Hello blog.
As I promised here is part three of my Bosnian instalment! I mentioned a little about Sarajevo (Bosnia Herzegovina's capital city) in my last post
PART TWO but there is still a little more to be said about the city.
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| The site of the tunnel that was used in the war to get through a difficult area surrounded by enemy troops. Notice the bullet holes in the building... So many buildings still have their scars from the war. |
First of all, Bosnia Herzegovina remains taboo in a lot of travellers minds. Bosnia spend no money what-so-ever on promoting tourism so I guess how are we supposed to know any different. The war in the early nineties is what most people know Bosnia, or Yugoslavia for. Which is a shame really, because it has come so far and is really such a beautiful and vibrant country.
Back to Sarajevo,
As I mentioned in my last post this city is literally awake 24hours.
We went on a walking tour with our guide and it was riveting. I may have mentioned this before, but he grew up during the war and lived through it as a 13-14 year old.
He told us stories of running from bombs and bullets to try and save his life.
One day walking home from school he said a bullet narrowly missed his leg. (Snipers surrounded the city and would take fire on the civilians frequently.) He said he didn't know whether the sniper was trying to warn him or if he had missed... either way he knew he had to get out of there fast, so he zig zagged down the street. War became a part of his life. He said that you could hide... but after a few hours you were really bored and had to get on with your life so you just had to try and avoid the shooting as best as you could.
Pictured above is the market place where fresh produce is sold. Our tour guide was telling us about when it was bombed. He said the market place used to be way busier than it is today... and that when the bomb went off there were bodies and body parts strewn across the whole area... even over railings. Horrific. I can't believe this happened in my lifetime... so many innocent people were killed and nothing was done to help them. It was all caught on film and despite the footage the enemy army still claim that it is fake and that the bodies filmed were dummies.... It is outrageous what humans can do to each other.
Sarajevo Roses. Have you heard of them? They are basically a scar on the ground where a bomb exploded. As a memorial, the hole in the ground is then filled with a red resin to mark a bomb that killed over nine people. They usually come with a plaque on the wall, with the names of the victims. One night our group was drinking at the brewery... The Brewery was the place where civilians would come to collect water during the war... On our walk home we noticed a "Sarajevo Rose" I felt eery as here was a group of us walking down the same street where another group of a similar size had innocently been killed. At the risk of sounding completely lame, I think it was one of those moments that you will never forget.
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| We are learning about the Sarajevo Roses on our walking tour. |
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| Sarajevo Rose. |
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This is actually in Mostar but it gives you an idea of the condition of some of the buildings still. The effects of the war are so visible still.
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Just recently we met a real jackass who asked us where we had recently travelled. When we said Bosnia he said "ohhh, really (rolls eyes and laughs) last time I was there there was a war."
He continued to speak about what it was like there 20 years ago... he would not listen to a word I said. Some people are such idiots. He is what we call the ''ultimate traveller'' a type of traveller that think they are what I described... the ultimate traveller. Don't be that person and go to Bosnia. You will enjoy the whole experience.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE...
Just wait until my next post about the Bosnian mountain hotel we stayed in. So beautiful.
ALSO.... GUESS WHO IS GOING TO OCTOBERFEST IN MUNICH? ME ME ME ME ME! And Gonzo of course! We are going to get so fat from all the curry wurst and beer! oh em gee.
By the way... we are having a major computer glitch atm and I can't upload any of my new photos. So you will have to wait until I am home for new content. I do have one more to come before then though.
