Jajce - Sundays in My City

I visited Jajce, which is located in central Bosnia and Herzegovina a couple years ago.  I mentioned it briefly in an earlier post. I had read about the beautiful waterfall in this town and decided to pay a visit while touring the Balkans. So I took a bus from Zagreb, Croatia.  The waterfall is beautiful but the town is very tiny and, having come by bus, I had no way to go anywhere else and my ticket back to Zagreb wasn't until the next day.  I took hundreds of pictures of the waterfall, walked around the town 6 or 7 times, took some more pictures of the waterfall, walked around the town a few more times...that's how I spent my time there.

Good lucky trying to pronounce any of the places mentioned here.  There seems to be a lack of necessary vowels!  My spell check is going crazy.

Jajce was first built in the 14th century and served as the capital of the independent Kingdom of Bosnia during its time. The town has gates as fortifications, as well as a castle with walls which lead to the various gates around the town.

The town is famous for its beautiful waterfall where the Pliva River meets the river Vrbas. It was thirty meters high, but during the Bosnian war, the area was flooded and the waterfall is now 20 meters high. The flooding may have been due to an earthquake and/or attacks on the hydroelectric power plant further up the river.

Jajce is situated in the mountains, there is a beautiful countryside near the city, rivers such as the Vrbas and Pliva, lakes like Pliva lake, which is also a popular destination for the local people and some tourists. This lake is called Brana in the local parlance. Not far from Jajce there are mountains that are over two thousand meters high like Vlasic near the city of Travnik. Travelling through the mountain roads to the city may not sit well with some visitors, because the roads are in poor condition, but the scenery is picturesque.                                         [Source] 

 

Went back to see it at night because...what else was there to do :)

The town was picturesque and the weather was beautiful but had I known how small it was and how there really wasn't much else to see there except for the waterfall I would not have arrived so early or planned to stay so long. I would have made it a stop on the way somewhere instead of a destination all its own.  Lesson learned.

Have you over-estimated a destination?  What do you do when you get there and realize there really isn't much to see or do?

For other destinations, head over to Unknown Mami and check out the rest of the Sundays in My City posts.

People Watching in Brussels - Sundays in My City

When I lived in the Netherlands, Brussels was an easy day-trip away.  Sometimes I'd go with a specific something-to-see (a photography exhibit, for example) but sometimes I'd go and just wander. 

We didn't often have really great weather in northern Europe but once in a while we did. On this particular day it was beautiful and lots of people were out.  I enjoy capturing images of people just being people...not posing, not in front of some landmark or statue...just doing what they do.  Here are some of those.

Do you enjoy people watching? 

Linking up with Unknown Mami for Sundays in My City.

Where Have I Been?

Home...mostly. 

This blog started as a way to share my travels with friends and family back home.  It evolved a little when I made a bigger move overseas and grew to incorporate posts about the dogs, exercise, books, food, etc.  That wasn't my original intent but it's what happened.

Last year I didn't really go anywhere.  I had plans but then Tex got sick and shortly thereafter we lost him.  It was a huge emotional blow and I'm still not over it.  On the same day my car engine blew up.  Seriously!  I lived a bad country song for a little while.  In addition to the emotional trauma of it there was also a big hit to my bank account.  So my travel plans were put on hold. 

I wasn't the only one to be hit very hard by Tex's parting.  My other (much older) dog also lost her best friend and she was clearly very depressed. I felt like I had to do something or I was going to lose her, too. So after a month I brought home two foster dogs from the rescue where I volunteer.  They came to the rescue together from the same house and I didn't want to separate them.

Bella (I nicknamed her the Little Monster)- a miniature poodle who was in terrible shape when we got her. After getting her healthy and recovered from her recent abandonment and neglect she was adopted by a wonderful woman and is thriving in her new home.

Jack - a black lab/pit mix who is about the sweetest dog you'll ever meet.

I wish I could say that these dogs were the balm my old dog needed to get over her sadness but they weren't.  However, she does seem less depressed although I doubt she'll ever fully get over the loss of Tex.  She really didn't like Bella (Bella had some aggression issues even though she was a tiny little thing and at her age, Chey is just not as understanding and adaptable as she used to be).  No dog will ever replace Tex but Jack has a great sense of when something is wrong and he checks on her (and me) often (sometimes knocking her over in his haste to see if she is okay).  It's not perfect but it's better than what it was. I no longer worry that Chey is going to commit suicide while I'm at work (I'm not making light of suicide...I cried every morning when I left just because of the look on her face).

Chey and Jack the day he came to live with us. I think this might be the only picture I have where Chey is smiling.

So we've just been here, doing out thing...recovering emotionally and figuring out a new normal. 

However, I do have travel plans for this year!  And I have travels about which I have not yet posted.  So I hope to get back to this blog and tell you about some trips I've taken in the past and what my plans are for this year.  I'm excited!

Do you have travel plans for this year?  What are they?