Bosnia & Herzegovina, or as most people know it by – Bosnia, is a little country with a lot of history.

I first decided to take a trip here after seeing a picture of the famous Mostar Bridge. I figured I would spend a couple days there, maybe take a quick trip to Sarajevo, then hop on a bus down to Montenegro. 

At the time I was in the mood to chase the sun and beaches of the Mediterranean. I was just leaving the beauty (and sights of Game of Thrones), and wanted  all my time to be spent on crystal clear waters. If you didn’t know, the Bosnia & Herzegovina coastline is only about 20 kilometers long (that’s only 12 miles!).

That just wouldn’t do.

However, 3 months later I was sitting in a café, drinking a Turkish coffee thinking “why can’t my visa last longer than 90 days.” I absolutely fell in love with Bosnia. The food was amazing (I ate burek and cevapi on the regular), the people were extremely welcoming, and the things I learned here were eye opening.

I spent the majority of my time volunteering at a hostel in Sarajevo. My free time was dedicated to learning about the country’s turbulent past. I walked across the Latin Bridge, the very place where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot, sparking the events that led to WWI.  I strolled through alleyways full of vibrant street art and riddled with bullet holes from the siege of Sarajevo. I drank from magical water fountains and wandered through the remains of abandoned olympic venues. 

Despite all of the pain and suffering the country has endured, the warmth of the people is the thing that goes on. To this day I can’t stop thinking about dancing to traditional Bosnian folk music and drinking rakija to the early parts of the morning.