Distances are deceptive in Bosnia Herzegovina. Our first trip to the "capital" of Republika Srpska necessitated a four and a half hour drive there, 4 hours of meetings, lunch at 4pm and a four and a half hour drive back. As a result we have been completely knackered ever since. The meetings were worthwhile We had a good driver, (so no near escapes from accidents like on the way to Trebinje) but the road wound round between steep tree-covered hills, river gorges and the odd steel works, so it was slow going. It's a geologist's paradise. I wish I had learnt more. No time on the road for photos.
Banja Luka itself seemed a quite pleasant busy town on a sunny day. We didn't see much but decided it would be nice to come back and spend more time there.
I took a few photos: a splendid Orthodox church, unusual for its tower.
and these curious people in front of a building I didn't have time to identify:
I snapped them while on the run. The woman looks like a typical peasant woman but the man looks more like a Cossack, than a Serb. As figures from the period of socialist realism they need some explanation. Perhaps when I come back I can find out.
