Bosnia and Herzegovina: War and Peace

We could not pass within a few kilometres of the border without seizing the chance to visit the symbolic city of MOSTAR. Along the way we came across a truly unusual Ferragosto celebration... On the road to MOSTAR a stop at Medjugorje, where we attended the Assumption Mass. Evocative. The town amounts to a single street lined only with hotels and souvenir shops, next to the modern and frankly ugly sanctuary. But the atmosphere there is well worth a stop. Following the Neretva, with its stunning colours, you pass characteristic little villages until you reach MOSTAR. The war is now a memory, the old town is crowded with tourists and locals and has taken on the appearance of any tourist destination...

and yet there is something magical about it, and you only have to look around carefully to see that the marks of the conflict have not been erased but sadly remain in the streets and the facades of the buildings. Even a single stroll is moving, remembering what this city stood for twenty years ago. Even if only for a few hours, the impression of the country is that of an open people who, despite the difficulties, look to their neighbours and try hard to rise and reach them.