We Have Had Guests 🇬🇧
“You know, David, if you hadn't have lived here, I don't think I ever would have thought about coming here”.
Hello and welcome to this edition of our Blog, from Čardačani, in the north of Bosnia and Herzegovina, written by an immigrant (me), as I am neither a tourist or a citizen here.
There wasn't a post last week, basically that's because Tamara and I have been like uber busy, really busy indeed.
Some posts ago, I put an audio clip at the top of the post and then text underneath with images and videos supporting what I was talking about, so that you could get a multimedia experience.
I'm trying that again in this post.
It would be really interesting for us, if you could leave a comment whether you like having an audio clip to listen to as well as reading the post.
I did say that we've been busy, and that is because an old colleague of mine, somebody I first met back, I think in 2011, 2012, in Oberammergau in Bavaria came to visit together with his wife.
Dai and Denise Roberts, came to stay for 6 nights with us as part of their “Balkan Tour”. They are both Nomads. Travelling to places they find interesting for months at a time.
So far on this current tour they have visited Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovenia, before dropping down to see Bosnia and Herzegovina.
They are staying for 15 days in total in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The first two days we introduced them to local food, which I think they enjoyed very much, followed on Day 2 by helping to decorate our terrace with English and Canadian flags and bunting (Tamara is a Canadian citizen).
We had organised everything to watch the coronation of King Charles III, outside in the sunshine, enjoying a traditional meal prepared by Tamara’s father, accompanied by some drinks, which included a Bosnian Gin, called Crackerjack!
Denise was especially taken by it.
There was a lot of catching up to do, as well as exploring the local area.
We are very passionate about “Slow Touring” so planned a relaxed “exploration”.
Tamara and I decided that we could see Banja Luka over 2 days.
Day 1. Parking opposite the Orthodox Cathedral, Denise and Dai, got to see:
The Memorial to the Fallen (the memorial to the Partisans of the Anti Fascist War in the 1940’s)
The Banski Dvor (a superb Austro Hungarian building that is now a cultural centre, and the location back in 1959, that American big band legends Quincy Jones and Dizzi Gillespie played, with Quincy writing a big band track called “Banja Luka” ⬇️ LISTEN HERE ⬇️
Retro Tour with a replica “Model T” type car, that drives through the city on both sides of the River Vrbas, giving a great overview of what Banja Luka is like.
Lunch in “Kod Mujo” to sample traditional Banjalučki ćevap.
Walked Godspodska Ulica (Gentleman’s Street).
The Ferhadija Mosque. Built in 1579, destroyed in 1993 and rebuilt over the following 20 years.
Found out about the story of Sefikada.
Coffee at Restaurant Slap on the outskirts of the city by the River Vrbas.
Day 2. Explored a little further afield:
The watermills and waterfalls at Krupa Na Vrbasu a super little village, some 20, 25 kilometres south of Banja Luka via a stunning drive through the Vrbas Kanjon. It's something that has to be experienced when you come here.
After the watermills it was on to visit the Ethno Village at Ljubačke Doline. There are many Ethno villages dotted across the country, but, in my opinion this is one of, if the not the best, of them all. A true living museum.
Having had Dai and Denise here has been very good for us, particularly when understanding what “Slow Guests” prefer.
Their time with us, for me as an immigrant here, meant I got to hear what other Brits feel about not feeling connected with the United Kingdom. Somethig I consider a lot to be honest.
Sometimes I feel guilty about living in this wonderful place and having the life I do. It's not a luxurious life by any shakes. We have enough to get by. But, you know, like walking. I didn't appreciate just going for a walk around my local area. How nice it is and how other people, see how blessed I am to do this.
Our guests have now moved on. They're spending, I think, four nights in Sarajevo. They've already reported back. They've been exploring the culture of Sarajevo. After that they move on to Mostar. And from there, spending some time on the Bosnian coast at Neum. Bosnia has the second smallest coastline in the world and I'm really really looking forward to seeing or reading rather the reports that come back from Dai and Denise about that.
I think in the last post I put a link to a new podcast that Tamara and I have created.
It's called the Travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina podcast.
The aim of the podcast is to stimulate listeners to want to visit this wonderful country, with an episode every week uploaded on a Wednesday.
The initial feedback has been very positive. We've got a Channel on Telegram. We've opened a new Instagram account. So if you do use Instagram, please do check out the Travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina podcast. We are putting on that specific dedicated Instagram as many clips as we can, audio clips, but definitely links to where you can listen to the podcast. It's on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Google, Audible etc.
Going back to our guests that have recently left, Dai did say to me
“You know, David, if you hadn't have lived here, I don't think I ever would have thought about coming here”.
So that's it from this post.
Please do leave comments and please share this post as well.
It is really nice that you take time to either open the Substack app on your phone or mobile device, or even read the emails. It does mean a lot to the both of us. Sometimes there are ramblings that are posted. Sometimes there's more, I don't know, more focused content.
But thank you very much indeed.
Next week there will be a letter from America, which is weird for an Englishman in the Balkans, but I'm off to New Jersey on Tuesday to visit my youngest daughter and her family. And I think I've already got a story about a connection between being in New Jersey and the Balkans.
And Finally.
If you would like to experience a little Ćejf, and also explore this wonderful country, then why not get in contact with us. We can accommodate up to 5 people and can assure you of a wonderful time.
Our WhatsApp number (text only) is 00387 66 657916.
Don’t forget that you can read back editions of the newsletter, listen to previous podcasts (we have quite an archive now), or catch other content, all this is available on the web interface, just like a regular blog.
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Tamara and I appreciate your faithful readership, your comments, and your generosity!
Until our next post.
THANKS SO MUCH ❤️
Great piece again thank you for writing this i really must come to Banja Luka, I tested the Sarajevsko Cevap with home made Kajmak last week when in Medjugorje, so got to achieve the Banja luka ones. Sretan Put on your trip to USA