Bosnia and Herzegovina

A country still bearing the marks of a 1990s war, Bosnia and Herzegovina is also one of the most beautiful and unexpected in the Balkans — with the stunning old city of Mostar, mountain rivers, and rich food.

Bosnia may be tougher to casually visit unless you pair it with a few other countries in this region or you're already close. Since we spend summer in Cavtat, Croatia, we had heard a lot about Bosnia and were curious to check it out.

We took a roadtrip from Cavtat toward Bosnia's famous town Mostar, where we stopped along the way in Blagaj Tekke, a 600-year-old monastery at the base of a cliff and river. You could walk peacefully along the riverfront, which had cafés and — one thing we love about the Balkans — never a shortage of places to pause for a coffee break.

After that we arrived in Mostar, one of the most famous ancient towns, set along an emerald river with a famous bridge. (You may have seen the bridge in Red Bull clips, as their stunt divers plummeted from it into the river below.)

Bosnia is 51% Muslim, so one thing you’ll notice is many of the restaurants don’t have alcohol on their menus, a contrast coming from most of Europe where wine is a staple from lunch onward. But we loved the food in Bosnia. It’s rich and savory, with dishes like slow-cooked meat in grilled cabbage rolls, stews in clay pots, and pastries filled with spiced meats. It reminded us of the food in Turkey — warm, satisfying, and full of flavor. We even stopped at a Baklava shop for the decadent pistachio and honey-drenched dessert.

To end the roadtrip, we made one more stop at Kravica Waterfall. Ever since living in Croatia, we've gotten accustomed to a daily swim in the crystal-clear turquoise water of that region. So by the time we got to the waterfalls, we were ready for our afternoon dip, even though it was much colder than the Adriatic Sea we're used to. All around us, lots of families played in the water or watched from a coffee bodega, which again are a permanent fixture of this region whether you're at a hardware store or a waterfall.

In some towns, you can still see remains of the war from decades ago, with bullet holes in buildings, but overall we felt very safe. The biggest interruption to our trip were dozens of cows crossing the countryside roads, which as city dwellers, we enjoyed seeing. If we were to go back, we would check out Sarajevo which we’ve heard great things about.