Sarajevo Adventure
After missing my early morning train to Belgrade, I opted to go to Sarajevo. I never expected to be traveling to this city on my trip, but was excited about seeing the city and how it is doing. I lucked out and didnt have any cabin mates until around 5 am on my overnight train and was able to stretch out and lay down most of the night. Unfortunately, I noticed some serious bug bites on my back, and was debating bed bugs and fleas as the culprit. Fearing the bed bugs I washed all my clothes at the next hostel and put everything out in the cold. It seemed to do the trick, as it hasn’t been a problem since.
From the start, the people of Sarajevo have impressed me. They are not afraid to talk about the siege, or tell you stories of what life was like during those times. They are proud of their diverse heritage, and willing to share personal stories. For those of you a bit behind on recent world history. Sarajevo was sieged by the Serbian Army for the longest amount of time in modern history (1992-1996). There were more armaments per meter around the city then both the American and Russian forces combined in Berlin during the post- WWII occupation. Water, electricity, and communications were cut off from the outside world, and 100% of buildings took some degree of damage.
Nowadays, there are still visible scars, some more subtle like bullet holes on an otherwise nice building, and other more obvious ones like the ‘Sarajevo Roses.’ The roses are areas on the pavement that were hit by shell fire and were filled in with red cement. Although it is faded a bit, they remain to be one of the classier yet untouched memorials to violence I’ve seen on the trip. I also made sure to visit ‘Sniper Alley’ and the Holiday Inn which was home to international journalists. Not many places so far have been as tangible as this. I remember seeing what was happening here on TV, and relating that small bit of my reality to the damage and people is so much more touching. I think back to my frivolously ignorant complaints when growing up or when I was tired of studying, and start to put it in perspective. Its refreshing, and as much violence as there was here, there is growth and life.
Sarajevo is rebuilding, and I’m sure they had practice after preparing for the 1984 Olympics, but the workers seemed tirelessly determined. I felt a sense of pride when I looked at men on their lunch break and they smiled back at me not the smile to a tourist but of people who took pride in who they were and where they came from. Faces who spoke more about adversity and hope than any politican could muster.
Along with the people and recent history, Sarajevo has played a pivotal role in the past. It was a hub of commerce for hundreds of years, and the historic Old Town still looks like a bustling bazaar. It was also the site of an event which changed the world as we know it. The assassination of the Franz Ferdinand which dominoed into the Great War (aka WWI). The historic past of Sarajevo along with its prideful people have made this place unique and a place worth stopping by again.
