Park Sarajevo

... square to find food, more details tomorrow....

Sarajevo -- August 31
Although we spent a little bit of time exploring the Bascarsija (old city) last night, it wasn't until today we got the chance to really see the sights. Last night we grabbed some tasty doner for dinner and then basically went to bed.

We started the day with an amazing breakfast cooked by the folks at the Halvat Guesthouse. Friendly Valida provided ...

... seemed to have no issue. I wasnt going to be out done by a chick so I had to suck it up, ignore the snake sounds and grabbed the first big stick I could find just in case.

We eventually got to the top, no snakes.

That night we set up camp, in a field about 5min drive up into the hills north of town. There was a field next to this old ruin of a house it looked perfect.

As we were setting up camp a stray dog came up to say hi. There are stray dogs everywhere in ...

... enclosed by enemy troops.

I can't say enough about how amazingly gorgeous this city is, I really hope some of you reading this will decide to put this city on your list of places to go to. Its already climbed up to my top 5 favourite cities in the world, and its knocking on the number 1's door. Different religions and ethnic minorities, which were the fundamental cause of the Bosnian War now co-exist peacefully and respectfully. Everyone here has a story to tell about ...

... just generally looking around and doing shopping and Sarayevo gives off a real buzz it really is a cool city and definatley one of the highlights on the European leg of the trip. I managed to get to a view point of the city but with the haze it didnt provide me with great shot of the city but was still lovely regardless. In the evening I went out with some of the other lads from the backpackers we went to a couple of bars and then went to a rock ...

... no,' and war broke out. What kind of sucked for everyone except Serbia was that the Yugoslavian Peoples Army consisted of 80% Serbian troops. Slovenia had a devastating ten day war in which Serb troops didn't even cross the border into Slovenia. Croatia had it a bit rougher, their war lasted a couple years but they were able to shorten it by secretly holding meetings with Serbian leaders and making a plan to help Serbia attack Bosnia in exchange for a small piece of Bosnian ...

... are two bars which are PACKED every night. There is a big hall close to the Olympic stadium which hosts clubnights from time to time. And next to the colosseum club there is also a big event hall which, during the festival, is called Heineken Music stage. :) Kiborg,Central,Quadro,City Pub,Club Jez are all located in the same street called: Ferhadija. The Colosseum, Heineken Stage and Club Boemie are close to the Hiseta/Valtera Penca road. Can't be missed ...

... roadsides, and the beauty of the lakes speak for themselves... How fitting then that my first act stepping out of the car in Bosnia beside this lake was to throw up! The mountain roads and hairpin bends obviously didn't agree with ...

... in and took back the airport from the Serbs, allowing the distribution of food and humanitarian aid. However, unable to cross through the airport, the only break in the Serbian noose, to free Bosnian territory on the other side, the Bosnians remained unable to escape the constant violence. Humanitarian aid was all well and good, but the Bosnians also wanted weapons to fight the Serbs, something the UN stalwartly refused to give them. A solution was found in the ...

... marketplace and killing 120 civilians in one go. A photographer captures two or three unignorable photos, and to his credit, President Clinton orders NATO airstrikes. Clever. Bypass the UN and use a body that doesn't have the sound democracies of Russia and China wielding a veto. With a galling ease that a couple of the former soldiers justifiably seethed about to us, US airpower routes the Serb positions in four days. Four days. Ex Sarajevan military ...

... the rest of Mostar lived. The war took a heavy toll on the small town, with more than 2000 people dying during the siege. With the cemetery outside the town, and inaccessible during the fighting, the central park was turned into a cemetery and is filled with graves, mostly of young men, almost all dating to 1993. Later that evening we went out to look at the bridge lit up at night time. We ran into another one of the backpackers and sat down for ...