Bosnia and Herzegovina
We covered a lot of stunning Bosnian and Herzegovina ground from Sarajevo to Mostar and Trebinje.
We got to Sarajevo around 7pm and had a couple of hours walkabout. The Cowboy and I broke off from the crowd, watched a little bit of Brazil vs. Belgium while eating Burek followed by some Bosnian version of crème caramel (which was a sponge cake soaked with milk).
I did not expect that there is such a marked Turkish influence in Sarajevo that the Old Town center actually felt like being in one of those Turkish towns.
Breakfast was around 7am, and bus departure at 8am. Again, breakfast was pretty good.
Tunnel of Hope was our first stop. It was both sobering and chilling. I did not know much about the Balkan wars until now. Sure we saw buildings bombed in Belgrade, but it’s nothing like what happened in Bosnia. Yugoslavia fell apart after Tito passed away. One after another, the former Yugoslav nations fought for separation or independence. Slobodan Molosovic began the nightmare of ethnic cleansing of Bosnians, somehow convincing Serbs that they stake claim of Bosnia. They sieged Sarajevo from all sides, leveraging the surrounding mountains. But because of narrow alleys and the way the city was laid out, despite four years of relentless attacks from the Serbs, Sarajevo was never won.
The Tunnel, created in just 60 days by the Bosnian military and civilians, was a feat of engineering as it was built in stealth. It connected Sarajevo to the free Bosnian territory. The Kolnar family did the heroic initiative of preserving it before it totally collapsed after the tunnel was neglected post-war. It was a significant monument having served as the lifeline for Sarajevo saving around 300,000 lives.
The red resin that looked like blood splatter that we saw in town – there are actually a hundred of them — was a “rose” to mark the spot where a Bosnian was killed or shot by the Serbs during the siege.
Back at the town center, we were given the option to either join the walking tour or ride the gondola or funiculare.
I did not know that Sarajevo was Olympics host in 1984. It made me very curious what it was like back then – surely they would have been a sophisticated enough city to host the Olympics.
The gondola ride gave me a glimpse of that. It was a 7-minute ride up the peak overlooking the whole city valley. It really crystallized for me what it must have been like during the Serbian siege of Sarajevo and why they never really got to subjugate the center. I’m glad we opted for it rather than the walking tour.
Had a coffee and a delicious cookie on the way down. We proceeded to check out the bridge where Archduke Franz Ferdinand IV got assassinated. Next to the bridge were two plaques. One was to commemorate or memorialize the assassin. Two was a glass panel, indicating a statue erected to memorialize victims of the assassination – more like a reparation for Franz Ferdinand – unveiled in 1917, was taken down in 1919. The Serbs obviously did not welcome the Austrian-Hungarian Archduke.
The architecture in town was an eclectic mix of Ottoman and Austrian-Hungarian. The people – tourists and locals alike – were diverse.
Mostar was our next stop. It was a good couple of hours from Sarajevo. The main attraction was Stari Most or Peace Bridge commissioned by Sultan Suleyman of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century.
It was a scenic sight of crystal clear turquoise river where you can see through the bottom of it. Professional divers getting ready to jump, were wanting to collect at least 50 Euros I heard. Didn’t get the chance to see anyone jump.
The streets were lined with market stalls. I got excited about the scarves, they were so beautiful and cheap I bought a couple of them. Had I had more time, I probably would have bought more accessories as well. It’s the bazaars of Turkey!
The Cowboy and I stayed behind with Alex and Philippa to watch England and Sweden game. While watching we had more than our fill or a humongous platter of seafood – a far cry from Malta though – with a delectable grilled mushroom.
We made our own way to Trebinje with a taxi arranged by Tanya. Picked us up around 6:45, arrived at the hotel around 8:30. We were just in time to watch Croatia-Russia game in the hotel. We then made our way to the Old Town center to join the group clubbing, but not before finishing watching extra time at the square. I was expecting Bosnians cheering for Croatia. I was the only one pumped every time Croatia almost has a goal and when they actually did! I thought, wow these Bosnians must be pretty reserved, no reaction whatsoever. When Russia scored, the crowd erupted! Either we were surrounded by Russian tourists or Bosnians are still sore from the Balkan wars.
Naya told us we’ll be clubbing in Trebinje. I made fun of how can you do clubbing in such a small town, almost like in the middle of nowhere? Well surprisingly enough, it was a hard-core party town… there were a few clubs, the one we went to, White Bar was supposedly the hottest one in town. No doubt. I have never seen in my life such congregation of hot women – as though they just stepped out of a fashion show. Diverse looks, but mostly all very tall, so tall that my face pretty much bumped into tits, nice tits though! Legs go on forever. The men were equally attractive, but I didn’t understand why they were eyeballing me. I realized I’m the only Asian in the crowd, dark (from the sun) and short (I felt like a midget). Either it’s an unwelcome look or it’s a case of the grass is greener…. Philippa, one of the poms said “it’s a meat market out there!”. It’s so packed, could hardly squeeze in a dance… though right outside the dance areas was spacious alfresco square and I was wondering how come nobody dances there. I never got the answer. Any Hispanic or Latino would be just as curious. There’s space calling out for people to dance!
