Explorer Genes

(Aug. 7-15) After our five weeks in Sarajevo, we decided to stop for eight nights in Bosnia & Herzegovina’s second largest city, and the capital of the Republika Srpska en route to Slovenia, (which is where we are now.)

Having never even ever heard of Banja Luka, population 128k, we had few expectations. From a living perspective, we actually preferred the setting and layout of the city to Sarajevo thanks to its tree-lined pathways, subdued pace and walkable thoroughfares. It feels much more Central European than Balkan…unsurprisingly more like the vibe we got in Northern Serbia.

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(Aug. 12) Just when you think Jajce can’t get any more enchanting, about 5k upriver the medieval millers boosted it up a notch by plopping down a type of site we had never seen before….The Mlinčići Water Mills, which remarkably date back to 1562.

Their sole purpose was surprisingly not for social media hits, but to house a millstone and water-powered mechanism for grinding grain. Water rushing beneath the mill turned a wheel, which turned the grinding stone above. Pretty ingenious for something requiring essentially no fuel or electricity.

The water mills are further accentuated by an area featuring 50 shades of blue (and green), inviting plunge pools, a plethora of tumbling waterfalls and a special birthday lunch next to some of them…

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We certainly didn’t get to explore as many small towns or natural attractions as we had originally anticipated during our six-week stay in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Thus, for our last and coincidentally my birthday week, it became the top priority to seek out its wonder as we headed to the charming town of Jajce from Banja Luka. This was after a failed attempt to rent a car on Monday, from which we reluctantly opted for the lofty bus fare and surrendered some of the other destinations that were planned for the road trip.

The result? Worth every BAM! (Bosnian Mark)

As if plucked from the pages of a storybook, Jajce is ridiculously picturesque.

It features a fortress perched atop a hill. Its imposing fortress wall, walkable and burly, gracefully tumbles to the river below. Within its underground sits haunting catacombs, while pleasant tree-lined paths drift through the landscape. You will also find towering mountains of brightly colored gelato, and a fanciful teal-shaded ribbon flowing through, which ultimately cascades over a 20-meter waterfall in the heart of town, plunging into the Vrbas River below.

But what truly sets this area apart is its unique feature…traditional medieval watermills….undoubtedly the icing on the cake. We’ll save another post for these remarkable structures.

The final selling point? Not too crowded. Yet. Even in August. But this area is undeniably on its way to becoming a future Mostar. Our only regret is not staying a couple nights as we traveled between Sarajevo and Banja Luka.

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(August 7) About a week ago we headed from Bosnia & Herzegovina’s first biggest city, Sarajevo, to its second biggest city of Banka Luka, which feels like a whole other country thanks to to its position as the capital of the Republic of Srpska.

Now, one might think going from Big City 1 to Big City 2 should be straightforward and because this is Europe, you could just hop on a train or something.

Or “something,” quickly became “pricey bus,” because the few train options don’t seem to go from one section of the country to another and no one posted a Bla Bla car ride option either. We’ve been trying and have yet to succeed in using this terrific app in the Balkans…

Anyhow, we were able to reserve our tickets in advance through the Centrotrans website, which fortunately had one morning option to leave from the Central Sarajevo station rather than the farwaway land of the “east” station. For the five hour ride, which left 30 minutes late, it cost $63/two tickets + $2.30 for our tiny backpacks which apparently cost the same as the behemoth roller bags some travelers have that could fit dead bodies inside. But at least we didn’t solely get ripped off this time.

In hindsight, after learning how challenging and expensive it is to day trip in the region, and for us to attain a daily rental car in Banja Luka, we realized we planned this all wrong. We wish we had instead taken the Sarajevo-Banja Luka bus to stay over in destinations along the way…two nights in Travnik, two in Jajce and four in Banja Luka.

But maybe someone else can learn from our error….

The silver lining is, parts of this drive are absolutely stunning and gave us a marvelous tease from the dirty bus window of all the parts of Bosnia & Herzegovina we’d be leaving on the table. A country we probably won’t be exploring any further UNLESS it’s with an extended car rental….and probably a tent.

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We’ve arrived to Bosnia & Herzegovina’s second biggest city of Banja Luka (185k) where we’ll be based for a quick week. Though there’s not a lot of traditional sightseeing activities that draw many tourists, we enjoyed visiting the free riverside Kastel Fortress yesterday, which is the oldest historical monument in the city.

This rare multi-layered archaeological site is actually kinda fascinating. The first traces of settlements crazily date back to the Paleolithic era, which further developed through the Neolithic era, Bronze Age, and the Roman conquest of the Illyrian territories.

The fortress began to be constructed more intensively and adopt its present day physique during the Ottoman occupation in 1574-1588 when it grew into a real fortified city.

Its location was strategically excellent: it sits on the left bank of the Vrbas, right where the smaller Crkvena River meets the area. At one point, waterways around the fortress effectively made it an island, adding another layer of natural defense.

Today it also features a beautiful stone walking path along the river which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Well, my bday road trip today…as well as other things (see photo 9)….were unfortunately a bit of a bust. 😅

In order to sidestep the challenging and expensive bus times we’ve encountered, Greg looked everywhere in the center of Banja Luka for an available car rental, and with no luck, reserved at the airport an hour’s commute away.

Unfortunately, Google’s local bus schedule was, once again, wildly inaccurate and this time, never came. After flagging down a taxi who wanted to charge $40 for a 25-minute ride, we decided to bag it and come up with another plan for another day.

All that said, Greg, and the wonderful Petrušić family we are staying with at 3M Studio more than made up for the disappointment.

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We’re grateful our time in Sarajevo has come to a wrap.

While we enjoyed our brief five days in 2019, after nearly five weeks this visit, we realized quickly it wasn’t the best fit for a long-term stay for us. It was a reasonable choice for cooler weather and medical reasons, however.

Here’s a look into our daily life while here…

It’s been a more challenging month of trying to establish running routes and routines, but we both found a route that included a stretch along the Miljacka River. With that…. regular trots across one of the most iconic historical sites in European history….the Latin Bridge.

At first glance, it might not be very interesting, but this in fact the site World War I began.

On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb, and several other "freedom fighters" planned to assassinate the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, who was in Sarajevo on business, as a political act.

The story goes: Princip was actually the last in line in this firing squad because "he was the worst shot." Princip's co-conspirator (the "best" shot) first tossed a gr***de at Ferdinand's car.

The timing was off and it ended up injuring a group of civilians instead. As planned, he gulped a cyanide pill, which was expired and didn't work so he jumped in the river-which is comically about 3' deep.

The would-be assassin was obviously scooped up quickly by the police and everyone thought the show was over as Ferdinand went off to his meeting.

Princip went to the museum on the top right corner, which was then a cafe to have a bite to eat (because even evil assassins need lunch).

While eating, Princip couldn't believe his luck when right in front of him on the bridge, Ferdinand's driver had made a wrong turn and ended up stalled in front of the cafe. Princip abandoned his sandwich and grabbed his opportunity to pull out his pistol, and shot Ferdinand point-blank, along with his wife Sofia (an accident).

In the final hours of our time in Sarajevo, we finally managed to sneak into some genuine nature at one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s many spectacular waterfalls….Skakavac. This half-day hike north of the city is an easy stroll through the woods for someone with a car, as evidenced by the multiple European license plates at the trailhead.

For us, however, it was a more challenging endeavor clocking in at 16k, a bus ride, and a shadeless and kinda miserable jaunt to and from the trailhead.

We’re still so glad we did it.

The grounding effect of Mother Earth was undeniably necessary after our time in the bustling city, which we’re eager to escape.

And, it served as an excellent training ground for what’s to come in the next couple of weeks.

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With scars of the 1990s’ war still literally draping many walls, Sarajevo is a city that exudes resilience at every turn mixed with the evolution of new life on every corner. Alongside ample war museums, “Sarajevo Roses,” and bullet-pocked buildings, it’s bursting with trendy cafes and bars, crowds of tourists, culture and events, and an unusual blend of easts meet west.

Rather than the entire city feeling blended, like Istanbul, however, it’s a quite striking distinction between the main city and the seductive maze of narrow cobblestone streets found in its Baščaršija (pronounced BASH-char-SHEE-ya). This historic Ottoman marketplace dating from 1462 was the pulsing heartbeat of the city back then, which still holds true today.

Here’s some captures from both sides of this city…