波黑／Bosnia & Hercegovina（Part 3）

＊莫斯塔尔／Mostar
从萨拉热窝南下到另一个城市莫斯塔尔去，这里距离首府不远，乘坐巴士只需要三个多小时。这并不是什么大城市，不过这里有座很出名的桥和古镇，于是决定到这里来看看。决定入住的民宿提供免费的接送，主人家Majda亲自到巴士总站去接我，服务非常周到。Majda一家人在战争时期被迫分散，父母被派到挪威，弟弟被送去瑞士，她本身则到英国去。待战争结束，他们一家人回到波黑时，他们的房子已经被他人占领。经过漫长的官司，他们最后终于取回房子，然后将房子改为民宿。民宿整理得很干净，布置也不错，让人感觉很温馨。最棒的是，厨房开放给客人用，结果在那里住了两个晚上，我们每晚都自己做晚餐，大厨就是本人我啦！
From Sarajevo I headed down south to Mostar, which is only a three hours bus ride away. Mostar is not exactly a big city, but nonetheless, it is quite a popular tourist destination because of its famous bridge and Old Town. The guest house I chose was a small family run guesthouse, which even provides free pickups from the bus or train station. I was greeted on arrival by owner Majda, who was a nice and friendly lady. Majda’s family was one of those badly affected by the war. She had to seek refuge in London, her brother ended up in Switzerland and her parents were only accepted as refugees by Norway. Years after the war ended, Majda and her family came home to find that their home has been taken over by others. It took a long court case but they finally got their home back and they then convert it into a guest house. Now you cannot see any sign of the war in the house. Instead the whole house exudes a homely feel and guests get to use the balcony, washing machines and even the kitchen freely. I stayed there for two nights and on both nights ended up whipping a big meal for Majda and the other guests.
因为是淡季，这里并没有太多的游客，即使是民宿也就只有我和另外两个女生罢了。而莫斯塔尔的古镇这个时候也变成了个死城，除了店主们外，几乎没有什么人走动。不过个人觉得这片宁静给莫斯塔尔增添几分魅力，尤其是在夜幕低垂时，这里更加吸引人。
This being the low season, there was hardly any tourists. In fact, there was just me and two other girls staying in the guest house. Naturally, the old town was pretty much dead. Although the shops and restaurants are all open, all you can see are a handful of tourists and bored looking shopkeepers. But for me, a deserted Old Town holds more charm, especially when night falls.
这就是先前说的那座著名的桥，莫斯塔尔的地标。其实这不是原装的，原有的那座桥在战争时期被塞尔维亚人炸毁了。当地人在战争后，按照原有的蓝图，利用了散落在河里桥的原料，采用了原有的技术，重建了这座桥。其实这座看起来不怎么特别的桥之所以出名是因为它离河面有一段距离（21米），在夏天的时候，当地的青年喜欢从桥上跳入河中，显示他们的胆量和疯狂。有些游客为了看这个“壮举”，甚至会付钱给这些青年，让他们“表演”跃入水中一幕。
This is the famous bridge that I’d mentioned earlier, i.e. Stari Most, the main star of Mostar. Actually the bridge you are looking at right now is not the original one. The original one was built hundreds of years ago but got bombed to bits during the war. When the war was over, local authorities decide to rebuild the bridge. Using blueprints of the original bridge, with the remains of the old bridge fished out of the river, and following the methods used 400 years ago, the Mostar Bridge was painstakingly restored. The result? A exact replica of the old bridge, albeit a couple of metres lower than the original one. This bridge may look ordinary in design, but it is famous because of its height. During summer, local young men will challenged each other to plunge into the waters 21m down. Some tourists even pay the young men to take the 30m plunge just so that they can get a good picture on their cameras.