Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina ... Aug 1 - 2, 2008

Last year when we visited Belgrade, Serbia, we quietly crossed the Northern border into Bosnia. This time, coming up from Montenegro, it required us to drive basically the length of this country to return back to Budapest, allowing us the chance to stop off for a night in Sarajevo (about a five hour drive from Sveti Stefan to Sarajevo, through small mountain roads with random cows and sheeps grazing in the middle of them every so often). The same thing that fascinated me about Osijek, Croatia, a town we visited a couple of years ago, also fascinated me about Sarajevo. This is the fact that many of the sites that we have enjoyed over the last few years are related to more ancient history than modern history. We are used to seeing castles, old town cobblestone streets, or ancient monastaries. Like Osijek, the more interesting aspect of Sarajevo is the more modern history. First, it was here, in 1914, that the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated, triggering World War I. We visited the City Hall, in front of which he was traveling in his car before being shot. From 1992 to 1996 it was the site of the longest siege in modern warfare, when the poorly equipped, newly proclaimed independent from Yugoslavia, Bosnian government attempted to defend itself from the Yugoslav People's Army and the Bosnian Serb forces who attacked from the hills surrounding Sarajevo. It is hard to believe that it was not long ago that such atrocities were committed in this town that we were visiting. And the affects were still VERY obvious. The City Hall, which was bombed numerous times, is completely boarded up. You can see bullet holes in just about every building you come across. It is amazing to think that this city, while technically mostly rebuilt, transformed from an Olympic City, as host of the 1984 Winter Olympics, to what it is today.
Like Montenegro, we didn't pre-define where we would stay once we arrived in Sarajevo (I know, not that intelligent of us). I had been told that the Holiday Inn was a mainstay of the city (site of some sniper outpost during the war and supposedly home for journalists during the war). Heather made a comment as we were entering the city how nice it would be to just see a sign that said "Holdiay Inn ... This way). We came across a little traffic jam, so I decided to circumvent the main road by taking a few side streets. Once we made our way out from these streets to another main road, we came across a sign that said "Holiday Inn ... 5 KM)! We made our way to the hotel and went straight to bed.
The next morning we took the tram (the 2nd oldest tram lines after San Fransisco) to the old town, passing by the bombed out City Hall with its boarded up windows. It was now that we noticed the bullet holes, still visible after 13 years scattered among many of the buildings in the city. We entered one of the many Mosques of the city, where Heather was required to wear a headscarf. We wandered around the city for a few hours before returning to our car for the drive home. We probably could have stayed a while longer in this city, but admittedly, after a week of traveling, we were ready to get home. But I have to say that I was very glad that we were able to experience the city and see the affects that war has on the legacy of a people and locale.
Our drive home took another 9 hours, most of it trying to get from Sarajevo back into Croatia, again since the infrastructure is so lousy in Bosnia. But we made it late Saturday night.
Overall, this was a great family vacation, it was fun to be together and to enjoy the natural beauty of this region of the world, as well as the man made structures from the past that have been preserved. I know the kids are young, but I am hoping at least Katie, and maybe even Ashley, remember SOME things about this trip that they can look back on.