Wonderful day with Ajla. She made the long trip feel too short! A great storyteller- good at sharing her knowledge of the old, recent past and present state of the balkans. Very capable of giving relevant tips and tricks to her clients. And a great driver.
This full-day excursion to transfer between Bosnia Herzegovina and Serbia is well worth it! Zlata, our guide, was training Doris, and we felt incredibly fortunate to have both of these wonderful humans explaining the history and culture of each site. They were so polite and kind and answered all of my questions which made the trip really special. We started the morning with a 20-minute mild hike to the Borak Stećci medieval necropolis (a medieval cemetery basically lost to time in a forest) - this may be the most untouched, primitive historic site I've ever visited in life. We then continued on to the Mehmed Pasa Sokolovic Bridge, a bridge the Ottomans built in 1577 in the town of Višegrad. We got to both walk over the bridge, and then board a fun, little, open-top boat and ride under the bridge to this small part of town called Andricgrad. This…was weird. It’s a recently-built…town? that is kind of like an outdoor shopping mall with storefronts, cafes and even a movie theater, and also has an Orthodox Christian Church. Named for prize-winning Bosnian novelist, Ivo Andrić, who wrote a book about the bridge, my friend said it best: it kinda felt like Las Vegas in the United States. It looks new and gaudy, and nothing looks like it belongs there. It was interesting to walk through! We visited the Dobrun Monastery, one of the most important Serbian Orthodox monasteries, initially built in 1343 with frescoes preserved to today — local legend has it that if you’re sick and rub the eyes of the fresco of a particular saint, you’ll be healed. You know I did that, just in case (I can’t believe they let you touch a fresco painted 700 years ago!). ???? We crossed the Serbian border and entered the the nature park of Šargan-Mokra Gora with a quick stop in the village of Drvengrad (“Timber Town”). This is an entire wooden village that has won European awards for architecture that was designed by a Bosnian Serb movie director and used in his movie, Life Is A Miracle (a Serbian-Bosnian love story). After a lunch trying the Serbian take on the popular Balkan meat dish, čevapčiči (perhaps the best I’ve had in the Balkans!), we boarded the famous “Šargan Eight” for a 45-minute train ride with really nice views. Built in 1925, it used to connect Sarajevo and Belgrade, and the name “eight” origins from the shape of the track, which, if looked at from the sky, looks like the number 8. We then drove a ways through Tara National Park to the Banjska Stena, a stunning viewpoint looking out on the Serbia-Bosnia Herzegovina border above Perucac Lake. The tour ended with a quick stop at the Drina River House, a cute little swimming hut built atop a rock in the middle of the river Drina. The stops really broke-up the ride nicely. Note that due to the stops, most of the ride is not on a motorway and is on windy, two-lane road that climb and descend the mountainous terrain (dramamine recommended for those with motion sickness!). We felt safe and entertained the whole time. They even asked if we needed a break and we were able to pull off at a gas station for bottled water and the potty! Can't recommend this experience to others enough!
This was one of the best tours that we have. Excellent tour arrangements. Enis was passionate to share stories and facts about the Balkan areas, which really helped us understand better about this place. We were glad that we have picked this tour to start our Balkan journey. Thanks Enis for organising our tour so perfectly. Highly recommend Funky Tour and Enis to any one interested to learn about the history of the Balkans!