On Thursday, January 17th, YES Abroad students explored Travnik, a historically important town located in central Bosnia. While there, students had an opportunity to visit Ivo Andric’s birth house/museum and learn more about his magnificent literary works. Ivo Andric won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961 and is the only Nobel Prize in Literature winner from ex-Yugoslavia.    

After a walk through the former Ottoman capital of Bosnia, YES Abroad students climbed to the Travnik Fortress built in the early 15th century during the reign of Bosnian kings. Its stunning architecture allows for impressive views of the town as well as of “Plava Voda” (Blue Water), a large source that flows out of the base of the Vlasic Mountain.  

YES Abroad students also had an opportunity to view impressive architecture unique to central Bosnia including “Sarena Dzamija” (the Multi-Colored Mosque), built in 1757.  In the afternoon, students enjoyed famous traditional Bosnian coffee at a coffee shop called “Lutvina Kahva.” The legend goes that once upon a time Rudolf, the Crown Prince of Austria upon his tour of Bosnia (which was at the time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), stopped by “Lutvina Kahva,” drank coffee there and was so pleased by the taste of it that he paid with a rare gold coin which is still preserved at the coffee shop by its owners.