Getting to Mostar

Our bus from Dubrovnik left on time (pretty much all of our buses were punctual). The scenery was breathtaking - more coastline and islands just across sparkling-blue water. To get to Bosnia, we had to first leave Croatia and enter a small strip (about 10 miles long) of Bosnia coast. Our passports were checked, but not stamped.

Luckily, I knew this was going to happen and the man next to us spoke French. He was able to explain why we were stopping (coffee/cigarette break) and for how long. Mom made a wise-crack about wanting a Snickers bar (we were at a cafe and mini-market), and we were both shocked to find some in the strangely well-stocked market. I also found cookies from the UK and a few products imported from Japan.

After our Bosnian rest stop, we crossed the boarder again (this time back to Croatia), but still no stamps. Finally, we crossed a third time as we finally entered Bosnia proper. However, the boarder guard did not seem to think it necessary to stamp our passports. Thankfully, I was able to use French to ask the man across the aisle to ask the immigration guy for a stamp. I wanted to make sure that when we left Bosnia there would be no problems.

We arrived in Mostar and were greeted by the women from Hostel Nina (Nina and her mother). They offered us a room for a good price. I had originally wanted to stay near to the bus station because I figured that would be easy when we wanted to head to Sarajevo. However, Nina said they would drive us to and from the hostel, located closer to the center of town and the old bridge. Ordinarily, I would never chose a place to stay from a verbal description at a bus station, however, I had seen the place online and knew it was decent.

We had to share a bathroom, but it was very clean and we had access to free internet, so everything worked out.

In the car on the way to the hostel, Nina told us her story. She's 26-years-old and has just finished her law degree at the university in Mostar. However, there are no jobs there, so she and her mother are renovating their house to turn even more rooms into guest rooms. Because Nina speaks English well, she is able to communicate with guests. During the war, between 1994 and 1995, she and her mother went to Norway as refugees. Her father stayed behind in Mostar to take care of the house. We never really figured out what he did for work because everyone seemed to be home in the middle of the day.