The former Yugoslavia

My time in Novi Sad ended Wednesday night. The send off that NSHC had for us was incredible. Our friend, Mima, had us over for lunch Wednesday after spending the whole morning cooking! It was delicious. Then the staff at NSHC took us out to a "ranch", which is really a traditional Vojvodina farm. (Vojvodina is the province of Serbia in which Novi Sad is located.) We got to look around, pet horses, drink coffee, and enjoy traditional desserts before the speeches and gift-giving began. It was so nice to see how much they had all enjoyed and appreciated our time there. Then it was on to another cafe across town at the fortress and to a neighboring restaurant after that for pizza. I said my good-byes and sped off for home to grab my things, call a cab, and go to the bus station to catch the last bus to Sarajevo.

Sarajevo is beautiful. I would highly recommend a visit to Sarajevo. It is unlike any other place I have seen in my time in the former Yugoslavia. As we came over the mountains to where we overlooked the city I felt a difference in the air. It's hard to explain, but I could feel that Sarajevo was different and loaded with history. Driving through to the bus station I saw building after building riddled with bullet holes and pock-marked from shells. My bus stopped at a bus station out on the edges of town. Later I found out that Sarajevo has two bus stations...one main station, and one for Serbs (for buses to and from Serbia and the Republic of Serbska). I loved my time there and was able to spend some time with some of my classmates, which was great. Even though I was only there for 3.5 days, I will miss the calls to prayer that I heard multiple times daily. It amazes me how calming the calls are.

After Sarajevo, I was on to Mostar where I met up with my friend, Amber. The bus ride there was beautiful. We drove along a river that was the most stunning color. It was a deep blue-green and changed colors depending on how the sun hit it. At times it had a turquoise tint and other times is was more emerald with hints of jade. I have never seen a river that color. Mostar is a total tourist trap, but if you venture out away from the main few streets you see the devastation that hit the town. The majority of the town is still empty, bombed-out buildings with trees growing through the rubble. While I hate tourist traps, I hope that the money tourism brings can help the city to rebuild. We only stayed there for one night...Hostel Dino for €10/night, if any of you ever venture to Mostar. Monday afternoon we headed onto Dubrovnik, Croatia. It is another very pretty and picturesque place, but full of tourists. We'll be here today and tomorrow and then Amber will head to Pula and I will go up to Split. I just hope I don't get ill on the bus ride...ugh.