sarajevo & mostar, bosnia & herzegovina

Apologies to anyone (Grandma Bouman this is for you) who has been waiting for a new post. I have a long list of excuses to give but mostly I just didn't do it, so approximately two weeks later here is my account of and reflections on the weekend we spent in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Thursday September 18: We had to wake up really early (like 6?) to get to the dorm on time where the bus would be to pick us all up. Then we had an extraordinarily long drive to get to where we would be staying in Sarajevo, but lots of things happened before we arrived including the crossing of two borders. The first border was the Hungary/Croatia border where we would end up losing my mom and our Nigerian student (Aby) due to visa complications. Moving on from that major bummer we kept hauling through the European country side. I think I took about three hour and half naps on this ride so there's not much more to report on the driving until we were in Sarajevo. We drove in around 7ish and it was so exciting. Not only because we could finally get out of the car but also because I could recognize some things from the last time we were there in 2011. The city is a lot the same but also lots of things looked different and better. The city hall/library building was completely redone and beautiful whereas last time it'd been a bit of a mess. We piled off the bus quickly found our hostel set our things down chose beds and went right out to dinner. The green vegetable soup starter was (surprisingly?) yummy followed by a classic european vegetarian meal of fried cheese and french fries tasted great. The most exciting part of the meal for me however was the bread we had loved so much the last time we were there. I think it's probably the best bread in the world. And having had it again only confirms my suspicions of this. After dinner my dad and I went for a quick stroll around the old town and then back to the hostel to check in on my mom and Aby.

Friday September 19: Had to wake up fairly early to go to breakfast and get on the bus by 9 to go to the tunnel museum. It is a small museum about a tunnel that went from Sarajevo under the airport to smuggle supplies into the city during the siege. Right, I haven't said anything about the siege. So Sarajevo has a LOT of history and I certainly don't know it all and this post will hardly scratch the surface of it but the city was under Serbian siege for 1300+ days around 1992/6. Sarajevo is in a valley of sorts with mountains on all sides where the snipers were during the siege. The museum had improved a lot since 2011 and we saw a short video on the siege and then look around in the museum and went through a short part of the actual tunnel. Coming back into the city we had a bit of free time before we were scheduled to meet our guide for a walking tour of Sarajevo. On this walking tour we saw the corner where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot which triggered WWI. The amount of history like that in Sarajevo was (is) crazy to think about. With our big group and the noise of the city our guide was hard to hear a lot of the time so I don't remember a lot of other things from the tour but it was a good way to see the city and hear about the history from the perspective of a local. After the tour my dad and I went to this gallery remembering the genocide in Srebrenica (which is in Bosnia) in July of 1995 where 8,000 lives were lost and the world ignored. It was hard to be in the gallery. There was a video playing that we watched most of and the stories of some survivors were simply heartbreaking. Even though it was challenging and sobering to learn about and see footage of it did feel appropriate to go to and to remember. I feel like if we ever want the world to be a place where things like this don't happen we need to learn about why and how they ever did happen. As humans I feel like its our job to look out for other humans. When we left the building and were back in the bustling streets it was a strange sensation. The cross between mourning the past and being so happy to be in Sarajevo was hard. Then wandering back towards our hostel we stumbled upon a small artists shop who had beautiful paintings. The artist had a few paintings turned into postcards of city landmarks with colorful abstract background, so of course we bought a few. The next thing we did was meet the group for a small hike up a hill to view the sunset and see the city from above. We were able to see a gorgeous sunset and watch as the sky darkened and minarets lit up. Not being used to it watching the call of prayer was fun and interesting to think about what it means for the people of those mosques and what it could mean for me as a Christian. After all that and as our stomachs started grumbling we walked over to the brewery for dinner. There was one of the best vegetarian meals with fresh grilled vegetables. Some good conversation and fries later we headed back to our hostel.

Saturday September 20: We went to Mostar! We'd also gone here in 2011 and I'd really loved it so I was quite excited. Getting closer however we could see we were driving into some rain. Which did if only slightly put a damper on the mood. When we arrived it was pouring. We got off the bus, met our tour guide and not ten minutes in had bought another umbrella. Walking through the old/ touristy part of town learning (relearning?) some of their history was interesting also semi hard to listen and pay attention to at all times due to the rain. The bridge in Mostar is so cool. It was bombed out at one point during the war but rebuilt with stone from the same quarry as the original. It is absolutely gorgeous, although a bit slippery to walk on. After our tour our guide suggested a restaurant and we were all for getting out of the rain and a bit hungry so most of us walked with her to it. Instead of ordering we all got the chefs choice (except, of course, the vegetarians who got pasta). At one point while waiting for our lunch the rain sounded and looked quite fierce and then all of a sudden the power flickered out, it came back pretty quickly but was still quite the experience. After lunch a few of us headed over to this cafe/bar/place with drinks that was in a cave. We took this tunnel and then some steps up and found ourselves in the new part of town. Then we went back into the cave and into the old streets. We walked a little ways out of the old town and into a cemetery. We found it was almost the time we were meant to meet back at the bus and started towards the parking area. Finding the walk took less time than expected Jason and I went back for ice cream. Then found everyone and boarded the bus back to Sarajevo. The drive between Mostar and Sarajevo was beautiful. Its a lot of twisty mountain roads and for a long time we were driving along side this river/lake area and with the fog from the recent rain it looked super pensive and cool. Getting back to Sarajevo the group split up for dinner. A lot of the students went to a place that translates to the Spite House but Dad and I went and ate at the restaurant in a courtyard. Good father daughter conversation and bonding time. On our way our we bought my mom a scarf and went back to the hostel to get our things ready for the morning.

Sunday September 21: A long bus ride. Approximately 4 more stamps added to the passport and we were finally back in Hungary. We stopped in a small town on the border for dinner. Food ranged from fish soup to goulash to grilled and fried vegetables. Feeling good with food in our stomach we drove the final stretch back to Budapest. Day to day I don't really think about it but after returning home from this trip it made me realize how much like home Budapest actually feels.

Overall reflections: It has been voiced many times since we returned the struggle it is to know history and to love the world. While we were in Sarajevo it was difficult to find the balance between appropriate sadness of the tragedies that have taken place there and enjoying what the city had to offer us. They are healing. Buildings are being redone. There were noticeably less walls with bullet holes this time than in 2011. Change and progress is happening but that does not mean we can forget what happened. Sarajevo is a gorgeous city and I am so happy that I've been able to be there twice if only for 2/3 days at a time.