Side trip to Bosnia

In my travel guide, Lonely Planet's "Europe on a Shoe String," there is a listing including photos of 24 Top Experiences.  They include obvious spots such as the Eiffel Tower, Venice, Ancient Rome, and Amsterdam's canals.  There are also more obscure locations, including Mostar, Bosnia & Hercegovina.  In Mostar, the guide says, the visitor would find Stari Most, a 16th century stone bridge and a charming Ottoman Quarter.  Mostar is just a 5-hour bus ride from our base in Split, Croatia, so Thipp graciously agreed to let me to take a solo overnight trip.

The following are other things that Lonely Planet (LP) said about Mostar and what they should have said:

LP:  "Set in a deep valley flanked by arid mountains...."
In other words:  It's literally a hole.

LP:  "Mostar's splendidly rebuilt Ottoman-era core forms one of Eastern Europe's most photogenic scenes."
In other words:  There apparently aren't a lot of photogenic scenes in Eastern Europe.

After my initial inspection of the bridge and old quarter, I wondered if I should alter my plans and catch the next bus to Sarajevo.  How would I spend the next 23 hours until my bus departed the next day?  Fortunately, I was able to find enough things to do.

The Seige of Mostar was a major batle during the early 1990s Yugoslavian Civil War and although many years have past there was still plenty of evidence of a major conflict.  There were many war damaged buildings that have never been repaired and many, many buildings still showed the markings on their walls from gunfire.  The town was somewhat rundown and a lot dirtier compared to neighbouring Croatia.  It wasn't until I wandered away from the tourist section and found an impressive new shopping mall that I realized that one shouldn't always go with their first impression.

Despite being underwhelmed with Mostar I'm still glad that I went.