No Blood for Honey: A Tour of the Bosnian Hinterlands (and a Surprise Visit to a New-For-Me Country)

The Bridge on the Drina.
Yes, that Bridge. And that Drina.

Today's travel itinerary was a four-stop tour of the Bosnian hinterlands, with a surprise bonus visit to a new (for me) country, my 48th country.

First stop? Visegrad. Best known for being the home to the famous Bridge on the Drina.

It is a beautiful bridge. But this part of the world has many beautiful bridges. This bridge lent its name to the national novel of the southern Slavic people: "The Bridge on the Drina" by Yugoslav author Ivo Andrić. (There was a Yugoslavia in when Mr. Andrić wrote his historical novel centered around this bridge. Hencem it is proper to refer to the man as being Yugoslav.)

This is a destination for people on the Balkan region.

Let's cross the bridge and explore Visegrad.

And what do I spy when I first cross the bridge that became the title character in a national novel? A tourist train.

Unfortunately, we have a full day of tourist fun ahead, so no time to ride the faux train. However, before the day is over, we will be riding an actual real historic train through the countryside of a mystery country to be revealed.

And there's no much else to do in the part of Visegrad except look at the bridge.

Or pose for a selfie with the bridge in the background.

Sorry for looking so stern. One thing I've noticed so far about the people of Bosnia. They are very friendly and very helpful, but -- and this is not the least bit surprising given the troubled history of this land -- there really is a bit of melancholy in the atmosphere. You would have to be extremely lacking in awareness to think of Sarajevo as a "party hearty" town. It is a great city, full of interesting sights, great food, and cheap prices. But this is not a place you come to for the party.

But there is more to do and see in the Andrićgrad neighborhood of Visegrad, short enough away that could walk to it, but far enough away that you don't feel guilty about getting back into the tourist van to get there.

The main site in Andrićgrad is the Church of St. King Lazar.

It's small.

You cannot go up into the tower.

I don't know if I would if it were an option. It's not too high and it's definitely not too narrow. I'd have been seriously tempted to climb the five flights of stairs.

I also was seriously tempted to light a candle.

But I didn't see where you pay and, being Catholic, I know you do not light a candle unless you've slid your requested-required donation into the box. But there was no box!

So I guess I will have to take a look inside this small Orthodox church.

Ornate!

I've yet to visit a minimalist Orthodox church in an Orthodox country. I've seen some Catholic churches that look so spartan you'd swear they were Protestant. But never an Orthodox.

And that will bring the Andrićgrad and the Church of St. King Lazar to a conclusion.

These two Visegrad stops are in "Republika Srpska" part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was the genius of the Bill Clinton negotiated Dayton Accords that ended the fighting in the Bosnia War of the mid 1990's. He divided one country into two: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is just called "the Federation," and the Republika Srpska. The Federation is split between Islamic Bosniaks and Catholic Croats in Herzegovina. Republika Srpska does not contain all of the Orthodox Serbs in one land. Even with the "ethnic cleansing" of that war, the populations of these three groups are too interspersed for that. But the drawing of the boundaries of Republika Srpska basically was an ethnic gerrymander, corralling as many ethnic Serbs and practitioners of the Orthodox faith into one part of the Bosnian whole. I was not being facetious when I called Clinton's move "genius." It has brought 30 years of peace to a land that has rarely known peace. The peace is tenuous, but it's still going on. And that is a massively huge accomplishment for which Bill Clinton has been given insufficient credit -- even by the people who love him.

Rolling on through the country:

By the way, I titled this post "No Blood for Honey" because I was sitting in the back on the tourist van. The driver, who also was the guide, was talking and I could barely make out what he was saying. I think he made a reference to honey, which is very popular in these parts, and I thought he said "blood honey." I've never heard of "blood honey." No blood for honey!

The third stop of the day is Dobrun Orthodox Monastery:

This is not the train we will be riding in a bit:

If you look, it's not even on the track. Makes traveling on that train difficult.

This is the monastery grounds entrance:

And this is the church on the monastery grounds:

Let's have a look inside, shall we?

What was most impressive, in my mind, are the well-faded, significantly older decorative art in the church

The new is good, too, but the very old is very better.

This is the hillside overlooking the monastery grounds:

And this is the walkway above the entrance:

And this is a tourist.

Looking, once again, stern. Not my usual vacation travel face.

And then we arrived.

 

At the trainyard to board the train to take us to our next destination: Drvengrad.

We are taking this historic train through the countryside of this new-for-me mystery country. And my 48th country visited is: Serbia.

I didn't book this trip to Visegrad and beyond because it promised me Serbia. But, I was happy that the tour I booked included what was a new-for-me nation.

The Šargan Eight train ride was loud and bumpy, passing through many, many very dark tunnels. So many dark tunnels I felt like I was on a mining train and not a historical railroad through the Serbian countryside. The journey was only 10 miles, but took 45 minutes, including an elevation change of aruond 1000 feet. We arrived at the destination station: Šargan Vitasi.

And, from there, our tourist van met up with us to take us to Drvengrad.

Where you greeted by communist era motor vehicles. Above is a Russian Lada. Below is a Czechoslovakian Skoda.

Drvengrad is a faux authentic wooden village built as a resort by Serbian film director Emir Kusturica, I hadn't heard of him either, It's fake, but designed to be real. This the wooden church in this wooden town:

Let's go inside:

Is it just me, or does this church look like it was designed to look like an orthodox church rather than just being an orthodox church. I'm probably imaging it. But it's the thought I've thunk.

One last look at the resort complex:

Time to make the long trek back to Sarajevo.

But there's one last viewpoint to view, And it's spectacular.

Do you prefer your review which artsy bushes?

Or do you prefer the clean view?

The bridge, of course, is no Bridge on the Drina, but it fits its setting.

The day started rainy but became sunny enough for the sky to reflect nicely in the river water.

So let's end the travel day on a stern note:

Even amidst beautiful nature, I refuse to surrender my right to be stern.