Bosnia and Herzegovina > The old town of Sarajevo

To be safe, we set the alarm for eight o’clock. Still, we wake up to the alarm. When I open the shutters on the windows, I see that the weather is already nice. As I walk to the small shower cubicle behind our cabin, the chickens and ducks come toward me. Just before nine, the owner also arrives and quickly begins preparing breakfast. In the meantime, we pack the car. After breakfast, we say goodbye to the family and leave the property. Along the unpaved path, we reach the main road again. Via Jajce, Zenica, and Visoko, we drive toward Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The road is quiet. The two-lane road undulates through the mountains. We have to be careful with the speed, as it’s not always clear when we are entering a village or when the speed limits end. We frequently pass police officers with laser guns. We simply adapt a bit to the flow of traffic. About a hundred kilometers from Sarajevo, we get onto the toll road—a wide highway with hardly any traffic. This speeds things up. The last eight kilometers are on smaller roads. The navigation leads us through the city. It’s clear that the city is built on several hills. Sometimes the road rises steeply, and sometimes it drops steeply. And by steep, we really mean steep. As we approach the old town, the streets become narrower and narrower. In some turns, we even have to maneuver carefully because of our Land Rover’s large turning circle. We arrive at the Hyatt hotel without any problems. We can park the Land Rover in a narrow alley next to the hotel. Carefully, we reverse the car into the alley. Several cars can park in a row here. If anyone needs to leave, the hotel moves the other cars—but we must leave the keys with them.

Bosnia and Herzegovina - The Latin Bridge in Sarajevo

We head into the center on foot. The Bascarsija district forms the old town. The sun is shining brightly, and it’s quite warm. Some souvenir vendors even complain that it’s far too hot—it’s 31 degrees Celsius. We look for a terrace to have a drink and something small to eat—a döner sandwich. The center of Sarajevo’s old town has an Eastern feel, with many narrow streets lined with goods. It resembles an Arabic souq. Most of the stalls are geared toward tourists, selling similar items from stall to stall. I can’t imagine there are enough tourists to make every vendor’s day profitable. The large Gazi-Husrevbey Mosque forms the center of the old town. Men are just entering for prayer; it’s still Ramadan for them. Through the Orthodox Cathedral, we walk to the Miljacka River. At the Latin Bridge in 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophia were assassinated. This murder is seen as the trigger of the First World War. On the other side of the old town stands the striking City Hall—a triangular building made of yellow and red stone layers. You can visit the town hall, but we decide not to. Instead, we order a beer at one of the terraces—a lovely refreshment. In the evening, we walk through the old town again. The streets are lively, with terraces everywhere. In an alley, we find a charming little restaurant. The waiter recommends a Bosnian specialty—spiced meat with vegetables and potatoes. We decide to try it, and it turns out to be a good choice. We end the evening with a walk along the Miljacka River. Slowly, darkness falls and the lights come on. Above the hills surrounding the city, lightning flashes. Hopefully, the storm won’t cross the mountains.