LOLIM TE: EUROTRIP 2016 - Part 4: Sarajevo, a real life museum, vol 1

A really beautiful video from the city.

As you already know from my previous posts about Sarajevo (you can find them by clicking the label Sarajevo in the right), this city and its surroundings have a lot to offer. It is a real life museum with a lot of character, cuteness, harsh past still seen all over the city and on peoples faces, curiosity that makes you chase all the little hidden corners and their gems, magical atmosphere, delicious and happy moments, humanity and kindness, beauty as it is, merak (wonder, enjoyment) and rahatluk (comfort). If you visit Sarajevo just to pass by it quickly, you will most probably end up with nothing in your hands nor your heart, feel no real connection to the place and pass by all the gems in your hastiness. All you need to know is that you can not go wrong by roaming and choosing a different place to eat, have cup of coffee or tea and most surely, by always choosing a different street to walk by. Have a map to make sure you see all the places you want and sometimes just leave it to the pocket to find the places you did not even know to exist (and remember to also stop, turn around sometimes and look up). As an open air museum, Sarajevo as a whole, does an excellent job.

For us it was time to head back to Sarajevo after a week and a half in northern part of BiH. We arrived there in the evening, which basically ment that it was time to leave our luggage at home afer a quick refreshing shower and continue to the city center for a late dinner. As usually, we made a little evening walk tour through the city after stepping off the tram before the last stop. It was a good option after sitting in the bus for many hours. I love to stop by the river Miljacka and just listen to it, watch people coming from one restaurant and head to another one and the by far the most I love to stop and look at my favourite spots alone for the first time that year and just be quiet. The views, smells and sounds make sure that the feeling of home sickness is slowly washed away from your shoulders finally (after yet another year of exhile (the famous black Bosnian humor you guys...).

For a place to have we chose the famous Inat Kuca after shooting dice between Nanina Kuhinja and Inat Kuca (the history, architecture and food of The House of Spite is really something worth experiencing). The food is traditional in both of the mentioned restaurants (still a bit unknown Bosnian cuisine), something quite unique and interesting to try. We for instance, took soups Begova corba and muckalica for starters, continued with Sogan and japrak dolma, baminja and cevapi, sided with some locally produced salad, somun bread and goat cheese and washed it all with the famous Sarajevan beer and natural mineral water Kiseljak (the breweries and their restaurants you can also try, they have also a rich history and some great beers for you to offer, try Sarajevo Brewery/Pivnica, The Brew House or Vucko Pub). In addition to these, there are so many different restaurants, cafes, pubs, bars and tea houses in Sarajevo that it is almost impossible to list them all in one post, which is why I encourage you to go through the other ones too. The where and what- posts are still in progress for each city, so please be patient!

The next day we chose to show the Park Vrelo Bosne and the Tunnel of Hope to our friend, who had never been in Sarajevo before (you can see more photos from both places from my previous posts). Vrelo Bosne is always a good idea when the temperature rises. The spring of the river Bosna is just beautiful location to enjoy the river, walk through the park, visit the thombstone Stecaks and the Roman bridge located in the park, maybe take a 4 km ride by the horse carriage through the beautiful Velika Aleja (Great Alley) back to Ilidza. The Tunnel museum is a good place to visit the same day you are visiting the park, because they are realtively close to eachother in Ilidza.

As always, we also love to visit museums the city itself has to offer. This first week we went to the History Museum of BiH and the reopened National Museum of BiH. They had a lot to offer and after roaming from the first one, we decided to stop to the Cafe Tito, which is located between the Museum and the pedestrean street Wilsonovo setaliste (Vilson's promenade). This is a great place for history lovers to experience the nostalgic past along the river Miljacka. After a refreshing break from the first museum it is a good idea to enter the second. Both of the museums tell a lot already by their own architecture and appearance in addition to the stories they have to share with the ones stepping inside. They are also pretty affordable, easy to reach and suitable for children.