Saturday, Dec. 27
In the evening we took a train from Mostar to Sarajevo. Now, this train ride fit the stereotype. Let's just say we are glad we didn't see the movie
Trans-Siberian before embarking on this part of our voyage. But, let's just say that we only paid about $10/ticket for the 3 hour train ride, so we can't complain.
In contrast to Mostar where you could see the scars here and there if you looked, in Sarajevo you could not escape noticing the ravages of war all around you. Our taxi driver pointed out all the bombed out buildings on our way to our hotel. In passing a destroyed library, he described how an old lady single-handedly saved many of its contents by hauling them hour after hour, day after day, to another place for safe-keeping at the beginning of the siege. The lady who owned our hotel related the story of one of her former maids whose husband was called out of the house by some Serbian military officials during the siege. His cigarette, still smoldering in the ash-tray, would be her last memory of him as he would never be seen again. Our tour guide, a man our age who took us to the Tunnel museum (see below), told stories about how he spent his teenage years not in high school, where he should have been, but in hiding during the four year siege. But, he could not hide all the time. Food was needed, wood had to be found to be used as fuel: the city had no electricity or running water throughout the siege. So, boys like him had to sneak around the city looking for wood. At first they used trees from their own neighborhood and nearby parks. But, when those disappeared they had to venture further and further away, sometimes even across "Sniper Alley" which was a road in which Bosnians were regularly killed by Serbs snipers firing from the mountains above.
Yet, despite all this, the people of Bosnia were the friendliest people we have encountered in Europe thusfar. Whether this bears any relationship to their hardships, or whether they simply have not yet become jaded to tourists, I cannot say. Regardless, I recommend to anyone who visits this region of the world to consider visiting Bosnia, if even for just a day or two.
Tunnel which Bosnians used to smuggle supplies from the Free Bosnian territories across (actually under) enemy lines
Much of the food and supplies that allowed Bosnians to survive the 4-year war came in through this tunnel. Bosnian troops from the outside had to work very hard to keep control of the mountain near the end of this tunnel. If they had lost this mountain, Sarajevo would have been completely cut-off from the outside world.
The corner where the Austro-Hungarin Archduke, Franz Ferdinand, was shot by a teenage assasin in 1914. This single killing is the event that set off World War I and led to the 10's of millions of deaths that resulted from this war.
If I remember the story correctly, the Archduke was taking part in a parade in Sarajevo. Unbeknownst to him, a rebel group of terrorists/patriots (depends which history book you read) called the Black Hand plotted his assassination. Again, as I remember - about 5 or 6 assassins were lined up along the parade route waiting for a chance to make history. Two were too scared, a third had his gun jam, and another misfired. Only one was able to come close to his mark, a grenade that landed on the top of the back part of the Archduke's open-air car. Supposedly, the Archduke batted it way before it could explode and it only hurt one person. Thus, despite all the opportunities, it seemed the Archduke would survive this day. One of the failed assassins, Gavrilo Princip, then went to get a sandwich, where by some strange twist of fate he happened to catch sight of the Archduke when his driver took the wrong turn down this street (photo above). The driver's effort to turn around the vehicle gave Princip all the time he needed. He shot and killed the Archduke and his wife. Austro-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Serbia's ally, Russia, declared war on Austro-Hungary, whose own ally, Germany, declared war on Russia. And so it went on. While given the evils of Nazism and fascism, as well as the rapid expansion of the Japanese empire, one can say World War II was a war that had to be fought, it's hard to make the same case about the first World War. It sure seems pointless to me.
Gazi Husrev Bey's Mosque
Old Town Sarajevo
We found perhaps the best "fast food" we have ever had. No McDonald's or other western chains anywhere in sight. Rather, Sarajevo is full of small diner-like restaurants which serve a variety of delicious kebabs (Eastern influence), and cevapi and other mixed, grilled meats (Slavic influence). We only wish we could have Bosnian food, Croatian landscapes, and Italian history transported to us in Budapest.
Sarajevo is located in a narrow, steep valley surrounded by mountains on all side. Setting out on a run from our hotel near Old Town, we only had to go a few blocks before the streets suddenly became very steep.
Our ascent up Olympic Mountain (Mt. Trebevic) in Sarajevo-
30 minutes after we had left our hotel, we had ascended above all the homes built into the mountain and were now running on a narrow dirt road/trail. We saw very few people after this point - perhaps 6 or 7 hikers plus a couple of younger guys that looked like they were in the mob (We saw several men in both Croatia and Bosnia that looked and acted the part of mobsters, whether or not they really were, who knows? I wasn't going to ask. But, it's funny that we didn't see any such people in Italy where the mafia began)
Bobsled run
There was no snow in the city, but about 4" on top of the mountain, which rose about 3500' above the city (so it was quite a climb to get up there)
Ruins from the 1984 Olympics in the background, full of bullet holes
This mountain, once host to the bobsled events of the 1984 Olympics, is now full of land mines as can be seen in these universally understood signs. Needless to say, Susan and I stayed on the dirt road.
View of Sarajevo from the top
