Bosnia and Herzegovina, is a country in Southeastern Europe located on the Balkan Peninsula. Sarajevo is the capital and largest city. In the central and eastern interior of the country the geography is mountainous, in the northwest it is moderately hilly, and the northeast is predominantly flatland. The inland is a geographically larger region and has a moderate continental climate, bookended by hot summers and cold and snowy winters. The southern tip of the country has a Mediterranean climate and plain topography.
Sarajevo is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with an estimated population of 369,534. The Sarajevo metropolitan area, including Sarajevo, East Sarajevo and surrounding municipalities, is home to 688,354 inhabitants. Nestled within the greater Sarajevo valley of Bosnia, it is surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans.
Whenever I told people I was going over to Bosnia or Sarajevo to start my vacation they usually had one of two questions:
- Where is that? or
- Is it safe to go there with all the issues in the area?
I get the first question a lot when I travel as I tend to go off the beaten path in my travels. That is why I have a map on each of my pages that is usually zoomed out enough, by default, to give you a good idea where in the world I was.
The second question, well people are either thinking one of two things here. Either they remember the Bosnian war (April 1992 to December 1995) and stories of landmines still being found, or they are thinking about all the issue in the greater middle-east area with internal battles and terrorist actions. For the former, Sarajevo still has its scars from the war but is a beautiful city and many of the young that fill the streets at night and sidewalk cafes have no first hand memory of the war. However, according to our local guide, landmines are still found at times and is the reason we do not do any hiking in the country. The trails are all cleared but wandering off the trail could be unsafe. Hence, the trip starts in Sarajevo to give us a taste of the country and learn about its history with a city tour and then heading over to Montenegro which was not involved in the war.
With respect to the fear of terrorist action. Well, unfortunately, no place is safe any more, and the Baltic region is just as safe as the rest of Europe. Most of the activities you hear on the daily news are not in this region so I felt fine with travelling here.
Sarajevo
It took me a few flight changes but I eventually made it to Sarajevo; however, it was getting late and was told a taxi would only be 15-20 Euro so that ‘s the option I went with. I think I had Mario Andretti as a driver and I feel sorry for all the cars he cutoff during the trip. I checked into the Hotel Europe and hit the streets to find myself a frosty beverage before turning in.
In the morning I would explore the Old Town area of Sarajevo on my own and meet with the group at 3pm for a walk tour. What surprised me most about the city is the large Muslim population (the religious majority) and how well the three main religions (Muslim, Catholic, Jewish) in the city got along and cooperated and respected each others believes.
Logistics
This is the first of three countries visited on this vacation. The trip started in Sarajevo for a day before leaving for Montenegro and finished with us being dropped off in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The plan was to arrive in Sarajevo a full day before the organized trip so we could explore the town more but the airlines had other plans. I arrived 9 hours late (9:30pm Friday, instead of 12:30pm) and my friend didn’t arrive until Sunday at 12:30pm. 🙁 Getting from the Sarajevo airport to the hotel, near Old Town, was simple enough and was a 20 Euro taxi ride. {Airport pickup was not available due to my flight delays and rescheduling.}
The main part of the trip was a packaged tour trip organized by Wilderness Travel and it was the second time I have used them and their office staff were able to answer all my questions. This was an 11 day itinerary that they called Montenegro and the Adriatic Coast. We meet our group on the Saturday at 3pm and had a quick city walking tour and left for Montenegro the next morning.
I got to Sarajevo a day before the group and stayed at the same hotel the group would be at. Hotel Europe is in a good place nestled in the Old Town area of the city, so there were many choices of sidewalk cafes and bars, everything within walking distance and perfectly safe for the traveller (who doesn’t know any of the local language).
Cheers, Nigel
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