Journey to myself

**another post of the missing days in Bosnia and Herzegovina**

I woke up in my tent in Siroki Brijeg well rested, instead of packing the tent up right away, as usual, I was slightly more relaxed, here in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I sat in the tent cooking breakfast, when suddenly sheep were appearing next to me and with them a shepherd- Guten Morgen, he said, hast du gut geschlafen? – I was laughing, it turnt out he had worked in Germany for a bit. We chatted a little and he gave me a mandarin.

Afterwards my route led me on the main road to Mostar, the ride was not too long and luckily the drivers patient. Bosnia and Herzegovina was still a stranger to me, so I observed everything with curious eyes. It was a steep descent to the city of Mostar. Mostar seemed to be a place full of contrasts. There were ruins and houses with bullets, still untouched from the war, which was raging almost 30years ago, next to brand new Mercedes. I had a coffee and Burek to make use of the wifi. I sought out a bike shop to get my bike ready for the Ciro trail, which will lead me through the remote country side. The gears were playing up and I needed my bike to be in good shape. At the bike shop, I met Emir, who fixed my gears and pointed out other issues. To my surprise we needed to replace the chain, which I just had changed before my journey – not even two months ago. I spent a lot of time with Emir at the bike shop fixing some punctures and gaining more knowledge about bike maintenance.

Eventually I left my bike at the bike shop and went for a wander. The old town of Mostar was adorable. Cobble stones and an old bridge were characterising the town. I walked past a craft beer brewery and decided to try some local craft beer.

Afterwards I tried to line up a host on warm shower or couch surfing but all of my efforts were fruitless. Emir then told me about a bar, lazy bar, about 12kms from Mostar, where I could pitch my tent. I decided to cycle there, even though the sun was setting and I was nervous about cycling on the streets of Mostar at dawn. Luckily the route led me mostly along side streets, on the outer skirts of Mostar. I actually enjoyed the cycling, as it was a good opportunity to watch locals in the less touristy parts of town. Eventually however it got dark and I knew I needed to be very careful now. I was cycling past graveyards and houses in the darkness somewhere in Bosnia and Herzegovina. You’re doing good Madeline, I told myself. Almost there, almost there. I was very happy and relieved when I made it too lazy bar, which was an outside bar at the river Buna, during summer, but now was shut. The grassy area was flat and was good for camping, but again I was very close to houses and people. I will be fine, I thought. I sat on a swing hanging from a tree over the river, sipping on my beer, recovering from the excitement of the ride.

Afterwards I built my tent and went to sleep!

So long – dovidenja from Blagaj!