From Sarajevo to Banja Luka It was time to head north from Bosnia & Herzegovina’s first biggest city, Sarajevo, to its second biggest city of Banka Luka, which feels like a whole other country thanks to to its position as the capital of the "Republic of Srpska." Now, one might think going from Big City 1 to Big City 2 should…

Continue ReadingFinding Comfort & Simplicity in Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Despite being next door neighbors, the train experience in Bosnia & Herzegovina versus the train experience in Serbia could not be more dissimilar. In Serbia, everything is now easy, modern and requires little effort. Here, it’s a bit more convoluted, vintage and backpacker-y, despite the tremendous potential for train travel in this mountainous and beautiful terrain. Why? The war was a…

Continue ReadingThe Oldest Pyramids in the World You’ve Never Heard of in Visoko, Bosnia & Herzegovina

The 1984 Olympics Bob Sled Track On July 4th, we arrived to another “Known Known” of Sarajevo with the plan of camping out five weeks. We first visited in 2019 for about five days, and really appreciated the East meets West vibe tucked into a spectacular setting encompassed by rolling mountains…an ideal escape from a baking Europe thanks to its…

Continue ReadingDaily Life and Fun Adventures During Five Weeks in Sarajevo

Arriving to Zvornik from Valjevo From Valjevo, our next destination was Sarajevo, where we’d be spending the next five weeks. Unfortunately, there was no train option. The railway heads southwest into Montenegro, not Bosnia & Herzegovina, so for the first time in Serbia we had to rely on buses. We figured getting to the border—and then Sarajevo—would be simple. Wrong.…

Continue ReadingA Worthwhile Pause in the Border Town of Zvornik, B&H

In Summary... On our 2019 first visit to Serbia, we only got a small taste of the country in the cities of Belgrade, Niš and Novi Sad. To be frank, we weren’t enamored, which is not surprising given our affinity for smaller towns, villages and more off-the-beaten path locations. However, we did fall for Subotica, which we discovered on a…

Continue ReadingSerbia: It’s a Wrap!

Getting to and Exploring Valjevo En route from our one month in Subotica to our next five weeks in Sarajevo, we wanted to check out some other parts of the Balkans, so we settled on Valjevo in Western, Central Serbia. It was convenient to access by train and offered hiking in a beautiful gorge, which we were desperately hungering for…

Continue ReadingFinding Some Much Needed Nature In Valjevo, Serbia

Exploring Szeged For our next day trip from Subotica, we hopped aboard a Choo-Choo to take us across the border into Hungary, an incredible country we haven’t set foot in since 2018. Szeged is not only the third largest city in Hungary, but the sunniest, making it one of the world’s most famous paprika producing hubs. In addition to strapping…

Continue ReadingSoaking in the Third City of Szeged, Hungary

The Handsome Resort Town of Palic Just down the road from Subotica about 8 kilometers lies yet another gem of Vojvodina, the handsome resort town of Palic. You can access it easily from Subotica, either by train, local bus (#6) or bike, and it’s a idyllic place to spend a leisurely day exploring more ravishing architecture while enjoying the beautiful natural…

Continue ReadingDay Trips from Subotica, Serbia: Senta, Sombor, Palic & Subotica Sands