Once there we got out there we were able to explore. We even
got to walk through the tunnel. Families would walk 800 meters into the
mountain to get food and artillery, and then walk back. We were able to walk
through about 25 meters of the tunnel, and this was painful enough and all I
had with me was a small purse. Skander (our tour guide) told us that without
this tunnel they would not have survived the war. He explained that as a kid
food was very limited and his family would find dandelions to eat for food if
they were hungry enough. It is kind of crazy that I knew this war happened
before, but I couldn’t remember any of it. After this trip I feel as though I’m
never going to forget it, due to all the places I’ve visited, but more importantly
because of all the stories I’ve heard about it.
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| Sarajevo Tunnel |
After the tunnel we visited a tank hotel. Here we could see
all the tank marks on the ground, and I was able to pick up a piece of shrapnel
from the war, which was pretty cool. This was followed by the toboggan sled
track from the Sarajevo 1984 Olympics. We got to walk inside, and look at the
wall, which was completely full of graffiti. Our final stop for the tour was in
the second largest Jewish graveyard in the world. You could see the bullet
holes and pieces of the gravestone missing, due to damage from the war.
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| view from the tank hotel |
Then we went out for lunch and had some byrek, and some more
cevapi. After an hour of attempting to get some internet we decided to give up
and go out for some hookah. We sat and talked about the technological age, and
how different our lives would be if we had grown up any later than we had. This
was followed by some shopping, and a stop for some Bosnian coffe, so we could
prepare for our night out.
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| Inside the toboggan sled track |
We mixed up some cocktails to taste, and after tasting
several we realized that we didn’t need to drink anymore before we headed out
for the night. I had looked up several restaurants with different food and
wanted to try out some sushi, just because I know I can’t get it in Tirana. We
found the place with little trouble and were surprised to find it was so tiny,
and also empty. When I had looked it up online, the reviews said there was
often a long wait. Score for it being the off season! The sushi was brought to
us in courses and we shared everything to make it the perfect portion. Then we
headed to Cheers bar to meet up with some other friends.
I loved this bar! Mostly because they had beer on tap, and
had the best live music I’ve heard in the Balkans. It was still awful covers of
popular songs, but it’ll hold me over until I can get some real live music at
home. We drank, and smoked more than anyone ever needs to, and then we head out
to find the gay club. This was where we ran into a few issues, mostly because
apparently it is underground. We asked around and eventually found out that it
was not open on Thursday, so we went to the club our tour guide had
recommended. As soon as I walked in I knew it was not worth it. Everyone was
standing around tables swaying back and forth. It was not my style, so we
headed home to create our own club at our hostel. First we stopped for some
pizza, and then we stopped for some beer. The night was spent dancing at our
hostel. Eventually we grew tired enough to just go to bed. Apparently I was
talking in my sleep, but I don’t remember this at all.
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