28 September - 3 October 2013
Day 1: Arriving on the bus
Crossing the border from Serbia to Bosnia was really easy, we didn't have to get out of the bus and pretty much cruised straight through. When you compare how far it looks between Skopje and Belgrade (~450km) with Belgrade and Sarajevo (~300km), the latter looks a lot shorter (and Google maps says it is too) but it still take forever. Over 8 hours if I remember correctly. The next challenge was the fact the bus dropped us at the bus stop that was a long way from the centre of town. Luckily there was a bunch of us there so two Brazilians and I split a taxi into town and it worked out nice and cheap.
I hadn't booked a hostel so I had a look around for one but without much luck; they were all either closed or terrible. I decided it was worth the walk up the hill to a hostel that I'd be told about and thankfully Haris Youth Hostel was indeed worth the walk. I can't sleep on buses so the first task after checking in was to have a nap.
Dinner
Haris, the guy who runs the hostel, put on a BBQ and beer night for everyone in the hostel. It was a great way to meet people who were staying there and because there were two people having birthdays, we all went out to town (like we needed an excuse). We started at an Irish bar that was ridiculously packed with people (and had indoor smoking *sad face*). After screaming to each other over a few pints, we went to another bar that was far less crowded. Can't really remember anything in particular about the night but I did wake up with a bunch of people's names written in pen on my arm; hopefully it helped me remember their names during the night.
No water
There's a gotcha in Sarajevo: they turn off the water at night. That means no showers, no drinking water and no flushing toilets.
Day 2: Breif sightseeing
The centre of town isn't very big so a group of four of us went for a walk around and saw a mosque and went through a small bazaar. We found the Sarajevska brewery, who also have a bar so we went in to try one of their beers; it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The other highlight of the day was the Kiwi lady, that I met in Ohrid, arrived at the hostel today :D
Day 3: Haris tour
Haris, the hostel owner, runs his own tours of the town and because the sights he shows you can't be easily accessed without a car, three of us signed up. The tour took us to:
Day 4: Planning
Nothing much happened today. I spent the day organising the next stage of my trip: Oktoberfest!
Day 5: Killing time
I'd already seen most of the sights and it was raining so it was another lazy day to try and get over the cold before Oktoberfest. My kiwi friend and I went to town for lunch where we saw a kid, maybe 7, smoking. I also had a haircut and it ended up a bit shorter than I planned because of the language barrier.
Thoughts about Sarajevo:
Day 1: Arriving on the bus
Crossing the border from Serbia to Bosnia was really easy, we didn't have to get out of the bus and pretty much cruised straight through. When you compare how far it looks between Skopje and Belgrade (~450km) with Belgrade and Sarajevo (~300km), the latter looks a lot shorter (and Google maps says it is too) but it still take forever. Over 8 hours if I remember correctly. The next challenge was the fact the bus dropped us at the bus stop that was a long way from the centre of town. Luckily there was a bunch of us there so two Brazilians and I split a taxi into town and it worked out nice and cheap.
I hadn't booked a hostel so I had a look around for one but without much luck; they were all either closed or terrible. I decided it was worth the walk up the hill to a hostel that I'd be told about and thankfully Haris Youth Hostel was indeed worth the walk. I can't sleep on buses so the first task after checking in was to have a nap.
Dinner
Haris, the guy who runs the hostel, put on a BBQ and beer night for everyone in the hostel. It was a great way to meet people who were staying there and because there were two people having birthdays, we all went out to town (like we needed an excuse). We started at an Irish bar that was ridiculously packed with people (and had indoor smoking *sad face*). After screaming to each other over a few pints, we went to another bar that was far less crowded. Can't really remember anything in particular about the night but I did wake up with a bunch of people's names written in pen on my arm; hopefully it helped me remember their names during the night.
No water
There's a gotcha in Sarajevo: they turn off the water at night. That means no showers, no drinking water and no flushing toilets.
Day 2: Breif sightseeing
The centre of town isn't very big so a group of four of us went for a walk around and saw a mosque and went through a small bazaar. We found the Sarajevska brewery, who also have a bar so we went in to try one of their beers; it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The other highlight of the day was the Kiwi lady, that I met in Ohrid, arrived at the hostel today :D
Day 3: Haris tour
Haris, the hostel owner, runs his own tours of the town and because the sights he shows you can't be easily accessed without a car, three of us signed up. The tour took us to:
- the Tunnel Museum where we saw a part of the tunnel that kept Sarajevo alive with smuggled supplies during the war. The museum had a video and a bunch of artifacts from the war. At the museum I learnt the war still isn't recognised as a "real war", only a civilian war and 8200 civilians were killed in Sarajevo and 250 thousand in Bosnia as a whole over the course of the war.
- the bob-sled track from the Olympics. Haris showed us how sound carries around the curve, like the whispering wall for those of you Adelaideians that have been there.
- a spot with great panoramas of the city but it was super foggy so we couldn't see anything
- the Holiday Inn where we could see patched up holes from artillery shells
- a cafe with amazing Burek
- a traditional Bosnian house. We were shown through most of the house and told about how the residents used to live. The house belonged to a well off family and it was massive.
- the spot where Franz Ferdinand was killed
It rained continuously for the whole day and it was pretty cold. One of the girls wasn't prepared for it so after the tour we stopped at an op-shop to buy a jacket. We made our way back to the hostel to warm up but it was too late for me, I'd already started to get sick.
Day 4: Planning
Nothing much happened today. I spent the day organising the next stage of my trip: Oktoberfest!
Day 5: Killing time
I'd already seen most of the sights and it was raining so it was another lazy day to try and get over the cold before Oktoberfest. My kiwi friend and I went to town for lunch where we saw a kid, maybe 7, smoking. I also had a haircut and it ended up a bit shorter than I planned because of the language barrier.
Day 6: Off to Munich
It was an early start and Haris was kind enough to drop me off at the airport.
Thoughts about Sarajevo:
- It rained a lot while I was there
- Parts of it feel like any modern city but then you'll see things that remind you of just how recent the war was
- It's fairly cheap and there's some good stuff to see
- I had a good time because I met some cool people at the hostel
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| View from the hostel balcony |
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| A cemetery that you walk past on the way to the hostel |
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| At the brewery for a beer |
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| The tunnel is made for short people |
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| Panorama of the city |
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| The tunnel |
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| How badly Sarajevo was surrounded during the war |
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| The spot where Franz Ferdinand was killed |
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| The bob-sled track |
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| ...and again |
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| A house covered with bullet holes |
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| The courtyard of the traditional house |
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| Pigeons in the main square |
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| Got a photo taken while I had a friend to do it |
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