bosnia: travnik and the last day in sarajevo

After leaving Mostar we drove straight to the airport in Sarajevo, to drop Bo off. It was sad to say goodbye, but we both knew we'd travel together again, we just didn't know when. I was sad to realize that my Bosnian adventure was almost over, my holidays always go by too quickly.

From there I drove another 90 minutes or so to a town called Travnik. When I'd been looking for places to go for my last night or two in Bosnia, I didn't want to go super far away from Sarajevo, and Travnik seemed to fit that bill perfectly.

Travnik is a town of nearly 20,000 people, with a long long history. Wikipedia tells me there is evidence of human habitation in the area going all the way back to the Bronze Age, but most people consider Travnik's history as really starting in the first few centuries A.D. There are plenty of pieces remaining from Roman rule, including coins, forts, graves, etc...

Like a lot of other areas in what is now Bosnia, Travnik was a fortified town. The remains of that fortification are easily the most visited spot in the modern town.

During Ottoman rule, most of the locals converted to Islam, and from what I saw, this hasn't changed, despite the Austrians being in charge for a while. During Ottoman times Travnik became so powerful that both France and Austria-Hungary established consulates there.

A fire at the beginning of the 20^th century destroyed most of the town, so what you can now see of Travnik is just over 100 years old. Apparently the basic industries of the city haven't changed much over the years, the economy still relies on farming and herding. There are a few factories, one of which makes matches, another makes furniture.

Travnik is built in a valley, with some of the town on the hill. My hostel was on that hill, I was rather terrified when I parked the car as it was a steep downhill. My hostel was awesome, I wish I'd had more time in the town to enjoy it.

After resting up for a while after arriving, I went to visit the main sight: the old fortress. It's often called Stari Grad, meaning old city, but I didn't feel like there was a city there, just the ruins of some walls of the old fortress. There was a small museum in one area, but it didn't have a lot to see.

Hands down the best reason to visit this fortress is for the views it offers over the whole area. I got to see a glorious rainbow of fall colour on the surrounding hills, it was beautiful. If I'd had more water and snacks with me I would've gone for a mini hike right then, as it was just gorgeous.

After taking in every possible view from the fortress I walked into town. I walked past a clock tower, which still looked very nice. It was tucked into a courtyard of sorts, I wasn't able to get close. I couldn't tell if visitors could go up into the tower, but someone must be able to in order to keep the clock working properly.

Wikipedia tells me Travnik is the only city in the country that has two clock towers, but I don't remember seeing another one. Obviously I missed the other one, as they wouldn't make that statement if it wasn't true.

My next stop was a mosque, the main mosque in the city. I've seen it called the Painted Mosque or the Decorated Mosque or the Ornamented Mosque, but I don't know which one is the official name. I was thrilled to find an unlocked door and an empty interior. Despite no one else being around, I put on a headscarf, because that's the right thing to do in a mosque.

I loved the windows, I loved the colours, I loved the thick carpets, I loved everything about this mosque. From what I've read since, this mosque is different from most mosques of the era in that there is no obvious exterior dome. 

I walked a little bit on the main floor, which is probably the men's section. I also went up to the women's section, which is a balcony that goes around three sides of the worship area, it was quite nice.

After the mosque I walked through town, but didn't see anything else in particular. There isn't much of note in Travnik, but the atmosphere is quiet and peaceful. I did find a bust of Tito in a small park, which surprised me, considering how 'well' he treated the people when he was in power.

The next morning I went for a hike. There is a very small chapel on a plateau area on one of the mountains, it seemed like a good idea to hike up there. Google maps told me it would only take 52 minutes to walk up there, but I knew that was going to be completely wrong, and it was. Going up took me 90 minutes, going down took about 40.

It was a steady climb to go up the mountain, with a number of switchbacks on the trail. I stopped a few times to catch my breath and just take in the views, because the entire valley was open for me to see. It was neat to get up close to all the trees with beautiful leaves, and see the colours of all the buildings in the town..

I might or might not have fallen a few times on the way down, because my legs were not at all in shape for descending, and the trail had a lot of scree. I didn't care though, the hike was worth it.

After showering, packing up and checking out, I put my pack in the car, then walked into the town center, as there was one more place I wanted to see.

As I did this walk I saw a city sign, the first one I'd seen outside Sarajevo. Yay for city signs!

My next sight was a house museum, the birthplace of writer Ivo Andric. 

He wasn't just any writer, he was a Nobel laureate, having won the prize in 1961. His writing focused on novels, poems, and short stories, mostly about life in Bosnia under Ottoman rule.

The home wasn't very exciting, to be honest. Since I'd already seen a couple traditional homes in Bosnia I was looking for something new, but that didn't happen. The museum had a room completely filled with his books and other writings, and a room with a traditional oven/heating system. It's probably worth taking a tour, so at least you get some information while walking around this museum.

After that I walked back up to the car and drove a little way out of town. I only went a little way because I wanted to see another spomenik. The closest one was in the suburb of Novi Travnik, on the edge of town.

The spomenik I saw honours the victims of fascism and communism. Like so many other spomeniks, the design of this one is unique. I'd almost describe it as a series of faces in the middle of a field. They're all quite large, though they don't initially appear that way. I didn't realize they're all bigger than me until I got up close. They're out in the middle of a field, I just hoped I wasn't trespassing on anyone's property.

From there I drove back to Sarajevo, and dropped off the car first thing. The guy in the rental office was surprised that I was a few hours, but I figured that was the best plan for me because I would've had to deal with city parking in order to keep it those last few hours.

Back in the city center I checked into my room, and relaxed for a while. At some point I went for a walk, just enjoying the city sounds. I got lucky with the timing of sunset, as my photo while standing on a bridge turned out really well. Sarajevo isn't stunning, but it is beautiful in its own way.

The next morning I did my usual pack up and check out, taking my bag with me. I was determined to finally see the history museum, so I made a beeline in that direction.

The musem was impressive, mostly because it is huge. Parts of it were under renovation, but there was still plenty for me to see. Since Bosnia has had people living here for millenia, the history on display had a loooong timeline. There were religious items, daily life items, and information. That was just the main building though, there were a couple other buildings too.

I also visited the zoology building, to see all the fauna from this area. From what I could tell, the entire fauna history of Bosnia was on display in this building. I enjoy the history of people more than that of animals, but this was still impressive. There was also a section on geology, so I got to see small bits and pieces of gems and minerals.

By the time I left the museum I was a bit museumed out. I guess that means it was a good, and comprehensive museum?

Back in the city center I headed straight for a convenience store to pick up snacks for my trip back home, then a bakery to have dessert before hopping on the bus to the airport.

I'll definitely be back to Sarajevo and Bosnia.