Friday, February 23 – transit from Harrow on the Hill to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

I have an early departure from Heathrow again this morning. However, I’ve figured out that without checking any baggage, getting there 90 minutes before takeoff provides plenty of time to make it to the gate. (I’m a little dense, but eventually I get it sorted!) My flight’s at 7:30. That means getting to the airport around 6:00. Okay, catch a bus around 5:00. Well, sadly that’s too early for my beloved SL9. But I can grab the N140 (N stands for Night service), which travels the same route as the SL9, but is not an express. (Footnote: the 140/N140 was my go-to bus to Heathrow when I lived here; the SL9 didn’t exist). And surprisingly, the bus was pretty crowded!

I’m booked on Lufthansa, connecting through Frankfurt to Sarajevo. The cost of the round trip was $235. Both flights were on an A320, and each took between 60-90 minutes. The flight to Frankfurt was 1/3 full; the Sarajevo flight was packed. Popular spot?

Travel Note: Both the unloading and loading of the planes in Frankfurt was not direct to the terminal, but via a bus transfer. I hate that! But here’s a tip: No need to be in a rush to get off the plane, because the last one on the bus is the first one to exit!

We landed in Sarajevo around 2pm (they’re 1 hour ahead of London). The immigration process was about as simple as you can get: no questions at all (like how long are you staying, where are you staying, etc.)! I read that there is a tram service available from the airport to the city center where my hotel is located. Well, when I asked the person at the airport information desk about this, he basically said it would be too confusing for me to figure out how to find the tram stop, and that I should just take a taxi. Whatever. He’s probably getting a commission from the taxi companies! And we all know how much I dislike taxi drivers, so the heck with it, maybe I’ll just walk to the hotel!

I need directions to do this though. And of course the helpful person at the information desk didn’t have any maps. Also, the Europe eSIM I purchased apparently doesn’t have coverage in Bosnia and Herzegovina (referred to going forward as B&H). I say apparently because I didn’t know this when I bought it; only discovered the fact when I tried to get service upon landing in Sarajevo. (Do your homework Tim!). And my cheap self is trying to avoid any AT&T daily roaming costs (even though it’s only $10/day!). Maybe the airport offers free WiFi? Nope. However…I do see that a nearby Porsche dealership has an unsecured signal available. Mmmmm. I’m on it!

I’ve described before the process of downloading directions in Google Maps when on a WiFi signal, and then simply using the GPS capability of the phone to track your location without having to rely on cellular service. Well, that’s what I did here. The walk to the hotel was a pretty straight shot, 9km long, and took about two hours with stops for photos. And truth be told, I was looking forward to the walk because I was feeling guilty about my last two days of being a lazy slug and not leaving the flat!

After getting settled in, I took a stroll around the nearby old town (called Bascarsija)…

Saturday, February 24 – Sarajevo

General Sarajevo and B&H Notes

• The population of B&H is a little over 3 million. Of that, roughly 50% are Muslim, which I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t realize that it was that significant.
• I read that visitors should not drink the tap water, and the hotel staff confirmed this. Interesting.
• The locals were generally friendly; a nice improvement over Sofia.
• Like Sofia, there is a LOT of smoking in Sarajevo. Kind of depressing. Fortunately the hotel is smoke-free.
• I was wondering if Bosnia and Herzegovina had the longest country name in the world. It’s not even close! Not even in the Top Ten in fact. Number 1? United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Huh? Here’s a link to the list, if you’re interested.
• It’s been nearly 30 years since the conclusion of the civil war here. And it appears that the country is still suffering, based on my observations of the buildings and infrastructure. That’s a shame.
• A common question from the locals I spoke to was, Why would someone from the United States want to travel all the way to Sarajevo? Funny!

Today’s plan is to do one of my favorite things when I visit a new city: Just wander around. Let’s go!

Gazi Husrev Beg was an Ottoman Bosnian known for his successful conquests and campaigns to further Ottoman expansion into Croatia and Hungary.

Sunday, February 25 – Sarajevo

I’m on an mission of Olympic proportions today! I’m going to head up Trebević Mountain to check out the abandoned bobsled and luge track built for the 1984 Winter Olympics.

There is a cable car that travels up to the site; however, something about it annoys me. The price of a return ticket for B&H citizens is 6 BAM ($3.30), for others it is 30 BAM ($16.70). Really? Heck with that! According to Google Maps the walk up there is 4km, with a 500m elevation change, and should take about 90 minutes. Onward!

Following the Olympics, the track continued as a stop on the World Cup circuit until the outbreak of the Yugoslav Wars in 1991 and Bosnian War in 1992. During this time, the position of the track on Trebević Mountain, looking down on the city of Sarajevo, made it one of tactical importance. The track was used as an artillery site by Bosnian Serb forces, and holes were drilled into certain corners of the track for use in combat.

Google Maps nailed it – the walk up did take 90 minutes, but that included photo stops. Walking back down in the rain was a 60 minute hike. I enjoyed this! But then, I’m kind of weird. And I’m glad I did the walk rather than the cable cars, and not just because I’m cheap!

Tomorrow I was hoping to travel to nearby Mostar, the home of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Joining a group tour seemed to be the best alternative. However, the first two tourist offices I stopped by in town left me wondering if I would go. The small crowds of the low season that I’ve enjoyed so far on this winter escape worked against me this time. At both agencies I was the only person interested in going to Mostar tomorrow. That meant going on a tour wasn’t possible, or I would have to pay for a private tour. Nightmares from the Caribbean all over again! I decided to try one more shop before I gave up. Sadly, I received the same bad news there too. However, the woman I spoke to, Amela, suggested I take the train to Mostar. Brilliant! I can’t believe I didn’t consider that. I’m definitely slipping.

Amela turned out to be very helpful; giving me tips on Mostar, local restaurants, local cuisine, and the wines of Bosnia. We probably talked for half an hour. I normally would have felt guilty taking up her time, but on this quiet Sunday I was the only one in the shop and she seemed happy to have someone to talk to.

So, I have a plan for tomorrow – it’s the train to Mostar! And for dinner, I went with an Amela suggestion…

Monday, February 26 – Sarajevo

The train to Mostar departs early – 7:15am. It’s about a half hour walk to the train station from my hotel, so I’ll sadly be missing breakfast today. Oh well…

The journey to Mostar took about two hours. The view along the way was pretty, but it was cloudy and foggy, so not the best for pictures. Plus, I’ve always found it hard to get decent pictures from a train. Window reflections and the train movement are the main problems.

I’m happy Amela suggested this. I’d much rather take a train ride and set my own itinerary, versus going on a group tour via a bus. Plus it was MUCH less expensive! Cheap in fact (my favorite word!)!

This seemed to be the most popular spot to photograph the bridge. However, I thought photos taken from the steps you can see on the other side of the bridge provided a better view. (photo to follow…)

Mostar was named after the bridge keepers (mostari) who guarded the Stari Most during the Ottoman era.

This was a fun day! But long. I left my hotel at 6:15am and got back at 7:45pm. I really didn’t need to stay in Mostar that long, but I was a victim of the train schedule. And it wasn’t that bad. It was a beautiful day to walk around and explore. Plus I enjoyed a nice leisurely lunch!

Tuesday, February 27 – transit from Sarajevo to Harrow on the Hill

My return flight wasn’t until mid-afternoon, so I had a relaxing breakfast and did a little more roaming around the city center.

I had some local currency that I wanted to convert before I headed to the airport. There are a bunch of currency exchange shops in the old town, so I figured there wouldn’t be any issues. Well, I tried buying dollars at my first two stops, but neither had any. My third stop did have dollars, but their smallest denomination was a 20, and I didn’t have enough BAM for that. Mmm… What about Euros? Yes! They do have 10 EUR bills. So I had enough to buy a 10er, but still had about 8 BAM left over. What to do? Well…

Sidenote: I’ve always pronounced it bak-la-va. Here they say bak-lava.

Well, it’s about time to head to the airport, and you guessed it…

My return was booked via Lufthansa, but I’m flying Swiss Air via Zurich back to Heathrow. The first leg was on a small 2×2 configured plane, which was full. The trip from Zurich to London was on an A220. I don’t think I’ve ever flown on one of those. It’s like a 737, but has 2×3 seating. It was about 3/4 full. Upon arrival at Heathrow I grabbed the SL9 bus (pretty empty) and was back to the flat by 9pm.

This was a good trip! Sarajevo most definitively would not make my Top 10 List, but I’m happy I experienced it!

Travel Note:

I walked a TON on this trip. Probably a subconscious payback for my laziness in London last week! Here’s the daily steps breakdown:

• Friday: 28k (new high for this winter escape)
• Saturday: 18k
• Sunday: 27k
• Monday: 25k
• Tuesday: 21k