The day we decided to collect litter around some lakes because they were too beautiful

This summer we did not go anywhere too exotic. A two-hour flight took us from Brussels Charleroi to Banja Luka, a peaceful city in the north of Bosnia and Herzegovina, that heart shaped - ok, with some imagination - and almost land locked country that most of us have probably only heard of because of its recent bloody history.

After spending a couple of days there to get acquainted with a new country, we visited the capital city (more details about Sarajevo will come in a separate article) and finally decided to spend some time close the nature. A few hours bus drive from Sarajevo is a little town called Jajce. The town itself is cute, but nothing special to be honest, apart from the Pliva waterfall that you will enjoy with no crowds from the other side of the town by crossing one of the bridges above the river.

An easy hike outside of the town will lead you to a lake area that has made it to the top of the list of my favourite places in Europe !!
River Pliva flows into the so called ‘Small’ and ‘Big’ Lake. We arrived on a late summer afternoon hour and this is what we saw.

Forests cover 50% of the surface of BIH. And with that comes a huge amount of water, of course. I grew up in a country surrounded by water – so, yes, water is my natural element. But the water I swam in BIH was the clearest and purest I have ever seen in my life. The temperature was a different story, though.

Here and there the river forms charming waterfalls and in one of them, there is even a restaurant ! The place is called Konoba Slapovi and it is 100% local: you can enjoy your beer, coffee or Ćevapi surrounded by the sound of flowing water that you will never get tired of.

While nature is probably the main reason why you should go to BIH, the country is also rich in culture and history. Here are two interesting facts I learned:

1. In BIH, three different languages are spoken and two different alphabets are used (good luck with communication if you don’t know any Slavic languages).

2. As a non-believer, you are allowed to enter a mosque. If you have visited other Muslim countries, this is not something you would take for granted.

PS : If you are curious about Bosnian music, you should listen to Amira Medunjanin.