Neum Impression 

      Following the Adriatic highway Jadranska magistrala, most people have no

Neum - We saw the Adriatic from bed

idea when crossing the town of Neum not far from Dubrovnik that he went from Croatia to Croatia through Bosnia and Herzegovina. Once there was only one small station and handsome local policeman¹, so you just wondered why you have to stop and in 10 minutes you continued your journey. Although there was a sticker on the station´s wall "Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine", there was no chance of noticing it unless you stood right in front of it. They recently removed this small station and made a real border crossing². Now you will notice that you are in another state for sure.

If you are interested in Neum and Bosnia and Herzegovina, have any questions or you want to share your experience, you can find us also here.

       Bosnia and Hercegovina is a country unknown to the peasants, and as far as it is known only in connection with pilgrimage sites. The only resort in this country on seashore is Neum. A small town built by the sea full of apartment houses and hotels, over which a modern church stands. Market called Konzum, some restaurants, shops and that's it.

        I was brought to this place by curiosity and again by prejudices of Slovaks (as always in this part of the world). Not even mines, war, Srebrenica massacre and Muslims discouraged me. “In Sarajevo there were held in the 84th Winter Olympic Games” the knowledge of the Slovaks on this topic ended. So I thought I was going to look for and try minefields. We stayed in one of the apartment houses at Iva and Vinko with a funny name. We paid for beautiful apartment overlooking the Adriatic sea on the top floor about half (if not a third) price as in Croatia.Šta više trebate? (What else do you need more?)³ You need nothing more. You have a place to sleep, under the window there is a shop where several buns connected in a circle shape are called bread, around the corner a nice restaurant, outside hot, the sun is shining, water attracts you to jump in.

      Iva arrived with a cold juice and immediately hosted us and inquired curiously "Odakle smo? Kako smo došli?" (Where are we from? How did we reach the place?)⁴ I was a little confused by explaining where I could get to Neum from, but at least I had a chat in local language. In places like this I had some difficulties to understand their dialect. But you don't have to worry about it, because these people have a special gift to talk to you even if you don't understand them at all. "Nema problema" (No problem)⁵ is comprehensible also here and I think even more than elsewhere.U Neumu nema ništa, sve je unutar“ (There is nothing in Neum, everything is in inland)⁶ I learned from an eloquent Iva, who also lacked the typical Mediterrenian feature " to tell exactly what she is thinking about." So in Neum there is nothing except of the church and for everything interesting for tourists you have to travel inland. I was a little disappointed about this fact, but I thought "nema problema".

Neum - nice accommodation at Iva and Vinko

        In the evening we went to check the "ništa" (nothing)⁷. I was finally surprised that it was quite busy on promenade after I got ready for "nothing" level. Shops, sweets, restaurants, bars with music, many people, pleasant atmosphere. So far, no mines, no war, no terorists. I became quite satisfied. We even decided to attend a concert of local star Igor Cukrov, who smiled at us from every poster on the buildings around. Forgetting where we are and what the mentality is, we returned home slightly after 2 hours. Nobody knew when he would come. Finally, we were listening to his concert from the balcony.

The remnant of the war in Bosnia

The beach in Neum

         The next day we went to try the local Adriatic sea. Beach was very similar to those found in Croatia. Clear sea, salty about like in Istria, gradual entry, ideal for older people and children, a little crowd during the weekend, but very pleasant surrounding. In shops and restaurants you can easily pay with euros, kunas and bosnian marks (1 euro = 1,96 BAM). This location is ideal for a quiet holiday when you want to enjoy the sea. I was thinking about Iva's sentence that everything was inland. And so it was.

Neum - the only resort on the seashore in Bosnia and Herzegovina

       You will recognize the charm of this country if you go inland. It is best to go from Bosnia to Bosnia through Croatia - take the Opuzen border crossing. Before you reach it, you will cross the Neretva river with typical channels and swatches.

The river will accompany you to the center of Herzegovina Mostar . It starts in Opuzen. The fields are shrinking, the rocks are reaching the clouds, while the turquoise Neretva wipes out on the right, accompanied by an asphalt road. Around you just untouched nature, some forgotten house, minaret, mosque. You drive around a completely preserved town from the Ottoman Era Počitelj and wonder what century you are in and whether you are traveling in time.

    You will walk through several villages until you reach Mostar - a city full of contradictions. The center remembers the Ottomans (you are fascinated), some buildings still bear the traces of war (you are afraid) and a bus passing around would not be shame even in the most developed countries of the world. You are shaking your head uncomprehendingly, because you are not able to understand it all. There is a mild chaos in your head, but the mysterious country is still attracting and absorbing you. Čaršija (Ottoman marketplace)⁸  that you never dreamed about. Čibuk, ćilim, amajlije, džezve, čakšire, djerdan, fildžani, fes, mindžuše⁹, everything needed for Scheherazade to get dressed and to arrange her house. Everything is shining and full of colors. Typical Arabic world. Among the crowds of tourists you can sometimes see veiled women.

When you finally get to Stari most ( Old bridge)¹⁰, which is the biggest attraction of this city. Do not be surprised if someone suddenly crawls over the railing and jumps to Neretva. There is a sport club of water jumpers. Certainly it is worth to visit also Blagaj, and its tekija (monastery)¹¹ and the spring of the river Buna, which you will be taken to by boat. If you are a believer, do not forget Medjugorje and many smaller pilgrimage sites in the mountains above Neum. If you like enjoying nature, Kravica miss Ljubuški waterfall and Hutovo Blato nature reservation.

The town´s symbol is this modern church

       You can not say you were in Bosnia if you at least once don't have real Bosnian coffee made in džezva and fildžan with rahatluk, burek, baklava and musaka¹², you don't buy a miniature donkey or Aladdin's lamp and don´t visit at least one mosque. You won't find anything from this Bosnia in Neum. Therefore, the locals say there is nothing in Neum.

The beauty of Bosnia will slowly begin to be revealed to you as you move away from the coast. However, it still retains the veil of mystery settled in your head, which will always pull you back and let you enter into its magical world again and reveal something of it. There is no need to worry about Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is friendly, warm and cordial.

Almost the whole area of ​​the state is demined. Muslims are very friendly here. Everyone can choose from its benefits- sea, nature, history, good coffee, sweets and if not, she'll surprise you with something and won't just let you go. She's a magic.

Relax on vacation in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Translations:

1 Bosnian policeman

2 Border crossing

3 What else do you need more?

4 Where are we from? How did we reach this place?

5 No problem

6 There is nothing in Neum, everything is inland.

7 Nothing

8 The part of the town with shops

9 Pipe, carpet, amulet, coffee pot, pants, necklace, cup, cap, earrings

10 Bridge

11 Musliman monastery

12 Rahatluk = kind of sweet; burek = kind of cake; baklava = kind of dessert; musaka = minced meat dish