Hotel Michele Sarajevo

... small bus for such a tall race) so when the immigration official looked at the passports, he didn’t collect Milli’s to be stamped, but he did take mine, and some other foreigners, which annoys Milli greatly as she wanted the stamp as proof she had visited. I on the other hand am quickly running out of pages in my passport and could have done without the guy stamping on one of my few remaining blank pages, instead of squeezing it in on some of the half ...

... influences, Sarajevo has become an amazing mix of eastern and western culture. From the city centre you can see the tops of a mosque, a synagogue and a church, all rising above the densely forested mountains that aurround the centre. Beneath these religious icons, a colourful mix of locals stroll slowly, drink coffee in the streets and chatter. Their skin colour is a mix of european with central asian, one might say a perfect mix. The ...

... was taken out of the freezer and defrosted in the microwave behind Ritchie's head. Having said that the food was delicious and quite cheap.   

 The next day we struck out to see the 'Tunnel' museum. Following Bosnia and Hercegovina's declaration of independence Sarajevo was subjected to a 44 month siege by Yugoslav army and Bosnian Serb irregular forces. The Serbs completely encircled the city on the hilltops above and shelled it ...

... during the war. We then sat and had not one but TWO coffees. This is what the locals do. Most Bosnians are Muslim and don't drink. Therefore, their social time with friends is drinking coffee. We liked it so much we went to another place and had another cup! The second time, we had it served in traditional Bosnian style (see the pic below). While we were enjoying our coffee, we heard a guy from the mosque singing from the balcony of the minaret. Muslims sing/chant when it is time ...

... Our tour guide was Hedim, an ex-Bosnian soldier who fought in the war and was able to give us some good insight to life in Sarajevo during the siege on the city. The tunnel was an 800 meters long and was used during the siege to get supplies into the city as well as get people out. The exit of the tunnel was built under a home that is still occupied by the same family. They have turned their home into a museum ...

... our overnight train to Hungary at 10.30pm. This train was quite different to the presiov, had padded beds, was smooth and most importantly no drunken people. We actually got a decent night,s sleep. We reached our Budapest hostel by lunchtime and then headed out to get our bearings. Our first day was spent walking along the main road of Pest down to the square where there was the amazing heros monument and seeing the huge ice skating rink, thermal baths and old castle ...

She says: I blame Lonely Planet. From the major LP build-up, I expected to have to tear myself away from the city after wandering its streets for days longer than we'd planned. In reality, I was ready to move on less than 24 hours after we'd arrived. Don't get me wrong - I admire the courage and the perseverence the people of Sarajevo have shown in rebuilding their city after the siege in the 90s. I just wasn't compelled to spend much time there. Much of our stay, though ...

... main train station and set out to find our hostel. We bought a tram ticket from the kiosk, and were immediately short-changed by the surly woman inside - apparently giving change isn't really the done thing in this part of the world, you just kind of round up and hope for the best. Our tram stopped in the old Turkish Quarter, opposite the aptly named Pigeon Square, and we set off through the maze of tiny, winding streets. Since it was mostly uphill, and ...

... you have to buy tickets for the trams or you will get nailed. Beth and I made the mistake of thinking we would pay an attendant or something once inside the tram, but to our surprise we were seized by a tram inspector as soon as we hopped off the car. He was holding out his hand and wrote down on a piece of paper "26 KM" (26 Bosnian Marks) which seemed like some kind of inappropriate joke. When he realized we didn't understand him he started leading us ...