Live from Trans Dinarica: Bosnia and Herzegovina is even wilder than we thought
Traveling the Balkans, we continue to get surprised. We continue with the work in the field: late-night planning for the next day, getting up early, a hearty breakfast (of course, we are in the Balkans!), driving in a van combined with cycling, turning around, asking locals for directions, and looking for the best alternatives for cyclists. In between, we’re taking photos and filming until the evening, when we usually we reach the destination of the stage after sunset.
From wild Drina NP to lively Sarajevo
After we left Serbia — crossing the Drina River — and entered Bosnia and Herzegovina, we got to see a fairly unknown part of this country: Drina National Park, established only in 2017. We viewed the river both from the bank and from the nearly 1,000-meter-high edge of the canyon. This is wilderness in the truest sense. Apart from a local man carrying felled trees with his horse, a park ranger with a VW Golf 2, and no more than five cars (in two days!), we didn’t meet a soul. This will be a more adventurous part of the Trans Dinarica, which some — more accustomed to shops and hotels — would likely miss altogether.
The complete opposite, but no less exciting, was Sarajevo — a place we all love and return every chance we get. We come for tastes like burek, ćevapčići, baklava, and Bosnian coffee at Čajdžinica Džirlo. We also come for the handmade crafts, like coffee sets made by Abdulah Hadžić at Manufaktura. In the evening, we stopped in for some of the city’s best traditional food at the restaurant Žara iz Duvara. The lively city life was enjoyed by the whole team, but as soon as we left the traffic behind, we felt the essence of the Trans Dinarica return to the wilderness.
Reaching Livno, we concluded our first research expedition in the field. We will continue with the work, but until then, thanks to everyone who helped us along the way and to everyone who expressed interest in the wildest bicycle transfer through the countries of the Western Balkans via social media and e-mail. Let’s keep in touch!
–
