Sarajevo - Day 2

Theo and Mata returned this morning after shopping for breakfast goodies with eggs, fresh bread, mandarins, cheese and cherry tomatoes. It was delicious!...how wonderful for us to be travelling with these young people who are considerate about our every move!

The second set of keys did not arrive so we decided to leave the keys in a safe place where everyone could find them. Theo assured us that the gate was always open! Hmmmh!!!! Foreshadowing for later in the day!

We visited several unimpressive market/bazaar areas before discovering an eclectic cafe...Goldfish!

Our group of five split after leaving Goldfish. John, Kallroi and I went to see a dramatic exhibition about the tragedies in Sarajevo and Srebrenica from 1992-95. It was very upsetting and unsettling to see photos and videos from that period.

We left the exhibition before Kalliroi and wandered toward the apartment, picking up pastries and fruit along the way. To our surprise, the gate was locked. WTF!!! So we went to see if we could find Kalliroi, stopped in a cafe for a while...and...thank God she finally walked by! Our phone is without a Bosnian sim card so I left it in the apartment. Kalliroi used her phone to contact the property manager and arrange to have a second set of keys delivered to the apartment so she ran back to meet the delivery. When we got there she was already inside.

The mystery is "Why was the gate locked?" Yorgos, as planned, had left the keys hidden for the first returnees to find and enter the apartment. He had left the gate unlocked! Without delivery of the second set of keys we would all have been locked out of the property!!! When we arrived the day before we had requested a second set of keys. and were told that they would be delivered at 9:00am.

They didn't arrive so we arranged the "hidden keys and unlocked gate" plan. Really...who rents an apartment to six people and expects that one set of keys will be enough??!! 

This apartment is fine with comfortable beds, good kitchen, hot shower...but...the property management is lacking in several areas so we have decided to leave a list of suggestions (not complaints).

We enjoyed a delicious late dinner with a variety of dishes that we hadn't tried before. The restaurant was small, confined between two buildings in an outdoor space with a removable roof and many large heaters. Tipping continues to be a mystery that we leave to our Greek friends to figure out.

Back out in the minus 5 degree cold we quickly walked back to see if our reservation for accommodation in Mostar had been confirmed...NO! It was through airbnb and they wanted a copy of photo ID...passport, drivers licence. We decided that was too much personal info to share so we end up booking a place through Booking.com.....and fell into bed at 12:30am!!

Sarajevo

It was a long bus trip yesterday...7 3/4 hours but very interesting to pass through small towns and climb into the mountains and to see snow on the ground. Our friends had shopped early in the morning and provided us with breakfast along the way...bananas, mandarins, pastries, yogurt and nuts...a delicious addition to our 8:00am departure from Belgrade.

This trip through the Balkans is reminiscent of travels in the 1970's with lengthy border crossings and the confusion of a different currency every time we cross a border...Macedonian debar, Serbian dinar, Bosnian marc. I think(and hope) that they use the euro in Montenegro!

Just after 3:30pm we caught the first glimpses of Sarajevo. This city has such an overwhelming history that it is difficult to imagine the tragedies that it has endured.

The Avaz Twist Tower (on the left)

In 1914, it was the site of the assassination of the Archduke of Austria that sparked World War I. 

Then, in WWII, many Serbs, Bosniaks, and Jews were killed. For nearly four years, from 1992 to 1996, the city suffered the longest siege of a city in the history of modern warfare 

(1,425 days long) during the Bosnian War.

We arrived at the East Bus Station and discovered that there were no ATM's or currency exchange places at the station. The decision was to visit the bar at the station for a drink and ask if the bartender could exchange currency for us. This was a good move because he also called two taxis for the six of us and the taxi driver talked to our hostess and arranged to meet with her at the apartment.

Have I mentioned SNOW?! It is very cold!...minus 5 degrees last night!!!!!

On arrival at the apartment there was some confusion because we thought that we had reserved a larger place. The heat had not been turned on prior to our arrival, there were no lights along the path and stairway and there were many signs in the apartment to ensure that we knew "THE RULES".

It was a cold welcome without much warmth from the young woman (property manager) who greeted us at the apartment and we were overwhelmed by the many signs and conditions. The heat was turned on and slowly the rooms warmed up!

A walk into Old Town was extremely cold. John is getting my bug and had a sore throat that was eased temporarily by a glass of rakia at the restaurant. We shared eight dishes and 2 kilos of wine for a total of 7 euros per person before enduring the cold for a fast walk back to the apartment.

The moon was huge in a clear sky!!!

My apologies for the screwed up text and background colour! The site is misbehaving!!

Sunday in Belgrade

By some miracle we managed to move three of us out of the apartment for breakfast. The others followed but we got a head start on filling our tummies. When everyone had eaten and we gathered again it was time to walk together to the Sunday market where John and I bought much needed gloves.

This woman was very interested in seeing the chandelier that Buket & Shukru bought.

After leaving the market we hopped into taxis for the trip over the Danube to Zemun. 

Meeting in a small local cafe we enjoyed the warmth inside 

along with coffees, hot chocolate and rakes.

Mata tried a new look with Joanna's glasses.

The menu at Zemun's cafe.

Buket and Tuna celebrate the discovery of their initials!

A lonely plant.

Zemun doors

It was a very cold walkabout before I found a hand knitted hat at a weaving studio and finally we stopped to eat fish soup, salads and pasta. Our two young friends left for the airport and we taxied back to our rooms to hug our Turkish friends goodbye. We are down to six travellers now!

Saturday in Belgrade

We staggered out of bed in intervals this morning to share tea and coffee before preparing to leave for breakfast. It is a challenge to gather 12 bodies and move them in a single direction!

At breakfast John played a challenging game of UNO with Tuna's rules.

After breakfast a smaller group of eight walked down to the Nikola Tesla Museum for an introduction into the life of this genius from Belgrade. We were educated about his accomplishments! During a walk into the centre of town our eyes were everywhere, capturing images of this Balkan city.

Several hours of walking later we grabbed a taxi and returned for a rest 

before the others finished their walkabouts.

Shukru helping John with his techno-jargon in Turkish style.

Our group shared dinner in a neighbourhood Belgrade restaurant.

Yorgos arrived late and had just begun to eat

when the band decided to serenade him for several songs!

Good food...but too much meat again!

Temperature is dropping to minus 3 degrees tonight!

From Novi Sad to Belgrade

What a day! The sun was shining when we left the hotel to walk toward old town in search of coffee and breakfast...a beautiful day! In a market area we stopped for coffee and found some freshly baked cheese pie to eat while we sat beside the Danube.

A short time later we stopped to buy some freshly ground coffee and the owner suggested that we find a small cafe called "Coffee on the go". The name didn't inspire much confidence but it turned out to be a lovely little coffee/tea shop.

Along the way we passed some interesting sights.

Live fish for sale

We checked out of the hotel around noon and hopped into a taxi to the train station. 

For a change of pace we had decided to take a train instead of a bus to Belgrade. 

It wasn't exactly a "thumbs up" kind of trip but for $2.00 each we couldn't complain! 

Outside the train station in Belgrade we watched two brave men hanging this sign.

In Belgrade our hostess picked us up and took us to the most unusual place that we have stayed in so far. It is composed of three separate apartment houses with a covered garden/patio in the middle...very rustic. John and I have the luxury of having our own bedroom while the rest are scattered between the dwellings in beds and on foldout couches.

Theo and I went shopping for dinner ingredients...to make a pasta dish and cabbage/apple/carrot salad. The other eight arrived around 5:30pm from Athens and Istanbul...much hugging and celebrating!!!

Eleven adults and one child gathered around the table on the covered patio for dinner.

Tuna with Grandpa John

What an incredible evening! We shared a delicious dinner, bottles of wine and raki along with much laughter and story telling between this group of friends ranging in age between 10 and almost 80!

Rain fell on the roof but our spirits were not dampened. Obviously we were the first ones to say good night and fall into bed.

Novi Sad

It was an easy bus trip today from Nis to Novi Sad...about 5 hours but there were no border control delays and the sun was shining for most of the trip through lush agricultural land. Theo and Kalliroi had shopped for snacks so we shared bananas, chocolate and trail mix along the way.

A rustic picnic area at the bus rest stop

In Novi Sad we had a very pleasant taxi ripoff...apparently it should have cost about 1 1/2 euros for the ride to the hotel. Instead it cost 8 euros. I hope the guy is happy!! Our hotel is very nice. For 28 euros per night it is as good as a Marriot!!!

After we checked in we walked into the old town looking for a restaurant named FISH. What a delightful meal we enjoyed with a personable young server who spoke English and attended to our every need.

FISH - the kitchen side of the street

The restaurant side of the street

Our server had to bring everything that we ordered from the kitchen side of the street over to the restaurant. Imagine what that would be like on a rainy day! We enjoyed every morsel of our "non-meat" meal ...soup, salads, main courses, dessert, raki & wine. At the end of the meal he gave us each a small jar of their homemade jam and hard cover books with illustrations about the restaurant.

After dinner we left the two young ones and wandered back to the hotel for a quiet night in the room. They were planning to see a movie but I am starting to get a cold...sore throat...and wanted an early night.

Novi Sad has wide streets and pedestrian zones...easy walking with a wide variety of shopping, eating and drinking options...including book stores and newspaper outlets.

This is what he is called in Serbia!

Tomorrow we will take the train to Belgrade, about 1 1/2 hours. Our hosts will pick us up at the station and we will settle into our rental apartment for the next 3 days. Friends from Athens and Istanbul will join us for 2 nights so there will be 12 people sharing the apartment!!

Nis photos

On our night walk in Nis.

House in the river?

Castle remains...which way??

View from our room this morning!