Healing Sarajevo Healed Me Too..

The year 2017 has been a lot of travels for me but it was back to my home base, Cebu. My Dad relapsed and when we lost him, I went through an emotional roller coaster ride.

Back in Abu Dhabi, I felt like I needed to take a vacation from all my previous vacations. It was not to forget what happened but to take time to think and digest what I went through.

We booked our tickets on a whim for this Bosnia and Herzegovina trip. Mimi saw a package trip on sale, she just called us about it and we just bought it without research. Thus our travel to another country for this year is ticked from our travel list.

After purchasing our air ticket + hotel package, that evening we researched how to get a visa and the must go to places in BiH. In the next few weeks, we applied for a visa (got it after a week!) and we decided to contact a local travel agency, Sarajevo Funky Tours to make our trip smooth and easy.

The days went by in a blur and travel day came fast! We woke up at 4:00 AM on October 13th, showered fast and started our trip with a two hour drive to Dubai International Airport. As soon as we arrived, we checked in seamlessly and waited for our flight.

The flight was about five hours. I tried sleeping but was too excited to actually do it. I remember having mixed feelings about the trip. I was not sure I was the same person a year ago who enjoyed travel very much or if I will be just be the sad person that I have thought I have become.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is two hours behind UAE so we arrived mid-afternoon so we prearranged for our tour to start right away.

This space is intended for the video which up to now is still pending.. haha

Our first stop was the Sarajevo Tunnel also known as Tunnel of Hope, it was an underground tunnel constructed to give the then under siege Sarajevo an outlet to the outside world. It took more than six months to complete as pick axes and shovels were used and the only source of light was cooking oil and wick made from string. It was indeed very sad to learn of Sarajevo's tragic past.

Next was a quick stop at Mount Trebevic overlooking Sarajevo. Unfortunately we were unable to take our 3 piggies photo with Regla Marie because she got dizzy.  We didn't have much time. It's a good thing she was able to manage and we were able to have a group photo afterwards.

Our second stop was Sarajevo Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track. It is situated on Trebević mountain overlooking the City of Sarajevo, built for the 1984 Winter Olympics. We trekked the entire track wearing just our pants in a very cold weather. Towards the end of the track my calves were freezing and was starting to numb. Haha Good thing that was the last stop before heading to our hotel to check in.

We checked in at Hotel Saraj, the hotel is situated at a hill so it was overlooking Sarajevo. The sunset is gorgeous from our balcony. We settled in, rested and freshened up a bit before we went out for dinner. We walked from our hotel to the old town to eat and to celebrate our dear Regla Marie​'s Birthday. After dinner we explored the old town a bit and took a taxi back to our hotel to rest and sleep. It was a good first day.

On our second day we woke up early, prepped up and had breakfast at the hotel. Breakfast at Hotel Saraj was very enjoyable. The dining area had a very nice view of the city.

We planned the second day tour thinking it was Rissy's birthday so we made it a point to visit Medjugorje to attend mass. Medjugorge is a popular Catholic Pilgrimage site due to apparitions of the Virgin Mary to six children.

First stop was St. James Parish, we attended the 10:00 AM English mass together with other tourists on a pilgrimage.

Second stop was at the Apparition Hill where the Virgin Mary appeared to six children playing on a hill. We managed to climb the steep, rocky hill. After about 30 minutes, we reached the top where the Statue of the Virgin Mary was erected. It was said that it is where she first appeared to the children. We took in the view and prayed. Despite the large crowd and tiresome climb, we found peace in our hearts somehow.

Hungry from all the rock climbing, we had our lunch stop at a restaurant which I failed to take note of the name. We had a delicious lunch together with our tour guides Haris and Jasmin. (If you book your tour with Sarajevo Funky Tours, they will definitely take you there too.)

Our third and last stop for the day was in Mostar. It is a city in the southern part of BiH which has a UNESCO World Heritage Site named Mostar / Old Bridge. The place is full of tourists but this did not discourage us from enjoying it. We started the walk towards the bottom of the bridge and found old cameras which Mimi was certainly fond of. We took pictures below the bridge and noticed people looking up as an exhibitionist was standing atop the edge of the bridge to jump. But of course he was waiting for the tourist to give money to make the jump. We finally went up the bridge and we were amazed of the structure and architecture of it.

Upon reading lots of blogs about Mostar, we gladly got a tip that the best view for the Mostar/Old Bridge was from the top of the minaret of the Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque. Oh the climb! The mighty climb was steep and narrow but we made it to the top! We got there with short breaths but it was very rewarding. The view was just amazing. It gave a panoramic view of the entire city and of course was the best place to view the famous bridge.

It took about 3 hours to reach the city from Mostar, we asked to be dropped at the Old Town to buy dinner and celebrate Rissy's birthday, this time for dessert! We stopped at some tourist spots too. Of course we did not forget our ice cream tradition. Every time we go to a new country, we try their ice cream even if the weather is really cold. Nathalie​ was also in line for us to try Trdelnik, a sweet pastry which is made of dough and covered in a mixture of sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. It is a Croatian delicacy they said. We just got lured in because of the delicious smell of the cinnamon and the warmth of all the baking happening inside. After buying different types of food we wanted to try we took a taxi back to our hotel and had dinner in our hotel room with Bosnian beer of course!

On our last full day we had a full schedule, our first stop was Travnik Castle which goes back to the Ottoman Period (between 1808 - 1922). After which we had a quick stop at Sarena Dzamija or Ornamented Mosque in English. I enjoyed taking pictures of the beautiful details inside. After a bout of car sickness and 3 hours of driving, we reached the city of Jajce. We had a delicious lunch at Restoran Kod Asima. To burn off what we ate, we toured around the Jajce Citadel wherein clearly it shows how rich BiH is in history and culture. After walking around, we drove 5 kilometers to the Pliva Lakes which is a sight to behold. What's interesting in the lake is that they had Water Mills. It goes back to the Austro-Hungarian empire (between 1867 to 1918). We wished we had more time to savor this sight but it was getting late and we had about 3 hours+ to get back to the city.

On the morning before our flight back to Dubai, we strolled up the hill from our hotel towards the Yellow Bastion. There wasn't much up there but you get to see Sarajevo from an even higher vantage point. We passed by a cemetery on the way there too. From there we went down another way towards the Old Town. We went to Pigeon Square to feed the.. pigeons of course! There were too many of them. They were not afraid of people and were waiting for passerby's to feed them. Nathalie and Mimi had a great time feeding them for sure.

From the Old Town, we went back to our hotel for a final goodbye of the place. We took a taxi to the airport and off we went! Back to reality..

Looking back more than a year ago now, that trip helped me heal a little. Not completely but somehow it started the healing process.

-Laika-