank you so much for that!

About the food: If you are a vegetarian or vegan you are gonna have a hard time! :D Meat is part of every single dish. Even veggies or soups are either boiled with some meat or meat-based.

At the beginning of this trip, I added two important things to my setup: Camping equipment (tent, sleeping bag & mat) to spend more time in nature and a new Panasonic Lumix digital camera to (hopefully) improve the quality of my photos.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is amazing and I will come back for sure!

3 Highlights:

- Learning about Yugo history in Sarajevo and hiking the hills around the city

- Wandering around beautiful Mostar and sitting next to the Old Bridge to watch people jumping

- Banja Luka, the headquarter of the Republic Srpska

Visited places in Bosnia & Herzegovina

New setup

A Muslim graveyard in Tuzla

Pannonian Salt Lake, Tuzla

Ćevapi

The building I couchsurfed in Sarajevo

Sarajevo from above

Best Seller jerseys in Sarajevo

Sebilj

Latin Bridge in Sarajevo, where Archduke Franz Ferdinand got assassinated which ultimately led to WWI

The streets of Sarajevo

I think I never drank that much coffee in my life as in the last 12 days

Relegation matches, here we go again. In 2019 when I left Germany I told my father that I will stop traveling as soon as HSV is coming back to Bundesliga. Still on the road.. Please, Hamburg, let me go home!