On the road: A day in Sarajevo

We walk around the center again, the weather remains gray and a little wet. We meet Micheal (Jackson!! yeaaa but not the real one) whom we came across last night at the reception and go for a coffee and breakfast with him. I try to find a couchsurfing host for one or two more night in Sarajevo but everyone is overbooked... Welcome to August, the busiest times of traveling. We decide to go for the room next to Michaels one, more central, nicer, friendlier and cheaper...

Backpacking ants around the city :)

Micheal is a crazy traveler who still gets amazed by things after 3 years of travels through 37 countries. He comes back from 6 month in Egypt making pictures and video for an archaeological excavations in the heat of the desert. Unlike us, he is quite happy to feel the rain on his face :) We go for a nice lunch and then head for a bit of culture at the national museum.

Rainy days...

As i ask the direction for the museum at the tram station to two young locals, they get all curious about where we are from and whats happening with my toe... yes i forgot to say that since we went to Tara, the nail on my big toe did not get better and after walking with wet shoes for some hours it is all infected and red and swollen. So i took care of it, got the pus out and now only walk with flip flops in order not to irritate it any more.

Zlatko and Bilja help us out and get of with us at the museum and suggest to have coffee at Tito‘s, a famous cafe in Sarajevo. Micheal goes strait for the museum we will meet him again later. Zlatko and Bilja are roommates, he just finished law and she is finishing her studies. They are both fun loving party goers so we arrange to go for a drink later ad join Michal in the museum before it closes.

The history of Bosnia Herzegovina is exposed in two floors, the first dedicated to history since somewhere around 10th century, the second to the war in the nineties, with a focus on the life in Sarajevo. The visit brings the answers to some questions about Yugoslavian history. It also reminded me how difficult it most have been living in Sarajavo in those days. Constant bombings and snipping, low food supplies, problems with electricity, water and communications... Besides that i particularly remember one picture, that of a father in sorrow at a tomb, presumably that of his child. I have seen this picture before. It was in the tempory exposition about controversy in photography at the Elyse museum in Lausanne. The controversy about it was that the men in the picture had nothing to do with the buried body he was moaning. If i had internet right now i would check this out along some other facts. Like taht during the year 99 their were more bombs dropped then during the whole second world war or that the snipers shooting into the peace rally that year were actually mercenaries, engaged by who?

tramway, is th best way in the rain...

But its still cold waiting for it, me and Michael do some exercise!

We leave the museum (which by the way still wear the scars of the war) get for some rest and then join Zlatko and Bilja for a couple beers. We get hungry and around midnight go for some pizza, U2 pizza, the best in town, with an excellent garlic sauce. And i have to say it IS the BEST pizza ever since that on pizza i had in south of France at age 11 or so. The Provancale, sold in some pizza truck by the beach. I can't remember where it was exactly and maybe mom or dad can help here but it marked my memory for ever. And so did this one. Simple recipe, Garlic, lots of it, olive oil, parsley and a touch of balsamic vinegar. mmmmh.