Old Towns and Old Bridges

The traditional Bosnian Coffee is served over at least half an hour. It's an espresso sized cup that one is meant to sip, not guzzle in the North American Tradition. Coffee is the time to deliberate with family or friends, spread gossip, and discuss things. I think they even have this kind of Coffee Time allotted into their work day.

The host will give each person a bit of coffee foam along with their coffee. If you don't get foam, you aren't liked. Each person takes a wonky shaped cup of sugar. You then dip a corner of the cube into the coffee, bite it, and hold in your teeth while you noisily slurp coffee through it, sighing with satisfaction at the end of it.

After our day in Mostar, our host prepared a Traditional coffee for everyone staying in the flat. And then she gave us a jug of beer. It was a good end to an interesting day.

During the day we went to a local cake shop. It was recommended by Majda (Maida). We were the only foreigners in the shop and we stuck out like sore thumbs. I've never had a more awkward cake purchasing experience. The boys had seconds (which I don't know how because it's almost painfully filling)and everyone in the cafe watched and grinned as they pointed out their desired pieces, giggling at our strange ways.

We also walked into the quaintest of quaint old towns. The buildings are mostly made of a polished wood set on pebble-like cobblestone. We went into a Mausoleum and walked up the tower for a great view of the city. We also went into their history museum which showed a few articles of the old life, and a film about the bombing of their town bridge and its reconstruction. The leader who bombed their bridge is now on trial in the Hague I think. The bridge itself was the historical and cultural defining point of the city. It's incredibly old, and used by everyone to dive off into the river. If you go in the summer you can try jumping too. After it was rebuilt, it was celebrated by having the towns people jump off holding flare candles.

We went out for the cheapest fancy lunch ever. I had two whole trout fish that had been fried, with spinach and boiled potatoes for about 14 dollars. Spencer fed parts of his meal to stray kittens and wondered why, after having been fed, they wouldn't go away.

The town is a bit of disaster, with about 50% of the buildings have some very visible damage, or being completely destroyed. Our flat was covered in bullet holes. BUT, the people themselves are lovely. They are warm and welcoming and have great senses of humour. The drinking water is the best I've ever had. And the pastries are terribly, wonderfully sweet. I just don't go walking in the forest.