Do You Remember Torvill and Dean? – Greg and Mandy's Travels

It’s only been a short stay in Mostar, but then it’s only a small town – though very pretty.

What would be the chances of hearing ‘Land Down Under’ while shopping for groceries in a Mostar supermarket?

We’d heard things about the Mostar to Sarajevo train – it’s patronage was struggling, it wasn’t reliable yadda yadda – but when it pulled into the almost deserted station, it turned out to be one of the nicest we’ve had.

It will probably stay that way due to the overbearing guard, ticket checker, and security guard who took it in turns to prowl up and down the aisles telling people off. The train had a buffet car, so I thought that I’d see if I could get coffee, but I was roundly told off and sent back to my seat. Seems that the best way to keep the buffet and first class carriage pristine is to not open them.

The scenery was spectacular – trundling down the valley between the craggy mountains, in and out of tunnels, while the clouds settled in amongst them. Grey skies and drizzle greeted us in Sarajevo – gorgeous. Wandered down the main road into town, and past a big building with bollards and a high fence. Looks like an embassy, I said, and it was. Counted the armoured guards with AK47s skulking in the surrounding shrubbery and correctly guessed which one. How sad.

The rain gave us an excuse to camp in McDonalds and enjoy a smoke free coffee. We are definitely moving east again. No longer a cafe culture – it’s back to a smoking culture. Shopping centres are smoke free, except for food and coffee shops which are set up to lure the smokers. Cigarettes are back down to $3 or $4 a packet. The Big Mac index for Bosnia is AU$6.20, which is quite cheap. Looks like we’ll do some eating out before we get back to tourist areas.

After wandering around aimlessly for a while to kill time, and scoffing some crepes for lunch, we headed back to the apartment and checked in. Another lovely AirBNB.

Headed out in the rain to do the 4pm free walking tour with Ammar from Tallest Tourguide Tours, and enjoyed 2 hours seeing the sights – the old Ottoman Town, the newer Austro-Hungarian town, the main church, cathedral, synagogue and mosque, ending up at the most famous spot in town, the Latin Bridge, on which Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in June 1914, and which triggered World War I. It wasn’t until 1984, when Torvill and Dean came to town for the Winter Olympics, that a bigger party was held.

Out for a lovely Asian meal for tea at a cafe in the tourist precinct.