Text: Peter Johansson
Editing: Christer Lundstedt
Photos: Christer Lundstedt, Peter Johansson
Video clips: Christer Lundstedt, Roberth Nordin
06.32 Easter is a time of traditions. You do what you always have done. There are eggs, feathers, Easter Bunnies and more. We are traditional as well and are going to travel. I am in Christer´s apartment in Sundsvall and have just woken up.
08.40 We chose to sleep another hour. It is after all holiday and a weekend as well. Now we´ve had breakfast. The third part of the travel gang has already started his journey to the south.
10.05 When we, Christer and myself, arrived at Sundsvall Railway Station we met the third man, Roberth, on the platform. He travels first class and we are in second class. The peculiar ticket system in Sweden sometimes work like that, first class can be cheaper than second class. The train arrived here half an hour ago and Roberth had left the train and walked around for a while among the common people.
11.30 The three of us are having a coffee break in the bistro on the X2000 train. Well, Roberth isn’t having any coffee. He has free coffee in the first class wagon. Soon half of the connecting trip is done.
13.32 We arrived at Arlanda airport. Here, Christer has withdrawn euro from a cash machine and I bought Imodium. It is good to have because my stomach is a bit worried. We're sitting down right now taking it easy on the ledge above Sky City.
Roberth is relaxing in Terminal 5 at Arlanda Airport.
Christer and Peter are having lunch at Alfredo´s.
14.15 During our walk inside the airport we were offered to get the American Express card by some enthusiastic vendors. Roberth proudly said that he already had all the cards. He is prepared!
14.50 After we had walked to Terminal 2, we checked in ourselves at a machine, attached the luggage tags and checked in the luggage, now we are at Alfredo's for lunch before leaving. I have withdrawn some euro but Roberth failed to do the same. The ATM does not like his VISA card. He seems to have forgotten to bring the one that works. Upon check-in, we chose to move to places a bit further ahead in the plane, seats number 10 A-C were chosen.
15.55 Now we've passed the security and passport checks. Our feet are really hot and we are waiting to go aboard. Soon we will head for the first country on this trip.
We are preparing for a flight with Norwegian.
16.38 We have set ourselves down on the seats 10 A-C. Our fellow passengers are looking for their seats. Soon we will take off. It is time for Christer and me to return to Bosnia Herzegovina and Sarajevo. We didn’t see much sun on our latest trip there in 2004. Seven years have gone since then. For Roberth this will be a new experience. Our row of seats, unfortunately, has no windows. It was not quite wise to switch from the seats we had on row 22.
17.18 We are in the air and roaring south. Information was just given in the speakers that this is one of the first flights in Europe with internet access on board. The entire aircraft is by the way, entirely new.
BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA
19.48 I slept during most of the flight. The landing went well. While the plane rolled to the terminal one/multiple person/persons stood up. It was said inoth Swedish and English by a flight attendant and I guess in Bosnian from someone else. In the end, the clean command was, sit down! sit down! One wonders why it should always be such a rush out of the aircraft when it will nevertheless be a long wait at the baggage conveyor.
20.09 Roberth’s passport queue was fast, Christer´s and mine was slow. Now here we are in the arrivals hall. We are approved and stamped. Soon Christer and I will withdraw Bosnian money. Unfortunately Roberth isn't able to do so. He will lend from us and pay back when he can.
20.43 We took a taxi from the airport. Our talkative driver told us about Sarajevo, showed everything new that has been built, said that during the 1425 days that the city was besieged in the nineties fell an average of 2000 shells a day in the city. He also talked about his military service in Montenegro in 1984 and he served in the Bosnian army during the war. Now we are at Hostel Hayat (http://www.hostel-hayat.ba) and in room 404. We are actually at the four-star "Hotel Hayat" but they have a hostel in a house behind the hotel and that is where we live. Upon check-in, I got a note and a caramel which has been left there by my e-mail contact here in the city, Amela. She wants to see me tomorrow. Let's go out for some food. I, however, feel unwell in the stomach.
The place for this evening´s dinner experience.
Christer´s dinner, pljeskavica, typical food here.
21.18 We have walked down to the center of the city and we sat down at Dženita Restoran. Beer is ordered and the menus are received.
22.41 Now we have returned home after a good meal. Now we will find out who owes whom what. Roberth owe me 12 KM from the taxi and he owes Chris 14 KM for the food. KM is the Bosnian currency, Konvertibilna Marka. Now I'm tired, the body is worn out. I’ve taken Imodium and let´s hope for improvement. Good night!
07:55 I hear people speak it in the local language (let´s call it Bosnian). I hear it through the open window. I can not tell what they are talking about. The conversation is private and I can not speak the language. What I can tell you is that travel companions have heard the call to prayer during the night. I have not heard anything. As far as the language of this part of the world, it is a story in itself. When the country was called Yugoslavia it was called the Serbo-Croat language. Nowadays, there are Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin also. When new countries are formed a new language is born.
08.57 We have taken a simple but delicious breakfast at the Hotel Hayat. It is really good service that we simple people from the hostel section can eat free breakfast at the hotel. Now we will get things in order and head out to look at Sarajevo. Maybe we will see the sun this time.
Hotel Hayat
You can still see sights like this, reminding you that there was a war here only 15-20 years ago.
A view towards the centre of Sarajevo.
09.19 We took a leisurely walk down to the city's oldest and most central part and are now by the river Miljacka. We are more specifically on the Seher-Cehajina Bridge. This is where I will meet up with Amela in less than three hours. It is good to know where it is.
09.34 Behind me runs the Miljacka River. Across the street is the place where the shots in Sarajevo were fired on 28th of June 1914. It was this murder that started the First World War. Those who were assassinated were the Austro-Hungarian Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. When we were here in 2004 there was only a text on the wall. It is still there but there is also an entire museum here now. Unfortunately, it closed today. It's Sunday. It is quiet on the streets and soon, we´ll continue on.
The river Miljacka
Roberth is trying to be part of this Asian tourist group.
This is the spot where the murders in 1914 took place.
Roberth and Christer is learning about how the First world war started.
10.10 We have walked past a synagogue and were at one of the Balkans' largest Orthodox churches, the Serbian Orthodox "Saborna Crkva Roðenja Pres Wheat Bogorodica". In the square by the church there was a chess game of the larger model. Elderly and middle-aged men moved their pieces after some thinking.
10.24 We have also managed to see the eternal flame that burns in memory of those killed in the liberation of the city on the 6th of April 1945. Now we have walked along the pedestrian Ferhadija Street and decided to take a morning coffee. We are having the coffee and some Coca Cola at the cafe Demiroviæ. We are in Bašèaršija which is the oldest Ottoman (Turkish) part of town. The sun is trying to break through the clouds.
A game of chess in Sarajevo.
Serb-orthodox church in Sarajevo. This city really has a mix of religions.
The eternal flame, burns in memory of the liberation at the end of the second world war.
The symbol from the winter olympics in 1984 can still be seen on the pedestrian street Ferhadija.
What are they thinking about?
Old men in Sarajevo enjoying life.
10.46 We've enjoyed the day so far and watched the mix of people who passed by. There are Asian tourists, other tourists, well dressed older gentlemen on the way to their morning coffee, young and old, Christians and Muslims. Now we’ve taken to the streets again. It should not be dull for too long.
11.12 We left the café and went to the nearby Gazi Husrev-Beg Mosque. There is an allocation of current prayer times and a prohibition sign on everything you cannot do in the mosque area. You can´t for example be screaming, wearing short skirts, smoke, carry weapons, walk dogs, ride a bike or use cellular phones.
11.53 It's time. It has happened again. We are just across the river Miljacka and are having a classic bench break in a small park where there were a few small benches and a table. A short distance away is Seher-Æehajina Bridge where we soon will meet Amela. Along the way we stopped at a public toilet with an interesting sign. What we first thought was the distance to the toilet actually was the price of the visit. Here KM isn't just kilometers but also the currency.
Gazi Husrev-Beg Mosque
Teadrinkers enjoying each other´s company.
That is far away!?
12.20 The meeting with Amela is over. A lady in red who walked along the river turned out to be her. She and I talked for a short while on the bridge about this and that and then parted. Now the three men are gathered by a table outside the restaurant Mrkva on Bravadziluk 15 (http://www.mrkva.ba). Now it's lunch. The meat we want is soon coming.
13.18 We are satisfied and happy and we've taken ourselves to Sebilj, the public old Turkish fountain. There are plenty of people as well as pigeons here. This is really the heart of the old part of Sarajevo and a place that is often photographed. We have plans to take a little afternoon siesta in our room. It will probably be so.
13.47 We stopped at the Pekarna Edin, on the way back to our accommodation, we bought burek, filled bread to have during the bus ride tomorrow and at Konzum we bought the other supplies. It was not so smart to buy burek. These are hot and should be eaten immediately. We plan to have them on the bus tomorrow. Let's hope they haven’t gone bad.
We are waiting for the 12 o´clock meeting on the bridge.
We had lunch at a local favourite, the restaurant Mrkva.
Roberth in Bašèaršija.
Pigeons and people on the Sebilj square.
15.27 We have been resting, even slept a bit. Now we are thinking about the afternoon's activities. We should have time for coffee, a visit to a minaret at prayer time, eat dinner and surf the internet. This is the plan. I wonder what reality will be like?
16.07 We're out and about again. It is still cloudy. Now more must be done. Here, next to the hotel, there is a churchyard, well mosque-yard, a cemetery. A snack bag just blow past me. Where are my friends?
16.38 A call for prayer can be heard from the minaret of the mosque we saw earlier today. I now am, after two sneezes, ready to continue my report. There is a actually a man high up there, and no loudspeaker calling out the prayer. We are at the Gazi Husrev-Beg Mosque.
Christer in the garden of the Gazi Husrev-Beg mosque.
Afternoon prayer time.
16.51 We looked into the courtyard and saw praying, shoeless men. We left the religious stuff behind us but came up against it once more. We are now, after looking briefly at the Ferhadija Mosque, close to the Swedish and Norwegian Embassy it is closed for the weekend. The two countries share the same embassy building.
17.10 We walked in a westerly direction and reached newer parts of town. We passed the eternal flame and walked one block further. Now we are, just like the Columbus with crew was on the 12th of October 1492, in a place where we haven’t seen, but so many others have been before. We are in a park. Here, we have seen memorials/headstones for people who died in the grenade attacks from 1993 to 1994. What we are really are looking for now is a cafe. We will soon head on.
A short visit to the central park.
17.56 We are sitting down in two red chairs and a couch. We are at Kiburg for some beer and coffee. Nearby is the city's catholic cathedral. The temperature is perfect. We are not freezing. We don’t sweat. The TV above us shows English football. Bolton and Arsenal are chasing the ball on a green lawn.
19.25 We are finally at an internet cafe. It took a while to find one that was both open and had functional connections.
Katedrala Srca Isusova, the catholic cathedral in Sarajevo.
Christer is relaxing in the red sofa on Café Kiburg.
20.24 We had in mind a nice dinner (a meat feast) paid by Roberth VISA-card at the restaurant Bosanska kuæa. Our local currency is almost used and ATM usage costs money outside the European Union. Now it seems that the VISA system is down. It was the same a bit earlier in a toy store. The questions are; what are we doing now, can we pay for our accomodation with the cards?, if not, do the ATM´s work?
20.41 We walked back to the hotel. The room is now paid with Roberth’s card. The cost was 42 KM (US$32 per person) for two nights. We will balance what we should pay to Roberth later in the evening.
20.59 It's time for dinner at Petica. They do not serve beer so we drink Coca Cola. Alcohol-free restaurants are quite common here in Sarajevo where many muslims live. They have promised that they accept VISA-cards here. Let's hope it works.
21.51 It's time for debt restructuring. Readers are spared the details of this difficult but necessary process. Now when I´ve washed my shirt we will sleep. Tomorrow we head to the south, the sea and a new country for all three of us.
Careva Džamija, the old sultan´s mosque.
You can see 12 photos from April 23 in this photoalbum.
You can see 115 photos from April 24 in this photoalbum.
