Blogs from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Europe - page 7

Photos de Mostar et de ses environs... read more

I didn't know very much about Mostar except that there was a bronze statue of Bruce Lee there. They chose Bruce Lee after failing to agree on any national figure or statesman that the Serbs, Croats and Bosnians who had all fought against each other in the mixed city during its 18-month siege could all be proud of. Soon after the statue was unveiled, it was vandalised because "it was pointing towards a predominantly Croatian area in a fighting stance." It was returned only last year. Other than that, my grandmother told me she had visited the city, but that was back when Tito was president. Things were probably very, very different back then. Sure, the city was nice. The so-called "old bridge" was shiny new, as it had needed a complete reconstruction after being wantonly ... read more

We are in the centre of the old city of Sarajevo. On the small square were the taxis and busses that collect the passengers Also a car park that is a hive of activity. Again we are in a city of the early Romans and Ottomans. In many streets and shops are places to eat. We thought we were back in Turkey, with souks and all. Whole streets are dedicated to trades. Such as Jewellers, Metal artists and Carpet sellers etc. It is also the first city in Europe to own an electric tram work. They are still very sensitive about the assignation of the Arch Duke of Austria in 1914 and the recent Bosnia war. Again UNESCO is assisting in the preservation of many sites one such the city hall, which now is the National ... read more

Correction July 16: in my flawless map reading abilities (or maybe it's the definitely-not-flawless internet), I misread Google Maps. Baščaršija does not mean old town, but is rather the name of the square in the center of Sarajevo's old town. That being said, we were near the old towns in both Sarajevo and Mostar. **** Today was certainly a busy day. It was actually the busiest day we have scheduled this trip; most days in Belgrade have 2 meetings at most. Apparently several have nothing planned since we're kicking the work into full gear then. We started with a trip to the Parliament of Republika Srpska, where we had the chance to take a tour of their conference rooms, press rooms, and rooftop deck. One thing I noticed was their defensiveness; they knew we just came ... read more

Hello, Mostar! We headed out of Hotel Sokak in Sarajevo at 8:00 this morning, taking a bus southbound. About an hour and a half in, we stopped at Tito's Bunker, which is built into a hillside and designed to withstand at least a 12 KT nuclear blast. Although it starts at ground level, since it's built into a hill it gets as deep as 200 meters at one point. The design was impressive, and can apparently hold up to 300 people for up to 6 months. They still regularly test and check everything, so it's still useable if (hopefully not) need be. After that, we stopped by a restaurant just outside of town where we got roasted lamb from the spit. I don't mean figuratively or lamb shank. I mean that the entire lamb was on ... read more