Sarajevo Day 1

Sarajevo day 1
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The train ride through the mountains was quite beautiful once it got light enough to see. These early mornings though are taking a toll. But it was quite civilized and better than the bus.

Sarajevo is a big sprawling city. It seemed like it took forever to get through it all to the train station. Like Mostar, evidence of the siege is everywhere. Long tracts of bombed structures not reconstructed lined the streets facing the train station. 

The copper market in Sarajevo

​It was a little intimidating, not knowing what we would find in the rest of the city. However, once we got into the city center it is was much more accessible. The Miljaka River runs through the city with frequent bridges crossing it. The Latin bridge being the most famous as it was where Arch Duke Ferdinand was assassinated starting WWI.

​We got off the train and headed to find a taxi. The taxi stand was deserted so Bill ended up calling the number on the sign there and voila – a taxi materialized. It is so cheap to take taxis here that we will probably use them more than the tram. We took another cab downtown and got our laundry done – and I mean done..by someone else. It was wonderful – I hate doing laundry and especially when we travel. To come back 3 hours later to neatly folded clean clothes was a real treat.

Typical Sarajevo street

​While wandering I turned a corner and nearly tripped over a seated figure. After excusing myself I realized it was a statue – very lifelike – of Tesla. Not sure what its significance is to Sarajevo but it was cool.

Sarajevo is just as inexpensive as Mostar was. Food, drinks and souvenirs are all low priced.
The weather turned foul after we got back to the hotel to drop the laundry off so we decided to head to a museum. ​

The landmark fountain in the old town square

​Bill wanted to go to the Museum of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide. It was an extensive museum about the siege and the war, concentration camps, atrocities and genocide. I don’t know how humanity survives itself. This war was no different in its brutality and loss of innocent lives, especially children, the WWII. It explained more of who did what and what the conflict was really about. 

​The men responsible for the war crimes got off easy as far as I’m concerned. Evil is evil, and this was evil. Again, I feel so fortunate that I and those I hold dear in our country have never experienced anything like this. Because this conflict was recent enough that there are many people here who lived through it, the memory of it is still very fresh for them. It puts things in a whole different perspective.

A coppersmith at work in the old town market

​Following this uplifting Christmas eve adventure we decided to have a break and ended up having dinner in a place called Grandma’s Kitchen. I’m here to tell you – grandma could cook. The food is surprisingly good in the tourist areas and the Turkish quarter, while full of tourist shops, also seems to be just another part of the city where locals come to eat and drink.

I look forward to tomorrow when we will meet up with a guide we have hired for the next 2 days. We don’t usually do that but there is so much here that we will miss understanding without a local person, we decided to do it. And he is very reasonable.