Rest day – 0km!

Mostar day trip

Today I visited the Herzegovina part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I took the train on what must be one of the most spectacular rides in Europe at least.

Snaking through the Bosnian countryside, through numerous tunnels and over countless bridges, clinging to mountainsides and affording epic views over valleys and cloud-brushed peaks, we eventually descended to the azure River Neretva.

Unbelievably, the views improved as we passed through canyons and gorges. It is audacious engineering to even consider building this line.

Then into Mostar itself. Heavy with symbolism, the majestic old bridge, first built by the Ottomans in the 16th century in Mostar connected two communities within one city.

In an act emblematic of a country divided, it was destroyed during the war, and then rebuilt soon after to resemble the original.

Today, it’s packed with tourists like me, who gather at this image of reconciliation. And to watch the brave bridge divers – well they jump feet first rather than dive, but it still looks terrifying. One of them goes round with a hat, collecting money from the gathered crowd and talking up his partner (“the first jump of his life… just a couple of euros, not millions… he is very young”) before his accomplice plunges impressively into the rushing waters below.

I went to the war and genocide museum last. Not a lot of words for the incomprehensible and graphic brutality on display there. Absolutely no censorship of the horrors of humans – let that sink in.

There was a lot of “never forget” but it’s happening right now, today, isn’t it? Fully documented on a daily basis on our screens.