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By Emma Morgan, YES Abroad Bosnia and Herzegovina '14

As the title would suggest, this past December, the YES Abroad crew took another group trip out of town. This time around, our destinations included Gradačac, Srebrenik, and Tuzla. It was an exhausting trip, but only because it was tons of fun.

First, we visited Gradačac, where we went to a fortress known as "Kula Zmaja od Bosne" or "The Tower of the Dragon of Bosnia." The Dragon of Bosnia refers to a Bosniak general who fought against the Ottoman Empire and the new reforms implemented in the early 1800s by the sultan Husein-kapetan Gradaščević. The tower was very cool, and it probably would have offered us a great view, but it was so foggy that we could not see anything more than ten feet in front of us. The setting still made for some good photos.

We piled back into the van and drove to our next destination -- the Srebrenik Fortress. This was honestly one of the coolest places I have ever been to in my entire life. The fortress was first mentioned in a charter in 1333, which means that this fortress was over three times older than the United States of America. The fortress looked like something straight out of Lord of the Rings; it was insane. When we got there, it was bright and sunny, so we spent some time walking around the ruins. When we turned around to leave, fog started to roll in; and when I say roll in, I mean you could actually see it approaching—we were that high up. By the time we were walking back to our car, there was so much fog that you could not even see the castle anymore. It was like it had never been there!

Our final stop of the day was the northeastern city of Tuzla. Tuzla is the third largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina after Banja Luka and Sarajevo, and it is known for its salt mines. Tuzla even has salt lakes that you can swim in during the summer. In Tuzla, we went to a portrait gallery that had works from local painters, including the famous Ismet Mujezinović. I am not usually someone who can properly appreciate art, but I really loved all of the pieces that hung in this gallery. Once our visit to the museum was over, we stopped for some tea and started on the road back to Sarajevo. 

I love any trip out of the city we take because, even though Bosnia and Herzegovina is a much smaller country than the United States, its landscape can feel just as varied. Granted, you're not going to find any deserts, but you'll find salt lakes, palm trees, mountains, open fields, and more.