This is last post of fourteen on our trip to Northern Ireland and Croatia, minus our mini Game of Thrones tour. Those posts can be found here.

• Intro to Northern Ireland & Croatia
• Recovering from Jetlag in Dublin: Dublin Castle and Trinity College
• Bubblin’ in Dublin: Dublin Eats
• Chasing Scully: Staying at the Hilton Belfast
• The Land of Giants and the Northernmost Point in Ireland
• Hiking Glenveagh National Park
• Singing the Blus in Dublin & Letterkenny
• Heating up in Zadar
• Azure Waters Await at Kornati National Park
• Falling for Picturesque Plitvice
• Let’s Never Split
• The Jewel of the Adriatic: Dubrovnik
• Walking the Wall in Dubrovnik
• A Brief Stop in Bosnia

During our trip in Croatia, Mr. Selfish, Cousin Selfish, and I had the opportunity to visit Bosnia. After we spent the day at Plitvice Lakes National Park, we stopped by Bihać to walk around and have dinner. Then, during our drive from Split to Dubrovnik, we had to pass through Bosnia, so we stopped by Agrotourism Matusko for a farm-to-table lunch near Neum, Bosnia.

Bosnia definitely had an entirely distinct feel from Croatia. Whereas Croatia was expensive and overly touristy, Bosnia felt like a place where people actually lived and worked. Everything was certainly cheaper in Bosnia, including food and gas. I wish that we had spent more time in Bosnia but that will have to wait for another trip.

Bihać: Walking Around and Enjoying Meat Fingers

It was only a twenty minute (20 km) drive from the Plitvice Lakes area to Bihać. The border crossing was pretty easy since Bosnia does not require a visa for visitors from the U.S. We made sure that they stamped our passports to add another one to the old book.

Bihać is a small city with a population of about 70,000. It is quite scenic since it is right on the Una River. Although the weather wasn’t very cooperative while we were there, I could see myself canoeing in the river on a sunny day.

While enjoying some delicious (and cheap) berries, we walked around the town and stumbled upon Fethija Mosque (which was formerly a church) and the Captain’s Tower.  We even discovered plenty of buildings with bullet holes, which is a remnant from the Bosnian War for Independence.

For dinner, we enjoyed ćevapi (translated as “meat fingers” on our menus), which is known as the national dish of Bosnia. Ćevapi are made from minced beef and lamb and then hand mixed to form a funnel-shape. They are grilled and served with flatbread with raw onions.

It was a little intense and greasy for me, but Mr. Selfish thoroughly enjoyed it.

Neum: A Farm-to-Table Lunch at Agrotourism Matusko

If you drive from Split to Dubrovnik, you have to pass through Bosnia. There’s no getting around it, so we figured we would stop for lunch in or around Neum. We researched Neum online and discovered Agrotourism Matusko, which is a bed and breakfast/farmhouse where you can enjoy delicious local food.

Cousin Selfish emailed the owner the morning we left Split to inquire about lunch for three. He responded that he didn’t know if he would be able to accommodate us. We risked it and just showed up, and of course, he graciously served us.

While he was cooking, an adorable kitten came upon us. Mr. Selfish is a cat magnet so it was immediately purring at him.

The owner whipped us up a simple lunch in about 20 minutes.

He served us veggies (squash, mushrooms, and onion), the freshest tomatoes I’ve ever tasted, ham, two types of local cheeses, and Bosnian “pancakes.” Looking back at the photos, it doesn’t look like much, but let me assure you, it was all quite delicious. There’s something about fresh ingredients that make your taste buds sing.

I highly recommend visiting Agrotourism Matusko if you pass through Neum. We didn’t get a chance to take a look at the accommodations, but I would certainly consider staying here if we ever come back to Bosnia.

And that’s it for our trip report. Mr. Selfish and I are preparing for Baby Selfish right now and will probably take a break from blogging for a little while, but we’ll be back…