At the Bosnia Springs
Thanks to Dzenan my Bosnian friend and guide my four days in Sarajevo were amazing, filled with a lovely array of activities. Even just writing about them excites me all over again! So on our second day, we met with a friend of his for a meal, who wanted to meet me. His friend is a 91 year old very sweet and gentle man who was an architect and whose life along with a few members of his family, has strong ties with some of the country’s history. So we had a bite to eat and chatted a bit with Dzenan as our translator and then had a short strolled to catch our tram which would take him home and would carry us to our next location.
My breakfast date
We arrived in a small city where we rented bikes and rode along a tree lined road, pulling over occasionally for either a passing horse and carriage, or to fix my very nice looking but not so functional bike. Finally we reached the Bosne Springs, a really tranquil and beautiful place with pools of jade colored water, decorated with graceful white swans and surrounded by trees and wooden pathways. This is definitely not the image that comes to mind when one thinks of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We walked through and rested there a bit before heading back and while doing so, you know me a sucker for animals, I stopped by to ask a shepherd if I could take pictures with his very unique looking sheep. After doing this for a bit Dzenan quickly reminded me of the time because our evening was far from over and we needed to make it back in time to get ready for the ballet!
Riding to the springs
The pools at the springs
It just so happens that I arrived in Sarajevo during the week of their ballet fest and when I noticed and mentioned this to Dzenan the day before he called a friend who worked at the national theatre and arranged for us to get tickets for one of the performances. I can’t tell you how happy I was to hear that when he came for me that morning. So we returned our bikes hopped back on the tram, I went back to the hostel he went home and we agreed to meet at the fountain and then head to the theatre. I had an amazing time it was wonderful I was really delighted to have been able to attend, but of course the night didn’t end there we were now off to a salsa night and then from there we went to the cinema…well sort of! We went to this place that was actually the first cinema in Sarajevo and was now a pub on Monday nights with live music, drinks, and patrons singing out loud and of course some cinema chairs still intact where waiters brought your ordered beverage. It was like a smoky indoor St. Patty’s day event. Fantastic place for groups of friends to hang out and of course we ran into some of his friends there! Oh and the person that didn’t pick me up at the station, can we say awkward.
Ballet Fest Sarajevo
The cinema
Though that seems like a pretty well packed agenda, my friend had more on the menu for me. The next day we took it a bit easier thankfully but only in preparation or what came next, a 3 hour hike up to Skakavac waterfall the highest in the country and just outside of Sarajevo. Okay so maybe not three hours exactly seeing that a really nice couple who was driving pass stopped to give us a lift part of the way. This was a beautiful hike especially the part through the forest which we opted for instead of continuing along the road. We then took a break for snacking and then headed back, with the last bit kind of rushed when we realized the bus we needed would be arriving in a few minutes, it was getting dark and we still had a bit to go. Once we arrived back into town we both went to clean up and have one last dinner in Sarajevo and I sadly retired early that night seeing that I had a 7 am train ride to Mostar the next morning. Leaving Sarajevo was definitely not easy, I could have without effort stayed a couple more days had I not made plans that I had already pushed back in order to have more time there.
Views while at the early stages of our hike
Just hanging around
SIDE NOTE: Oh and did I mention that the day before we stopped by the hotel where Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt stayed while doing some of her movie “In the Land of Blood and Honey”? I watched it a few months ago if you haven’t seen it, go do that as soon as you finish reading this!
