Sarajevo
Trip Start
May 25, 2008
1
14
54
Trip End
May 25, 2009
Sarajevo,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Friday, July 11, 2008
Got up at 5.20am, to catch our 7.00am bus to Sarajevo. Got a hot Pita Sir (cheese pastry) for breakfast and bought some juice (disgusting), pretzels and chips for the long journey. On our way from Serbia to Bosnia the scenery changed from fields to lush forests, mountains and streams. It was amazing, and definitely the most picturesque scenery so far on the trip. It was an exciting journey, with the bus driver chain smoking, numerous bumps in the roads in conjunction with death-defying driving near cliff edges, blasting Bosnian pop and the aromatic picnics of fellow passengers.
When we arrived in Sarajevo I was stunned to see the damage of the war was still visible. There were shells still embedded in the footpaths and roads, bullet marks and bazooka holes in the concrete walls of apartment buildings and buildings so badly damaged they were never rebuilt...all right in the middle of the city
Water fountain
. We were staying in the home of a Bosnian family...the lady was so clean and fastidious about keeping everything in order and clean! The house used to be on the battlefront, its amazing to hear how they lived back then. Went out for a late lunch and I had Sataras, a rice dish with red capsicum, tomato, onion and paprika...fantastic!!We had a local guide, Mohammed, meet us for our guided tour of the town. He is the same age as me, and was talking to me about his life during the war. It was so sad to think that for the years I was playing outside, he was forced to stay inside, and on the one occasion he went out to play, was targeted by soldiers and got hit by shrapnel.
Visited the mosque, Bascarsija (Turkish quarter), Morica Han (Bosnian coffee shop and bazaar) and the bridge where Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, sparking WWI.
Day 2
Visited the Tunnel Museum with our guide Mohammed. Afterwards went back into town and walked around with Jessi-Anne. We had coffee, Bosnian style at Morica Han (I put the sugar cube in between my front teeth and sucked in the strong black coffee...as they say not to stir it in!!), followed by buying a shawl at the bazaar, 2 x Bosnian coffee sets and a silver cuff made in the Turkish quarter. Went to the old brewery to have a beer and then out to To Be or Not to Be for dinner.
