Bosnia and Herzegovina: Trebinje (Republika Srpska)

Trebinje, Bosnia: get the message?
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We had a smooth journey into Bosnia, accompanied by some magnificent lake and mountain scenery.  Our border check was quick and we actually arrived in Trebinje around 1:30 p.m.  While Trebinje is part of the country Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is actually a city in Republika Srpska (Serbian Republic).

Republika Srpska, founded in 1991, is one of the two political entities that make up Bosnia and Herzegovina (the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina).  I know, it doesn't seem to make much sense.   Basically it's a large, virtually autonomous area, around the edges of Bosnia comprised mainly of Serbs.  It uses the cyrillic alphabet, whereas the rest of Bosnia uses the Latinic alphabet.

Trouble in Trebinje

Trebinje, Bosnia: mountain scenery near trebinje
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Trebinje, population 34,000, is a major city in Republika Srpska, and, since it is composed mainly of Serbs, obviously does not have much love for NATO or the United States.  This was evident by the graffiti we saw when we arrived, "NATO fuckof."

The bus station was too good to be true.  An absolutely horrific, sorry excuse for a functioning bus station.  Unequivocally the worst I have ever seen.  It's beyond me how it is even open.  There was broken glass everywhere, it was filthy, and the bathroom almost made me puke.  Urine all over the floors, disgusting odors everywhere.  I somehow used the urinal (in my flip-flops a MASSIVE mistake), and discovered that the urine just trickled down onto the floor.

Trebinje, Bosnia: bus station
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After taking numerous pictures of this comical transport hub, we checked out the bus schedule, eager to see the large number of connections to Mostar.  Well it was a good thing we could read the cyrillic alphabet, because the bus schedule was completely in cyrillic.  It took us a few minutes to decipher each destination on the map and, once we found Mostar, discovered that there should be a bus to Mostar within the hour, with the next one not until much later in the evening.

We went to the sole employee, a jolly old round man with a vintage commie look, and explained that we wanted to take the next bus to Mostar.  Much to our shock and horror, he told us there was no afternoon bus to Mostar that day and we would have to wait until later in the evening.  So typically Eastern Europe.  Might as well throw out all the bus schedules.

Trebinje, Bosnia: time for a paint job
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This was even more upsetting because the late bus didn't get into Mostar until after midnight, which meant we would miss the entire World Cup final.  Well we tried to put on our best faces and had no choice but to head into downtown Trebinje, a fairly short walk away.

As would be the case in most of Bosnia, we noticed for the first time countless buildings that were destroyed by bullets and shells - decrepit, hollow structures.  All victims of the horrific war, a war in which Bosnia saw a disproportionate amount of damage.  Reminders were everywhere.  It seemed like the war was still going on.  In reality, the war was going on only ten years previous.

Trebinje, Bosnia: quick - find the departure times for podgorica
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We needed a place to put down our luggage, but the tourist office wasn't open because it was Sunday.  Two local teenage boys saw that we were confused and lost and began talking to us.  They basically decided it was their mission to look after us and make sure we got everything we needed while in Trebinje.

At first I was slightly sketched out by these kids, since they said we could leave our luggage at their apartment.  We politely declined, but they actually helped us find a place to leave our stuff for the day - a Playstation "store," filled with probably 30 Playstation 2 consoles where kids would pay money to play FIFA Soccer and other games all day long.  They further told us what sites to check out (which wasn't much) and, in the end, turned out to be of invaluable assistance to us.

Trebinje, Bosnia: modern bus station with impressive amenities
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We wandered around town for a couple hours, basically going back and forth through the old town.  We got lots of stares (don't think too many tourists come through here) and confused looks.  In a day that never seemed like it would end, the time finally came for us to go back to that joke of a bus station and catch, hopefully, our final connection to Mostar.

When we got to the station there was no one there.  This got us really scared.  We wondered if the bus was cancelled like the afternoon bus.  Then, out of nowhere, people started appearing, as well as numerous buses.

Trebinje, Bosnia: war remnants
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The jolly old round man showed up and, whenever a bus would come into the terminal, he would look at us and wave his finger, telling us to wait because that was not our bus.

The Mostar bus did eventually come and we thanked the old man for his generous assistance throughout the hellish day.  We were off to Mostar, exhausted and pissed off that the World Cup final was on at that very moment.