Do and Don’t: Mostar Edition

For our first “class” excursion of the summer we went to Mostar.  It was another city ravaged by the war – it’s amazing how much they have been able to rebuild and how much destruction is still apparent. Bullet holes ravage buildings and there are several still completely hollowed out with solely the bones of the building remaining.

So now - Do and Don’t

Do: Ride in the most ridiculously amazing bus on the face of the planet. Reclining seats and four times as many seats as there are people=okay in my book.

Do: Stop for coffee/drinks in a small town to take a break from the bus - also to get some fresh air for those of us who may have been a little car sick.

Don't: try to take a lot of pictures through the bus window even though you want everyone to see how amazing the Bosnian countryside is - they will turn out poorly. Wait until a later point when you rent a car and can actually stop to take decent picture. Be patient.

Do: Take pictures with you in them. So your family doesn't keep giving you a hard time about not being in any of the photos.

Do: Marvel at the beauty that is Mostar.

Don't: cut yourself out of pictures. Although this one still turned out cute.

Don't: wear a sweatshirt to Mostar in late June. It's quite hot. You will melt.

Don't: don't slip/trip and fall on the Old Bridge in Mostar. It's really slippery and if you fall people will probably walk on you.

Do: continue to marvel at the beauty of Mostar.

Do: Push other tourists out of the way to get an awesome picture with the Old Bridge in the background with a friend.

Do: question the integrity of the Greek salad when it comes with no feta cheese and a ton of sour cream and funny roasted peppers.

Do: Enjoy the view - even if the food is a little sketch.

Don't: assume that "ketchup" within the list of ingredients for pizza means marinara sauce - it actually means ketchup.

Don't: trip on the slippery cobblestone-y walkways. They are treacherous.

Do: take a picture below the bridge to add to the collection of the other pictures.

Don't: forget to actually enter the river. It will be very refreshing on a hot day. Also - make sure you take at least one ridiculous picture in each location. It will probably make your mom shake her head - but that's okay.

Do: stop at Počitelj and admire the ruins from below.

Don't: whine when they tell you that we are climbing to the top in 39°C weather - and don't continue to complain all the way to the top saying that this will be on the "Don't" list for Mostar, because...

this is the view from the top - and you will feel like a fool for collectively complaining the whole trek up.

Do: hike to the top and enjoy the beauty of Bosnia.

Don't: wear flip flops on this trek and slip and fall down the teeny-tiny stairs into the people behind you.

Do: wave at each other from different levels of the ruin - just because it's fun.

Don't: be deterred from taking pictures in the window just because they turn out a little dark - it's still makes for an interesting shot.

Do: make friends with the local wildlife here, too. This was the cutest sweetest little kitty I have ever met. Sorry Kingsley.

Do. Do. Do. Do. Do: Go to Kravica. It's like paradise.

Don't: forget to explore the depths of creepy old buildings that should probably be condemned - they make excellent changing rooms.

Do: continue to be amazed by how incredible this place is.

Do: jump off the bridge into the water...

...to get the super cold water all over with all at once.

Do: explore all of the waterfalls, caves, and hidey-holes (because you're not in the U.S. with all the super extensive safety laws so you can) while making up incredible stories and lamenting the fact that no one has a waterproof camera. Just make sure you get someone's attention to take at least one picture of you right next to the waterfall.

Don't: forget a jacket for the ride home. The air conditioning on the bus is cold and once the sun goes down you'll get a little chilly.

Do: stop and have an amazing meal all together after an amazing day in Mostar and surrounding area.

sarajevo living: learning and progressing.

So, we're settling down here in Sarajevo.  I think I have mastered the art of maneuvering through the main market and figured out how to get around certain areas of town.  I also have become somewhat adept at purchasing items from the meat and fruit markets (pictures to come later - I might have forgotten to take them the past 2 days).  This means that I bought farm fresh eggs and some bell peppers and red onion to make wonderful and delicious scrambled eggs for breakfast this morning.  I know, it's shocking that I cooked, but I documented it for you as proof:

You should all be impressed by this point - just so you know.

And the finished result:

The eggs were delicious. They could have used a little salt (and probably a few more veggies, some cheese, and perhaps some meat tomorrow), but everything in the cupboards is in Bosnian - I didn't want to put arsenic or some sort of cleaning solvent on my eggs, so I decided to eat them as is.  The farm fresh eggs makes a major difference in taste - I have no idea how I will go back to store-bought when I get home.

I know you have all been wondering what in the world we are actually doing out here.  We each have our own internships.  Mine is with Foundation Cure (if you have Google Chrome you can translate the page into English - well, mostly into English).  It turns out that they thought we weren't coming until July 18th, so while everyone else has been figuring out their internships and getting settled in different offices my supervisor has been on vacation.  Today we (Kelsey - the other person at my internship - and I) were able to go see where the office is located (only about a 15 minute walk - yay!) and meet a couple of the people we will be working with.

First good piece of news is that I have not yet had to drink coffee. Since Bosnian culture revolves around coffee (Turkish style), I was afraid I would have to drink it all the time.  I'm sure at some point I will have to stomach it, but for now I am able to drink juice :)

This is a short introduction into what CURE is all about.  I'll fill everyone in a bit more as I find out more of what I'm doing.  I'm just happy it's close and it seems like an incredible organization!

I'll leave you with a bit of fun. There are these little juice stands throughout the part of the city we live in that make fresh squeezed orange juice for 2KM (about $1.40) - it looked good so we stopped at one yesterday.

The oranges go on either side and the juice is squeezed out and strained so there is no pulp!

Needless to say, we thought it was delicious!

(p.s. the pigeons in this area freak me out considerably!)


That's all for now. We head to Mostar tomorrow, so I'm sure there will be a post in the near future with our adventures and learning there. Love you all and miss you!

Sarajevo: the beginning.

First day in Sarajevo: done.  There are 14 of us here from The University of Denver (all doing different internships), and today we took a walking tour of the city.  It was beautiful!  Last night when we got in on the train (an hour later than expected – apparently this is normal), and it was too dark to see anything.  This morning we could see beautiful hills surrounding the city.  I think I’m going to like Sarajevo.

And now starts a new series: Do and Don’t

Do: Ride the train if you have the time. I was worried that it was going to be completely sketch and the train would fall apart along the way.  It was actually really nice – not too crowded – air conditioned (except when we stopped – then we melted) – beautiful countryside – plus, 4 stamps in my passport in one day! (leaving Hungary, entering and leaving Croatia, and then entering Bosnia)

Don’t: Forget to bring food for the entire day. We made the mistake of believing there would be a food car.  Apparently that was left in Hungary when we crossed the border into Croatia.  We survived on peanuts, juice, cheese puffs, and apples – we were starving when we finally arrived in Sarajevo.

Do: Hang out with friends at the bar across the street from the hostel as soon as you arrive – and get a massive pizza all for yourself.  Chat – catch up on travel stories – lament over lost luggage – brag about how amazing Budapest was – generally have a fantastic time with amazing people you get to spend the entire summer with.

Don’t: Go to Bosnia and eat at McDonalds. They most definitely had signs pointing the direction to the McDonalds (which has to be the most amazing looking McD’s that I have ever seen in my life, btw)

Do: Watch the men play chess in the city center. It’s most definitely entertaining.

Don’t: Take pictures in a church that you are not allowed to take pictures in – or go inside without your shoulders covered – the nun will chastise you and make you feel like a fool.

Do: Travel around the city and look at the “Bosnian Roses” – they are from mortar shells that caused casualties, and are a reminder of the lives lost and injuries sustained during the horrific war and siege.

Don’t: Climb around in an abandoned bombed out building from the war just because it looks amazing with plants growing out of it and you think you will get some awesome shots – it likely will collapse on you if you traverse its depths.

Don’t: Wear inappropriate clothing while going to visit a beautiful Mosque – they will not even let you inside the courtyard.

Do: Look at the architecture. It’s an amazing blend of Austro-Hungarian, Turkish, and Modern influences. It is also apparent how significant the damage from the war is upon the old buildings vs. the new ones.

Do: Make friends with the local wildlife (aka random cats and dogs that are all over the city). The people in Sarajevo are extremely nice to them – therefore, they are extremely cuddly and cute. I feel as though there will be many friends made this summer.

Don’t: Travel behind your tour group to take pictures – because you will miss all of the important things said regarding the history of Sarajevo.

Do: Visit the place where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated - because it's a major piece of world history.

Don’t: Eat solely at places that serve “American” food.  Bosnian food is delicious, and every opportunity to try new, wonderful dishes should be taken.

Do: Eat the delicious gelato after every meal. For 1 KM (about 70 cents), you really can’t go wrong.

Do: Finish the night with friends, food, and drinks at a local restaurant/pub. In this case, the local Sarajevo Brewery.

Don’t: Upload a bajillion pictures using slow internet access ever again. You will be up half of the night waiting for the pictures to finish loading onto the blog…


Do: Go to bed and come back to the blog post the next day in favor of sleep. No one likes a grumpy, sleep-deprived person.