TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

Ah, our last day in Sarajevo! View of the city of Sarajevo from the hills near the fortress.

Have you heard of the Bosnian War and Genocide in the 1990's? For the young generations and for those living outside of Europe, perhaps you have not. I believe this is the missing person wall. I did not take this picture though. I got this from the website of the Srebrenica Exhibition: Gallerija 11/07/1995. I stopped taking pictures when I entered the exhibition room

First things first, I am not a religious person. I do not believe in any god or deity of some sort. I used to though. But that was a looooong time ago. Like, some 20+ years ago. Easter Sunday mass service at the Sacred Heart Cathedral of Sarajevo.

The beautiful, cosy ambience and the green panoramic views from Kibe Mahala Restaurant.

Stari Grad is the old town center of Sarajevo and within Stari Grad you will find Baščaršija, the inner old town, the remaining vestiges of the Ottoman Empire in Bosnia & Hercegovina. This blog post, however, is about the other part of Stari Grad.

The Old Town of Sarajevo or Baščaršija as it is called was built in the 15th century by Isa-Beg Isakovic, an Ottoman general of Bosnian origin. The Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque in  Baščaršija,  Sarajevo.

I am one lady who always looks for nice and cute places to eat at! In Sarajevo Old Town, we found this lovely restaurant called Dveri. The place is quite small and uniquely cool. It's actually a bit hidden from the busyness of the pedestrian street, having only a very modest gateway and a corridor leading to the restaurant.

The Miljacka River flows through the capital, dividing Sarajevo into 2 parts, the southern side and the northern side. The Seher-Cehaja Bridge near Vijecnica.

This is perhaps the piece of architecture and national monument that truly stands out in Sarajevo.

Souvenir shot of the Sebijl in Sarajevo, Bosnia.

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...