Had a great day out in Sarajevo today. This city is prime with history which dazzled my senses. I went a a tour with some other peeps from the hostel which proved to be most excellent. Its hard not to find this place amazing. Our guide was Hans, a 20 something native who showed us the ins and outs of his city. We started at the tunnel museum where we walked through a portion of the original tunnel that was used in the most recent war to bring in goods and weapons to the people who were locked in the city by surrounding Serbian troops. The tunnel was super clausterphobic and I was glad there wasnt much of it left to walk through. Hans told us a compeling history of Bosnia and the story of the land and its people. It was an intense story of lots of war which caused my most common reaction, I felt like I was going to pass out. As I was getting ready to prepare for the worst a kitten came and climbed in my backpack. PERFECT! I scooped up the little guy and he started kneading and purring and nuzzeling into the crook of my arm. It was love at first site. After I carried him around for about 30 min as I investigated the museum. We also watched a crazy flock of sheep run around in a nearby field which was also exciting. After we drove up the Olympic Mountain (Sarajevo held the olympics in 1984) we went up to the old bobsled track that was all torn up from the war. After much running and jumping around on it I tried to belly slide down but to no avail. The forest around the track still has tons of mines so we didnt venture that way, just stayed on the bobsled track. Hans also thought it would be a perfect time to blast "gangstas paradise" from the mini van. A perfect touch. We also saw bunches of different spots the Serbs were stationed on the mountain as well as sniper alley and the corner where WWI started with the death of Fraz Ferdinand. (I hope im remembering these facts straight). And im pleased to announce that I ate Cervapcici today, a cultural favorite. Its like little pieces of sausage that kind of taste like hamburger and they go in a pita with onion and creamed cheese. Delish! It was an incredible day in the city and I learned so much and gain so much more respect for Bosnia. I would highley encourage anyone to come and visit. Despite popular misconception, there is no more war here, and they are ready and waiting for the tourists to help them flourish.
FUN FACT: For the preparation of the 1984 games everyone that worked on getting the city ready and the events set up were all volunteers. The people came together to show the world that Bosnia was a beautiful place.
Tonight: Live music at "Cheers", where supposedly everyone knows your name.
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