Returning back to Mostar after 3 days in Sarajevo, I felt relief on returning to the small quiet dusty streets of Mostar.
I suppose it is truly home when you say I am home, even if your home is a small rented apartment with a rock hard twin bed, and small fridge.
My earlier trip to BiH was centered on Sarajevo with two side trips to Mostar and Tuzla. Mostar was beautiful, and hot. The landscape was stark in contrast to the green hills of Sarajevo. I remember the bus station, a swath of concrete, and the red roofed houses stacked on the mountainside. I remember the blue green river and I remember walking the wrong way across the bridge to what I now know was the Front Line.
Now that I am a temporary resident of Mostar, I see things differently. The rhythm of the old town has two tempos. near the bridge, the tourist flock but in waves. They walk down from parked tour buses. Further away are the cafes of the locals. The sun is generous here, even on a cloudy day such as today, it is present behind a thin cloud cover.
It is quieter, no rush. In Sarajevo, the sidewalks constantly flowed with people, tourists and locals all wrapped up in the pace of the city. Traffic, people, smog. But energy.
Amy in Mostar 