An eight
hour bus ride brought us to Sarajevo, only 250kms. away from Belgrade. A taxi
brought us to Villa Hipodromo.
A extremely hospitable gentlemen from Bosnia received us generously and we
kindly joined them near the beautiful swimming pool. They seemed to like us
very much as they invited us over for a family barbecue they would be having
that Sunday evening. His best friend was present too and together they tried to
explain us, in perfect English or German, the life they livid during the Yugoslavian war of the nineties. Sarajevo, as capital of Bosnia & Herzegovina, was an
isolated city and at that moment we didn’t realize just how bad the war had
been for Sarajevians.
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| Our awesome host at his barbecue |
That quickly
changed the next day. Liesbeth and I walked to the Tunnel Museum, which was the only way between occupied Sarajevo and
the free land of Bosnia. An 800-meter long tunnel underneath the –by NATO-occupied-
international airport of Sarajevo, 1,6m high and 1meter wide was the only way
in for: food, drinks, electricity, fuel etc. for three years and three months.
I know my bit of ‘hardcore warfare’, as last year I have been to Auschwitz concentration camp, but
Liesbeth and I were still heavily touched by the images, well-kept clothes and artifacts,
articles and movie about “The Tunnel” as they say. Today, the airport of Sarajevo
is still on the same spot, and from the garden of the Tunnel Museum House you
can still see the airplanes taking off.
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| Airplanes at Sarajevo Airport right behind the Tunnel Museum |
We took a
taxi to the Sarajevo city centre and spent our afternoon wandering around in
the old city centre, checking out “over 9000” souvenir-shops, and booking our
tickets for our next destination. In the evening we chilled in our apartment as
we both could use a long night sleep after the last couple of weeks.
Our second
full day in Sarajevo we spent chilling in our apartment, next to the swimming pool
and in the afternoon we planned to go back to Sarajevo centre -we stayed in Butmir which is right outside Sarajevo-
to join the Free Walking Tour. Our
Bosnian landlord was so nice for us –he really did like us a lot- and lend us
his little white Fiat Panda to drive the 14kms to the city centre. It was a big
adventure, but thanks to my awesome co-pilot Liesbeth we managed to get to
Sarajevo safely, driving next newly built hotels and old, ruined and shot
houses which are still randomly spread across the city and its outskirts. The
Free Walking Tour brought us to some important places in (world) history, the
most famous one being the location where Franz Ferdinand from Austria was shot (which started World War I). Remarkable how
much influence events, which happened in Sarajevo, have had in our history.
Along the Tour, we met a very nice couple from Leuven (Belgium) which had been
to Exit Festival the week before and were travelling through Balkan as well. A
nice chat and drink followed on the guided tour and before we knew it, Liesbeth
and I were back in our apartment, packing up all our stuff to leave for our
next destination the next day.
peace out_
Liesbeth&Thibault
Personal
touch: I must admit it: although pretty much everyone has heard about the
Yugoslavian War, Sarajevo, Belgrade, etc. and although it is only a two of three
hour flight from Belgium, I find it a pity that so few people find their way to
–relatively- cheap ex-Yugoslavian countries. Compared to Hungary, which is way
more often visited by Belgians as far as I know, the countries of the Balkan –maybe
Croatia excluded- are cheaper, more hospitable and way nicer than their
northern neighbors. A must-do for people interested in: culture, history,
people and just want to have an awesome time with locals.
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| Sarajevo's only entrance for over three years |
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| don't. forget. Screbrenica. |
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