Mostar's famous
Old Bridge is impressively tall and in a very picturesque setting for a quiet early morning stroll. By lunchtime, of course, it groans under the weight of guided-tour automatons and competitive selfie-takers. I'm resigned to the selfie stick, in the same way that I'm resigned to the Kardashians and my own mortality, but today I saw a surprising innovation in the shape of a selfie drone. Some guy was flying his drone out from the centre of the bridge and filming himself from it. Undoubtedly he was live-streaming it on InstaBook or whatever it's called.
I found a much quieter spot at the top of the Bell Tower, the tallest building in Mostar. It's only 3 quid or so to go up to the top and get some panoramic snaps. (I took the stairs, even though the lift is functioning and free, because I'm like that.) The bell itself is large and in active service, and it can be heard from quite some distance, as I learned when the blasted thing rang just as I was standing right next to it. I nearly jumped out of my skin. I'm glad nobody was watching. It took a few minutes before I was sufficiently compos mentis for the walk back down.
But my general good humour is being kept up here by the food, which is fabulous. Dubrovnik was all about over-sugary pastries and expensive pizzas without quite enough Italian influence to be any good. Here in Mostar, there's much more of an Eastern Mediterranean feel to the cuisine - kebabs, salads, meatballs, spices, etc. If there's one thing that endears a place to me, it's an easy abundance of restaurants where you can eat like a king for a fiver. And the customer service is better here too. Actual eye contact!
Also there is the
Black Dog pub, with classic rock on the jukebox and impressive local craft beers poured by a barmaid with black lipstick who could, in the words of Raymond Chandler, make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window...
Dubrovnik didn't make it into my top 50, but Mostar looks set for top 20 at least. Onwards and upwards.
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| The Old Bridge |
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| The walk from my digs into town |
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| Inside the Karadoz Bey mosque |
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Edd vs Food #61
Chicken salad with garlic bread at Nide Veze |
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Edd vs Food #62
Pretty much the full shebang, at Tima Irma |
