Experience Bosnia and Herzegovina

01/04/2021

For visitors, guests and travellers, this might be helpful?

https://livinginbosniaandherzegovina.com/banja-luka-blog/using-your-mobile-device-in-bosnia

Using your mobile device in Bosnia and Herzegovina. What’s the deal? David and I get asked a lot about using mobile devices in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) by either family, friends or guests. Hopefully this post will be both helpful and useful for you.

24/03/2021

Hello Wednesday people :)

This episode of the Living in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a bit different. 
Today I talk to Tom Beck who’s originally from Watford in the UK but now lives near Potsdam in Germany.
Tom has recently published a Book called “Goodbye Britain”
I am a Brit who you know left and settled here in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Tom interviewed me for his book, and after reading it, I wanted to find out about the stories that others who have left Britain had to tell.
Tom has also visited Bosnia and Herzegovina so I wanted to hear what his impressions of the misunderstood country were.
You can get your copy of Goodbye Britain: https://goodbyebritain.co.uk
https://livinginbosniaandherzegovina.com/podcasts/goodbye-britain

In this episode I talk to Tom Beck who’s originally from Watford in the UK but now lives near Potsdam in Germany.Tom has recently published a Book called “Goodbye Britain”.Tom interviewed me for his book, and after reading it, I wanted to find out about the stories that others who have left Br...

21/03/2021

With the weather improving here in BiH here's something to visit and see, that's possible even with current COVID rules.

If you're planning on visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina at any time, then plan this now for your future visit :)

Slow Tour near Banja Luka. If you are someone that wants off the regular tourist trail, and seeks something unusual and “slow”, a trip to the Švrakava Waterfalls could be for you. A pleasant Hike followed by a "Dip"?

livinginbosniaandherzegovina.com/banja-luka-blog/svrakava-waterfalls

Slow Tour near Banja Luka. If you are someone that wants off the regular tourist trail, and seeks something unusual and “slow” a trip to the Švrakava Waterfalls could be for you. A pleasant Hike followed by a "Dip"?

18/03/2021

The World Tourism and Travel council has recognised Bosnia and Herzegovina as a “Safe Travel” destination.

The “Safe Travel” stamp allows travellers to recognise governments and companies around the world which have adopted the "Safe Travels" health and hygiene global standardised protocols.

15/03/2021

The other day we took a Spring Afternoon Walk.

In these times when we're still under movement restrictions, join us for a short walk down to our local river.

A chance to enjoy this spring like weather we are having here in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and where we let tiny Fibi get a good leg stretch.

Frogs spawn is in almost every wet space, in fact the drainage ditches are full of them. The frogs chorus this year will be loud that's for sure.

The fields have been ploughed but not sure if sown with new crops yet.

There's a shot of us walking past what are a massive set of scales.

In the past, we have seen what can only be described as "huge pigs", being put in there and weighed.

When you order a pig, or any other animal for example, for cooking as part of a feast or celebration, in this part of BiH, it's the full weight, not meat weight that determines price.

"There you go".

A Fun Fact.
https://youtu.be/GX3DsgP42qk

Spring Afternoon Walk in Bosnia and HerzegovinaIn these times when we're still under movement restrictions, join us for...

10/03/2021

Krupa na Vrbasu, a small village on the banks of the River Vrbas to the south of Banja Luka.

It has the most amazing "mini mills".

Spring, Summer or early Autumn, it's a magical place to visit (and maybe picknik too).

To find out more just drop us a DM 😊👍

08/03/2021

Happy 8th March to all our lady readers.
livinginbosniaandherzegovina.com/blogposts/international-womens-day
How was today in your world?
Do you celebrate today in anyway?

International Women's Day has been celebrated Internationally since 1975, but here in the former Jugoslavija and the newer republic's that are today, it's been a big issue for a lot longer.

07/03/2021

When visiting Banja Luka, stop by the Ferhadija Mosque.

Apart from Prayer time, the mosque is normally open to look around.

Please be respectful dress wise before going inside, BUT do ask if there is someone who can tell you about it's fascinating history.

06/03/2021

Banja Luka is known for a lot, (you'll have to visit and explore to find out what), but one of the most distinctive things is it's Ćevap.

Banjalučki Ćevap to be precise.

The best Ćevap (it is said), is to be found at "Kod Muje".

"Kod Muje", has somewhat of a legendary status in the city, and, if you're not a ćevap conniseur, you should try it out at their ćevapdzinica.

Thoughts?

04/03/2021

For today's travellers (yesterday's tourists), Banja Luka has embraced solar to provide a free charging space situated "slap bang" in the centre of the city.

26/02/2021

Amazing Banja Luka.
Bosnia and Herzegovina's second city.
You can also download a city guide here too.
https://livinginbosniaandherzegovina.com/blogposts/how-to-get-to-banja-luka

Find information on how to get to Banja Luka, the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

17/02/2021

The team behind this podcast is simply me, David and my wife Tamara. I am originally from the UK and Tam is from the nearest city to us, which is Banja Luka, Bosnia’s second city, situated in the north of the country.

The aim of the podcast is to introduce you to this amazing country through interviews, and stories, that we hope you’ll find interesting and exciting enough to want to come and visit.

This country really is a hidden gem.

So let’s crack on.

When researching somewhere to visit, I invariably land on links that say 5 fun facts about wherever, or 6 stunning places you must visit.

So, on this first episode we look at some fun facts from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Without giving too much away, a few of them are quirky and not well known at all.

Here we go ….

If you enjoy the podcast please subscribe/follow and share with a friend!
https://traveltobosniaandherzegovina.com/episode/fun-facts-from-bosnia-and-herzegovina

Tamara and Me look at some Facts concerning Bosnia and Herzegovina, in this first episode of the podcast.

27/06/2020

When you visit Banja Luka you must eat Banjalučki ćevap - Banja Luka kebab. Since we are all restricted with travelling we are giving you a recepe of the most traditional BBQ food from Banja Luka. If you follow the recipe you will not fail! Good luck!

HOMEMADE BANJALUKA CEVAP

Ćevap or Cevapi are the national grilled meat specialty for my home country of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Ćevap has a long history in the Balkans. The first Ćevap was brought here by the Ottomans.

The Ottomans occupied my country, and the region, from 1463 to 1878.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has the longest history of Ćevap making and there are varieties among the cities. Each bigger city or region has its own recipe. Sarajevo Ćevapi are maybe the best known, but and most popular, we cannot ignore the Ćevapi from Banja Luka (Ćevapi cooked in a block of four Ćevap) or from Travnik, where the Ćevapi are served in a portion of 20, with Somun (local flat bread), soaked in broth.

As a Banja Luka girl, I have to say that ours are the tastiest :)

Some people like to consider Ćevapi as Bosnian fast food, but I am too not sure of that.

DISCLAIMER.
To make proper Ćevap you will need to plan this in advance because it takes time for the meat to ly in the spice to ferment for 24 hours for the best results, and also it takes time to mix it (2x15 minutes or more).

So I would plan this a day or two in advance. The trick is to buy freshly ground meat with at least 20% fat or otherwise the Ćevap will be too dry.

However, you can add to them some beef or lamb fat if you can buy it in a local butcher’s shop. But the easiest version to make these is to buy beef from the fatty parts of the cow, such as the neck, or buy at least ground beef with 20% fat, but make sure its freshly grounded.

You can also buy meat in chunks, let it sit in the marinade for 24 hours, and then grind it yourself, but it needs to be a super fine grind, because we are looking here for a very sticky and gooey consistency, so that you can make these delicious Bosnian Kebabs.

You can mix beef and veal or you can mix beef with lamb, or use only beef. Mixing pork is not advisable as pork has a lot of water in the meat and they don’t turn out very nice.

We make it only with fatty beef and they turn out great.

So to cut things short here is the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

500g freshly ground beef with at least 20% fat ( the best is neck meat)
2-3 garlic cloves
100ml water
1 tsp of salt
1 or ½ tsp of black pepper depending on your taste
½ tsp baking soda

TO SERVE ĆEVAP YOU WILL NEED
Lepinja. The closest to Lepinja (a local Flat Bread), is Pita Bread or plain Naan bread.

1 sliced onion, because we eat Ćevap mainly with onions. Some people eat it with Kajmak too, which is like a clotted cream cheese.

HOW TO MAKE THE ĆEVAP
STEP 1: Place 100ml of water in a small saucepan, chop the garlic and add it to the water, bring to the boil for 1-2 minutes and let it cool. When it’s cool you can strain it.

STEP 2: Place your ground meat in a mixing bowl, add salt, pepper and baking soda and mix it well. At least 10-15 minutes. When the garlic water is cooled off, then add it to the meat by straining it through a small colander as you don’t want the garlic to go into the meat, then mix until you get a nice and doughy sort of consistency.
This takes about 10-15 minutes. Then cover the bowl and leave it in the fridge for 24 hours, but make sure you mix it 1-2 times in the meantime.

STEP 3: Now its time to shape your Ćevap into little sausages.
Mix once more, well, after taking out of the fridge. To shape your Ćevap into perfect sausages you can use a freezer bag, or confectioner pipe, top of a small water bottle or funnel, whatever you have handy.
You must place a little water with your hands on the surface where you will make the Ćevap so that they don’t stick to the surface.
Do not use oil as they will slip and break.
Fill up your funnel, make sure that all the air is squeezed out of the meat and funnel, and start squeezing the meat out. You will see small sausages coming out. When you are happy with the length (they should be about 4-5cm long), then you can cut them with a sharp knife. Once you are done with the whole meat then you can wet your hands and Top and Tail the Ćevap so that they have an even better shape.

HOW TO GRILL THE ĆEVAP
Now you are ready to grill the Ćevap.
You can use an electric grill, grill pan, or they taste the best if you have a coal grill. You can brush the griddle with some heat resistant oil and make sure it is hot. Place your Ćevap and grill them on all sides for about 5-7 minutes depending how thick they are and how you like them cooked.
When you turn them over or half way through cooking them, make sure you place pita bread or Naan bread on top of the Ćevap to get them nice and steamed. Also dip them a little bit in the juice that comes out of the Ćevap, this will give amazing flavour to your bread.
I also like it to soak some of the fat from the meat to grill them a little bit too as I like them crunchier.
Your host - Tamara

04/04/2020

A short drone flight from Haus Viktoria.

25/01/2020

Our 2020 season started with our guests from Malaysia 🇲🇾We had so much fun together and learned a lot about each others culture. Contact us to find out more :-)

21/09/2019

Ajvar is a vegetable spread that is made in Balkan countries. The spread is usually made from red peppers and egg plant.

This specific jar of Ajvar was home made by the parents of one of our regular guests from Serbia 🇷🇸 - Nova Pazova, that we got as a present from them.

The best "store made" Ajvar, is Baš Ajvar or Mama's Ajvar, from Macedonia 🇲🇰 that we suggest you should try while traveling to any Balkan country. If you would like to make your own, we can send you a recipe. Send us an Email at: [email protected]
Enjoy your day, Your host Tamara ❤️

17/09/2019

❤️ We are so happy for our dear friend Predrag Tošić, who is a well known chef in Banja Luka and TV personality with his famous show "Zakuvaj".

👉 Yesterday he opened a doughnut shop with delicious doughnuts that are specially designed by him and his wife. We will definitely be recommending it to all our guests.

❗️This is not a sponsored post. Predrag is our very good friend and his product is so good, that they sold out completely yesterday. Even our City Mayor supported him by coming on the opening day and posting on his social media.

16/09/2019

Laktaši is the nearest town to us. A 10 minute drive away. It is famous for its thermal waters and spa. 🏊