Sunday, May 22nd...After our epic night at Sensation White, we woke up at 6am to catch a bus at 630am. The bus was to pick us up at our hostel and drop us off at our hostel in Sarajevo, Bosnia. According to the driver, he was caught in traffic from Sensation White which ended at 6am so he didn't pick us up till 830am! We drove through the gorgeous countryside of Serbia and Bosnia. After crossing the river that seperates the two counties, we had a great bus climb through the mountains. Morgan did get a little sick, but Jo and I just slept through most of it. The mountains were decorated with farms and incredibly lush forests. I thought it was similar to driving through the alps in northern Italy.
We arrived in Bosnia around 3pm. We asked the hostel for some good Bosnian food, which is basically a plate full of meat. We got three different meat dishes plus sides of onions, mustard, and GIANT pita bread. All this for only 19 dinar, 9 euro, or $12 for three people. We then walked around the old town section of Sarajevo, which is very quant. There are only two major roads, one that follows the river, and another that goes the opposite direction on the north side of town. The rest of the streets are pedestrians walkways lined with souvenir shops, tons of jewelry stores, Turkish lamp stores, cafes, and dessert stores. We had no idea that Bosnia had such a Turkish influence. There was a mosque every 4-5 blocks, Turkish restaurants, and typical turkish souvenirs. You can severely tell the difference between Bosnia and Serbia. Bosnia is not a modern city, but still a very small knit city recovering from a civil war.
That evening we went out for some drinks which included some montenegrin wine for Morgan and I, while Jo had a gin and tonic. We went back to the hostel, to watch the stanley cup playoffs versus Vancouver and San Jose Sharks, because there were canadians and a sharks fan staying in the hostel. After the game, Morgan was hungry so we walked around. We were looking for "Tornado fries", but were so turned around by the time we found it, the store was closed. We went to a bakery by our hostel, where Morgan got a chocolate pastry thing that looked like an eclair. It wasn't that great...
Monday, May 23rd...
This morning we went in search of tea and coffee. We found a small coffee shop that served us tiny cups of tea and coffee for 4 kn or 2 euros. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. We walked around the entire rest of the morning, where we passed probably every souvenir shop known in Sarajevo. There were tons of metal shops for Turkish coffee or tea sets, metal plates and jewelry, also tons of Turkish clothing stores. I bought a few souvenirs for friends, and Morgan bought his patch souvenir and a bullet key chain.
We met Jo for lunch around noon. We were in desperate need of vegetables, so we asked our hostel for a good suggestion. They pointed us in the direction of a place called small kitchen, which was ten minutes away. We walked in to a restaurant with three tables and three bar stools in front of the tepanyaki style grill. The decoration very contemporary, and the smell was incredible the second we opened the door. The chef had small glad boxes full of freshly diced veggies, and fridge full of great sliced meat. The waiter said we don't have a menu, just to tell him what we liked. We said we wanted vegetables but meat was okay too, so he told the chef to makes us a combination with extra veggies. We also shared a bowl of hot, delicious soup that tasted similar to chicken noodle soup, but with veal, vegetables, and no noodles. He also gave us free rakija shots on the house. Our food came and we about cried. The plate was beautiful to look at. In the center was gorgeous grilled vegetables including carrots, zucchini, onions, mushrooms, as well as, meat, nuts, and cranberries. Around this massive center of vegetables was a ring of yellow rice follow by another ring of sauce placed in dots all around the edge of the plate. Then orange peels were sprinkled on top. It smelled amazing, and tasted even better. It was an incredibly amount of food too. All this food and drinks, for 50 dinar or around $33, so $11 dollars per person!
Afterward, we started doing a walking tour of our city from a map that pointed out all the interesting places. We only made it to the first site on the map before it started to rain! Good thing we had a twenty minute walk back the the hostel with no umbrellas...needless to say we were drenched. After three hours of waiting for the rain to end, we started our walk around the city again. We saw some beautiful mosques and churches, as well as, some buildings that were riddled with bullet holes and crumbling from the civil war. It was incredible that the city had not torn down these buildings or at least renovated them. It's sad to think that Bosnians have to walk by these buildings that are daily reminders of the war and death that their ravaged their country.
We were told to head up the the fortress to watch the sunset and see the city at night. On our walk up, Morgan's stomach was calling so Jo and I waited outside the fast food place. Sitting on a chair outside the door was a man in jeans and a leather jacket. He said in an almost aggressive tone if we were from America. I automatically didn't say anything because of his tone, but Jo stepped right in and said we were Aussies. We talked to him for over 20 mins about his life. He was a native Bosnian, with a Muslim father and catholic mother. He was muslim. He was in his twenties during the war and was in the military. He was on the front lines near the train station and one day he went out for a look. He was shot once in both knees by snipers and he showed us his scars. He stood nearly six foot five and could still walk around without a noticeable limp. After that war, he had to train the Montenegrins to fight the Albanians. Afterward, he was giving no money for his work in the military so he moved to Denmark where they pay his pension. He only comes back to visit his parents, because most of his friends died or left. He even said he still smells blood when he comes back to Sarajevo. Even though many areas have been renovated, he can still visualiye what they looked like in the war. So coming back to Bosnia is very difficult for him. He said in Sarajevo, 16,000 children died of the 30,000 killed. Another town lost 100,000 people. The genocide that happened in the region is unconscionable.
After this sobering discussion, we hiked up the hill to the fortress. We passed a Muslim grave site with all gravestones showing deaths during 1992-1995. Finally at the top of the fortress, we could see the entire city. Sarajevo is actually much larger than we though, since we are in the old town area. Sarajevo is surrounded by mountains on all sides with a large river running through it. The river is extremely muddy looking, but we are not sure why. The sky was very cloudy from the rain that day, so we could not see a sunset.
Next, we walked down and treked to a bar for some Somersby Apple Cider! We found a place and had one bottle each, then walked to another bar. This bar was on a street filled with chairs, tables, umbrellas, and TVs. We ordered some cider and watched the hockey game. Only two other men on the block were even near us, and they were in their late 60s it looked liked. We had asked the waiter for menus, but he said they did not serve food. These men had overheard us, and one was actually the owner of some bars on that strip. He ordered a few burgers and crepes and gave half to us! We asked him to sit next to us, but he didn't speak any English so the waiter translated for us. This man who we thought was late sixties, was actually 80 years old. He walks to work everyday and owned most of that block. He was a gentleman and even put a jacket around Jo because he thought she was cold. He went home, so then we chatted with the waiter for an hour or so about his life since we were his only customers. He was 27, married, and had two kids. He was a Muslim Bosnian, and his wife was Croatian. He was eight when the war happened. He remembers living in his apartment and the city being at siege for four years. He says Bosnian is still recouping from it, and is even worried for another war in the future. Money and power are major issues that caused the war and are still a problem today. Soldiers were not paid for their service, money was given to the wrong people, and Bosnia's credit debt as a country as astronomical. Presidencies now change every six months, which makes political decision making nearly impossible. Religion did play a major role in it, but now no body can tell who is who. Everyone, Serbs, Croats, and Bosnians, who all have different dominant religions are now trying to put aside the death and destruction to better their country. He also talked about how expensive it is in Bosnia, when Jo, Morgan, and I thought the complete opposite. A typically Bosnian makes 200-300 euro a month, which is only around $500. He works constantly while his wife it sounds like never sleeps or eats since she takes care of the children. We are incredibly blessed not to have to worry about money as they do, nor have to relive constant memories of a recent 15 year old genocide in your backyard.
Today was incredibly informative and interestingly. We loved learning about the history of this country and speaking to people who lived through it. Bosnia has a long way to go but they are trying. We leave tomorrow for Split, Croatia which is on the Adriatic Sea.
We arrived in Bosnia around 3pm. We asked the hostel for some good Bosnian food, which is basically a plate full of meat. We got three different meat dishes plus sides of onions, mustard, and GIANT pita bread. All this for only 19 dinar, 9 euro, or $12 for three people. We then walked around the old town section of Sarajevo, which is very quant. There are only two major roads, one that follows the river, and another that goes the opposite direction on the north side of town. The rest of the streets are pedestrians walkways lined with souvenir shops, tons of jewelry stores, Turkish lamp stores, cafes, and dessert stores. We had no idea that Bosnia had such a Turkish influence. There was a mosque every 4-5 blocks, Turkish restaurants, and typical turkish souvenirs. You can severely tell the difference between Bosnia and Serbia. Bosnia is not a modern city, but still a very small knit city recovering from a civil war.
That evening we went out for some drinks which included some montenegrin wine for Morgan and I, while Jo had a gin and tonic. We went back to the hostel, to watch the stanley cup playoffs versus Vancouver and San Jose Sharks, because there were canadians and a sharks fan staying in the hostel. After the game, Morgan was hungry so we walked around. We were looking for "Tornado fries", but were so turned around by the time we found it, the store was closed. We went to a bakery by our hostel, where Morgan got a chocolate pastry thing that looked like an eclair. It wasn't that great...
Monday, May 23rd...
This morning we went in search of tea and coffee. We found a small coffee shop that served us tiny cups of tea and coffee for 4 kn or 2 euros. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. We walked around the entire rest of the morning, where we passed probably every souvenir shop known in Sarajevo. There were tons of metal shops for Turkish coffee or tea sets, metal plates and jewelry, also tons of Turkish clothing stores. I bought a few souvenirs for friends, and Morgan bought his patch souvenir and a bullet key chain.
We met Jo for lunch around noon. We were in desperate need of vegetables, so we asked our hostel for a good suggestion. They pointed us in the direction of a place called small kitchen, which was ten minutes away. We walked in to a restaurant with three tables and three bar stools in front of the tepanyaki style grill. The decoration very contemporary, and the smell was incredible the second we opened the door. The chef had small glad boxes full of freshly diced veggies, and fridge full of great sliced meat. The waiter said we don't have a menu, just to tell him what we liked. We said we wanted vegetables but meat was okay too, so he told the chef to makes us a combination with extra veggies. We also shared a bowl of hot, delicious soup that tasted similar to chicken noodle soup, but with veal, vegetables, and no noodles. He also gave us free rakija shots on the house. Our food came and we about cried. The plate was beautiful to look at. In the center was gorgeous grilled vegetables including carrots, zucchini, onions, mushrooms, as well as, meat, nuts, and cranberries. Around this massive center of vegetables was a ring of yellow rice follow by another ring of sauce placed in dots all around the edge of the plate. Then orange peels were sprinkled on top. It smelled amazing, and tasted even better. It was an incredibly amount of food too. All this food and drinks, for 50 dinar or around $33, so $11 dollars per person!
Afterward, we started doing a walking tour of our city from a map that pointed out all the interesting places. We only made it to the first site on the map before it started to rain! Good thing we had a twenty minute walk back the the hostel with no umbrellas...needless to say we were drenched. After three hours of waiting for the rain to end, we started our walk around the city again. We saw some beautiful mosques and churches, as well as, some buildings that were riddled with bullet holes and crumbling from the civil war. It was incredible that the city had not torn down these buildings or at least renovated them. It's sad to think that Bosnians have to walk by these buildings that are daily reminders of the war and death that their ravaged their country.
We were told to head up the the fortress to watch the sunset and see the city at night. On our walk up, Morgan's stomach was calling so Jo and I waited outside the fast food place. Sitting on a chair outside the door was a man in jeans and a leather jacket. He said in an almost aggressive tone if we were from America. I automatically didn't say anything because of his tone, but Jo stepped right in and said we were Aussies. We talked to him for over 20 mins about his life. He was a native Bosnian, with a Muslim father and catholic mother. He was muslim. He was in his twenties during the war and was in the military. He was on the front lines near the train station and one day he went out for a look. He was shot once in both knees by snipers and he showed us his scars. He stood nearly six foot five and could still walk around without a noticeable limp. After that war, he had to train the Montenegrins to fight the Albanians. Afterward, he was giving no money for his work in the military so he moved to Denmark where they pay his pension. He only comes back to visit his parents, because most of his friends died or left. He even said he still smells blood when he comes back to Sarajevo. Even though many areas have been renovated, he can still visualiye what they looked like in the war. So coming back to Bosnia is very difficult for him. He said in Sarajevo, 16,000 children died of the 30,000 killed. Another town lost 100,000 people. The genocide that happened in the region is unconscionable.
After this sobering discussion, we hiked up the hill to the fortress. We passed a Muslim grave site with all gravestones showing deaths during 1992-1995. Finally at the top of the fortress, we could see the entire city. Sarajevo is actually much larger than we though, since we are in the old town area. Sarajevo is surrounded by mountains on all sides with a large river running through it. The river is extremely muddy looking, but we are not sure why. The sky was very cloudy from the rain that day, so we could not see a sunset.
Next, we walked down and treked to a bar for some Somersby Apple Cider! We found a place and had one bottle each, then walked to another bar. This bar was on a street filled with chairs, tables, umbrellas, and TVs. We ordered some cider and watched the hockey game. Only two other men on the block were even near us, and they were in their late 60s it looked liked. We had asked the waiter for menus, but he said they did not serve food. These men had overheard us, and one was actually the owner of some bars on that strip. He ordered a few burgers and crepes and gave half to us! We asked him to sit next to us, but he didn't speak any English so the waiter translated for us. This man who we thought was late sixties, was actually 80 years old. He walks to work everyday and owned most of that block. He was a gentleman and even put a jacket around Jo because he thought she was cold. He went home, so then we chatted with the waiter for an hour or so about his life since we were his only customers. He was 27, married, and had two kids. He was a Muslim Bosnian, and his wife was Croatian. He was eight when the war happened. He remembers living in his apartment and the city being at siege for four years. He says Bosnian is still recouping from it, and is even worried for another war in the future. Money and power are major issues that caused the war and are still a problem today. Soldiers were not paid for their service, money was given to the wrong people, and Bosnia's credit debt as a country as astronomical. Presidencies now change every six months, which makes political decision making nearly impossible. Religion did play a major role in it, but now no body can tell who is who. Everyone, Serbs, Croats, and Bosnians, who all have different dominant religions are now trying to put aside the death and destruction to better their country. He also talked about how expensive it is in Bosnia, when Jo, Morgan, and I thought the complete opposite. A typically Bosnian makes 200-300 euro a month, which is only around $500. He works constantly while his wife it sounds like never sleeps or eats since she takes care of the children. We are incredibly blessed not to have to worry about money as they do, nor have to relive constant memories of a recent 15 year old genocide in your backyard.
Today was incredibly informative and interestingly. We loved learning about the history of this country and speaking to people who lived through it. Bosnia has a long way to go but they are trying. We leave tomorrow for Split, Croatia which is on the Adriatic Sea.
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