This summer, 11 Students and two faculty members are traveling to Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia to learn about the 20th-century history of the countries formerly known as Yugoslavia and begin to unravel the complex reverberations of Conflict. Please enjoy this blog post below from Anthony ’26 and Ava ’26 as they share highlights from a day that began with peaceful reflections in Mostar and visits to historic sites, then transitioned into scenic travel across borders, ending with swimming, seafood, and sunsets on Croatia’s stunning Dalmatian coast.
By Anthony ’26 and Ava ’26:
Starting the morning a little early, we walked around the old town of Mostar to grab a coffee and enjoy some chocolate pastries at the best bakery in town. On the way, we crossed the iconic Mostar bridge built to replicate the 400-year-old bridge destroyed in the “most recent war” (1991-1995). The Turkish-style bridge has slippery round cobble stones and symbolizes a sense of peace being the place where Eastern Europe meets Western Europe. The bridge rests above the Neretva river, a crystal-clear body of water attracting tourists from all over. After buying peaches and strawberries from a local market, we returned to the hotel to finish packing and prepare for our journey to Orebić. We hopped on the bus to begin a few hours’ drive south out of Bosnia and into Croatia. But first we took a stop on the outskirts of Mostar at the Partisan Memorial Cemetery. This memorial was for those Croatian partisans who fought back against the Croatian fascists collaborating with Hitler and Mussolini during the Second World War. Shockingly, the memorial was vandalized in 2022 and is still in a state of disrepair – our tour guide joked that the Bosnian government can’t do anything quickly. It is surprising to hear that there are still people in this world who are in support of fascism. For our second stop, we explored the Dervish house in Blagaj, just a couple miles outside Mostar. The monastery, a place of spiritual reflection and retreat, was built in the 15th century by the Dervish, part of a Zoroastrian tradition originally from Persia. It is located at the bottom of a beautiful rock mountain and is famous for the spring of Neretva River that rushes directly through it. Besides being a beautiful, peaceful, and spiritual oasis, this location is full of people, ice cream, and restaurants to eat lunch. At just one of the restaurants, we were given a platter of new and unique things to try, including river trout and beef tongue.
After crossing the border into Croatia we came to the beautiful and 2.4 km masterpiece, the new Peljiesac bridge. Arriving to our hotel in Orebić on the Dalmatian coast, we enjoyed some time soaking up the sun and swimming in our hotel pool. Eleanor was especially excited for the pool! With a little bit of free time before dinner, some people walked along the harbor and shopped at stores finding sunglasses, souvenirs, and t- shirts. Finally, to end the day, we spent time journaling and had dinner at a restaurant on the water. The fish was so good at lunch, we had it again at dinner – Albert is an expert at filleting whole cooked fish! We also had mussels, octopus, squid, swordfish, bruschetta, prosciutto, and a green salad with cucumber, tomato, olives, and feta. Walking back to the hotel just after sunset, we stopped at a Gelateria run by a couple of friendly guys who may have been Australian.