An Englishman in the Balkans

An Englishman in the Balkans is a weekly podcast about the people, places and everyday life of Bosnia and Herzegovina, told by David Bailey, who has lived here for more than 25 years. New episodes arrive every Tuesday.

There are some places in Bosnia and Herzegovina that do not reveal themselves straight away.

During a recent two-and-a-half-day road trip through Bosnia and Herzegovina with Tamara and my granddaughter Alice, we stopped near Konjic for what I thought would be a quick visit and a few photographs.

Instead, within minutes, we were stepping through a doorway into one of the most secretive places ever built in the former Yugoslavia.

Hidden beneath a mountain near Konjic lies Tito’s Bunker, officially known as ARK D-0. Built during the Cold War for Josip Broz Tito and Yugoslavia’s military and political leadership, it was designed as an underground atomic war command shelter.

Above ground, life carried on as normal. The Neretva River flowed through Konjic, people drank coffee in cafés, and traffic moved along the road between Sarajevo and Mostar.

Beneath the surface, though, was another world entirely.

Construction began in 1953 and continued until 1979. Built in complete secrecy, the bunker was designed to shelter around 350 people for months in the event of nuclear war.

From the outside, there is very little drama. That is part of what makes it so fascinating. The entrance appears almost ordinary, tucked into the landscape with no great military spectacle.

Then you walk through the doors.

Long corridors stretch ahead. Heavy doors separate room after room. Pipes run overhead. Offices, communications rooms, dormitories, generators, filtration systems, kitchens, and medical spaces sit deep inside the mountain.

It feels less like a bunker and more like a secret underground city.

What struck me most was that this was not simply a military installation. It was a mindset poured into concrete. A reminder of just how seriously the Cold War was taken in this part of the world.

One of the things I often say about Bosnia and Herzegovina is that history here rarely sits politely behind glass. It presses in from all sides.

Tito’s Bunker feels exactly like that.

The small details stay with you: the telephones, the furniture, the faded colours on the walls, the offices frozen in time. You stop seeing history as something abstract and suddenly it becomes touchable and strangely human.

Tito himself remains a complicated figure across the former Yugoslavia. To some, he represented stability and independence during a tense period of global politics. To others, he represented control and silence under a one-party state.

Thanks for listening. If this episode was worth your time, the best thing you can do is pass it on to someone who'd enjoy it.

Every episode, and more about my life here, is at anenglishmaninthebalkans.com.

I also write a short, free weekly newsletter, The Sunday Edition, a recap of my week in Bosnia. If you're not already receiving it, you can join here:

https://anenglishmaninthebalkanspodcast.substack.com

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If you don’t want to receive everything I publish, you don’t have to unsubscribe completely.

Use the unsubscribe or preferences link at the bottom of any email and you can choose which of my newsletters and sections you’d like to receive.

That way, you can keep the Sunday Edition, for example, while switching off emails from sections you’re less interested in.

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An Englishman in the Balkans is a weekly podcast about the people, places and everyday life of Bosnia and Herzegovina, told by David Bailey, who has lived here for more than 25 years. New episodes arrive every Tuesday.

I had planned to make a simple hiking story from the hills above Kakanj in central Bosnia. A scenic walk with our hiking club, a few thoughtful voice notes, some views towards Vlašić, and the sounds of boots, birdsong, and conversation along the way.

Bosnia had other ideas.

This episode is about a 13.5 kilometre hike that quickly became something much more personal: a lesson in preparation, aging, stubbornness, and humility. From a too-heavy rucksack and the wrong trousers to unforgiving hills, aching knees, and schoolchildren who seemed to float up the climbs, it reminded me that walking every day is not quite the same as hiking in Bosnia.

It is also a story about community, kindness, and the strange satisfaction of reaching the end when, somewhere along the route, you quietly wondered whether you would.

Thanks for listening. If this episode was worth your time, the best thing you can do is pass it on to someone who'd enjoy it.

Every episode, and more about my life here, is at anenglishmaninthebalkans.com.

I also write a short, free weekly newsletter, The Sunday Edition, a recap of my week in Bosnia. If you're not already receiving it, you can join here:

https://anenglishmaninthebalkanspodcast.substack.com

Already a subscriber?

If you don’t want to receive everything I publish, you don’t have to unsubscribe completely.

Use the unsubscribe or preferences link at the bottom of any email and you can choose which of my newsletters and sections you’d like to receive.

That way, you can keep the Sunday Edition, for example, while switching off emails from sections you’re less interested in.

I’d much rather you received only the things you enjoy than felt I was filling up your inbox.