We are visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina, a heart-shaped country located in the Balkan Peninsula of Southeast Europe. There are around 3 million people living here, and the capital is Sarajevo, a city where you can see mosques, churches, and synagogues all standing on the same street corner. The people speak Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian, which are all very similar.

The country covers about 51,129 square kilometers, or 19,741 square miles. To imagine its size, it is roughly the same size as the state of West Virginia in the U.S., or about half the size of South Korea. Most of the landscape is made up of dramatic, craggy mountains and bright turquoise rivers.

The most popular sport is Football, and the fans are known for being some of the loudest and most passionate in Europe. Their national animal is the Golden Lily, which has been a symbol of the land for hundreds of years and represents beauty and royalty.

The flag is very modern, featuring a dark blue background with a yellow triangle that represents the three main groups of people and the shape of the country, while the line of white stars stands for Europe.

The food is delicious and very filling. The most famous dish is Ćevapi, which are small grilled meat sausages served inside a fluffy flatbread with onions and a creamy cheese spread called kajmak. You must also try Burek, a flaky pastry filled with meat, cheese, or spinach that is rolled into a spiral.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the only places in Europe that still has a Primary Forest, called Perućica, where some trees are over 300 years old and humans are barely allowed to enter. In the city of Mostar, there is a famous stone bridge called Stari Most; for centuries, local divers have performed a tradition of jumping off the very top of the high bridge into the icy river below to prove their bravery. The country is also nicknamed the “Land of Waterfalls” because it has some of the most beautiful falls in the world, like Kravica, which looks like a giant green amphitheater of rushing water. Sarajevo even hosted the Winter Olympics in 1984, and today you can hike up the mountains to see the old abandoned bobsled tracks covered in colorful graffiti.

From the bridge-jumpers of Mostar to the coffee houses of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a land of resilience and natural beauty. Hvala! That means “Thank you!”