"I did have a camera with me" Sarajevo by craic

Sarajevo Travel Guide: 1,082 reviews and 2,784 photos

Somewhere in Bosnia (pic by Mirza) - Sarajevo

But I just didn't seem to want to take many pics while I was in Sarajevo.
Luckily KristaB came for a few days while I was there so many of the pics will be hers (thanks Krista) but the pics won't usually be very relevent or apposite.
Oh well.
Krista and her camera weren't with me as I approached Sarajevo for the very first time by bus from Dubrovnik after the ferry trip from Bari. (BTW do show your passport, don't just try to blunder towards the bus station under the funny yellow barricade, the guys get a bit twitchy.)
I met someone on the ferry who lives in the next village to me in Australia so we sat up most of the night over a gin and tonic or two.
When he piked and went to bed I got talking to a yank with a GPS toy and a theory about gun control, and a lawyer from Bari who was heading to Sarajevo to be on the War Crimes Tribunal who also had a theory about gun control.
Enough said. I had had no sleep.
I had managed to nod off on the bus, until we entered the Neum Corridor and I got punched awake - true!!! - by border guard to show my passport.
Not a little slap to wake up little old lady - but a good old punch in the arm.
I nodded off again - and again - a punch on the arm by a different border guard.
I was too scared to nod off again - we had to show our passports 5 times as we wandered in and out of Croatia and Bosnia.
The Australians on the bus were rioting.
Not me, I am a New Zealander.

First look at Bosnia

I had been mightily amused by a local young man who got on the bus and teased two Australian girls about the camouflage pants one of them was wearing. About how all the post traumatic stress syndrome soldiers (like him) would flip out and start shooting as soon as they saw the pants! She had better take them off straight away!

And then I looked up and we were approaching Sarajevo, perched up on the distant hills, across a plain.
A battered old tram ground along a weedy track beside the road. Old ladies with headscarves. Weary looking workers.
Behind the tram track, big blocks of flats with much war damage. Still.
I was shocked and moved.
And very amused by all the sparkling white, brand new satellite dishes blooming on the blocks of flats.
Almost the same shape as the war damage.
I felt as if this city was going to be all right, that it was on the road back.

Hadzem, me and Mirza (pic by KristaB)

Many of my thoughts and memories on this page will be about Bosnia, rather than just Sarajevo.
Because the organisers of Sarajevo Poetry Days kept pushing us into buses and vans and sending us off to different far flung realms in Bosnia. Many! near death experiences. Mirza came up with an advertising campaign.
Picture of bungee jumping, white water rafting, whatever.
"Have a near death experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina."
"Just show one! of the three road accidents we saw on the way back from Mostar last night" I riposted.
In this pic I am about to be pushed into a van and sent to Banja Luka. You wouldn't know I was half an hour away from a panic attack, would you?
I had to have a glass of wine and go to my good place.
One of the funniest moments of my life is heading towards Medugorje (where the Virgin Mary appears) to spend the night after an hilarious night of poetry, eating, drinking and sevdah in Mostar.
As the bus is pulling up the hill towards our chaste hotel with the crucifixes on the wall above our beds, Mirza jumps up and starts to sing "Like a virgin!"
It was so funny! But perhaps you would have had to have been there.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Like Hadzem said - The good air, the good water, and the smile. (And sevdah.)
Cons:Lots of things to feel bad about - like leaving food on your plate.
In a nutshell:Sarajevo has a thin skin, sad stories, and gaiety. I could see poverty, but it felt so rich.

Last visit to Sarajevo: May 2006
Intro Updated Jun 25, 2007
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Reviews (9)

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Comments (33)

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Bwana_Brown Sep 25, 2010 at 3:17 PM

Jennifer, another of your great works of art that I had managed to miss! Thanks for the chuckles and your insights on life in Sarajevo!
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Maryimelda Jun 15, 2010 at 5:48 PM

Thanks Jennifer, as always a very entertaining and informative read.
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calcaf38 Aug 15, 2009 at 3:08 PM

Great page, Jen, like a book of related short stories. Wonderful.
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Andrew_W_K Jul 28, 2009 at 10:13 AM

I love that "Strolling around" tip. Like something Bill Bryson would have written.
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lynnehamman May 14, 2009 at 6:19 AM

What a delightfully amusing and descriptive account of your visit to Sarajevo, Jennifer. I enjoyed reading it. Excellent overview.
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karenincalifornia Apr 14, 2009 at 10:10 AM

Enjoyed your writing style! When we were in Sarajevo in 86 there were several monuments to Princip but I had read that they have been removed since he has fallen out of favor as a historical figure in Bosnia. Kind of like the US and Christopher Columbus.
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jumpingnorman Feb 23, 2009 at 9:06 PM

Enjoyed reading your Sarajevo trip, Jane...I also do sleep on the grass, hehehe....Norman :)
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nomorewars Sep 7, 2008 at 11:50 PM

Although I am no longer drinking, I feel as though there is nothing wrong with drinking a bottle or two of vodka for breakfast. Having it for lunch, is a totally different story. How are your doing, Jen?
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Manara Aug 28, 2008 at 6:19 AM

Very interesting! The advice about cars seems useful.
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Kuznetsov_Sergey Aug 4, 2008 at 11:34 AM

I would like to see the Princeps Bridge as well! But to have breakfast with vodka (like a person from your tip) is too much, haha! Thanks Jennifer for sharing.