Good News from Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦 This Week.
It is very easy, in this country, to be drawn towards the difficult stories.
Politics, division, bureaucracy, frustration, summer water shortages, endless delays, they are never very far away. And I do not think we should pretend otherwise.
But every week I also try to look in the other direction.
Not because I want to ignore the problems, but because Bosnia and Herzegovina is much more than its problems. There are always small signs of movement, pride, creativity and ordinary life carrying on. Sometimes they are big national moments. Sometimes they are just water coming back into people’s taps.
So, here are a few pieces of good news from Bosnia and Herzegovina this week.
Football pride, even in defeat
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s World Cup journey came to an end after defeat to the United States, but I don’t think that should take away from what the team achieved.
Coach Sergej Barbarez said afterwards that the players should be proud of their journey, and I think that really matters.
In a country where so much gets pulled apart by politics, football briefly gave people something simpler to share. A flag. A song. A bit of nervous hope. A reason to shout at the television together.
That may not solve anything, of course. But it still means something.
For those of us who live here, and for the huge Bosnian diaspora scattered across the world, those moments are not just about football.
They are about being seen.
A small step towards cleaner air
The Western Balkans, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, have committed to stronger tobacco-control policies and a more smoke-free future.
Now, I know what some of you may be thinking.
Bosnia and Herzegovina and smoke-free public places? That may sound ambitious.
And yes, as always here, the promise is one thing and implementation is another. But if this eventually means less exposure to second-hand smoke in indoor public places, workplaces and public transport, then it is a positive step.
Especially for children. Especially for families. Especially for those who have simply got used to smoke being part of everyday life.
Of course, I’ll believe the full impact when I see it, but I still think it is worth noting.
Solar panels and practical progress
The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has adopted its first support scheme for residential solar self-consumption, with grants reportedly available for households.
That might not sound as emotional as a football match, but in many ways this is exactly the sort of good news I like.
Quiet. Practical. Useful.
Energy is one of those things we all tend to take for granted until there is a problem. So anything that helps households move towards producing some of their own electricity feels like a sensible step in the right direction.
Not dramatic. Not flashy. But potentially very useful.
Strengthening the electricity grid
Staying with energy, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is providing a €46 million loan to help modernise Bosnia and Herzegovina’s electricity transmission network.
Again, this is not the sort of story that will make everyone stop scrolling.
But it matters.
I can’t begin to count the times our electricity get cit off - just like that
A stronger grid should help with stability, reduce losses, and make it easier to connect more renewable energy in the future. In a country with so much natural potential, that is important.
Sometimes progress does not arrive as one big shiny announcement. Sometimes it arrives as infrastructure. Cables. Systems. Upgrades. Things most of us never notice when they are working properly.
More passengers through Tuzla Airport
Tuzla International Airport has seen passenger numbers more than double in the first five months of this year.
For a country where travel connections can still feel frustratingly limited, that is encouraging.
Airports are not just buildings with check-in desks. They are connections. People coming home. Families visiting. Workers travelling. Tourists arriving. Students leaving and returning. Diaspora links kept alive.
For Bosnia and Herzegovina, better connectivity is always good news.
Sarajevo Film Festival is getting ready again
The Sarajevo Film Festival is already preparing for its 32nd edition, which will take place in August.
I have always thought the festival is one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s great cultural calling cards.
It shows a different face of the country to the world. Creative. Open. International. Confident. And deeply rooted in a city that knows more than most about resilience.
In a country that is too often described through politics and problems, culture still has a way of opening doors.
And finally, water in the taps
Closer to home, there was some good news for parts of Banja Luka, where water supply from the Tunjice reservoir was reported as stable again, with residents relieved to have regular supply.
That may sound like a small thing.
But if you have lived through summer water problems here, you will know it is not small at all.
When was the last time you had full buckets of water ready to flush the toilet?
Sometimes good news is not a grand announcement, a policy document, or a national achievement.
Sometimes good news is simply turning on the tap and water coming out.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is complicated. It always has been. But inside all that complication, life keeps moving. People keep creating, travelling, watching football, making plans, fixing things, waiting for rain, hoping for better, and getting on with the day.
🎧 The Podcast.
In this episode of An Englishman in the Balkans, I sit down in Banja Luka with photographer, writer, and fellow Substacker Jennie Blythe.
Jennie has travelled widely across the former Yugoslavia, but this was her first visit to Banja Luka.
Over pita cooked under the sač, with heavy rain falling outside, we talked about first impressions, Bosnian hospitality, photography, history, memory, and the way this country quietly draws people in.
Our conversation takes us from the Partisan monument on Banj Brdo to the everyday rituals of local food, from street photography and respect to the slow, thoughtful world of Substack.
What I loved most about this conversation was seeing a place I know well through someone else’s eyes. Jennie notices the details many of us walk past: a monument, a posture, a street corner, a quiet expression, or the feeling of a city after rain.
This is an episode about Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also about looking more carefully, travelling more slowly, and understanding that every place carries stories if we take the time to listen.
📸 Seen This Week.
😢 Obituary
The centre of Banja Luka loses an iconic piece of history.
The closing of Kod Muje in the centre of Banja Luka feels like one of those small local moments that says rather a lot.
On the face of it, it is just a ćevabdžinica closing its doors in one part of town.
But places like this are never just about food.
They are about habit. Memory. Meeting people. The smell of grilled meat drifting out into the street. The quick lunch. The familiar table. The place you took visitors because, in some quiet way, it said something about Banja Luka.
Cities change, of course. They always have. New cafés appear, old signs come down, rents rise, tastes shift, streets slowly become something else.
But when a place like Kod Muje disappears from the centre, it feels like another little thread has been pulled from the fabric of the city.
For many people, Banja Luka ćevap is not just something to eat. It is part of the city’s identity.
And for those of us who live here, or who have spent years trying to understand this place beyond the headlines, these small closures matter.
Because sometimes you notice change not through politics or big announcements, but through an empty doorway where there used to be smoke, conversation, and the smell of ćevapi.
Another little piece of old Banja Luka quietly gone.
Note: Kod Muje still has two other outlets that are still open.
🎙️ The Sound of Bosnia.
An Earworm.
The other weekend Tamara, her father and I were in Zenica. Up the side of a mountain at the club where our hiking club is.
There was sooo much food. How UNUSUAL for Bosnia. Some drinks and a massive loudspeaker pumping out “toons”
The playlist, it has to be said wasn’t huge.
This track was played a lot and has become somewhat of an earworm to be honest:
🏡 From the Kitchen
Kljukuša
Tamara has been busy again.
Kljukuša is a traditional dish from Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is made from a few simple ingredients:
Grated potatoes
Flour
Water
Salt
A little cooking oil
The mixture is poured into a baking tray and baked until it develops a crisp, golden-brown crust. Once baked, it is often drizzled with a mixture of garlic and oil, or served with sour cream or plain yogurt.
It’s a simple, hearty, and comforting dish that has long been a staple of Bosnian home cooking. Despite its humble ingredients, a well-made kljukuša is full of flavour and is enjoyed throughout the country.
🗺️ A Place Worth Knowing About.
This week, I’m taking you to near Krupa na Vrbasu.
Just outside Krupa na Vrbasu, the Kameni Most feels like one of those places you could easily pass by without fully noticing, and yet it holds so much quiet beauty.
Stone, water, greenery, and that unmistakable sound of the Vrbas nearby all come together in a way that feels timeless.
It is not grand in a showy sense, but that is exactly its charm. It feels rooted, modest, and deeply Bosnian, the sort of place that reminds me why the smaller corners of this country often leave the strongest impression.
👇 Watch the video here.
💬 A Question.
“What small moment made you stop and smile this week?”
