Hostel Marin Dvor Sarajevo

... some of the local brandy in medicine test tube type glasses &#8211; the owner happily said that it IS medicine to them of course &#8211; and we couldn&#8217;t get enough of the place. The next night there was a variety of music at the bar, and indeed at other places we stopped at too. Just outside that space were lots of designer clothing and make up shops, and then further on there were churches, more mosques and market places. <br><br> People sold all sorts of ...

After Mostar I caught a bus up to Sarajevo, capital city of Bosnia, host to the 1984 winter olympics and site of the longest military siege in history during the Bosnian war.<br><br>My knowledge of what had happened during the 90's to these former Yugoslavian regions was practically non-existent so on my trip through Bosnia, like Pristina, I was eager to learn as much as possible about what happened.<br><br>I'd been told one of the best things to see in Sarajevo was the Tunnel museum ...

... things that are materialistic, or the weather, or or anything else irrelevant. But when you go through a war- a war that wipes out a big part of the city and its people- and live to tell the tale, you appreciate and are thankful for bullet and bomb free days. People here are happy to have peace, happy to have their city back on its feet again, and are happy that people around the world are taking note of their resurrection. Its clear from how kicked they are when they see ...

... living room or where ever they could get space. He was also telling me aload of other stories as well as his dad was in the army that his dad over heard 2 Serb snippers betting with each other for a packet of cigrattes if they could kill the women running from the shop to her house, its pretty sick isnt it. I asked him if the Bosnian people had any resemtment towards the Serbs and he said they didnt because not all of them were bad, apperently alot of them were forced to fight by ...

... snow, and since the chinese guy was living in australia, im sure he was even more excited. At first I didnt want to go, but afterwards I was extremely glad. Some of the most beautiful pictures (i think, anyways) I have taken where of the mosques in the falling snow. And some of the best bakery pizza Ive had was downtown in the slippery old town. I headed back early because my toes were frozen, but not even 10 minutes after I got back and threw in hostel ...

... we went to výsýt the local mosque and later the local brewery (strange combýnatýon - I know) where we had some beers together. It was a relaxýng day. In the evenýng, we each caught up on our blogs. I called ýt a nýght at 10 pm. I am leavýng for Belgrade tomorrow whýle Marleyse ýs goýng to stýck around for a few more days. I am glad I met her. SHe was a pleasant person. And she saýd I looked lýke Andy Garcýa. How could you not lýke someone who says that :). Dýno Vagabond

... tehdas. Iltapaiva meni juostessa lasien perassa. Sarajevon paaposti on aika lahella vanhaa kaupunkia, mutta hervottoman kokoisen rakennuksen paristakymmenest tiskista vain kaksi hoitaa postia. Ne kaksi olivat myos ainoat joissa oli edes vahan jonoa. Yritin selittaa odottavani pakettia tiskin takana istuskelevalle naiselle, lopputuloksena tati haki jostain takahuoneesta kartonkia ja alkoi vaantaa pakettia. Loppujen lopuksi selvisi etteivat paketit jostain syysta tule paapostiin vaan ...

We decided that a trip on the tram to Ilidza on the outskirts of Sarajevo would be a welcome breath of fresh air. From Ilidza there is a 3 kilometre walk along a tree lined path to Vrelo Bosna, a gorgeous park where the River Bosna rises. We bought our tram tickets from the kiosk and jumped on the number 3 tram that took us on the 12km ride to Ilidza. We passed through some of the outlying suburbs of Sarajevo and got off when the tram terminated in Ilidza ...

... living city, living openly with what happened to the town. Its welcoming, fun and positive, and the graveyards are not places people avoid - passing the one at the end of our street each day there are always people going through it and remembering old friends. The reminders are starker still. There is a fitness club on our street: on its exterior walls are 15 plaques remembering the young men, younger than me, all killed in 1995. We started our learning ...

... felt strange for us as most of what we knew about the country was the war that we had watched on the television as children. Today Bosnia is thriving, and very much beginning to make its mark on the tourist map, but it still bears the scars of its recent past. As we drove the streets to the hostel we passed sparkling new buildings, bullet riddled stone houses, and bombed out husks of the once beautiful town. There was a lot of new construction ...