Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina

July 22, 2017July 28, 2017Leave a comment

My time in Mostar 🙂

The famous bridge in Mostar

Walking around Mostar

City: Mostar

How Long: 3 nights

Accommodation:

I stayed at Hostel Miran and it was incredible!! The host, Miran, was an incredibly nice man who was extremely knowledgeable about the history of the region, as he had grown up there and actually lived through and fought in the Bosnian War. I learned so much from him. The hostel had small lockers in each room to store valuables but not big enough to store your whole bag, but I found everyone at the hostel to be very friendly and nice so I wasn’t worried about anyone stealing stuff from my bag. There was free breakfast and often at night Miran would BBQ so there was a free dinner sometimes. They also offered a great tour of the region. Highly recommend this place!!

Where to eat:

This place had free breakfast and sometimes free dinner so I mostly utilized that, BUT the hostel did recommend Hindin Han and I ended up going twice! Once just with Sam, and then once with Sam and three Germans we met on Miran’s tour (more on that in the next section!). Hindin Han was in the middle of the city center overlooking a small stream and was very cheap! Awesome food and alcohol selection.

Accidentally ordered Rakia, which is a rum made in the Balkans. Ranges from 40% alcohol to 90% alcohol. It was quite strong!

SO MUCH FOOD

What to do:

Number one thing you should do is go on Miran’s tour! (even if you don’t stay at his hostel I’m pretty sure you can still go on it!) Miran lived through and fought during the Bosnian War and had some incredible stories for us. The tour took us to an abandoned aircraft hanger utilized during communist occupation in Bosnia, two quaint cities (Blagaj & Pochitelj) and lastly, Kravice waterfalls. Each was uniquely beautiful, but the waterfalls were my favorite because we got to swim!! As we made our way back to Mostar, we were told many stories about the realities of living in Mostar during the Bosnian War. The damage from the war is still very visible in Mostar today.

Entering the abandoned airport hangar

From the inside

Blagaj

Blagaj

Drinking the fresh water

Where two rivers meet

View from the fort of Pochitelj

Up in the old fort

Pochitelj

Kravica Waterfalls

Our new German friend smoked his pipe and read while the rest of us swam in the water 🙂

The aftermath of the Bosnian War

Buildings still in disarray

The other thing that is fun to see while in Mostar is someone jump off the famous Stari Most bridge which is 24 meters (~78 feet) tall! The professional divers will jump once they have collected enough money from tourists 🙂 If you are a tourist, you pay around 20 euros for an hour-long lesson from the professionals and then you can jump! Only around 2,300 people have done it and Miran said they were mostly Aussie or Kiwi.

Someone about to jump!

Overall thoughts:

Mostar was such a pleasant surprise. I honestly had such little knowledge about this region and was thrilled to learn all that I did. Highly recommend visiting this richly historic, beautiful city.

Nighttime views of the bridge

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Vienna (+ Bratislava)

July 22, 20171 Comment

City: Vienna

How Long: 4 nights

Accommodation:

I stayed at Hostel Ruthensteiner Vienna while I was here. The hostel itself is great. Tons of fun people, and there’s a bar within the hostel. There’s a guest kitchen and a 4.5 euro breakfast option. Good security lockers in the room and comfy beds. However, unfortunately it is fairly far from the city center so it takes 40 minutes to get anywhere (walking). I just find that I prefer to be able to walk right from the hostel to where I want to go without using public transit.

Where to Eat:

I ate a delicious traditional Polish dish at a restaurant called Mozart’s Restaurant. It was almost like pasta/dumpling combo with scrambled eggs. Sounds weird, but it was awesome. Otherwise, I chose to buy groceries and cook in the community kitchen with some friends I made.

While I didn’t eat here, Mozart + Beethoven did! In fact, Mozart’s last performance was here. This place has been opened for over 200 years. Pretty incredible.

What to do:

I visited the Easter markets here as well, but they weren’t as fun as the ones in Krakow I found. I also did a free walking tour with some friends, where we saw some of the old government buildings and some cool churches. I also met two other Americans staying at my hostel and ended up going out on a pub crawl with them which was fun!

Painted eggs at the Easter Markets!

Unfortunately the next day it rained and even hailed a bit. I chose to spend the day inside and catch up on reading, writing, and editing some videos. While it was nice to have a relaxing day, it meant that I did not get to see the palace or the gardens which I have heard are amazing.

On my last day in Vienna I did a day trip to Bratislava, which is the capital of Slovakia. I took a 5 euro bus ride there in the morning, early enough to catch the free walking tour. I really enjoyed learning about this tiny country that most American’s probably don’t know much about if they have even heard of it. Bratislava looks like it was torn out of the pages of a fairytale. In fact, the famous fairytale writer from Denmark, Hans Christian Andersen, spent time here. He famously said to the citizens of Bratislava, “If you want a fairy tale, look at your city.”

View of Bratislava from the Castle

We walked around most of the city in about 2.5 hours, as the city is fairly small. We saw the grand castle (although technically a fortress), a blue Church, and adorable cobblestone streets. I learned that Vienna and Bratislava are the two closest capitals in all of Europe, at just 34 miles apart. After spending just 5 hours in this city, I wish I had spent a few days here instead of staying in Vienna. Definitely don’t skip visiting Bratislava, even if it just for a day from Vienna or Budapest.

Main square in Bratislava

The Blue Church!

Bratislava Castle

Overall Thoughts:

Vienna did not wow me. I am not exactly sure why, but overall it was not my favorite. The city is huge and I have learned that I tend to prefer more manageable cities. It’s also more expensive than some of the other cities I am visiting right now. I wish I had stayed in Bratislava and done a day trip to Vienna, instead of the other way around. I can certainly see why so many people love Vienna (amazing food, beautiful architecture, top-notch museums) but I just don’t think it’s for me.

Rome

July 19, 2017July 19, 20171 Comment

CITY: Rome

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Hostel Alessandro Downtown and it was not my favorite, but only because it was very big, which means it is difficult to meet people. The kitchen was only available after breakfast. The common room was too big so people ended up sitting alone at different tables instead of all close together. The rooms were big, but the lockers were a little janky. Some worked and some did so I was a little paranoid that it would be easy to break the locks (luckily no one did). Anyway, I wouldn’t stay here again.

WHERE TO EAT:

I was only in Rome for 2 nights, 1 day so it was quick! I did eat some delicious pasta and pizza, but surprising it is easy to find pasta and pizza 🙂 I did eat some delicious gelato at Venchi!

WHAT TO DO:

Because I only had one day I decided to walk around Rome and see the sights, but not take the time to go inside anything. I know I will be back and hopefully with more money, so it made sense to just visit the outside of all the incredible sites. I started with the Colosseum the first night I arrived because that was the closest to my hostel. I caught it right at sunset and it was incredible!

Perfect timing!

My one full day started with a visit to the Vatican, where I managed to see the Pope speak. What a unique experience.

St. Peter’s Basilica

The Pope!

After meandering through the smallest country in the world I headed to Castel Sant’ Angelo, Piazza Navona, then the Pantheon.

Castel Sant’ Angelo

Piazza Navona

Pantheon

After a quick gelato break I arrived at the Trevi fountain, where I just sat and watched all the tourists get their selfie/boomerang of them throwing a coin in the water! Pretty funny stuff.

Next up was the Spanish steps before heading to the ruins. The ruins were probably my favorite part because it made you think about all the people who came before those of us living today, and how they built an entire city. It’s crazy how much is left standing after all these years!

Spanish Steps

I’m guessing this is kinda old?

Walking around Rome

Streets of Rome

Ruins

More Ruins

EVEN MORE RUINS

Finally after miles and miles of walking I turned back to the hostel to pack up before getting up at 3:45 to catch a flight to Greece!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I went in with such low expectations of Rome because I am not into museums or religion… so I wasn’t sure what I would do in Rome, BUT I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed my day exploring the city. However, I wouldn’t say Rome is the best city for solo travelers. Like Paris, I think Rome is better with someone, whether it be a parent, sibling, friend or S.O.

Ciao for now 🙂