[Biggles]

After many years of wanting to visit Medjugorje, my prayers have been answered and I have finally persuaded my husband to come with me. He is a sceptic who shies away from organised religion, but in recent years has attended the occasional mass service with me (he's very much taking baby steps, but stepping in the right direction nevertheless). I doubt that he could undertake a full blown pilgrimage, but given that he's a real history buff, thought we might be able to combine Medjugorje with visits to other places of historical interest in Bosnia Herzegovina/Croatia.

Given that neither of us speaks the local language, we fear we would struggle getting about if we were to make our own travel arrangements and wonder if it would be terribly frowned upon to "piggy back" on a pilgrimage from the UK. Alternatively, maybe there are some organised tours of the region whereby we could branch off for a couple of days to visit Medjugorje.

Please, please, can any of you lovely people help me out with some suggestions or advice that might help us?

Many thanks in anticipation and may God bless you x

[Prodigals]

. . . I have finally persuaded my husband to come with me.

Here is something you may want to consider.

You say your husband has finally agreed to accompany you to visit Medjugorje. That, in my opinion, is not an accident. I believe he has been called by Our Lady as part of the process of his conversion. I've seen this before in stories of other people. It is said that everyone who goes to Medjugorje has been invited, and receives something they need.

Why dilute the purpose of the trip with another agenda of visits to historical places? Why give your husband the mental cover of thinking he is primarily going on a history tour that just happens to have a side trip for his wife to a small village in Eastern Europe where a lot of nutty religious people go?

Why not let your husband steep in the knowledge that he as agreed to go to Medjugorje, and not give him the opportunity to rationalize the trip by thinking that he is only going for the history stuff?

The Blessed Mother has a plan. Trust in Her.

[maryannlucy]

A major U.S. newspaper came out with 10 great destinations and they rate Bosnia Hercegovina as #1 (they put them in alphabetical order. Here is the link https://www.latimes.com/travel/story/20 ... -countries

Here is what they say about it:
1. Bosnia-Herzegovina

The Bosnian War ended in December 1995,and the multicultural nation of Bosnia-Herzegovina has begun a new chapter with rising tourism. Through the first nine months of 2019, visitor arrivals increased 11% to 1.2 million.

The center of gravity is Sarajevo, the capital whose old quarter includes churches, synagogues and mosques that date back centuries.

The cable car to Mount Trebevic — a 1984 Winter Olympics venue destroyed in the fighting of the early ’90s — reopened in 2018. The bridge at Mostar, built in the 16th century, destroyed in 1993 and rebuilt in 2004, is a popular day trip about 80 miles southwest of Sarajevo. Mostar hosts summer music festivals and an August high-diving competition. (Yes, divers leap from the bridge into the Neretva River.)

The town of Medjugorje, southwest of Mostar, has been a Catholic pilgrimage destination since reported sightings of the Virgin Mary on Apparition Hill began in 1981. The pope authorized the site as a pilgrimage destination in May 2019.

Info: Visit Sarajevo http://visitsarajevo.ba/?lang=en