It was by chance that Anthony my dorm mate from Novi Sad was on the same bus as me to Sarrajevo. We decided to book the same hostel there and explore this fascinating place together. When we arrived, we were shocked by the rawness of the reminas of the war here. Most of the buildings we approaced on the Srpska Republika side of Sarajevo were full of bullet holes and the vibe here was eery but intriguing at the same time. Little did i know that this city and this country would be the highlight of my trip around the Balkans and even Europe itself.
We stayed at The Heart of Sarajevo hostel which was super cheap and had a very friendly and hardworking guy there who made us all nutella pancakes one evening and took them to us in our dorm. Here, we met some great and some unusual people who made the trip what it was. The city itself was a complete contrast between 'small Jerusalem' in the centre and wartorn Sarajevo on the outskirts of this gem. One of the most fascinating things for me was the history here in Bosnia, having grown up in the 90s hearing about this country in the news regularly. I was keen to get to know as much about the story here as possible. Having gone on the amazing free walking tour with local guide Eddie who even guided Bill Clinton around the city, I initially learned so much about this city just on the first day. I made it my mission to explore museums such as the Genocide of Srbenica exhibition, the children of war museum and the Sarajevo history museum, as well as taking the Yugoslavia tour with Eddie on a seperate occasion. It was during this trip that i learned about Sarajevo being the place where WW1 began and I even stood where the first shot was fired and saw the actual gun used. Eddie was one of ther most fascinating guides having grown up during the 'Siege of Sarajevo' and he shared so many crucial facts from a local point of view which amazed and shcoked me at the same time. Sarajevo was incredible. The people here were so friendly and welcoming yet had experienced one of the worst histories in the world. Upon walking around the centre of the old town you couldnt help but feel like you were back in the Ottoman times. The smells of sheesha, the bright colours, the hand craft stalls and the smell of local sweet and savoury delicacies roamed the streets. As the picture shows, the sign on the street of the old town states Where East Meets West and this couldnt be more true. I was so overwhelmed by all the contrasts in this city, all the real stories and the remains of the war that I was seeing before my eyes. I honestly couldnt wait to return for a longer time to explore more.

Thanks to my Former Yugoslavia tour with Eddie, I met an English couple who offered to drive me to Mostar the next day. Needless to say, I was travelling in style in their brand new hire car compared to the other backpackers taking the train. I was excited to get to Mostar which is the biggest city in the Herzagovina region and had some of the most beautiful scenery and landscapes in all of the Balkans, which was apparent just from the drive down. We stopped numerous times to take pictures before the couple dropped me at my hostel close to the old town. I stayed at Taso Guesthouse which was so cosy, friendly and social. I explored the old town, the famous Stari Mostar (old bridge), did a walking tour (which involved us illegally climbing to the top of a wall-less former high story bank) which turned into a pub crawl, Herzagovina tour (which included the beautiful town of Blagai, Kravice waterfalls (much less crowded, more beautiful and cheaper than Plitvice in Croatia) and lots of hidden gems from the time of the war and communism. Herzagovina has a much different climate than Bosnia up north. It is more meditteranean, and has countless sunny days per year and neddless to say it has much less tourists than many of the other Balkan countries. Highly Recommended!!

Trebinje was a last minute choice. It was basically a decision I made based on having a few extra days to spare before my flight from Dubrovnik to Dublin and not wanting to spend too much unnessecary time in Croatia. Its damn expensive and overcrowded! I took the bus to Trebinje from Mostar and got picked up by the owner of The Red Door Hostel. The hostel was a little out of town but for me it was perfect as I loved to walk and explore. I had my own beautifully clean room in this large hostel for the three nights including some very delious meals for a very cheap price. The owner took me aorudn the sites when he had time and let me do laundry for free in their huge laundry garage. The place was so homely and the owner even tried to convince me to stay to teach yoga to his guests and work for him. Nevertheless, I had a journey to continue on but this could be a future plan. Trebinje was small but very quaint and very relaxing. There was a beautiful river with picturesque bridges to view as you walked along the banks. The old town was small but pretty and I even went to the local cinema which showed two english movies a day- It was only me and one other girl in there trhat evening. Trebinje is 20 minutes from Dubrovnik, is incredibly cheaper, less touristy, more relaxing and has heaps of nature to explore. I would highly recommend anyone wanting to visit Dubrovnik to stay at The Red Door Hostel in Trebinje and take the trip tro Dubrovnik/Kotor from there. The taxi fares are a ot less than from Croatia and the owner provides very cheap transfers to Mostar, Dubrovnik and even Medjugorje.

Arrving to my hostel in Novi Sad via taxi thanks to Gordanas dad who arranged foe me to get there in style, i was greeted with a smily owner and a shot of famous rakiya.....in the morning! I settled into my room where i met Josh from NZ travelling through as well. He invited me to the local walking tour which we ended up doing that evening. it was incredible, the history continued.

We hung out and had some craft beers and dinner that night and the next day Josh left. Considering we were travelling the same route, we figured it was inevitable to meet again in Bosnia. Novi Sad is a very cute and picturesque University town with lots to offer and on my last day i walked every corner of it, as i do, ending up at the beautiful fortress.

The next day i was due to leave early on a day bus to Sarajevo and ironically, the guy from my room Anthony was on the same bus. We headed to the bus station that morning and having booked the same accomodation too, we planned to travel together there and explore. The next stop was much anticipated, i was nervous because of Bosnia's history but i soon realised i should'nt have been, instead i would come to fall in love with this city- scars and all.