The scars of war

Europe » Bosnia & Herzegovina » East » Sarajevo
May 7th 2013

Published: May 7th 2013

Edit Blog Post

Sturdmeister

My first wild camp

Forced stop due to stomach cramps

I'm currently sipping an expresso in Sarajevo, thinking about the generosity and hospitality I have been shown by the people of Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia during the past two weeks. Despite the wars having ended more than 10 years ago, much destruction is still evident throughout this region. I have spoken to former soldiers of the conflict, met people who have lost their limbs and seen the devastation such wars can bring to the civilian population. Despite this, I can truly say that I have never experienced such a wonderful collection of people from all sides of the borders, who without a moment's notice will invite you into their homes and feed and water you.

My story begins back in Budapest, where I was cleaning my bike in the grounds of the hostel on the day before my departure, when suddenly a whole bunch of heavy metal guys turned up on their bikes looking rather fierce, covered in tattoos and rather intimidating. Alarm bells started to ring and I thought I'd better soon go back up to my room and put all my belongings away. The guys all manoeuvred their Harley Davidsons into the garden, the engines roaring away loudly

Vukovar

Heavily damaged city from fighting between Serbian and Croatian forces

and then one of them came up to me and said "You can clean all of our bikes whilst your at it". I gave a little nervous laugh and said"No problem" trying to appease the situation. The guy who had previously spoken to me then said: Praise be thy Lord, we are the disciples of God on a road trip from Finland. We pray that you be safe on your travels" I relaxed, relieved to know that, what I thought were a bunch of aggressive heavy metal rockers were in fact a bunch of harmless guys on a road trip around Europe. I thought to myself "Never judge a book by its cover"

The next day I set off in the direction of Belgrade, initially heading south along the Danube. The temperature soon hit 30 degrees and and my ride was more challenging than usual in the extreme heat, but nonetheless a good precursor for what is to come in the future when temperatures are expected to reach between 45-50 degrees. Halfway throughout the afternoon, I started to develop stomach cramps and as the day wore on I decided to set up camp in a forest as I physically

Vukovar

Heavily damaged building

felt unable to carry on. I had already seen many deer in the surrounding fields that afternoon, but never realised how loud they can be and what a ferocious tone they can make throughout the night, like a bunch of wild dogs. Normally I would have been alarmed, however the way I felt that evening, I just didn't give a damn.

Two days later I crossed the border into Croatia and ended up staying in a place called Osijek in a hostel above a night club. A big mistake when drum and bass is playing until 5 o'clock in the morning, however the most interesting thing I witnessed in this town was a car slowly driving through the outdoor restaurant area, with gas (white smoke) pouring out of two large suspended exhausts from the rear of the vehicle. Everybody carried on as normal simply covering their beer glasses with their hands and it turned out that the car was simply eradicating the annoying presence of Mosquitoes, who I must say have bitten me to shreds!

Moving on through Croatia, I cycled into the town of Vukovar, a town which was heavily affected during the Serb/Croatian war. I briefly

Vukovar

More wartime damage

stopped off in the market square where several stalls were selling various goods and a band was playing traditional music on stage with a couple dancing the afternoon away in front of it. Within 5 minutes, I had been approached by one of the Ladies selling goods who spoke good english and she asked me where I came from. I told her that I had cycled from England. She relayed this to her friends and shortly thereafter one of them came up with a small bottle of Croatian wine as a gift. No sooner had I received this and another 4 Ladies came up to me and presented me with a bar of scented soap (I hope they weren't trying to tell me something!), a Lavender spray to calm my sunburn and insect bites, a jar of honey with pieces of fruit inside and another bottle of the local spirits. I was overwhelmed by their generosity and one of them, it turned out, had been badly injured during the conflict and she simply said that it was good to be alive and be happy.

Saying goodbye to the lovely Croatian ladies I left the town square behind and came

Vukovar Market square

A Croatian band and a couple dancing the afternoon away

across a large water tower. Despite numerous attempts to knock it down with Serbian artillery during the war it remains standing and is now a symbol of pride of the people of Vukovar. There I also bumped into another group of Croatians who it turned out were a professional band and were playing in Vukovar that night. I received a personal invite, but after politely declining they presented me with a copy of their CD.

Crossing the Danube near the Croatian town of Ilok I entered Serbia where I made my way to the city of Novi Sad. Here I was approached by a guy called Dragon, who invited me to stay at his hostel, which was formerly the home of Albert Einstein and his Serbian wife. Novi Sad was formerly an important crossroads for people travelling east to west and north to south and 26 different nationalities from the surrounding regions live in this small city, blessing it with an amazing gene pool for the ladies. I felt like I was at a fashion show with hundreds of models walking by.

A day later I arrived at the Hedonist Hostel in Belgrade where I met two other

Croatian ladies

These ladies were working on the market stalls and all of them gave me a present each

touring cyclists. Theo is a frenchman who has been underway for the past year and who I must say has the most heavily laden bicycle I have ever seen. The other cyclist was a guy called Fredy, a journalist from Germany, who is currently making his way back from Israel. He had many interesting stories to tell and will be publishing a book on his return.

In Belgrade I elected to take a bike tour of the city and also witnessed the damage caused by the NATO bombings in 1999.

Leaving the capital behind, my next destination would be Sarajevo in Bosnia which meant tackling my first mountain range. So far, since leaving the UK my bike ride has been almost completely flat cycling alongside the Rhine and the Danube. It would take me 3-4 days to complete the journey to Sarajevo.

The first evening I arrived in the Serbian city of Sabac. With nowhere immediately to stay, I eventually came a cross a guy called Sasha who owned a bicycle shop in the city. I asked him where I could find a cheap bed for the night and his response was" You are welcome to stay

Croatian generosity

Presents given to me by the ladies

in my house for free my friend". I took Sasha up on his offer and not only did he allow me to stay in the home of his now deceased Mother, but he also paid for all my food. I tried to pay, but he just wouldn't let me. Unbelievable generosity and hospitality.

The next day, Sasha brought me back to his shop where I had left my bike overnight. 50 yards down the road he spotted another touring cyclist and said that he would invite him for a coffee in his shop. When the other cyclist approached the shop, I could not believe my eyes. It was none other than the American guy called Phillip whom I had last met in Southsea in the UK. This has happened three times in my life. I once met a friend in a lap dancing bar in Tashkent, Uzbekisztan, my music teacher from school in the queue of the Guinness factory in Dublin and now Phil in the small Serbian city of Sabac. Talk about a small World!

The following day I tackled the mountains of Republic of Serbska and was genuinely amazed with the breathtaking scenery. That evening whilst

Vukovar Tower

A national symbol because it survived the war

cycling through the countryside I gave the thumbs up to a couple of young Lads who were on their bicycles. I tried to speak to them in english or german but they could not understand me. I made hand signals gesturing that I was looking for somewhere to pitch my tent and also somewhere to eat. They said the word"chips" and I gave them the thumbs up. They took me to a tiny outlet where they sold beer, crisps and other small goods. A bunch of middle aged guys were sitting outside drinking beer. I rode up and parked my bike against the wall saying hello to the men. One of them spoke to me in German and I told him that I was looking for a place to pitch my tent. After introductions he said that I would not have to pitch my tent as I could stay at his house for the night. His name was Dragon (a popular Serbian name) and he told me that he had left the Republic of Serbska during the troubles to work as a waiter in Germany. He introduced me to his two friends whom he told me had both fought for

Vukovar Tower

The view from inside the tower

Serbia during the conflicts. Their faces looked battle hardened. I bought a round of beers for the ten guys or so. It was the least I could do to repay some of their fine hospitality and later on Dragon took me back to his Mother's home where he introduced me to her and also his neighbours. Much Raci spirit was drunk and on returning to his house, Dragon fed me with all home grown produce from his Mother's garden. The following day, Dragon told me that he and his family were celebrating a special occasion within the Christian orthodox calendar and I was invited to join them for lamb from the spit. I politely declined as I wanted to make headway to Sarajevo, but again the hospitality and generosity shown by Dragon and his family and friends was incredible.

As alluded to earlier on I am currently staying in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia Herzegovina. Here I have conducted a tour of the city, standing at the spot where Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated, triggering the events leading to the outbreak of World War One. I have also conducted a tour of the tunnel of life,

Croatian Band

They invited me to their concert. I declined as I wanted to make progress along the track so they gave me one of their CDs.

an 800 metre tunnel which was built under the city's airport during the siege of Sarajevo (1991-1995), enabling 3 million Bosnians to escape the traumas of the war. Much damage is still evident everywhere and grenade attacks which have left indentations in the ground are now marked with red paint and are known as the roses of Sarajevo.

It is sometimes difficult to understand why the people from the former Yugoslavia decided to fight one another. All I can say is that I have been treated with utmost respect whilst travelling throughout this region, experiencing hospitality and generosity second to none.

Tomorrow, I move on to Mostar before heading back into Croatia, and then onwards to Montenegro and Albania. The journey continues.

Additional photos below

Photos: 49, Displayed: 29