Glass sculpture representing mother and child.
So after another long train ride, though I don’t mind these at all, I arrive in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Some people were quite puzzled and confused as to why I wanted to go there, but without being able to really give me any reason why I shouldn’t. Then there were the few travelers I ran into who had already been, they just gave me a nod and a smile saying that I will love it. Whenever people ask me why I want to go to a particular country my usual response is that I haven’t been there yet, and for me that is good enough reason to go and explore. So there I am at the train station in Sarajevo at 9:30 pm waiting for the arrival of my couch surfing host. Fifteen minutes pass by the place begins to empty as all the passengers have been picked up or have taken their choice of transport and I am standing alone at night in a new city with only a screen mounted on the top of a building displaying the time and temperature, to entertain me. I decide I will wait for half an hour and then leave, but to where and how I have no clue.
The coolest McDonald’s I have ever seen.
Exactly half an hour after arriving a lone taxi driver pulls into the parking lot of the station, gets out of the car and heads straight towards me with such assurance I figured he was there to pick me up. He comes over and asks if there is anything he can help me with. I explain that someone was supposed to meet me, he offers his phone so I can make a call and exactly when I am about to pull up the number from my phone…it dies! He then calls a friend who runs a hostel, he says he can take me there it is less than five minutes away and if I don’t like it he will take me elsewhere until I find one I am comfortable with. So off we go into the night and as he said we arrive at the hostel in no time at all, we go inside to check it out. I gotta tell yah first impression when we pulled up I was not so sure about the place as it is set in a building with a ruined exterior, but an old lady met us out front and showed me my private room. There was wifi and steaming hot water, so I was sold.
Streets of the Old town
That night I messaged another person who had extended an invite to me, they called me at the hostel and we made arrangements to meet the following day and he would show me around the town. As for the person that was supposed to come for me he messaged that he was sorry for being late, but he had been told by someone at the station that the train was going to be half an hour late at least. So by the time he arrived, I was nowhere to be found. He continued to apologize, asking for me not to be mad, and honestly I wasn’t. I mean, everything happens for a reason right?
Cute Souvenir Shops
The next day I meet up as arranged with the other person and we begin our tour with food of course! I was starving by the time we got to the restaurant and eager to try something local. On our way there however, we walked through a city center that surprised me at every turn. This was a cool modern city with extremely fashion conscious people, especially the women. Girls sat at cafes having their midday lattes with their pint sized pups resting atop their designer purses, was I still in Miami? Also there is a huge Turkish influence there, very evident in many of the stalls and souvenir shops and some of the residents. I guess 500 years of Turkish rule can do that. After eating we spent some time in pigeons square then strolled up to the ruined castle for a beautiful panoramic view of Sarajevo, purchasing some fruits on the way that we ate once we reached the top. When we returned to the city, we strolled through a park that was set in the midst of a cemetery, kinda cool I thought and then visited the fountain that commemorates the lives of children that died during the war in the early nineties and the eternal flame another symbol for the people who died.
Pigeons’ Square
Passing a cemetery of fallen soldiers on our way to the castle
Views of the other side of Sarajevo from the castle
I had a very full day one and when my new friend and I returned to the hostel, the old lady was apparently telling him that I was gone for so long and she was worried because I didn’t come back all day and she was wondering if I ate anything. She was like a grandmother, I thought that was cute. He left after making plans to meet up again the next day and I went to bed very satisfied with my first day in Bosnia.
At the Eternal flame with Dzenan who showed me around
Footprints of little children heading into the commemorative fountain
