I like to check reviews for a hotel or another lodging business where I stayed in the past, or even a restaurant I visited. It’s not a systematic activity. Something triggers the memory of an old trip, and that moves me to action: Where did I stay? Where did I book the stay? What did I say about it after staying, and what are others saying now?

Sometimes, I am disappointed to see that the business is no longer active, like yesterday when I looked for Studio Ravlić, a minuscule but very well-located apartment we used as our base of operations when visiting Zagreb in 2015. To clarify, this one only seems to be closed temporarily.

From Zagreb, we planned to drive to Sarajevo and stay in another apartment that no longer offers beds (this time, permanently). The plan worked, but wasn’t spotless. For part of the day after we were turned back at the border in Kostajnica, we doubted the outcome would be in our favor: we didn’t have specific car insurance to enter Bosnia and Herzegovina. Good job planning a trip that included a country outside the Schengen area!

Kostajnica couldn’t help us, but fortunately, there was another border crossing where we could get the required insurance: Novi Grad. We drove the extra two hours, purchased the insurance, and were finally allowed into Bosnia and Herzegovina. We then drove the rest of the way to Sarajevo, not without first stopping to eat at Balkan Express, a fantastic family restaurant outside of Prijedor that fortunately is still in business today.