Medjugorje / Bosnia-Herzegovina - Hotel Villa Maranatha – an Insidertip!

After we arrived in Hotel Villa Maranatha we were really happy that we even made it that far. Imagine: from Irland down to Bosnia-Herzegovina / Medjugorje!!!

The owner of the Hotel - Sebastian – is a friend of my husband from back in the days and had reserved a room for us after we managed to contact him from Island Pag in Croatia. This hotel, believe it or not, is the first and one and only accommodation we had pre-booked. And our friend didn’t let us down: this hotel is so far the best accommodation we had. Everything is fresh, clean and relaxing.

We are so happy that we found a great hotel and a free room as in Medjugorje every season it is the season. Pilgrims don’t really follow the ordinary seasonal “rules”

In the basement of the hotel are a bar with a comfortable seating corner, the kitchen and the dining area. And all is equipped with air condition… brilliant. We have 40°C outside and it is getting hotter every day which makes an Irish easily melt, so an air-condition is very welcome.

After we had some refreshments we are walking into town. As I had mentioned in my hub before... we forgot the Buggy and the Baby-Carrier so we had do carry our Toddler and took turns. Oh man, holding a hot Toddler close to your chest at 40°C your arms are getting longer and longer and you also sweat more and more. Who needs penance when you are doing this? On the way back we treat ourselfes to a Taxi. They cost 5€ everywhere in Medjugorje in order to avoid any rip-offs of tourists and pilgrims. And 5€ I think are acceptable. From now on we always take the Taxi when going into town.

Why Medjugorje?

I have to admit that I am not really that much into religion. I am roman-catholic alright but not the going-everytime-to-Sunday-mass person. However I am faithful in some ways and always wanted to visit such a pilgrimage site. I actually remember the first appiritions when they happened in Medjugorje and it was on TV. My grandmother got herself a VHS-Cassette sent from relatives in Croatia, so she understood everything in detail.

I have to admit it is quite interesting here. You meet many people of all age groups all in different stages of believe. Some are more curious about it all, like me, some are really faithful and are even crying at mass. Also the locals have many stories to tell from wonders, cures and healings they have witnessed. My husband was here a few years ago and witnessed a girl going crazy after a group of priests passed by. She must have been possessed and it still gives him the shivers thinking of it. It was like from out of the movie…. Hello, “The Exorcist” …. You can believe what you want but I found it interesting however haven’t witnessed anything out of the ordinary. In general I am a very sceptic person and stories like this.. hmm…. I am not so sure. But I am open minded and as I said, I just wanted to see what it is all about and promised my now ninety-year-old grandmother to go there one day and pray for her.

There were masses of pilgrims and most of them were Italians. At times, it felt nearly I am somewhere in Italy and not in Bosnia. Even the waiters in restaurants nearly approach you in Italian assuming we might be Italians too. Of course there are lots of shops who sell trash and tacky items too. At the end of the day you can make money out of everything and you will find a soul buying it.

In Hotel Villa Maranatha we are enjoying ourselves away from the hussle and bussle. I again have to mention the air-condition, something we haven’t had so far on our trip. We are getting spoilt rotten. The breakfast and dinner are Croatian local specialities and as much as you can eat. It nearly pities me when we have to give half the plate back because we simply cannot eat it all. We could have got lunch in the hotel too but we rejected – it was simply too hot to eat and 2 meals a day were more than sufficient for us three.

Also the staff was wonderful and I don’t say that just because we know the owner. The staff took care of kids so their parents could eat in peace and have a little break too. They did that with all guests no matter how old the Baby and is a really lovely touch I haven’t seen before.

Everything is so comfy and cosy and we decide to stay a few more days. We then want to take the ferry from Split to Italy / Ankona and go back to Germany crossing Switzerland. That is the plan so far anyway.

But for now we are just enjoying ourselves, with Croatian food and ice-cold beer: Živjeli (= Sláinte, Cheers)

Note: Maranatha is Aramaic and translates into something like: "Our Lord, come!" or "Our Lord has come" or "Come, O Lord". It is believed that “Maranatha” might have been used as a greeting between early Christians. It says that it might have been used by the Apostle Paul.