Banja Luka is the 6th city I've visited in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the 2nd city that I am feeling sad about leaving.(the first was Visoko, because of the people)
This city really surprised me.
The first thing I noticed when I got here was the trees. There are so many trees here, and many of them are really old trees, which is super cool.
Minneapolis is also know for it's trees, but I actually think there are more trees in Banja Luka. It seems like a city built in the woods, rather than a city that planted a bunch of trees.
There are also a wide variety of trees in Banja Luka.
Once I got out of the trees, I found the city center and the church. This building is amazing, and I never got tired of sitting next to it and watching it against the sky.
On either side of the church are identical(I think) federal buildings. They are impressive too, and they seem to compliment the church well in some aesthetic sense. The area around the church is truly beautiful.
Banja Luka has lots of nice little parks, and a great number of monuments and statues.
This is the first Ban of the area, Svetislav Milosavljević.
This commemorates babies who died in a hospital during the war in the 90's. There was a break in the supply chain, and the newborn babies couldn't get the auxiliary oxygen that they needed.
As I was walking around one day, I stumbled upon a medieval fortress...
Apparently, the site was an ancient ruin when the Romans got to what is now Banja Luka, around 2000 years ago. The fortress that is here now is from medieval times, but the site has had something on it for a very, very long time.
It's not really marked with signs or anything, it's just there. No tickets, no tours, just an ancient fortress to hang out in!
As I continue my travels, I am about to go to Serbia, but I hope to return to Banja Luka.
Having only been here for a few days, I know there is so much more to experience!