My second trip to Mostar - after ten years, God how the years zip - was just as enjoyable and thrilling as the first. It remains a great and buzzing and vibrant city. 

I spoke with the students at the International College (about twenty nationalities represented) and they were inquisitive and responsive and animated (as always happens, in whatever country I might be in, talking to young people gives me hope for the future of humanity, although I do fear that the burden we're placing on them may be too heavy). I gave a public reading in the upstairs room of the bookshop (just before the Balkans' answer to Bob Dylan took the stage), and loved every second, although the audience was a wee bit subdued, understandably so, after watching Croatia lose 7-0 to England. 

The wine tasting tour was informative, perhaps surprisingly so; I'm no vinologist, but I was intrigued by the stories of grape varieties etc and how they slot into the culture. The people were warm and welcoming and a delight to spend time with. Mirko Božić made sure that I was attended to and catered for in every way. 

The accommodation, too, was wonderful, smack in the Old Town and close to the Craft Beer Garden, a brilliant bar outside of which, one night, I had the quintessential Mostar experience, drinking beer at a still-sultry evening hour, the smell of cevap hovering, Killing Joke's 'Follow the Leader' in one ear and the muezzin call to prayer in the other. A unique experience in a unique city.
My gratitude, once again, to Literature Across Frontiers for supporting my trip.

Niall Griffiths, October 2026