Sarajevo -- August 30

We arrived in Munich at about 1700hrs, and during our flight we read about the first country on our itinerary -- Bosnia-Herzegovina. We are so looking forward to this amazing first stop.

A couple of memorable moments from our flight from SF to Munich on Lufthansa -- the wonderful service provided by the cabin crew specially from T. When she approached our seat to ask what we would like for an aperitif, Craig responded by saying "English please". Efren on the other hand had a much easier request -- just a glass of water with no ice and a glass of red wine. Craig mentioned that he heard T ask "English or German?", we laughed for a long time after that and every time T came by, we remembered that first conversation.

The service provided included warm hand towels and complimentary cocktails, which was an unexpected surprise. We will definitely fly Lufthansa again. Efren was unable to sleep on the flight, so he resorted to watching 3 movies while Craig slept all the way -- only waking up for drinks and dinner service (the sleeping pills really work). The movies Efren watched were "I Love You Man", "Duplicity" and "Desperaux" The only one worth his time was the first one, the other two were as expected a movie to watch in the middle of the night while you are trying to fall asleep.

The menu for this flight was an aperitif (red wine and pretzels), dinner chicken with vegetables and salad with a cold dinner roll and butter.

For breakfast we had an omelette of which Julia Child would not approve as it was "rubbery". Efren had hot tea with breakfast, of course the attendant was only offering tea and Craig again is asking for coffee when clearly the tea was the only service at the time.

Upon our arrival Efren was searched at security check point second time since the beginning of they trip so we see a trend here, by the way they do not make you remove your shoes in Munich which is nice. Once at the airport we purchased a bottle of soft drink price listed at 1.90 euro but with deposit came to 2.50 euro, but that's not all, we had to provide our passport and ticket information before they can process the transaction.

At about 2100hrs and we arrived in Sarajevo. We were picked up by Mumo from the wonderful hotel we are staying at -- Guesthouse Halvat. Upon arriving and dropping off our bags, we made the short walk to Sarajevo's center square to grab a snack. More details tomorrow....

Sarajevo -- August 31
Although we spent a little bit of time exploring the Bascarsija (old city) last night, it wasn't until today we got the chance to really see the sights. Last night we grabbed some tasty doner for dinner and then basically went to bed.

We started the day with an amazing breakfast cooked by the folks at the Halvat Guesthouse. Friendly Valida provided wonderful bread, yogurt, fruit and eggs that were a perfect counterpoint to the rubbery mess we had on the plane. We then headed out to explore the Old City. We started very early (around 0800) so the city was just waking up. Still, we were treated to a beautiful setting at the Pigeon Square with the Bascarsija Mosque and Sebilj Fountain. Behind we walked through the traditional coppersmith area (Kazandziluk Street) and saw all the handicrafts. We then headed down the pleasant Ferhadija Street to see the shops and to people watch. The upbeat scene was interrupted only a few times when we saw the "roses" on the street indicating where shells had gone off during the war and noticed names on plaques off to the side of those who perished during that attack. The holes from the attacks have been filled in with red coloring so they now appear as roses. It is unreal to imagine that only 15 years ago the cheerful, bustling town that we were now strolling through was a deadly battleground.

As usual it was soon time for a coffee. A note about paying for things in Sarajevo. Everyone told us euros would be accepted everywhere, but Efren learned the hard way last night. Although a fastidious packer, somehow Efren managed to forget to pack a toothbrush. We found a little Konzum grocery store and tried to purchase a toothbrush with euros. The lady behind the register uttered “NO” – only Bosnian Marks (KM) were excepted. So we paid for the toothbrush with visa, and then found an ATM to get some of the local currency. Most people we’ve run into here have been extremely friendly – but unfortunately the Konzum lady was not one of them!

The coffee at this place on Ferhadija was about 3KM – one of the more expensive cappuccinos we’ve encountered in Sarajevo, but the cafe had amazing bathrooms so it was worth the price! We continued walking into the “new” town and got to see some of the sights commemorating the wars (both the recent one and WWII). Particularly poignant is the fountain dedicated to murdered children and the Alipashina Mosque which was known as the most dangerous spot during the war.

Our long walk continued east along “Snipers Alley” past the famous Holiday Inn where the CNN correspondents lived while covering the war. Our goal was to stop at the train station so we could buy in advance the tickets we needed to travel to Mostar on Wednesday. We purchased 2 tickets for the 7:05am train for 10KM each. Train travel is certainly economical here!

After buying the tickets, we encountered the twisting Avaz Buidling which we learned was opened only 4 months ago and is the highest building in SE Europe (almost 200m). Of course Efren insisted we climb to the top where we were rewarded with panoramic views of the valley. All this for only 1KM per person! And the bathrooms in the building were marvelous!

Sarajevo is essentially set in a valley oriented East-West. We were now out on the western part and it was time for the long walk east back to the old city. We passed some interesting buildings and bridges along the Miljacka River. We saw the Skenderija Building that was erected for the 1984 Olympics (now an ugly shopping center), the Academy of Arts, and the Latin Bridge. The Latin Bridge is where Archduke Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in 1914, thus kicking off WWI. There are cute little arches on the bridge, but for such a “momentous” event that occurred here, I was expecting at least a plaque! We also entered the unique Franciscan Monastery and the Church of San Antonio de Padua (located across the street from the Sarajevo Brewery) which was embellished with wood carvings and mosaics and made for an interesting comparison to many of the catholic churches we saw in Italy.

By now we were starving, and just happened to be in the neighborhood of the famous Inat Kuca restaurant. Set right on the river, it was a very pleasant place for lunch/dinner. We had Bey’s Soup (a creamy chicken soup) and a mixed grill kind of entrée suggested by the waiter called “Bosnian Plate”. It was an assortment of succulent chicken, cevapci and stuffed cabbage. Very tasty. The waiter also was suggesting a salad, but Craig jumped in and cut off the waiter and suggested we share a Shopska Salad. Supposedly they are very good in Bulgaria where Craig ate them a few years ago, but here in Bosnia it was loaded with strong onions! Next time we will go with the waiters, not Craig’s, recommendations. We also got to taste some of the local Sarajevesko beer. Given how tired we were, that 12% alcohol content went right to our heads!

We stumbled back to the hotel and rested for a few hours. Later in the evening we went back out for some coffee, souvenir shopping and of course another snack for Efren (Doner Veliki). We also enjoyed a coffee in the Morica Han and were able to soak up some of the history of the place. The Han was an inn and place where merchants and travelers used to sleep many centuries ago. It is now a courtyard with cafes, wicker chairs and Persian rugs for sale. Tomorrow the plan is to head out to the Tunnel Museum and to learn more about that incredibly sad chapter of Sarajevo's history.

Sarajevo -- September 1

After only sleeping a few hours we got up early -- been looking forward to breakfast for hours! Efren had the omelette and Craig the pancakes. Not really pancakes -- more like crepes with jam, chocolate and granola. Not what was expected, but still tasty.

We look a local bus up to the old fort (Jajce Castle) for a look around. We then enjoyed a leisurely walk down the hill through the back streets of Bascarsija. We came upon a truly immense cemetary which was incredibly eerie in that all the stones were dated 1992-1994.

After yet another cappuccino we decided to hop on the tram for a trip out to Ilidze from where we could visit the famous Tunel Museum. During the 4 year seige of Sarajevo, the only way in and out of the city to get supplies, information, etc was through an 800m tunnel built under the airport. The tunnel began in someone's house in this unassuming suburb about 10km from downtown Sarajevo.

After the 30 minute tram ride we hopped in a taxi and within a few minutes were are this unassuming museum. The tour started with an incredibly poignant movie about the seige of Sarajevo and what the residents had to endure. Unbelieveable this happened in Europe only about 15 years ago. A small part of the tunnel is still in tact and we walked through it -- very creepy.

With our visit complete, we realized we had no transportation back to the Ilidze tram station. While contemplating what to do, we walked over to the small stand across the street to buy a water. We mentioned "taxi" to the woman working there, and within 5 minutes she brought out her husband to drive us back to the tram station. We need to do some research on this once we get home, but we believe this man and his father were part of the team that dug the tunnel. Very amazing indeed. On the tram ride back it was also easy to spot the bullet holes and tell-tale splatter patterns of rocket shells on many of the buildings on the way back to Bascarsija.

Once back at the guesthouse we napped a bit and then did some souvenir shopping. For dinner, we had grilled chicken and vegetables at "To Be Or Not To Be". A wonderful little restaurant which has a red line through the "Or Not" in reference to the spirit of this amazing city never dying during its incredibly difficult recent past.

Back to the guesthouse for some rest. Tomorrow AM we're off on the train to Mostar!