TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

Sarajevo’s cuisine and restaurant scene is still up and coming. The city does not have a Michelin star restaurant YET but I am sure it will get there in due time. For our first night’s dinner in the city, I was eyeing the unique “Four Rooms of Mrs Safija” restaurant. From what I understood, the address is an exclusive and upscale place and it is one of the best restaurants in town. A welcome port drink from the house. Cheers! Alma, our new friend from the hotel reception was quite impressed when we asked her to call the restaurant and reserve a table for us. ‘It’s a very expensive restaurant!’ she told us. I guess everyone in Sarajevo knows the “ Four Rooms of Mrs Safija ” (4 sobe gospođe Safije), huh? I don’t like going overboard with the things I do during my travels (well, sometimes, haha), especially when it comes to spending so I checked their prices just to make sure, and after forex calculations, it came out reasonable from a western European spending perspective...

Sarajevo was the second stop in our Balkan road trip last spring. We landed in Tuzla in the north and stayed a night in the city. The next morning we set forth down south to Sarajevo. We drove our rental car through valleys and mountains and stopping in between to take pictures of the Bosnian countryside. Finally, we arrive in the capital mid in the afternoon. We checked in to our hotel, Villa Melody which is approximately 8 minutes walking distance to Baščaršija (the Old Town). Afterwards, we decided to hit the Old Town for our late lunch. We were starving! The lovely young hotel receptionist gave us a Cevapi place suggestion, MRKVA which we were able to find in just a matter of minutes. When we were in Tuzla, Bubbles and I have promised to eat the famous cevapi as our first meal in Sarajevo. After the delicious late cevapi lunch, we thought we will walk around a bit, just to get our bearings right in the city. We are staying here for 3 days, and tomorrow, we have a big a...

Because Sarajevo is still up and coming in the tourism sector, prices of hotels in the city are very reasonable. However, the choices are very limited. Our modern room in Villa Melody. The view from the breakfast area's terrace to the street. Bubbles and I will be arriving in the city with a car, so a free inside the premises of the hotel parking place is on the top of the list, followed by easy access to everything and lastly, we prefer a hotel that is modern and hygienic (at least in the pictures). This is how we ended up choosing for Villa Melody. We stayed here for 2 nights and 3 days. The street where Villa Melody is located and looking towards the old town. I did some research beforehand and read that car theft and vandalism can be an issue, although we didn’t notice it, perhaps because we have been very mindful about where we parked the car. Nonetheless, in Sarajevo, we made sure to have a hotel that has a secure and inside of the hotel premises parki...

Cevapi or Cevapcici is the national dish of Bosnia & Hercegovina (and Serbia as well). It is very popular in the Balkans and a trip to this part of Eastern Europe is not complete without tasting it a few times. When Bubbles and I were in Bosnia & Hercegovina last April, we were advised by everyone to eat Cevapi. It is a must! We started our trip in Tuzla where we had some local Balkan stews for our dinner. We promised ourselves to have Cevapi for lunch when we arrive in Sarajevo the next day. In Sarajevo, there are 2 famous places to eat Cevapi. That’s MKRVA and Zeljo. MRKVA was recommended to us by the lovely young receptionist of our hotel. She swears it is the best and it is where the locals prefer to eat their Cevapi. The latter, Zeljo is very popular among the tourists. So like any curious culinary traveller who not only enjoys the gourmet delights of this world, but also the customary local dishes and street food scene, Bubbles and I decided to try both. MRKV...