A city full of history, Sarajevo
Out of all of the Balkan cities I visited, Sarajevo surprised me the most. I fell in love with the city quite quickly and yes, whilst I can see how others might not find it the most beautiful city, the history of the Sarajevo was astounding.
At a quick glance Sarajevo may seem like any other Balkan city however when you truly look at it, there are devastating reminders of their past everywhere. Many of the buildings or pathways tell a story of what happened just over 30 years ago.
I visited with no knowledge of what happened in Sarajevo and you may be wondering what I am talking about too. So for a very quick explanation (mostly because I can’t do it justice but also because you need to learn about it in depth and experience it yourself), in 1992 Sarajevo came under siege during the Bosnian War. This lasted for 4 years until 1996 and is currently the longest siege of a capital city in modern warfare. On day 2, I will go into a little bit more detail as I went on a tour for this.
I spent three nights in Sarajevo and I am glad I did. I don’t think it was too long and it gave me the opportunity to do some unique things at the same time. If you are in a rush then you could probably see the “main” things within the city in a day but you would like be a bit rushed and exhausted.
Day 1
I had arrived later in the afternoon the day before so I was nicely settled into Sarajevo to begin exploring. I didn’t start light either as I wanted to complete a hike of part of Trebević mountain. I had found the hike on AllTrails and I think it is was one of the happiest hikes I have been on, even though I finished absolutely drenched.
The Alltrails hike is 19.8 km, however I skipped the first few kilometres and caught the cable car up to the Old Bobsled track. I would recommend this because the hike is quite a long one already so this helps shorten it and you get to tick off an experience in one go. The views up the cable car are also worth it. You will still walk roughly 16.8 km with an elevation gain of 669m.
Once you get off the cable car there are a few signs which point you in the direction of the trails, but I went the opposite way to what Alltrails shows. In total, it took me 3 hrs and 30 minutes to complete and I was genuinely smiling from ear to ear for about 80% of this (minus 20% because the way down killed my glutes).
I did not expect to see any snow at all (yes, it’s bit silly of me considering I was there at the end of April) but oh my goodness it was practically winter wonderland. I didn’t have the right shoes either but I was way too happy so I went on my merry way and trudged through some pretty deep snow. Growing up in Melbourne, snow wasn’t something we get very accustomed to so this was such an incredible experience. It actually also started snowing at one point which made me laugh even more.
Once at the top, the views are pretty cool over Sarajevo but in all honesty, the views from where the cable car is are just as good too. The only benefit to the hike is that it gives you a 360 degree views around the whole area.
I didn’t see a single soul on this hike aside from a worker at the top of the mountain who scared the crap out of me but ended up giving me a very cheery wave. The trail down isn’t as exhilarating but it was still quite cool as you get walk on the bobsled track for quite a bit.
After finishing this, I went back to the hostel to freshen up and then thought I deserved quite a nice little feast so took myself to the Old Bazaar for some burek. I had seen a few recommendations on the socials for this one place so I opted to try there first. It was called Buregdžinica Sač and I am glad I trusted the socials on this one. I got the spinach and feta and it was absolutely tasty. So fresh and had the right amount of pastry to filling. I got there just in time as well, as it got quite busy as soon as I ordered. I didn’t opt for the yoghurt as I thought that might completely ruin my insides but it is what others tend to do. So if you have a steel gut, then you should try it with the yoghurt too.
I actually felt like it didn’t fill me up too much but wanted to try other places, so being the little piglet I am, I took myself to a second restaurant which pretty much has the exact same name Buregdžinica Saraj Bosna. This time I tried the potato and my only issue was that it wasn’t as fresh. It still tasted good, but it did have the feeling that it had been sitting on the counter for a little bit. Out of the two, I would say there’s a reason the first one is all over social media.
I was pretty exhausted so it was time to go back to my hostel which was Hostel Kucha. I would recommend staying here for an affordable and social option, however a big big note is that it is quite uphill. And when I say uphill. I obviously enjoy hiking but I had to mentally prepare every time when I wanted to go back up.
Day 2
I wanted to start my day a little bit slower but still with some form of exercise to so I headed off to BrickFit Gym. It was about a 15 minute walk from my hostel and was only 18 KM (around 9 euro) for a day pass. Considering normal European day passes, this was pretty good. The gym itself was on the smaller side but it was extremely modern and had some fresh equipment for a varied workout.
Once I got back to my hostel, I had booked onto a half-day tour about the Bosnian war, predominantly the siege of Sarajevo. As I mentioned above, this is something I would 100% book onto as a non-negotiable if you’re visiting Sarajevo.
With the worry of not doing an explanation justice (as I said earlier) I will explain it in a little bit more detail. Firstly, you are driven along Sniper Alley to the Tunnel of Salvation. As you drive along Sniper Alley, the guide explains how risky it was to walk on this street during the siege and the atrocities. There is a documentary called Sarajevo Safari which alleges wealthy foreigners actually paid the Bosnian Serb forces to be able to :have a go” at shooting at civilians.
At the Tunnel of Salvation, you have the opportunity to understand why it is was important to Sarajevo and the surrounding areas as well as the role that UNICEF played (many people have mixed opinions on if they were useful or not during this time). You get to walk through a section of the tunnel as well. Our guide mentioned that during the siege the tunnel had no lighting and you can only imagine how scary it would be in a pitch black tunnel with water surrounding you as well.
After the tunnel, you then drive to the Old Bobsled track for some free time to walk around but the guide does take you to a little section to show you some reminders of those times such as the bullet holes on the track, front line bunkers and other pieces of information.
As a whole, I was mortified learning about this part of their history and completely shocked by how recent the events were. Considering our guide was a veteran, it was amazing listening to him relay personal stories and you could still see the impact it has on him to this day. I will never understand things like this and it angers me so much that things like this happen around the world.
It is quite an emotionally draining day so be prepared for this. After the tour I chose to get an early dinner in the Old Bazaar again. This time I went for a traditional restaurant called Nanina Kuhinja. I asked the waitress which vegetarian dish she recommended and straight away she said the Klepe sa sirom, which is pasta filled with cheese. So yes, again it was extremely dairy heavy but for how quick she responded, I told my gut to toughen up.
It was extremely delicious and surprisingly didn’t make me feel too gross as it’s not the largest portion ever. It would be a great restaurant to go to with others and share some meals. The interior was a lot of fun as well and other dishes were great.
Day 3
I was catching a late train out of Sarajevo so I had time to do a few more “touristy” things. The main thing I wanted to do was visit the War Childhood Museum. Before this, I did make my way up to the Yellow Fortress which gives you a different viewpoint over Sarajevo. It was a bit of a steep incline up so I was sweating and out of breath but the views were quite pretty. In all honesty, I would skip this again if I went back as the cable car is a better choice.
The War Childhood museum is quite small in itself, but god it hits a nerve. Tickets are 15 KM. The artefacts are predominantly items from children during the siege with the story of what it means to them. There are some items from very recent wars such as Gaza as well.
In one section, there is a video of individual recalling their experience and the impact this time had on them. Reading through and listening to these stories just makes you reflect on the lasting effect things like this have on people and the trauma they suffer.
Having grown up in Australia, we are very far removed from a lot of “wars” and it is not something I had to ever worry about which the older I have gotten and the more I have traveled I am realising how privileged that makes me. Your life gets put into perspective when you start to learn of other cultures and at the end of the day I think that is why I loved Sarajevo so much.
Although they have faced some horrific times and yes there are still a lot of reminders across the city. There is a vibrancy and beauty to the city as well that shows their resilience and strength to keep going. There are also other things I would have loved to see whilst I was there but I ran out of time - you could walk, bike or run to Goat Bridge or join a tour and hike to Lukomir village (only available at certain times of the year).
If you are visiting the Balkans then I recommend you consider adding Sarajevo to your list to experience it for yourself.
