15-DAY BALKANIZING, LOOKING FOR... ?

Trip Start Feb 16, 2009

Trip End Apr 16, 2009

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Where I stayed

Plavi Samak

(Sarajevo hotels)

Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Monday, March 23, 2009

Be careful what you ask for; you might just get it. If Beograd is cold, and Kosovo freezing, then Sarajevo is absolutely Arctic. If Mostar is the Islamic fairy tale, then Sarajevo must be paradise, virgins optional, with its snow and ice and lofty peaks. I first heard of Sarajevo from the 1984 Winter Olympics. Then I next heard of it during the 1992 War. How could it be the same place, fallen from the heights of international fame to the depths in such a short time? Racism/nationalism is a powerful force and ultimately negative. Religion's not perfect, but it's better than that. Unfortunately people of the Book are sometimes on a different page. Sarajevo is like the other Beirut, a modern progressive city brought down by sectarian violence, provoked by those who'd rather condemn than tolerate.

For all their faults, cities do generate a certain psychological warmth that's attractive, in addition to the heat island effect, the warmth of anonymity in crowds

Stayin' Warm

. My room has a heater in it also, though it's probably not sufficient for the large room. Still a large room is nice, especially with Cable TV and a double bed with breakfast for $20. Unfortunately the Internet's down, 'local only', whatever that means. It means no 'w's, no e-mail, no half-dressed web-cam girls in the Philippines staring vacantly at their screens waiting for the signal 'customer online' while baby cries in the next room and Grandma tries to calm him. Sarajevo has a well-defined tourist area in the 'Turkish quarter', with plenty of budget accommodation, so I may move in closer if Internet stays down here. It's not exactly Khao Sarn road there yet, but that's good. I have to decide today whether to stay on or bail out, or at least I feel that way anyway. How can I travel Ethiopia in less than three weeks? I could of course if it were just Ethiopia, but not Somaliland, Djibouti, and Eritrea, too. Of course that's no more countries to check off the list than I would postpone if I were to exit Europe early anyway, and Ethiopia is not a country to rush. Logic says to be here now. Something else says to get warm now.

My return date to the US is already set, unchanging inviolable, being a frequent flier freebie. If I stay then I get to study Slavic language case endings and conjugations, probably the most fun I've had since re-learning differential equations to teach them to my wife's son, even if it didn't 'take'

He Gets Around

. Maybe then I'll tour sites of winter Olympics, Innsbruck and Torino after this, just to back-fill some logic onto a rather unpredictable situation as if I planned it like that all along. Unfortunately the Chinese haven't gotten here yet, or the few that have don't realize the potential of their hot wok nor their hard work. Then I'd feel right at home. Maybe the Turkish 'oriental' cuisine will suffice. I'll be looking for the real meal deal today. But the rugs are incredible, something I had no idea of, even after a career of dealing handicrafts. They call them 'kilims'; I wonder why. I wonder if they're really made here or just imported for sale through Turkish marketing connections. Surprise me.

Internet's back up and I've got work to do. I've also got decisions to make, specifically whether to jump ship Europe and bail out to Africa while there's still time to enjoy it. I can't decide, so I try to postpone the decision creatively. There's a bus to Ljubljana Sunday overnight. If I did that I could still get to Rome by the 24th to catch my theoretical flight to Africa, instead of going to Rome via the ferry to Ancona. That way I can hang here another day, maybe longer if that's the ultimate decision. This kind of non-decision can have further repercussions in my hyper-travel. Already planning my next trip next month, probably to whichever part of Africa I forego now, if I go at all, for a month with another month in Europe, but the most northern Scandinavian part, assuming the dollar holds up, which right now is questionable, since it's slid sometime in the last week while I wasn't watching..

The Rug Department

. but I could at least commit half the way to London, which is where all the cheapest flights originate, and which has NOT re-valued against the dollar like that pesky old Euro has.

Coincidentally today AA sends me a special offer to fly RT to London before July at regular price $800+ and get 25,000 frequent flyer miles worth $250+/-, but now I find British Airways has a RT on the same dates for only $548 TAX INC and then I can continue on to either Johannesburg OR Addis Ababa for less than $600 OR BOTH considering the flight between them at African rip-off prices is twice that. Hell, I can do that. I'm always ready to commit half-way. Today's the first day of spring and snow is falling here in Sarajevo. There is no logic. Which button do I push? The bus to Ljubljana leaves without me. I guess that's my non-decision. I find a cafeteria line that's got all the local food on display with names attached, so I can just point-and-click, learn as I go. It's not bad either, Muslim food, and reasonably priced. I left Athens on 3-3. When I arrived in Bosnia two weeks later, this was my eighth country within that time, nine if you count Kosovo. What do I do now? I need a line, Trinity. At least it's warmer now. That's the nice thing about Internet. It's warm inside.