Sarajevo

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I had a good feeling about Sarajevo on the drive in, and as anticipated it's a fantastic place and easily my favourite Balkan city so far. Once again its a small city centre, interesting to walk round with lots to see and do, and even more East-meets-West than Istanbul - due to Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian rule at various times in it's history, the city has lots of buildings from both periods.

We were staying round the corner from the spot where Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in 1914 and a few minutes from Sniper Alley, which was the most dangerous street during the siege years. On Sunday we did a free walking tour with Neno, a student at Sarajevo university, who has lived in Sarajevo his whole life (email [e-mail] if you are ever in Sarajevo). This was incredibly informative regarding Bosnian history and also about life during the 1992-1995 siege of the city. Both hearing his experience and visiting the Historical Museum the next day, were moving reminders of the awful realities of war. It's humbling to realise that my generation in the UK and other western european countries have never experienced war and that peace, safety, and freedom are things we easily take for granted. It's good to be aware that this is not everyone's experience and meeting those who have lived through such things .

I was also shocked to hear that a lot of people still think this is a dangerous place to visit. If this is you let me encourage you to visit a beautiful, hospitable, and very safe country! As well as tours and museums, I found a vegetarian cafe with amazingly tasty food, a sheesha bar to remind us of Middle Eastern travels, and a salsa club! I also met a very friendly older gentleman from Calafornia named Olaf who was staying at our hostel. He was very encouraging of the way I was 'taking myself off round the world on my own' and it was great to see someone from his generation enjoying backpacking. Hello Olaf if you are reading this - hope your travels are going well!

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