Blogs from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Europe - page 34

Hello! It's been a long time between drinks, but here is an update... We have now left Croatia for Bosnia. We spent the past five days staying in Dubrovnik (you may remember it from such wars as the Croatian war, when it was bombed within an inch of its life). Due to a Herculean restoration effort, the city is back looking as it did before the conflict. When you visit the old city, the only ways you can tell that anything is amis are the difference in colours between the roofing tiles, and the telltale plaque which shows which buildings were damaged by "attrocities committed by the Bosnian and Montenegrin aggressors". On a related note, we had the strange experience of being present in Croatia during their national thanksgiving (nationhood) day last week. There is something ... read more

Well things here are all wrapped up and I am on the plane moving home! It is hard to believe I made it through a year isn’t it?! Of course I had much support from family and friends, so thank you. Since Ireland I have been on yet another adventure of a lifetime...I am so blessed! My mom and I set off to make our way to the Balkans from Paris and had many incredible experiences along the way….we will see if I can paint any picture of what it was like for you all. Leaving Paris we took the fast train to Nice, France. We loved being by the water and I had the chance to return to savor the Marc Chagall museum again. It was hot but we figured we would be heading into ... read more

Right now I’m in Istanbul at an internet café on the 5th floor with an open window over a bustling street below. It’s hot and I’m sweaty so the breeze from the window is a Godsend. Before I move on to this remarkable city, I’ll b... read more

Hello all! As I hope you can tell from the "subject" line I am writing to you from the city of Kozarac... it is absolutely lovely! We are staying at a peace center here run by an absolutely amazing woman. She is a muslim now living in the serbian republic... this area is very unique because it was entirely ethnically cleansed during the war. She was held in a concentration camp in the area... we will be going there tonight. It is certain to be an educational and difficult experience. Yesterday we held our first friendship camp! IT WAS AWESOME! I cannot tell you how fortunate I feel to be able to be connected to these children. So often we would be playing or goofing around and I would forget that there was a language barrier ... read more

my travel guide described sarajevo as "coming to new life." i think this perhaps the humanitarian impulse of an overly optimistic travel writer who would like to send as many people as possible to this city that dearly needs the traffic. sarajevo is a city constantly resculpted by tradgedy and war. and the couple of young bosnians i spoke to expressed very little hope for a future that promises anything different. and the longer i stayed the more i felt like i'd never again have anyone sing me happy birthday or kiss me on the cheek. the life falls right out of you. and then someone steps on it. (sidenote- the owner of the hostel also told me he'd rather live in bosnia with the danger of war around any corner than in a place with ... read more