KOMARNA Sightseeing
Mostar Old Bridge
A
train journey to and from Sarajevo
- Back to
the English pages for Apartment Tedo
- Zurück zu den deutschen Seiten für Apartment TedoThe Capital of BiH
The Capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina is beautiful and buzzing. The old centre was build under Austrian rule and is architecturally related to other central European cities such as Vienna.
Sarajevo is a treat in itself. Going there is a pleasant
experience for
the eyes as well. Going by rail or road you will pass through some of
the
most beautiful and varied landscape on the Balkans.
And you can do it all on a daytrip.
By Train to Sarajevo
How about a fantastic train journey with the railway planed and build by Austrian engineers during the Austria-Hungarian rule?
If you start in the early morning from Ploce or
Metkovic it is possible
to return again late in the evening and you will have had more than six
hours to explore Sarajevo. If you have not been there you will be
pleasantly
surprised by how much has been rebuild since the civil war in the 90’s.
Today the city and its people are thoroughly modern. But it is
unfortunately
also now a city sharply divided into a Serb and a Croat/Bosnian part.
It is also possible to just jump off in Mostar and return with the next express which will give you about 4 hours to see Mostar (Please see ”Mostar” section elsewhere in this leaflet) . But if you do get off in Mostar you will have missed a trip through the most wild and romantic country side on the Balkans.
The journey starts in Ploce
and from here the train follows the Neretva
River and gives you a good impression of the fertile Delta and the
areas
that have been left as a natural reserve. At Gabela, the old border
town
with Herzegovina the train starts a gradual and - at first - very
modest
climb up along the Neretva River where you pass some beautiful
landscape
and also see the unfortunate traces of the war that ended more than 10
years ago. After 1.5 hour you reach Mostar.
From Mostar the scenery really starts to be impressive. The train rides on through the Naranta River valley with waterfalls and hydroelectric power plants, on to the Glogosnica Valley and to Jablanica that is famous for mountain climbing. If you come there by car, the delicious roast lamb that you can buy everywhere makes an unrivalled meal. Some of the roadside restaurants even use the water in the mountain streams to power the spears rotating with roasting lambs.
All the way to Konjica you should try to look out for old buildings from the time of the Ottoman rule.
Then the train runs into
Trascanica Valley with the wildest and most romantic
countryside you can imagine. After that it runs along the frontier
between
Bosnia and Herzegovina which is also the watershed between the Black
Sea
and The Adriatic.
Finally there is a steep slope where it used to be a toothed rail and the last 10 minutes go through suburbs into Sarajevo.
In Sarajevo
If you need to change money to the convertible BiH Mark you
may do so at
the post office next to the railway station.
There are several places and museums worth visiting in Sarajevo. Please
check this web page on
Virtualturist to plan your visit. 6-7 hours may be too much
for just shopping and walking
around.
Take the tram (streetcar) outside the station and jump off in the centre. Be careful going back that you take a tram number 4. I did not last time and missed my train. This is why I know now that a taxi to Metkovic cost between 100 and 120 Euro
Planning the trip
- Going to Sarajevo you can catch the train in Ploce or in Metkovic.
- The train leaves Ploce at 06:40 and Metkovic 07:05 arriving Sarajevo 10:41.
- From Sarajevo, it leaves 18:18 with arrival in Ploce 22:05.
This is the timetable in June 2006. It is advisable to check that the times are still valid by visiting the railway station in Ploce or Metkovic or the Internet at www.hznet.hr or call (385) (1) 457 74 61.
The price of a train journey is quite reasonable (2006):
Return ticket
from Metkovic to Sarajevo is Kuna 97.50.
It almost makes you think about the "good old days" in the 70’s
where prices were way lower than in Western Europe.
If you make the journey off-season please remember that Sarajevo is in
the mountains (it was the seat of the Winter Olympics in 1984) and the
weather can be much colder than it is at the coast.
Please remember your passports as you are going to cross an international border.