Tuesday 2016/05/10

From Plav to Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzogowina

 

After saying goodbye to the paragliders from the Czech Republic who are leaving, we are heading to Sarajevo. I already know a big part of today's route from 2013. I am especially looking forward to the trip through Durmitor.

Until Berane, the track is still new to me, but soon we ride into the Tara Gorge. This time we take a break at the impressive Đurđevića Tara Bridge over the Tara Gorge, which offers impressive views of the gorge.

We ride on to the plateaus around Žabljak, which is located in the middle of the Durmitor National Park. We take the small pass road that leads through the middle of the Durmitor National Park over the mountains, but for the second time during this trip we have to turn around, because the snow eventually completely blocks the road. A pity. I would like to ride this route again.

So we have to make a detour south around Durmitor, and unfortunately we have some rain. Shortly after Plužine, where we have a break on a bench next to a gas station with a beautiful view to the valley, we passby the road up to Durmitor pass, but because we're already late and since we know that pass is closed due snow, we don't do another detour.

The ride along the reservoir Pivsko jezero is also very nice.

On the border to Bosnia-Herzogowina we meet the Tara valley/river again. The border crossing is also a small one and the wooden bridge over the Tara is quite strange.

After a short time we pass Foča, where I stayed overnight in 2013. From here it is only 85 kilometers to Sarajevo, where we find a hotel near the private accommodation from 2013 and in fact the parking lot of the hotel is in front of the house in which we stayed in 2013.

We enjoy the atmosphere of the city and in the evening we have dinner in the "To be or not to be", which I already know from 2013. Again, we are not disappointed with this restaurant.

After dinner, we still have a conversation with a 62-year-old American traveling alone. He has Russian-Balkan background, although it is overshadowed by the fact that his parents are probably traumatized by their experiences. They never have told him about their experience of displacement and statelessness. We talk about our travel impressions and about the situation all over the world. On the way back to the hotel we have our obligatory coffe and a raki.