Sarajevo - the very name of the city resonates in the mind, as fading memories of watching the 8 o'clock news in the 90s bubble up. Yet while the history is ever-present, Sarajevo offers a lot more than just a trip into the past. Despite the many bullet and mortar holes that still mark many buildings, the city feels nothing but peaceful. Sarajevo is a true gem of the Balkans.
A grumpy welcome
From our first stop in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mostar, it was a three hour train ride to Sarajevo, where an attendant stood on the platform, clearly excited to see us. Tired from our early alarm that day we walked outside, where a weathered sign welcomed us to the 1984 Winter Olympics.
On the square in front of the station about two dozen migrants were gathered. In 2018 alone, thousands of refugees arrived on the "Western Balkan route", which runs from northern Albania, to Montenegro and then across the mountains to Bosnia-Herzegovina. Most arrive with the aim of reaching Croatia, and from there other nations of the European Union. Since the borders have been tightened many are stuck for now. Despite this influx, the reaction has not been like in many of the EU states, where the refugee situation led to an upsurge of right-wing populism. Having experienced war themselves, not so long ago, the people in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been more sympathetic and supportive despite the challenging economic situation of the country.
We walked over to the edge of the square where an ill-tempered woman sat in a tiny ticket booth. She was holding an almost comically large knife, which she used to cut off tickets from a roll in a fairly menacing way - all while ignoring our questions on how to best get to the city center. In its unfiltered purity, her grumpiness was rather refreshing. Eventually we managed to hop on the right tram to the center. On our way we got a feeling for the vibe of the city, which is way more positive and laid back than the knife-wielding lady.
The tram brought us Bascarsija Square, which is a great entry point to Sarajevo’s Old Town. As it was early the shops and cafes were just opening, but they filled up pretty quickly and the air was already filled with a potent mixture of grilled cevapi and the strong Bosnian coffee. In the middle of the square stands Sebilj, a wooden fountain built in 1753, and probably the most photographed landmark in the city. As the minaret in the background suggests, Sarajevo is a predominantly muslim city. For a population of about 300,000 there are almost 200 mosques in the city - more than in Tehran, which has 8.7 million inhabitants.
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
During one of our strolls through the old town we came by a juice and smoothie store. The young guy behind the counter noticed where we were from and joined our conversation with his simple, but otherwise basically flawless German. Curious about his language skills, I asked him where he had learned to speak German so well, expecting him to refer to some distant relatives, a couple of years spent abroad, or maybe some German lessons at school. I was not quite prepared for his answer: He told us that he had never been to Germany, but had acquired his language proficiency by watching SpongeBob SquarePants episodes in German since he was a kid. Life is full of surprises.
One day in 1914
Just a five minute walk away from the square is Latin Bridge, which spans over the shallow waters of the River Miljacka. While the bridge itself might not look spectacular, the eyes of the world turned to it on the 28th of June in 1914. After an earlier assassination attempt with a grenade, which had blown up under the car behind him, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, who was visiting the city with his wife, decided to visit those who had been injured at the local hospital. The originally planned route was changed - but in the heat of the moment, nobody had informed the driver. He took a turn into a street of the original route - following the two cars in front who also made this error - stopped the car and began to reverse, causing the engine to stall. This took place right at the northern end of Latin Bridge and it so happened that at this spot another assassin was waiting, who seized the unexpected opportunity and shot the archduke and his wife at point‐blank range - lighting the match which due to a network of interlocking alliances led to the outbreak of the First World War. Today a simple plaque marks the spot that changed the course of history so profoundly.
Recent scars
During the Bosnian war, Sarajevo was besieged by the Serbs from 1992-96 - the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare. It lasted three times longer than the Battle of Stalingrad, and more than 13,000 people, including many children, were killed. The location of Sarajevo in a valley surrounded by hills, while beautiful today, worked against the city in those years, as snipers and mortars fired into the city from elevated positions. A memorial with the names of hundreds of children killed during the siege was unveiled in 2010. Reading the long rows of names and years is rather unsettling, and a reminder what can happen when nations follow down the path of dehumanizing "the others."
All over the city, one can still see bullet holes in the building, and encounter the so-called "Sarajevo Roses", which mark the spots where mortar rounds killed multiple people. Red resin was poured into the holes created by the mortar in the concrete to create those patterns. There are more than 200 in the city. The one depicted here is located in the Markale Market, which was hit twice during the siege, killing 68 and 43 people. Today the market is filled with colorful booths full of fruit and vegetables again and only the artwork on the floor serves as a reminder of what happened here.
We took part in a walking tour during which the guide told us about life in a city under siege. Even, or maybe especially in times like these, humor and defiance seem to characterize everyday life more than horror. "Yes, people died, but even that can become a normality. We were children and playing with mortar shells, women dressed stylishly to go to work, and there were many jokes about the war."
The peace negotiations of Dayton led to a rather absurd and inefficient political setup: Instead of having one president, the office is a shared, three-member body, with one representing Bosniaks, another its Croats and the third its Serbs. Corruption levels are high, and the youth unemployment hovers over 50%. Yet, despite all the mess, when you let your eye wander over the cityscape, when you take a stroll through the old city center, when you witness the positivity of the younger generation, you can feel that change might be coming. Time will tell.
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Things to note:
Sarajevo is especially beautiful when you can enjoy a 360° view. Have a drink in the roof top cafe of Hotel Hecco in the center (the photo at the very beginning of the post was taken there).
You won't be able to escape it anyway: have some Cevapi with loads of raw onion and energize with the strong Bosnian coffee. That should get you through a day of exploring.
Do one of the free walking tours during which a local guide talks you through the history of the city. We did the "War scars & new times" tour with Merima, who told us about her childhood during the war years and told the stories behind the visible scars of the city.
Don’t confuse the past with present. Witness what was, but look beyond that and follow the news from the region with new eyes once you're back home.
