The Recap - The Balkans (Part I)

As I've stated previously, Croatia and the rest of the Balkans were going to be a massive flop after having such a great time in Iceland. However the region continues to surprise us and given it's managed to provide us some much needed respite from this strenuous travelling game, it's a region that we can wholeheartedly recommend for people to go and see and relax in. 

What We'll Miss
  

• Concrete sunbathing/diving-in-off platforms
• Croatian Prsut... Other countries in the region do their take on this but don't deliver like the Croatians do
• Croatian islands that are actually more spectacular than any pictures could ever have you believe 
• The Bay of Kotor and Kotor in particular - just stunning 
• Meeting up with THE Michael J Clarke in Dubrovnik 
• The friendliness and hospitality of people throughout the region - like guesthouses that will pick you up and and drop you off at the bus station free of charge and barmen that share their chips with you
• The haunting beauty of Mostar and Sarajevo

What We Won't Miss

• Judgement Cat in Split. Everyday we would walk past this particular cat and ignoring our smooching and psswsswsswssss noises it would just stare back at us and judge harder than you've ever seen any other cat judge
• Sea urchins that sit in the shallows ready to drive their needles deep inside your heel
• Gypsy kids in Kotor that stroke your face and hug you in an attempt to get money and food out of you 
• Ulcinj in Montenegro, what a sh*t of a place... 
• Week long thunderstorms. We like a good bit of lightning as much as the next person but not for an entire week. This is our summer. We'd done winter for an entire year, we don't need to be reminded of it..... 
• Those 16° C water temps in Split, what's up with that... 

The Food

THAT squid ink risotto for sure. Nicola rattled off about five other strong contenders when I threw the question out there but you'd come back to Ston for that squid ink risotto alone. 

The Drink

Cheap wine by the litre, even cheaper beer by the litre, powerful and potent raki... All very good but walnut and fig grappas in Split win the chicken dinner. You know when something says that it is aged with, aged on, flavoured with x and you only get a hint of what it says it will taste like and you only think it tastes like that because you know that it should? No risk of that here. The walnut and fig aromas and flavours invade your nostrils and palate immediately and have you calling the waiter over for another. 

Barrie-ometer of "Feel" - oooooooweeeeeee, what's up with that?

A Cevapi a Day Keeps the Hangover at Bay in Bosnia and Hercegovina (yes this is the longest post title that has ever been attempted)

Mostar is beautiful on the inside but ugly on the outside.

At its centre is probably my pick for the nicest, most interesting old town that we've seen on this trip and the world famous Stari Most - a 20 metre bridge that's a reconstruction of a 16th century Ottoman bridge that was destroyed (rather symbolically) during the Croat-Bosniak War and is the sole reason that a heap of people make the day trip from centres that are up to 4-5 hours drive away.

Those day trippers have made a sound decision because Stari Most and its setting against the beautiful old buildings that surround it with the emerald green river that flows underneath it make it a worthwhile jaunt.  However what they miss out on seeing is the real Mostar, the ugly Mostar.

The scars of the Croat-Bosniak War are still starkly prominent just outside of the old town in what are now (once again) peaceful residential streets.  Those scars provide a poignant introduction to a country and wars that a lot of us unfortunately know little about.

Scars from the greater Bosnian War are also still apparent in the nation's capital, Sarajevo, and buildings that remain as shells, after having been bombed during the war, provide a daily reminder of the atrocities that people who are now our age had to grow up through.

A visit to the History Museum (which is essentially a Bosnian War museum) left us exhausted and upon leaving we sat on a bench outside of the museum, unable to comprehend and reconcile what we'd just learned.  B&H, and that museum in particular, gave us an insight into a world that is unrecognisable to the one that we're fortunate enough to live in.

Sarajevo's other key historical point of interest is the Latin Bridge, where Franz Ferdinand and his wife were murdered, an event which many believe was the straw that broke the camels back when World War 1 kicked off.

However, it isn't all doom and gloom in The 'Jevo.

Cevapi is a grilled minced meat dish that's like the southeastern European take on a kebab.  Up until Kastel we didn't really understand it.  After Kastel, we got cevapi.  To be fair, we'd never had it like this.

Kastel takes four of the small skinless sausage like things, seasons them a bit a bit more than usual and then squeezes them together to make a little pattie.  The result is an exceptionally moist little bundle of joy that joins three other friends in a well greased traditional flat bread along with some chopped onions, a couple of pickled chillies and a drinking yoghurt on the side.  The result is a thing of rare beauty.  We were very satisfied customers three times over.

The best coffee in Sarajevo is surely found at Cajdzinica Dzirlo.

Instead of watching people like us fail pathetically at attempting to drink coffee the Bosnian way, the owner sits down with you and talks you through what is a very particular process.  Whilst that may look like a Turkish coffee, the desired result is quite different.  Bosnians prefer a much cleaner coffee and the steps that you must follow to drink coffee the Bosnian way reflect that.

The freshly brewed coffee is brought to your table and firstly you must stir in any grounds that remain on the top of the coffee to wet them enough to ensure that they sink to the bottom of the džezva (pot).  After leaving the coffee to sit for another 30 seconds you then pour it carefully into your cup, ensuring that you don't kick up any of the grounds that should now be resting on the bottom of the džezva.

Next comes the other key difference, how sugar is incorporated into the coffee.  Instead of it being dissolved in the dzezva when it's brewed, you must take your sugar cube and dunk it into your coffee, suck the sugar cube and then take a small sip while some of the sugar granules are still hanging around in your mouth.  Or alternatively you have a glass of serbe on the side which is a highly sugared, cinnamon spiced beverage that plays off nicely against the bitterness of the coffee.  In my case, I go for the sugar and the serbe.  There is no such thing as 'too sweet'.

The owner also knocked us up a salep - a milk and flower based hot drink made of wild orchid powder.  What a great drink that would be in the depths of winter.  One for our ever growing list of things to replicate once we get home.

The other highlight of Sarajevo was 'One Night in the 'Jevo' with these guys.

Inebriated being the operative word.  But what did I enjoy most about hanging out with those three?  Look at how brown I look in comparison.

And that was the very worst and the very best of B&H.