Walking around my local town of Laktasi and the city of Banja Luka some 25kms away, in this glorious summer weather, there is, I feel, something missing that’s so evident in other countries across Europe and in fact, the world. 

What’s missing?

Tourists.

Well there may well be the odd one or two, but as you walk around this beautiful country you very rarely hear a non Balkans accent or language being spoken.

Why?

Maybe the events of the “terrible nineties” that occurred in the region especially here in Bosnia and Hercegovina, still linger prominently in peoples minds. I say this as some of my friends still ask if they need a steel helmet and body armour when invited to come and visit. Weird and stupid maybe but a fact.

Bosnia has been looking at developing their tourism for years now, but it seems to be amazingly slow in developing.

This country now boasts quality venues for certain extreme sports, has some of the most stunning landscapes in the world, the only “jungle” left in Europe, food and drink to die for and hospitality that’s certainly second to none.

If you are reading this, then think about changing the venue for your next break away. Oh by the way its sooo cheap here as well!!

Where to stay?

There are hotels from International 5 star standard down and also high quality hostels at 22km a night (that’s 10GBP). One such hostel in Banja Luka can be found HERE.

I have no contact with any tourism element for Bosnia and Hercegovina so I am not selling anything other than a tip for a great place to visit.

I am now settling into my new, “slower”, lifestyle here in north west Bosnia.

Living in a very rural environment does takes some time to get used to. Firstly, I am a city boy who was born in London and I have never sat comfortably with gardening and traditional ways of doing things and secondly, the pace of life for me has always been hectic to break point, maybe that’s why I still expect to be jumping on a plane very soon.

Of course that’s not the plan.

What is the plan however, is for me to slow down and not to focus on tasks and jobs that would take me away from my new “home” for anything longer than 4 weeks at a time (with long breaks in between).

I have designed and put together a really superb working environment just a few steps from my front door (bliss) and can work, rest, whatever I please, when I please.

I know!

It’s what most of us dream of. Right?

But these life changes are taking time. Changes do, after all, require time.

I have been, for a while, considering a potential project to follow and document (utilising social media tools) some part of Balkan culture or lifestyle.

It looks very much as if I have found my “hook” and will very shortly start to document the activities of a local ethno music group, based in the local town of Laktasi, called “Trag”.

I had my first meeting with 3 members of the group last night sat outside a coffee bar in Banja Luka. As well as discussing what could be achieved etc, we talked about the changes that this part of Bosnia has undergone.

I was very keen to describe my observations from the past 13 years, about the cleaner streets, more professional looking police force, better road and other civic infrastructure, the border crossing even looking a bit tidier at Gradiska!.

How things had changed and for the better!

The response to my observations was that they hadn’t thought things had changed that much, but now that I had mentioned it in the way I saw progress, yes, things were changing. It seemed that because they didn’t travel outside the country as much as I had these past years, their perceptions were of a much much slower progress.

Bosnia is moving forward. Well in this part of the country it is. It’s no way democratic (as northern or western Europeans would perceive democracy) in fact its just as autocratic as in the days of the late Josip Broz (Tito), where loyalty to the party over-ruled loyalty to civil society, but things are moving, slowly, towards a pluralistic environment. And that’s got to be good for everyone.

To help with speeding up change, more people from Bosnia, especially younger people, need to travel abroad, experience new lifestyles, see how others with similar problems resolve and improve situations and then come back and implement change.

A dream too far from a foreigners mind?

Maybe.

But whatever happens, you can’t get away from what Bob Dylan sang back in 1964 “The Times They Are a-Changin”