European Transit - Bosnia and Hercegovina

Continuing west I entered Bosnia and Hercegovina, the temperature was low, about 3 degrees and the landscape was hidden in fog. The road was winding and I rode through many tunnels, thankfully there was little traffic on the road because it was slow going, hilly terrain, a low temperature, fog and no sunshine equated to ice on the road. Riding a motorcycle on icy roads is no fun, at one stage I pulled out to overtake a car, twisted the throttle, lost traction and the bike rear end stepped out, then as I pulled in front of the car I saw a long white section of road ahead, more ice, I hit the hazard light switch and eased off the throttle to lower my speed, apologizing in my head to the car driver behind for my ill-timed passing manoeuvre. It was a nerve racking ride into the B & H capital Sarajevo and I was relieved to get off the bike without incident.

 

Sarajevo is the largest city in B & H, situated on the Miljacka River in a valley surrounded by the Dinaric Alps, fog and cold weather was a constant during my two (2) day stay. That did not stop me walking the city centre and visiting numerous sights though. Sarajevo has attracted international attention several times throughout its history. In 1914, the city’s Latin Bridge was the site of the assassination of the Archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand which sparked World War I.

 

For nearly four years, from 1992 to 1996, the city suffered the longest siege of a city in the history of modern warfare (1,425 days long) during the Bosnian War. During a visit to the Srebrenica Museum I viewed several short films showing footage from the siege and other Bosnian Wars atrocities including the July 1995 Srebrenica Massacre, also known as the Srebrenica Genocide, more than 8,000 Bosniaks mainly men and boys were killed in and around the town of Srebrenica.

A short walk through the narrow streets and laneways of Sarajevo enabled me to visit to the Orthodox Cathedral and Sebilj fountain. A surprising highlight in Sarajevo was the food, after a young guy working at the hotel recommended I dine at Restaurant Devi I enjoyed some of the best food I have eaten during my adventure, it was so good I ate there both nights during my stay. Veal & vegetable soup, warm homemade bread and goulash was delicious on night one (1), night two (2) I ate vegetable soup, warm homemade bread and a melt in the mouth steak with vegetables, definitely the best steak I have had since leaving home.

 

Mostar was my next city stopover in Bosnia and Hercegovina, Mostar is situated on the Neretva River. Mostar was named after the bridge keepers (mostari) who in the medieval times guarded the Stari Most (Old Bridge) over the Neretva. The Old Bridge, built by the Ottomans in the 16th century, is one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's most recognizable landmarks, and is considered one of the most exemplary pieces of Islamic architecture in the Balkans.

I walked the narrow cobbler stoned laneways and over the Stari Most in the Old City, also viewing an original Ottoman house and local mosque.

 

Close to Mostar I visited the village of Blagaj which was the former seat of Duke Stjepan who ruled Hercegovina from a fortress perched on a peak above the Buna River Springs. The Sultan found this place so magical that during the 16 Century he ordered a Dervish Monastery be built right at the source.

 

After two (2) days in Mostar I continue towards the next country on my European transit, before exiting Bosnia and Hercegovina I had a short diversion and a quick visit to the town of Medjugorje. Since 1981, it has become a popular site of religious pilgrimage due to reports of apparitions of the Virgin Mary to six local Catholics. Our Lady of Medjugorje is the title given to the apparition by those who believe that Mary, mother of Jesus, has been appearing from 24 June 1981 until today to six children, now adults, in Medjugorje. Our Lady of Medjugorje has a strong following among Catholics worldwide. Medjugorje has become one of the most popular pilgrimage sites for Catholics in the world and has turned into Europe's third most important apparition site, where each year more than 1 million people visit.

 

 

European Transit - Serbia

Back on the road it was another cold day, the temperature was sitting on 4 Degrees. I stopped at one border booth window to exit Bulgaria and entered Serbia with a one booth stop. Apart from being cold the ride was pretty good, passing through many small villages scattered along the winding forested mountain road, many of the higher surrounding hills were shrouded by very dark looking snow clouds. A lot of the ride was slowed by the construction of a new dual lane road close to the existing road, but with little traffic there were no major hold ups.

My first stop over in Serbia was in the City of Nis, situated on the Nisava River, Nis is the third largest city in Serbia and one of the oldest cities in the Balkans and Europe. I unpacked in my accommodation then set off on foot along the river front visiting the city centre, market area and Nis Fortress. The remaining sections of Nis fortification were built by the Turks, and dates from the first decades of the 18th century (1719–1723).

The next day more beautiful country side provided another great ride as I continued through Serbia, numerous hunters walked the fertile road side farm land with shotguns over their shoulders scanning the crop waste and creek side over growth for rabbit and foxes. I rode under clear blue sky while the temperature fluctuated between 4 and 6 Degrees, it was cold. I had pencilled in a stopover in the town of Uzice but on arrival the only accommodation in town was closed, I continued a further twenty (20) kilometres to a small village on the edge of a forest where I stayed in resort style hotel accommodation.

 

After the pleasure of a blue sky day I had a fair idea I would wake to a cold frosty morning the following day, and I certainly did, my motorcycle was covered in a white ice blanket and while riding to the border to exit Serbia the temperature sat on 0 degrees.



European Transit - Bulgaria

An easy 220 kilometre ride had me at my Turkey exiting point, the sky ahead was dark and ominous. A quick stop at the Immigration booth for an exit stamp in my Passport, followed by an equally quick stop at the Customs booth had my motorcycle checked out on a computer. I then stopped at a boom gate where my passport and motorcycle registration where checked again, I was then free to continue. Minutes later I approached the Bulgarian border facility, stopped at one booth, my passport was stamped and my motorcycle registration was entered on a computer, thankyou, welcome to Bulgaria, maybe a three (3) minute process tops.

A short time later the rain started, I rode a further 150 kilometres to the city of Plovdiv in the rain while the temperature sat around ten (10) degrees, I was thankful I had sourced out and purchased new wet weather pants and jacket in Antalya so at least I was dry under my outer layers. I found a Hotel in the old part of town and when the rain eased I set out for a walk, I snapped a few photographs around the city park but the light rain, thick cloud cover and no sunshine meant it was cold and less than ideal for sightseeing and photography.

The following morning the weather was marginally better, it was not raining, though it was cold, I rode 125 kilometre to Sofia, the temperature sat around eight (8) degrees all day and the surrounding hills were capped with what looked like a fresh layer of snow. Finding a hotel in the heart of Sofia proved difficult and by the time I found and settled into suitable accommodation I was a long way from what appeared to be a beautiful old city.

Riding into and finding accommodation in large cities is probably the most difficult navigational issue I am faced with travelling without a GPS, normally I enjoy stopping and asking for a little local help and advice but in cold wet weather both the locals and the enjoyment disappear. While I do embrace modern technology I am a little “old school” and having chosen to travel without a GPS and managing to get this far without one I am not going to change now.

 

I am now however confronted with another issue, cold weather, I have sufficient riding clothing but with limited carrying capacity I have limited off the bike clothing, dressing correctly for getting out and about in the rain and or cold is going to be difficult, I don’t think it is possible to travel the world with ideal weather all the time and therefore my travel experience may suffer a little. Bulgaria is one country I feel I did not fully experience, now that I am faced with a European winter I need to keep moving away from mountainous land locked countries to lower altitude, and hopefully warmer coastal areas of countries where I will not be trapped by roads covered in ice and snow. So after only three (3) days in Bulgaria I continue my ride west into the next country on my adventure.