To fly over the steppes of Central Asia to Bosnia and Herzegovina is to gain an appreciation for trees; specifically the fact that there are still a good number of trees on the rest of our planet. The hills around Sarajevo are miles of rich, unrelenting green in August and I immediately sank into nature-shock. Corinne was more reserved. And after an hour and a half of waiting for the so-called hourly airport shuttle to arrive, she was decidedly unimpressed. But when we finally gave in against our better judgment and hired a taxi, it turned out that the guy didn’t want to rip us off – in fact, not only did he give us the price we were told was fair, he enthusiastically pointed out everything on our drive in from the airport and seemed to genuinely want us to have a nice stay in Sarajevo. Taxi drivers of Kazakhstan, take note.
The charms of Sarajevo are subtle and reveal themselves slowly so that after a few days you feel that you’ve actually gained momentum and that you’re just getting to know the city, not tiring of it. You come to appreciate the folks in Baščaršija for taking it slow despite working in the bazaar (a place we’ve come to associate with hassles, yelling, and general irritation) and after a few days you’re ready to sip from the Sebilj fountain in hopes that you’ll return to Sarajevo soon. The city has just the right mix of historical old town, globalized new town, and a lot of space in between; all of which contain interesting places to see and sit and enjoy life. We went to the top of the Avaz Tower for a dollar and had coffee with a panoramic view of the city. We took a long morning walk to the old Goat’s Bridge and back. We hopped on a horse-drawn carriage in Ilidža and rode down the aleja to the peaceful, waterfall-strewn Vrelo Bosne park. We climbed the hill through Alifakovac cemetery where almost all of the graves are dated 1994. We had Bosnian coffee and our first lokum (Turkish delight). We saw our first 3D movie – in English – in a huge cineplex. Maybe best of all, we had several portions of ćevapi, a sort of Balkan fast food made up of tender, spiced sausages stuffed with onions into pillowy, pita-like flat bread and served with a mound of kajmak (clotted cream).
It’s meat-flavored heaven.
The Sebilj fountain of Baščaršija, the old town square and market, is usually surrounded by more pigeons than people but the best ćevapi is just around the corner.
This very old little market, Bezistan, used to house Silk Road traders. Now you can find all the $5 sunglasses you could want inside.
Arguably Sarajevo’s most famous landmark, this is the bridge where hero/terrorist (depending on your take of history) Gavrilo Princip assassinated Franz Ferdinand, the archduke of Austria, and set off World War I.
Right at the foot of the mountains, Vrelo Bosne is a beautiful place.
The impact scars of mortars were ingeniously filled with red lacquer and are known as Sarajevo Roses, though they’re disappearing quickly as the pavement is replaced.
We wanted to play but it seemed like we needed a reservation weeks in advance. So we just stood around shaking our heads with the other spectators at one player or another’s ridiculous response to the Pirc Defense or inevitable failure to foresee an incoming pawn fork.
Corinne demos Bosnian coffee. Not as a straightforward as it seems, folks.
The hills of Sarajevo from Avaz Tower.
From Alifakovac toward Avaz Tower, center-right.
And while in Sarajevo, we took a day trip to…
