Got an early train from Mostar, through incredible mountain valleys, along the ice blue Nerevata River. Didn’t see any men plowing fields with oxen, as Jani did on her trip here in the 70’s, but we did see some Monet style haystacks.
Sarajevo is bustling on this Saturday morning, and we strolled along the cobbled Ferhadija with seemingly the entire town. Hannah got a B&H soccer jersey, and I pondered getting one of the mounted machine guns at the “War Museum”, which was really just a souvenir shop in disguise. I did actually get the FAMA Guide to Sarajevo from the 1992 seige, but it’s clearly a recent reprint. Still, an interesting cultural artifact. We also walked across the bridge on which Gavrilo Princip shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand, sparking WWI. The guidebook says that their footprints used to be encased in the pavement, but were removed in the 90’s, as Princip was deemend a terrorist, and a Bosnian at that.
Hannah sat and watched two men play chess in a park, surrounded by a gaggle of old men providing commentary. She made a friend, and they traded chess tips, although they did not share a common language. She was actually the only woman in sight, a fact that seemed to cause some of the old guys alarm, but when I showed up and took pictures everyone was happy.
Waiting around now to catch an overnight bus to Pristina, Kosovo. Our guidebook says that it wasn’t safe to update as of the last printing (2006), but we checked out more recent guides in a bookstore, and they seem to think it’s fine. Besides, who wouldn’t want to go see a UN protectorate? I love those blue helmets…
Leave a Reply