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Notes on Mostar – Visiting the famous bridge of Bosnia and Herzegovina

November 13, 2021 By James Clark 5 Comments

Old Bridge

Mostar is home to one of the most famous bridges in Europe. For those of us who lived through the nineties news cycle of the Yugoslav Wars, it become a symbol of the war when it was destroyed during the Bosnian War in 1993. The Stari Most (Old Bridge) has since been reconstructed and is now one of the most well-known symbols of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

City in valley

My interest in visiting (apart from visiting the country properly) was to get the train from Mostar to Sarajevo, which is listed by Eurail as one of the most scenic routes in Europe.

As is the case for most places that are only known for one landmark, there is more to Mostar than the bridge.

As soon as I dropped my bags off at my guesthouse I walked straight to the bridge. I had no idea what to expect of the city, so I was pleased to find myself walking through an Ottoman-era old town with cobbled streets and old mosques.

Cobbled old town

The bridge soon comes into view, and it is one of those sites that looks better in real life.

Road to old bridge

The bridge crosses a fast-flowing river in a valley that splits the city in two. The city is also surrounded by mountains, adding to the ambience that is hard to portray in pictures.

Old town view

The old town is charming, and I was fortunate to be here when it wasn’t too crowded. Mostar is an easy day trip from Split and Dubrovnik, but the big crowds have not restored to pre-pandemic levels. In the old town I went to Café de Alma for a traditional Bosnian coffee experience. If you want to try Bosnian coffee then it is worth coming here first to learn the intricacies in how to prepare it.

Bosnian Coffee

Beyond the old town, Mostar is a city of over 100,000 people, so I wanted to see what Mostar the city was like beyond its old town area. I arrived from the train station, and on the walk to my guesthouse, there were still buildings left in ruins from the war.

Ruined building

One of the most famous ruins is the Razvitak Shopping Centre. I thought this was a casino or theatre, but it turns out that this was one of the many Yugoslav department stores built in the modernist style.

Razvitak Shopping Centre

On the other side of the river is flat with more modern buildings and malls.

McDonalds Mepas Mall

On Tvrtka Miloša street there are new apartment blocks with big murals on them, turning the street into an outdoor gallery.

Tvrtka Milosa mural

One of the old war-damaged buildings remains alongside the new buildings, giving a hint at what the street looked like post-war.

Old and new apartment

There are many tree-lined streets, and cafes with outdoor seating is a way of life here. Coffee with milk costs 2.50 BAM ($1.45 USD).

Aldi Cafe

The cafes aren’t conducive to working with a laptop, but I found one co-working space if you wanted to hunker down for a while.

Codehub

Apart from the bridge, Mostar is worth the visit for the train ride alone. The railway used to run to the Croatian coast at Ploče, but it now only runs to the border at Capljina. To experience the full length of the railway I got the train from Capljina to Mostar, but you can skip that section and just go from Mostar to Sarajevo.

Platform at Mostar

The station is much grander than the frequency of service it provides. There are only two trains a day in each direction, so you need to plan in advance. The line is used for freight from the Adriatic Sea to Sarajevo, so it is kept in good condition. I will have a separate post about the Mostar-Sarajevo railway.

Mostar Train Station

There is also an airport in Mostar, but it only has seasonal charter flights at this point. It seems like it would be a good candidate for low cost airlines, which would also make Mostar a more appealing digital nomad base.

From Mostar I got the train to Sarajevo.

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: bosnia and herzegovina, mostar

About James Clark

James Clark is the founder of Nomadic Notes. He has been a digital nomad since 2003, and Nomadic Notes features trip reports, train travel articles, and where to stay guides. He writes about transport and urban development at Future Southeast Asia. Subscribe to the weekly travel newsletter.

Comments

  1. Michael Jensen says

    November 19, 2021 at 6:44 am

    Arriving in Split tomorrow for a two and a half month stay. Was already planning on a biggest to Mostar but am now sad I can’t take that marvelous sounding train. Oh well, I shouldn’t get greedy!

    Reply
  2. Daniele Besana says

    November 19, 2021 at 7:28 am

    Mostar was a great surprise for me, a visit to the war museum is a must to understand what happened there and why the bridge is such a symbol.
    Safe travels James!

    Reply
  3. Ajasa says

    November 22, 2021 at 12:28 am

    Wow! I would really like to take a tour someday

    Reply
  4. Carolyn says

    November 22, 2021 at 2:11 am

    Did you see the guy jumping into the water, in your last photo of the bridge?

    Reply
    • James Clark says

      November 22, 2021 at 4:28 am

      I saw some guys looking like they were ready to jump, so I went down to the river to watch. I didn’t realise that they were jumping for tips, so I was waiting around not knowing this. I didn’t see any divers in the end.

      Reply

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Hi, I’m James Clark, and I've been travelling the world since 2003 while running a location independent travel business. Nomadic Notes is a travel blog featuring travel guides and notes from my travels.

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