I got a staggering ten and half hours of sleep last night. So tired, but that was refreshing. The private room was essential.
This morning I walked around Mostar. Breakfast was hard to find so I had baklava and coffee. I got approached by a tour guide, who showed me his scars from the war. I didn’t want a tour (other than to find a good breakfast) but I agreed to give him some money. He was cheeky and asked for 40 Bosnian Marks (about £15) when he sees it in my wallet. I feel a bit aggrieved but also guilty that I am essentially a war tourist. I visit areas that were sniper positions during the war. It is mad to see this kind of destruction.
I visited two museums. The Museum of Genocide and the Museum of Memory. Both are interesting but don’t really tell a coherent story about why these different religions all came to be in this place to begin with. It is such a clusterfuck of a situation. The museums are intense, with lots of information about the war and it feels weird that these are here when Ljubljana and Zagreb are all about Instagram experiences.
That said, Mostar is the A**** instagram destination. The bridge is a photo magnet. It is stunning, but really makes a homogeneous economy. The spectre of unrest still hangs politically over Bosnia and I hope I never see this place in war again, like I have with Lebanon and Libya (or Iran for that matter.)
I had lunch at a restaurant then collected my luggage to catch my train at 16.08. As soon as I am at the station it is evident that the train isn’t going at that time, and is at 19.56 instead. None of this matches the Interrail app. Annoying and a long wait at the station. I could’ve/should’ve checked before but it could have so easily been the opposite, arriving late for a train that left earlier, which would have been devastating.
It’s the last train trip on this Interrail pass. I have kicked the shit out of it. Almost 48 hours of train travel (in fact more, counting the ghost train) over two weeks. Ten countries: Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia (and an honourable mention to Austria.) Let’s hope that it doesn’t let me down tonight with the last train.
Later – 9.13pm
Train was a let down. Over an hour late, really busy but no fucking signs, clocks or seat information. Just a void. Mostar station is a sorry place. My feeling is that Bosnia as a country is a temporary concept and very little actually works. They got 99 problems, and running trains isn’t one they worry about. Sadly, this is meant to be one of the most beautiful train journeys in Europe, and I’m now doing it in the dark. This is a disappointing end to my Interrail ticket but really a feeling that I have got the most out of it and am ready to go home. Thankfully the Sarajevo hostel has sent me some information so I can still get in tonight.
