Dash accross the Balkans part 2 - The old road to Sarajevo

This is a loaded touring bike. This is icy cold water. And sometimes this isn't a good idea. Jesus, Sam! Let's go back to the start. We cycled across the Balkans from Bulgaria to Croatia to meet our friends for Christmas. This video is part two, the old road to Sarajevo. Here where the Drina flows with the whole force of its green and foaming waters from the apparently closed mass of the dark steep mountains stands a great clean-cut stone bridge with 11 wide sweeping arches. From this bridge spreads fan-like the whole rolling valley with the little oriental town of Visugrad and all of its surroundings with hamlets nesting in the folds of the hills. Ivo Andrić used the life of this 15th century bridge to chronicle the suffering of Bosnia through the ages. An indispensable link between Bosnia and Serbia, between eastern and western empires it has seen the rise and fall of these empires, occupations and wars from its vantage point between two worlds. We lost sleep deliberating our route but eventually decided to follow an old decommissioned railway line that ran through the Pratjord gorge. This looks stunning, a steep-sided narrow gorge lined with limestone pinnacles. It was a risk as in 2017 a bridge collapsed under the weight of a timber lorry so fording the river is now necessary. With recent storms swallowing the river we wouldn't know if it was actually possible until we made it to the crossing point. So far Bosnian roads, 10 out of 10. Yeah. I definitely struggled to get to sleep last night overthinking the route. Yeah. Which is silly because we've just turned round and gone. There's always another way. It just could have been so long deliberating that night. It was probably going through my head and then as I was falling asleep I had a vision falling into a raging current of water. Celebrate. As the tarmac road gave way to a gravel track we could see the opening of the gorge looming up ahead through the trees. Since the bridge collapsed the gorge has been designated a nature park. You can see the flora eagerly claiming it back. I have to say we're impressed with the ingenuity of solving a problem like a collapsed bridge by creating a nature park. Certainly it would have been a very different experience if we were competing with impatient timber lorries in the many narrow hand dug tunnels. Great camp spot. The river is looking quite high now. We're getting a little bit less hopeful that it'll be possible to cross. Whatever happens it's a very beautiful place to explore. We might have to fish out our swim costumes. The craggy cliffs conceal ruins of ancient monasteries and hermitages and are home to a wide array of wildlife including ground bears and grey wolves. You can see the entrances to caves high above but the most grand are concealed by the water. One has been explored up to nearly 10 kilometers boasting cavernous auditoriums. We get very wet feet. Okay we've decided to go for it. It's not too cold so we're just gonna cross as quick as we can and then we'll get nice and cozy on the other side and we've got hot flasks of ginger tea in our panniers so that will warm us up quite quick. Only thing to do now is to do it. I'm so scared. The current's quite strong here. Oh come on legs, come on. Oh chilly toes. Okay back the way. Two more each. A little bit chilly, a little bit fast flowing for comfort. But we got this. While we did try to retain a somewhat philosophical and nonchalant attitude about our route choice and potentially have to turn around and start again a different way we were very glad we didn't have to do that. This was probably right at the limit of what we could do. If the water level was any higher we wouldn't have managed or tried but we warmed up very quickly afterwards and it was well worth the effort. Okay are you gonna be ready to jump in and catch me? Oh Jesus Sam. Oh have you got it? Okay. We made it. No idea how long that took us. We have about 53 kilometers to go to Sarajevo. Maybe about 700 meters climbing. We haven't stopped for any food yet today so we'll definitely be getting to Sarajevo in the dark. Make the road to this fall for easy. Through Zeni Most, a fallen bridge. Yeah that's where we came from. We've just found a nice spot to stop and enjoy some food. It's been quite an adventurous morning. The water looks quite inviting. I think I've had enough for today thanks. Dover done. Oh. Generally when traveling at a cycling pace most borders feel somewhat arbitrary and you can see how cultures slowly merge into each other. Our route through Bosnia and Herzegovina crisscrossed between Republika Srpska, Majority Croat and Majority Bosniak areas. Back in Republika Srpska. Often these borders felt more significant than most international borders we've crossed with architecture, flags, alphabets and religious buildings being an immediate clue as to what area we were in. It's about quarter past five. We're about 25 kilometers from Sarajevo. Happy days. Our summit tunnel. We've made it over the top of the last big hill. We're just getting wrapped up because we've got downhill into Sarajevo now and we're gonna get very cold. I am so excited to celebrate the winter solstice. Yeah this is a lovely cycle path. We were so happy to make it to Sarajevo that evening and as we cycled around the streets in search of our room we were immediately struck by the city's warm atmosphere with its perfect balance of bustling yet calm, sociable yet peaceful and busy yet relaxed. Sarajevo has grown within the confines of this narrow valley surrounded by the high summits of the Danaric Alps. Its neighborhoods are so steep that they give the impression of houses being stacked on top of one another. The vestiges of the different empires Bosnia fell under are omnipresent in its culture and obvious at first glance. Indeed the modern-day states born of these empires still protect their cultural heritage in Bosnia today. For example the restoration of the Ottoman-constructed bridge on the Drina in Visegrad was largely funded by Turkey and the reconstruction of the Austro-Hungarian-designed Wiecznica or town hall and library of Sarajevo was mainly funded by Austria. Walking the streets you can feel the presence of these old cultures. In the grand architecture, the delicious scents of the varying cuisines on offer, the different fashion styles and religious clothing of the locals and the mix of languages you overhear. As you walk you can also see the city's scars portraying the suffering of its recent history. But as it stands today with all its beauty and its scars Sarajevo is magnificent.