Is Srebrenica safe?

I am considering moving to Srebrenica for a one year contract. Is it safe for me and my family? We are a young mobile couple but we are concerned about safety. Anyone have epxerience in this part of Bosnia?

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Hi.

I haven%26#39;t been there myself, but I watch the news often and haven%26#39;t heard about any incidents recently.

Although I%26#39;ve heard about some Muslims returning to their homes there, they have been some troubles with the Serbs. But, if you%26#39;re not Muslim, e.g. if you wife doesn%26#39;t wear a headscarf, you%26#39;ll probably be safe.

Having something to do in your spare time in Srebrenica is another story.

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My wife is Buddhist and I am Jewish. She is Asian from Thailand and I am from the U.S. Do we have anything to worry about? As for the living standards, how much money do we need to live a good lifestyle in this part of Bosnia?

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I suppose there should be no problems for you there.

As for the costs, I couldn%26#39;t say, but I%26#39;m absolutely positive that it will be cheap for you. I know some people in Sarajevo who live with 100 Euros, and Srebrenica is a lot cheaper. I guess everything above 500 Euros will do for a luxurious life in Srebrenica, if that%26#39;s possible over there. :-)

I will ask around about houses in Srebrenica.

When are you comming here and for how long? I saw in that other thread that you want a fully furnished house. How big? Also, if you have kids, are they going to go to school here and where exactly? Any other questions?

Could you leave me your e-mail address here, so I could contact you there from now on?

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We should be in contact via e-mail so that you can help me with some of my questions. My e-mail address is daveganz@hotmail.com

Thanks again for your time. David

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The genocide practised in Bosnia was intra-communal. How essentially decent people came to this pass is what we need to understand. However: it will be readily apparent that you are foreigners, and as such not associated with any of the indigenous factors that led people to kill their neighbours in the 90s. You will be treated with kindness and hospitality. It will be appreciated if you make an effort to learn the language a little. Your wife might get stared at sometimes if she is of Asian appearance, but not with hostility - it%26#39;s just that this is a part of the world that hasn%26#39;t had much population flow from outside Europe (in recent centuries), though the post-conflict years have seen soldiers and administrators from all over the world in every corner of Bosnia, so obvious difference is no longer such a novelty.

Don%26#39;t forget though what happened in Srebrenica. I%26#39;ve spent quite a lot of time there and it%26#39;s one of the saddest and most downright wrong places I%26#39;ve ever been. In my opinion, Srebrenica should be closed down and maintained in perpetuity as a monument to the inhumanity of mankind. But it%26#39;s not my place.

The local springs have been used as health-enhancing spas since at least Roman times, and there used to be important Roman silver mines there (hence the name). But this is not what Srebrenica will be remembered for in the history books.

Perhaps by living there you and your multi-faith, multi-cultural family will help to heal the wounds. It will probably get you down a bit though.

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It is very safe in Srebrenica, i think it is safer than most of the europe. But the town is small and depresive. Everything is cheap and i think that 1000€ will be more than enough for a month.

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Travel from Dubrovnik across the border to B-H and Srpska

I will be landing from a cruise ship in Dubrovnik. We are only in port 6 hours. Is there a way travel from the port of Kotor across the border into B-H and / or Srpska and back (no sightseeing) within that time frame to get my passport stamped?

Please reply to me directly at pdmaley@yahoo.com

thanks,

Paul

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I%26#39;ve never heard about such idea before. I%26#39;m stunned, really.

Yes, it%26#39;s possible. The closest Bosnian border from Dubrovnik is in Metkovic (I think). It should take about 3 hours of drive to get there. I don%26#39;t know about Kotor, I haven%26#39;t been there yet.

But I would really recommend you to spend those 6 hours in Dubrovnik, or Cavtat (if you%26#39;ve already seen Dubrovnik), both of which are nice places to explore. I mean, what does another stamp in your passport mean if you didn%26#39;t really experience those journeys?

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I agree that this is a crazy request for information. You must not know how beautiful Dubrovnik is! Yes, spend the time you have there to walk the walls and sample some Croatian food. You possibly to get your passport stamped in Montenegro, but going to Bosnia is out of the question. Next time take a real trip to Dubrovnik and take day trips to Bosnia and or Serbia!

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Thanks to the two replies so far. Actually we dock in Dubrovnik for 6 hours and Kotor for 6 hours. The map makes it appear Dubrovnik is VERY close to the Srpska border but it is not clear that it would really take 3 hours to get there. However, if that is the case, then clearly it is impossible to do the roundtrip to the border and make it back to the ship in time. I have been to Dubrovnik before so it is not a problem for me to give that up. If any other readers have any other suggestions as to how to make this work, I would appreciate it.

Paul

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Ok that clears things up for me. First of all in looking at a map...I don%26#39;t think it would be possible to get to the Serbian border and back in six hours. I think you could get to the border crossing in Bosnia and back in that time though. But when we went through the Croatian to Bosnian crossings our passports were not stamped..even though we didn%26#39;t ask for them to stamp them. How would you do this? Hire a taxi? I am sure a good Croatian driver could get to the Bosnian border and back in time if the price is right!

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One other thing - Srpska and Serbia (Srbija) is not the same thing.

I pressume that Paul meant Republic of Srpska, which is one of the two Bosnian entities. I%26#39;ve never travelled through it, but I believe there should be a road closer to Dubrovnik than the one I mentioned before (going to the other Bosnian entity - Federation of Bosnia%26amp;Herzegovina). A road that goes to Trebinje or some town near it. But I don%26#39;t believe that Croatian taxi drivers would like to go there, although I might be wrong.

If you meant Serbia, I believe that it%26#39;s too far from Kotor to reach in such a short range of time.

As for the stamps, I don%26#39;t think anyone would object giving you one if you ask politely.

And please, could you let us know how it turned out? I%26#39;m curios... Good luck!

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To clarify the request, I made a mistake in my first post. The trip to the border of Srpska would be made from Dubrovnik, not Kotor since that is too far away. I have been to Nis in Serbia before and so that was not my intent. The real challenge then is to get to the closest border crossing with Srpska only from Dubrovnik. Seems that I read this could be done from a guide book last year but I no longer have it. I am at sea this week and thought the best solution would be to check with someone in the vicinity. My trip is not until next spring at earliest.

Paul

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For heaven%26#39;s sake. There is no such place as %26#39;Srpska%26#39;. This is an adjective that means %26#39;Serb%26#39;. The name of the Serb entity of the country of Bosnia and Hercegovina is %26#39;Republika Srpska%26#39;. This means %26#39;Serb Republic%26#39;. The name was chosen to create an obvious distinction between this part of BiH (this is the abbreviation of Bosnia and Hercegovina in the language they speak there by the way, not another place to get your passport stamped) and the country of Serbia (or Srbija, see previous comment). How would you like your country to be referred to as %26#39;United%26#39;, particularly by someone who has no intention of actually going there for any meaningful purpose, but just wants to collect a passport stamp. However, well done for venturing out of Texas. Or is that %26#39;State%26#39;?

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Here is a reply to OFFROADWOMAN: Sorry, but our map structure here shows what is termed Republic of Srpska embedded within B-H. Therefore I am repeating what is shown in those maps. Thanks for correcting me.

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While it may not be perfect, I really take no offense when somebody refers to the USA as %26quot;the States%26quot;, or shortens Bosnia and Hercegovina to Bosnia. I agree the correct term is Republika Srpska, but I do not see any ill intent here.

The last I heard there is one border control force for all of Bosnia. I thought they did away with separate passport stamps a few years ago. I have not been there for awhile, and I have one passport stamp from the Republika Srpska, but I think those days are gone.

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I know it could break your heart if I notice you that officers on%26quot; Srpska border%26quot; have run out of ink, so you may get just one stamp,one of Bosnia and Herzegovina on border between Dubrovnik and Trebinje.

Its so enthusiastic, you really deserve to have all those stamps in your collection

P.S

Please notice us back how you enjoyed your TAXI ride to the border.

staying in Mostar

Can anyone recommend a place to stay apart from the Hotel Ero?

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Any reason why you don%26#39;t want to stay at the Ero? We actually booked a night at the Ero and backed out of it when we decided not to stay in Mostar. I don%26#39;t think you are going to have too many choices for hotels in Mostar. Have you looked into the Bristol? I know there is also a hotel Neretva. How many nights are you staying? good luck in your search!

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I am staying for 4 nights. Nothing personal against the Ero, but I was hoping for a place with a kitchennete and more interaction with the locals - a pension or a B%26amp;B maybe...

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Saw in the news that someone fired a rocket propelled grenade at a mosque on the outskirts of Mostar. Also a Catholic cemetery was desecrated earlier in the week there. Not the safest place to be yet.

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This happens from time to time, but I believe that the city center is safe. The thing you should know is that all these conflicts between the nationalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina are addressed towards each other. So, tourists are mainly safe.

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I did feel safe in the center when I was in Mostar this past July and I would go back to Mostar, but there just was an eeriness about the place. I would hope that eventually things would be great there in the future, but the fact of the matter is that things are not perfect there quite yet. Mostar is a beautiful place with so much history and culture. I am just not sure its the safest place to be right now!

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there are plenty of clean, inexpensive pensions on the Muslim side of the river about 200-400 metres from the bridge. I paid 30 euros for a very nice double inc. breakfast 2 weeks ago

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...and yes, there is definitely a real edge in Mostar at the moment. Was there when the RPG attack happened and have to say, judging by what many locals told me, it wasn%26#39;t any great surprise it happened.

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Just got back from Mostar today. Had a really pleasant time wandering around the city. It felt perfectly safe. We had absolutely no problems!

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Were there lots of people there at this time of the year? Anyone still getting paid to jump into the river from the bridge? I am glad that you had a nice, safe journey to Mostar.

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I visited Mostar a couple of times this year but only for one day. I was amazed by this nice little place called %26quot;Kriva cuprija%26quot; (%26quot;Crooked Bridge%26quot;). I ate at the reastaurant, but plan to visit the motel too, as soon as I need it. :-)

Their website http://www.motel-mostar.ba can give you more information.

As for the people jumping off the bridge, it%26#39;s too cold for that in this time of year, but they%26#39;r jumping every summer, I believe there%26#39;s even a contest in July.

I%26#39;d also recommend visiting a free photo exibition, by the bridge, where you can see how Mostar looked during the black days. I was shocked to see it, because during the war I didn%26#39;t have a TV (in Sarajevo) to see how Mostar looked like, although it was similar to Sarajevo. You%26#39;ll be surprised to see how many transformations were needed to make Mostar%26#39;s old part as it was before.

Skiing in Sarajevo?

I was just wondering if anyone knows if there is any snow in Sarajevo present? I am travelling to Sarajevo on the day after tomorrow, and thinking to take my skiing gear with me as I%26#39;ve hear it%26#39;s good for skiing, but is there any snow just now??

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NONE....Bjelasnica Igman and Jahorina have been opened a few weekends so far but its been pretty bad this year with temps in the 10C-15C range in sarajevo and -5C to 5C on the mountains. Lots of rocks on the trails and lots of ice. Just leave your things at home and rent the gear it is 15KM(5 quid) at all the locations, good quality and you wont tare up your own gear.

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Removed on: 5:21 am, August 22, 2009

Split to Mostar and Sarajevo

Does anyone know how long it takes to travel by car between Split and Mostar and Split and Sarajevo? If we only make it as far as Mostar, any recommendations on other towns or sites to visit?

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I will take a guess and say the drive from Split to Mostar will be about three hours. I don%26#39;t know about Sarajevo since I have never been there. I think a good stop on the way to Mostar is the town of Medugorje. This is the place where the Virgin Mary has appeared to some Bosnian girls since the early 80%26#39;s. The town of Pocitelj is also a neat stop with an old Mosque and fortress overlooking the town and the Neretva River. Mostar is quite the place to stop. I just loved walking along the cobble stoned streets and checking into all the little shops along the way. The bridge connecting the two sides of Mostar is also a must see. Just neat to see all the cultural differences right before your eyes. Have a great trip!

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Mostar - Sarajevo takes 2 hours. Pocitelj and Medjugorje are good recommandations. What is also beautiful -if you like nature - is Kravice waterfalls. Coming from Split, you first arive to the town of Ljubuski. From Ljubuski, it would be good to go to Mejugorje first. After Medjugorje, you backtrack to the intersection 6-7 kilometars and take a right turn to Kravice waterfalls. After that, you can go back to the main road and continue right to the town of Capljina (not much there). Cross the river Neretva, take a left turn towards Mostar and after 3 kilometers you are in Pocitelj. It is a nice litlle town, but there isn%26#39;t much to do there. After Pocitelj, you continue straight ahaed to Mostar. Another must-see is spring of river Buna in Blagaj. For this, you would have to turn right few kilometers before Mostar and drive for 8 kilometers. Well, these are all great places, so you can pick and choose. Happy trails!

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i travelled by bus from split to mostar last october---it took 4 to 5 hours.by car it would be pretty much the same but i can assure you its one of the most beautiful journeys your likely to make.from mostar to sarajevo it then takes another four hours.........theres not much inbetween split to mostat however a lot of croats allways recomend marakasa but im told its a bit commercial.hope you enjoy yourself! split is a top place specially when the weather is good.ive travelled all over europe and for me split is very close to being no.1

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Mostar to Sarajevo is 2 hrs by bus (often) or train (2 a day). You can catch local buses from Mostar to Blagaj and Pocitelj as well.

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Split to mostar is probably 3 hours (I cant remember exactly) and probably another 2hrs to Sarajevo.

The drive betwwen Mostar and Sarajevo is worth it alone, it%26#39;s spectacular in places.

Ask the locals and ask in restaurants...Neretva, the river, is amazing in spring and summer.

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Removed on: 7:18 pm, August 25, 2009

a month-long holiday

Hi,

I want to spend a month in Sarajevo studying Bosnian and I have a bunch of questions.

How can I find an apartment to sublet for the month of May? I%26#39;ve found one apartment that looks nice (near the Malaysian embassy), but it would be nice to shop around.

Are there any language schools besides the Soros school?

I%26#39;m 30, female, and will be in Sarajevo by myself with no car. Is it OK for me to walk around alone at night? Will I need to rent a bicycle?

thanks very much for your help!

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Hi there.

At the moment, I can only reply to some of your questions.

It%26#39;s OK to walk arround at any time. I would avoid some parts of the city, but central streets, well most of them with the street lights should be safe.

I%26#39;m not sure if you can rent a bicycle in Sarajevo. Simply because it wouldn%26#39;t help much, considering that most parts of the city are placed on the hills. But there%26#39;s a public transport which is cheap and decent (only watch out for the pickpocketing).

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Removed on: 6:18 pm, August 21, 2009

Split to Mostar - best route to drive?

I have my Michelin map, and would like advice as to the best route to take from Split - as I see it there are 3 options..

1. Take the E65 Adriatic Highway towards Brela, turn left onto a main (red) road, cross the border at Posusje and continue to Mostar. This road seems to be numbered 39, 60 and 61.

2. Continue down the E665 past Brela and past Makarska take a more minor (yellow) road numbered 512 and 62, which crosses the border at Crveni Grm, and continues to Mostar.

3. Stay on the E65 right down to where it crosses the BiH border and then turn up the E73 to Mostar. This is obviously the %26#39;easiest%26#39; route, being major roads, and while the mileage is more would it be quicker?

We will be travelling back up the E65 later in the trip, so I would quite like to travel to Mostar using a different route.

Also what are the border crossings on smaller roads like? Are we likely to have any problems there, being 2 women alone (and one being a lovely tall slim 18yo blonde - sadly not me!)?

Any advice gratefully received...

I also have questions about drive from Mostar to Trebinje, and from there to Dubrovnik. Again if anyone has done this drive I%26#39;d like to hear from you please.

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I would say take route 3..I have heard that the other roads are absolutely crazy going over the mountains. When you are in the Makarska area you will realize that you probably wouldn%26#39;t want to drive a car over the mountains that you see. I have not personally been on these roads but my father has and he said it is a scary ride. On some of these roads there are not many guardrails and there are steep drops. If you want adventure go on either of those two roads, if you want safety take the main road.

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Thanks for your reply Barry.

I have read about the mountain roads being scary, and having a bit of a fear of heights I did wonder about unfenced bends, etc.

It just goes a bit against the grain to have to go the %26#39;long way round%26#39; but if it is the safest way then that%26#39;s Ok.

I just needed to hear someone who has driven there tell me!

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I have driven many times on those mountain roads and I must agree that route #3 is the best because it is the safest route. It is a bit longer but considering the poor quality of the mountain roads you have to drive very slowly so there is no time saving at all.

Those mountain roads have lots of curves, lots of up hills and down hills and the roads are very narrow - when there are two cars coming from opposite directions one of them has to wait for the other car to pass.

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Removed on: 12:17 pm, August 28, 2009