We were so close, it would have been rude not to visit... That was the justification for a couple of nights sidetrip into Bosnia and Hercegovina and it was well worth every BAM (convertible marks to the more technical amongst us).
We bused down from Split into Sarajevo (the B part of B&H) along some pretty majestic scenery, dominated by the Neretva River. We arrived into Sarajevo pretty late (about 11pm) armed with directions to our hostel which was apparently only 5 minutes walk from the bus station. Whatever! After walking around for about half an hour we finally capitulated and got a taxi - the guy told us a) it was 'very, very close' (yeah, thanks, we knew that already!) but that we should b) be 'very careful' and that wandering the streets at night was maybe not such a good idea. But not to fear (this is for all the parents out there), we never came to any harm the whole time we were there, and in fact, the B&H's were some of the nicest people we've met so far!
Arriving at the hostel at about midnight, we rang the bell, only for it to be answered by one of the guests who said that the lady had gone and wouldn't be back until 10am the next day! (So much for 24 hour reception...) They let us up anyway and we crashed in one of the rooms. Early the next morning, on wakening and discovering that the kitchen and bathroom were one (ew!) and the whole place was pretty grotty, we left some cash on the bed and left. If you're ever planning on going to Sarajevo, avoid 'Hostel Enjoy' like the plague!
But onwards and upwards. There was another hostel in town that was highly recommended, Hostel City Centre Sarajevo, and it was probably the flashest hostel we stayed in so far. We were lucky to get the last rooms in the house - two lilos in a yet to be completed dorm room! But they were actually really comfortable and getting your own room but paying the least amount possible was pretty sweet. Apparently they do great tours out into the surrounding areas to waterfalls etc. - everyone was raving about them but sadly we didn't have enough time.
Anyway, enough about the accommodation! Sarajevo itself was absolutely fascinating, the recent history of the 1991-1995 conflict is just in your face everywhere you look. It was strange, but you even got used to seeing bullet holes in everything. We did a tunnel tour of a tunnel that the city built under the airport from Sarajevo city itself (which was quasi-surrounded by the Serbians, apart from the airport which was in UN hands) out to the B&H free territory. The guides were two people in their late 20s who gave us a pretty frank description of life during the war - there's still so much hurt and anger about it all which is pretty easy to understand when you go there and see it for yourself. The corruption and confusion that still reigns in the city is also a source of huge frustration - they have two police forces, three presidents that each have power for a year each, and can never get agreement between anyone so can never move forward. It really made you appreciate an open and relatively simple political system!
We had initially planned to spend the night with some other people from the hostel, but Adrian found some really cheap tickets (NZ$7 each!) to Carmen at the National Theatre, performed with the Sarajevo Philharmonic. Well, that's not something you're going to turn down is it! It was Adrian's first time at an opera, so what better place to start than Sarajevo. It wasn't an opera in the sense that I'm used to (a big theatrical production), as the leads and the chorus just stood on stage and the leads were just in regular dresses etc., but it was definitely a lot of fun.
We'll post some pictures as soon as we get our disposable camera developed!
Next stop: Mostar.
We bused down from Split into Sarajevo (the B part of B&H) along some pretty majestic scenery, dominated by the Neretva River. We arrived into Sarajevo pretty late (about 11pm) armed with directions to our hostel which was apparently only 5 minutes walk from the bus station. Whatever! After walking around for about half an hour we finally capitulated and got a taxi - the guy told us a) it was 'very, very close' (yeah, thanks, we knew that already!) but that we should b) be 'very careful' and that wandering the streets at night was maybe not such a good idea. But not to fear (this is for all the parents out there), we never came to any harm the whole time we were there, and in fact, the B&H's were some of the nicest people we've met so far!
Arriving at the hostel at about midnight, we rang the bell, only for it to be answered by one of the guests who said that the lady had gone and wouldn't be back until 10am the next day! (So much for 24 hour reception...) They let us up anyway and we crashed in one of the rooms. Early the next morning, on wakening and discovering that the kitchen and bathroom were one (ew!) and the whole place was pretty grotty, we left some cash on the bed and left. If you're ever planning on going to Sarajevo, avoid 'Hostel Enjoy' like the plague!
But onwards and upwards. There was another hostel in town that was highly recommended, Hostel City Centre Sarajevo, and it was probably the flashest hostel we stayed in so far. We were lucky to get the last rooms in the house - two lilos in a yet to be completed dorm room! But they were actually really comfortable and getting your own room but paying the least amount possible was pretty sweet. Apparently they do great tours out into the surrounding areas to waterfalls etc. - everyone was raving about them but sadly we didn't have enough time.
Anyway, enough about the accommodation! Sarajevo itself was absolutely fascinating, the recent history of the 1991-1995 conflict is just in your face everywhere you look. It was strange, but you even got used to seeing bullet holes in everything. We did a tunnel tour of a tunnel that the city built under the airport from Sarajevo city itself (which was quasi-surrounded by the Serbians, apart from the airport which was in UN hands) out to the B&H free territory. The guides were two people in their late 20s who gave us a pretty frank description of life during the war - there's still so much hurt and anger about it all which is pretty easy to understand when you go there and see it for yourself. The corruption and confusion that still reigns in the city is also a source of huge frustration - they have two police forces, three presidents that each have power for a year each, and can never get agreement between anyone so can never move forward. It really made you appreciate an open and relatively simple political system!
We had initially planned to spend the night with some other people from the hostel, but Adrian found some really cheap tickets (NZ$7 each!) to Carmen at the National Theatre, performed with the Sarajevo Philharmonic. Well, that's not something you're going to turn down is it! It was Adrian's first time at an opera, so what better place to start than Sarajevo. It wasn't an opera in the sense that I'm used to (a big theatrical production), as the leads and the chorus just stood on stage and the leads were just in regular dresses etc., but it was definitely a lot of fun.
We'll post some pictures as soon as we get our disposable camera developed!
Next stop: Mostar.
No comments:
Post a Comment