Foggy days, cloudy nights

Close to Mostar lies the small town of Blagaj, home to Tekija Blagaj, an important Dervish monastery from the 15th Century.

A Dervish, in Islam, refers to a Sufi fraternity as well as to a religious mendicant, who chooses material poverty. 
Arguably their most famous characteristic is the dance of the Dervish, where the dancers spin round and round to bring themselves into a state of religious frenzy.

The monastery is nicely located at the bottom of a soaring cliff right next to the source of the river Buna, with 43.000 liters per second, one of the strongest in Europe.

To be honest, though, our camp right next to the river felt more spectacular to us. Run by a very friendly family, we were welcomed with a beer and later surprised with another treat. The location was just amazing!

We were not sure if this is minced meat or a cake. Turns out it is a very traditional fig cake.

We are now moving further North and into the heart of the country.

For some excellent hiking, we went into the Blidinje Nature Park, situated at the heart of the Dinaric Alps, where we would spend three days in nature.

This area was considered for filming parts of Lord of the Rings, so maybe that gives you a bit of an idea.

To kick things off, we ascended a rather terrible gravel "road" full of potholes the size of an average bathtub. Thankfully, it was only a stretch of 3,5km from the real road to the trailhead. But I was slightly worried, to be honest. After all, we had to go back down as well...

My human took off in high spirits, regardless of the weather being slightly unstable.

One of the must-see spots in the park is Hajducka vrata, Outlaws door, a natural stone formation at the edge of the Diva Grabovica canyon.

It was declared a natural monument in 1985 and is said to be the one of the best view points in Bosnia.

The canyon itself is 1.800 meters deep, equalling the depth of the Grand Canyon. 
Just a shame if you canˋt see it...

If you check it out on your preferred search engine, it doesnˋt quite look like this on the photos:

Oh well, she is used to it.

On the way there she passed the highest mountain lake in the country, Crnjak, at exactly 2.000 meters. She had a bathing suit in her backpack, but with a strong wind going, a quick bath didnˋt seem all that appealing.

She stopped for a cup of tea at the small mountain hut close by and was welcomed by a very happy chap in a FC Bayern jersey. 
After commenting on it, he explained that he went to primary school with Hasan Salihamidzic and is still friends with him today.

Those of you who know about soccer will know who I am talking about. The rest of you - never mind.

The highest peak in the area, Plokno, 2228m, was the next target and was achieved, unlike Maglic a couple of weeks ago, regardless of the snow covering its very steep flank. Hard work, though.

See the tiny building on top? Thatˋs a military station.

Doesnˋt look so steep, but it definitely was.

                                                  The most useless sign post ever

She hiked up and down a few more minor hills and mountains and had a jolly good time doing so. 

The weather was just good enough, if often overcast and, especially on the last day, very windy. Which kept her from circumnavigating the largest mountain lake in the country, Blindije jezero, on the bike.

Civilzsation got hold of us again in Jajce, a well-preserved fortified capital of the former Bosnian kingdom. Much of the town walls and the fortress are still intact and in very good shape. 

The river Pliva runs through the center and meanders down the surrounding lush valleys, widening into a large lake at one point and then goes on over low barriers, forming picturesque waterfalls all over the place.

We stayed at another camp here, again right next to the river. At a price of 7 to 10 Euros, spoiling ourselves more often with the creature comforts these camps offer, seems a justifiable luxury.

Beautiful scenery in the middle of BIH

Which focus do you like better?

The drive from Jajce to Banja Luka leads through lush green valleys with rolling hills to all sides, always along the river bank, a very scenic drive indeed.

We found ourselves a good parking spot next to a large tennis center, aptly named Wimbledon, situated to one side of a nice little park.

The center was only a 20-minute walk from there, a nice stroll along a tree lined road. 

To be honest, the city didnˋt really appeal.

Temple of Christ the Savior; one of the most beautiful and greatest architectural achivements in therms of Orthodox temples in the Balkans (says the promo material)

A recycling whale, love it!

Presidential Palace to the President of the Republic of Srpska

After reading up on it a bit, it became clear that the city as it is today has hardly any resemblance to what it looked like before the war.

During the conflict, the Serbian government erased any and all Ottoman, Muslim, Catholic, Austrian and Bosnian cultural monuments, buildings and memories.

Names of streets, community centers, schools and places which were Muslim or Croat, or even not "Serbian enough", were changed.

So it is no wonder that there is no real flair to the city, no vibe. It will probably take a while longer before the city can find itˋs identity again.

Kastel Fortress; built on top of an ancient Roman settlement

In the early evening, a bit of a storm swept over the city, rain pouring down as from buckets for a couple of hours. 

It stopped just in time for my human to walk to a nearby pub to watch the second game of the Champions League semi-final between Bayern and Real Madrid.

She returned a couple of hours later, now with thunderclouds in her heart.

The weather wasnˋt great the next day, so she decided to spend a day in a spa.

About an hour from Banja Luka, she found a hotel with a sauna and pool open to outside guests.

Considering the four stars on the outside of the building, she had high hopes. 

Letˋs just say they werenˋt quite met and leave it at that.

But we donˋt want to finish this week on a negative note. So here is a little natural phenomenon for you: concretion.

A concretion is a compact mass of mineral matter, usually spherical or disk-shaped, embedded in a host rock of a different composition. This hard, round mass of sedimentary rock cement is carried into place by ground water.

Disclaimer: text stolen.

So now you know!