2024 Balkans Overland Adventure, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina...

Yesterday, was a very long day… flying from Athens to Sarajevo with a stop in Istanbul, the flights were good and on time. We arrived in Sarajevo after dark…checked into our hotel and went out for a short walk on a hunt for Diet Coke…being in Europe my new drink of choice is Coke Zero. We were up bright and early so I did a walkabout this morning before we started our first Balkan adventure. Our guide, Adnan picked us up at the hotel and we left Sarajevo for Travnik and Jayce. We were amazed at the scenic beauty of Bosnia…the charming villages and the green mountains…the countryside is just beautiful. After an hour and a half drive, we arrived in Travnik, this town is very important in the origins of the Bosnian Kingdom…Our guide explained about all the different eras of Bosnia from prehistoric, to the Ottoman, Austo-Hungarian, Yugoslavia Socialism, to present day. The Vlasic and Vilenica Mountains surround Travnik…Travnik itself sits in the Lasva River Valley, which has been on trade routes since Roman times. Inside the old town, we visited a Pre-Ottoman fortress, known as Travnik Castle. We had wonderful views of the town and the 18th-century clock tower. Descending into the old town we stopped at the waterfalls before walking to the 16th century Sulejmanija Mosque, or Rainbow Mosque. The outside of the mosque is nicely painted with a small market beneath the main prayer hall. The interior of the main prayer hall was brightly decorated. We walked back to the vehicle and left for our next stop, Jayce…the drive to Jayce took about an hour again through the picturesque mountains, villages and valleys. Arriving in Jayce (Yie-sz) to pronounce, you cross a bridge and there you are at the Jayce Waterfalls. We walked over to the Jajce waterfall for a view of the terraced waterfalls. Our guide told us this area is even more beautiful in the summer, it is still stunning in the Spring. We then walked up towards the old town of Jajce, passing the Bear Tower. The ladies decided to stay on the first level of the town and I proceeded to climb to summit of the Jajce fortress. I was short on Bosnian coins to enter the fortress but the nice ticket lady waved me through. Jajce, was the original capital of the independent medieval Kingdom of Bosnia, a city of stone, light and water. The Bosnian Kingdom only lasted about 100 years between the 1300’s to 1400’s. I tried to visit the catacombs but my lack of Bosnian coins ruled that venue out. Anyway, the views were good and I took lots of pictures. We enjoyed our time in Jajce. Before returning to Sarajevo, we visited the Pliva lakes region. We had a short but beautiful stop. The highlight of the area is the mill houses on the lake built in the 14th century. They were once used for milling wheat and local housing but now they are a tourist attraction. The ride back to Sarajevo was three hours, a long ride but time passed quickly taking in the spectacular views of the Bosnian portion of the Dinaric Alps…it was as green as far as the eye could see. As always, we wish we had more time at all of the stops but this tour was as a great introduction to a beautiful country. On our return to Sarajevo, we dropped our gear at the hotel and went out looking for souvenirs…did find one T-shirt.