Some thougs following a trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina — specifically Sarajevo, Mostar, and Kravica waterfalls.

For most of the trip, my impression was “hm, okay.” I’d already been to Sarajevo, my background anxiety hadn’t gone anywhere, but there was something else. Fine, I’m generally not that into cities, stories about the history of places, and so on. Okay, but wasn’t it beautiful anyway? Yes. With cool people around? Yes. So?

I reflected on this and I think I figured out what was going on. The two places I genuinely enjoyed in Bosnia besides the road itself with magical views were the waterfalls and the fortress in the small town of Počitelj. And while the waterfalls were beautiful in themselves, the fortress only had a good view, not something great.

So what was the deal? The sense of adventure. You have to walk to reach the waterfalls, and you have to climb up to the fortress. And yes, these are 5-to-15-minute walks — hard to call them anything remarkable. But something switches on that I’d call adventure mode.

So what is it? It usually activates in nature or near it. The goal should be achievable without extreme effort, but with some challenge — no passive mode. For example, when we hiked Mount Midžor, I was in hiking-and-survival mode, while in Sutjeska on an easier route, I was in exactly adventure mode (until we turned back). That gives me vivid emotions, a joy of living. And it turns out they’re not hard to get.

At the same time, in Germany — especially Bavaria — I go straight for the beer, not for nature. Maybe that’s its own kind of adventure, heh.