Bound for Bosnia: The Last of the Balkans: The First Half

October is flying by, and we have one big trip planned for the month: Bosnia and Serbia! Being the final two Balkan countries we have yet to visit, this trip has been penciled in for a while now, especially after loving our time in Albania, North Macedonia, and Kosovo last October.

Saturday, October  18: Day of Air Travel to Bosnia

Il Caravaggio International Airport

After working all day Friday, we were ready to jet off to the airport for our 9 am flight out of Sevilla! Two hours later, we landed in the familiar Milan airport for a long NINE-HOUR layover... that's right...we spent nine hours in the Milan airport lounge waiting for our evening flight down to Bosnia. When traveling to some of the lesser-known European destinations, the flight path isn't quite as easy, but I'd argue this trip was well worth the wait!

Sarajevo Airport: Međunarodni aerodrom Sarajevo

By 9:30 pm, our flight departed Milan, and we landed in Bosnia's capital city, Sarajevo (sarah-yay-vo), close to midnight. After a pre-arranged taxi pickup, we eventually made it to our hotel to finally crash in a real bed!

Sunday, October  19: Exploring Sarajevo

We may have only had a few hours of restful sleep the night before, but I had booked us a 9 am tour and we weren't missing it for anything! After a few huffs from Bryan, we were up and at 'em for a full day of exploring this capital city!

We met up with Mak from Art and Tours Sarajevo, who began our tour by telling us a little about himself. Mak was a baby when the war in Sarajevo began. His father was sent to a nearby area to fight, and his mother made the difficult decision to flee the city with him and his brother. Mak explained that as they escaped, his mother told his five-year-old brother that if she "fell," it was his job to pick up his younger brother and to continue running.

Can you imagine?

Mak continued his story. It took them three days to travel the three miles outside of the conflict zone, and they eventually sought refugee status in northern Croatia. They were eventually sponsored by distant family in Switzerland and received official refugee status, and moved to Switzerland when he was three. For many years, Mak, his brother, and his mother lived in Switzerland before eventually returning to Bosnia.

Below you can see photos of Mak's refugee card.

Tunnel of Salvation: Tunel Spasa

Mak shared his story as we drove back towards the airport we had landed at less than 12 hours earlier. Across a giant green field of the airport, is a sole stone building spattered in bullet holes and showcasing one of the city's "roses," where red resin is poured in the concrete scars remaining from an exploded mortar shell.

There must be a reason this building was such a target during the siege of Sarajevo- and we learned why after entering the now-museum.

So here's a down-and-dirty history lesson. After WWII, a lot of the Balkans joined together to form Yugoslavia under the dictator, Josip Broz Tito. While 'dictators' are normally seen in a negative light, we have learned that the Balkan people loved him, and this country thrived under his rule. In the 1950s-80s, Yugoslavia had the 4th largest military in Europe, was considered a decently-wealthy nation, and they were known for not aligning themselves with other communist or capitalist nations (aka they were neutral during the Cold War).

When Tito died, Yugoslavia lost its magic and united front. Serbia wanted to become the lead province in the new version of Yugoslavia they were calling "the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia." Seeing Serbia's drive for power, other provinces started demanding independence. Slovenia, Croatia, and North Macedonia became independent countries in 1991. Then, in 1992, Bosnia & Herzegovina declared independence, and Serbia said "no."

Serbia, having housed the majority of the Yugoslav military, immediately began invading Bosnia and attacked the city capital of Sarajevo on April 5, 1992. This siege of the capital lasted almost four years, making it the longest siege of a capital city in modern warfare. Looking at the map of the city below, you can see that Serbian forces surrounded the city from three sides, and only had a small "neutral zone" separating the city from Bosnian forces in the mountains.

That 'neutral zone' was located at the airport and was controlled by the United Nations. The UN was there for "humanitarian assistance, to protect civilians, and to enforce a 'safe area' status for the city," but they stayed neutral in the fighting. Their neutrality didn't allow people to flee the city across the air strip, so citizens had to get creative.

Introduce the Kolar Family.

Located on the opposite side of the airport (UN neutral zone) and in contact with Bosnian troops, the Kolar family owned this stone house that was located smack dab in between the Serbian forces on each side. Realizing people couldn't get in or out of the city, and thus had no access to weapons, food, water, or other resources, the family offered up their home for war efforts.

Since you couldn't go through or over the airport, they realized they could only go under the airport.

After four months and four days of construction in 1993, the 800-meter-long tunnel was completed, and the city's center was connected with the Free Bosnian territory by going under the airport and opening up beside the Kolar family's home. This tunnel was 3 feet wide and only 5 feet tall, but it allowed Bosnians to get supplies into the city without being overrun by Serbian forces.

We were able to walk through a portion of the tunnel (obviously, the part BEFORE it goes under the airport!) Bryan and I were shocked at how well-built this tunnel was. After visiting tunnels dug under the Berlin Wall in Germany, freedom tunnels out of North Korea, and the Vietnamese tunnels from the Vietnam War, we were surprised at the complexity and engineering that went into this design.

No wonder it was called the Tunnel of Salvation- because of this tunnel, the city was able to 'smuggle' in supplies to keep the city fighting for four years. And it was all thanks to one family's sacrifice and willingness to become a target to help their city. Powerful stuff!

Sniper Alley

After leaving the Tunnel of Salvation, Mak took us to a highway pull-off that sits up over Sarajevo. He explained that this hillside was known as "Sniper Alley," because Serbian snipers sat up here and killed anyone spotted on the streets during the city's siege. Men, women, and children were sniped from this hillside because it gave a direct, clear line of sight down the main streets of the city.

According to the 2022 documentary, Sarajevo Safari, the Serbian army even allowed ultra-wealthy foreigners to come to this hillside and pay to shoot at people below. Let me say that again: during a war, wealthy people paid money to live a real-life human safari on the cliffside of Sarajevo.

Of course, Serbia denies this, but the documentary interviews people who were there. Why has this not been investigated? Why is nobody being held accountable? Maybe because it's the ultra-wealthy who run the world.

Whew. That was heavy. I promise the whole blog isn't going to shed light on such dark topics the entire time, but Bosnia's history for the last 30 years hasn't been all rainbows and sunshine.

Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track Trebević

So before the war broke out in 1992, Yugoslavia hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo!

Mountains surrounding the city were used for men's and women's skiing, and we had the chance to visit another mountainside that hosted the Olympic Bobsled competition! This run has the second-fastest bobsled speed ever recorded at 148 km/hr and now remains as a park for the city!

Decorated by graffiti artists from around the country, this bobsled track remains a free walking path for the city! Most people take the cable car from the city center to the top of the mountain, and then walk the bobsled track back down. We enjoyed some time here, where Bryan and I walked a stretch of the bobsled track and enjoyed the changing leaves and art surrounding us!

Jewish Cemetery: Jevrejsko groblje

Our tour continued down the mountain to the Jewish cemetery. Located down the same hillside that was used as Sniper Alley, this cemetery is packed with visual history, as we spotted many tombstones covered in bullet holes.

While here, Mak explained that Bosnia and the rest of the Balkan countries have always been a haven for the Jewish community. In 1492, the same year Columbus sailed to the Americas, Spain issued a decree that Jews living in Spain could either convert to Catholicism, move away, or be killed. This led many of those Jewish communities to seek safety elsewhere, and Sarajevo became one of those safe havens.

Yellow Fortress: Žuta Tabija

Our final stop for the tour was at Žuta Tabija. Located on another hill overlooking the city sits this 18th-century fortress that offers a great photo of the city from above! Dang, this city really is surrounded by mountains and hillsides!

Gavrilo Princip's Footprints

With our tour officially over, Bryan and I asked to be dropped off in the city center, where we headed to the most famous street corner of the city. Sarajevo is known around the world as the place where the First World War began- right here on this street corner.

On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated while driving down the street with his pregnant wife. The murderer was a 19-year-old Bosnian-Serb named Gavrilo Princip, who was a part of the Serbian nationalist society, Black Hand.

Once caught, Gavrilo Princip was sent to prison at Terezín outside of Prague, Czech Republic. We visited this prison-turned-concentration camp back in February 2024, giving us a full circle moment standing on this street corner.

Ćevabdžinica Željo 3

Then it was time for lunch! Bryan did a quick search and found Ćevabdžinica Željo 3, where we shared a plate of cevapi (che-vop-ee). Known as a classic dish in the Balkans, cevapi is a street food of ground beef/lamb sausages served with fresh onion and in a flatbread. This restaurant served only one item: cevapi! So we knew it was going to be good!

Sebilj

After eating our fill, we continued exploring the Old Town center. We found a local art shop and bought a watercolor painting, heard the Muslim Call to Prayer, and spotted the city's only remaining Sebilj.

We learned that Sebiljs are ancient water pumps for watering horses in the city center and to collect water to take back home as needed during the Ottoman Empire. This little piece of history stands tall in the middle of the Old Town, reminding everyone that the city has stood for ages and isn't going anywhere!

War Childhood Museum: Muzej ratnog djetinjstva

As if we hadn't experienced enough of the city's sadder side today, we decided to visit the city's modern museum, Muzej ratnog djetinjstva. The War Childhood Museum starts with an interactive exhibit where visitors are asked questions about their childhood. Bryan and I answered questions, smelled scents, and listened to sounds that sparked our inner child before continuing into the main portion of the museum.

Once inside, the exhibit contains numerous personal belongings and video testimonies telling the stories of children growing up in war zones around the world. The most moving piece for me was seeing a burned book that was hidden by a young girl during the siege of Sarajevo. She dug through the rubble of the city hall, looking for anything to take home and use to learn while the city was under attack. Another story shared a child's most prized toy during the Siege of Sarajevo- a binder clip that she used a friend's marker to draw a face on.

The museum didn't only showcase artifacts from Sarajevo's wartime, but has a temporary exhibit of paintings from Gaza and a few items from the Ukraine War. The paintings from Gaza show children missing limbs living in a refugee camp, while one Ukrainian child reports their homemade bear saved their life when a bullet headed towards them ricocheted through the stuffed bear and hit the wall instead of hitting them in the chest.

While a small museum, this place packed a punch and reminded visitors of the innocent victims of war: the children. This museum earned the Council of Europe Museum Prize in 2018, one of the most prestigious awards in the museum industry, and it continues to collect artifacts and stories from children all over the world. As of today, they have collected over 1,000 items from the children of Ukraine and are in the process of opening another museum in Ukraine's capital city, Kyiv.

Gastro Pub Vučko

We ended our day with dinner at a local pub: Gastro Pub Vučko! Sporting all types of memorabilia from the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics, this place was a great place to unwind and enjoy a delicious dinner with a pint!

Monday, October  20: Srebrenica

After learning all about the siege of Sarajevo, you may be wondering what was happening in the rest of the country during Serbia's invasion of Bosnia. And that was our focus for today.

Srebrenica Memorial Center: Memorijalni centar Srebrenica - Potočari

Today we traveled east towards the Bosnian-Serbian border to a small town called Srebrenica (sreh-breh-neet-suh). Our first spot literally stopped us in our steps. We arrived at the Srebrenica Memorial Center, where there are over 8,372 bodies buried from the July 1995 genocide. Over the span of five days, Bosnian-Serb units alongside Serbian paramilitary units corralled all Bosnian-Muslim males in the area and committed mass killings and mass burials around the town.

We say there are over 8,372 bodies because many are still missing, and parts of bodies are still being exhumed and DNA tested to this day. When the Serbian forces realized other governments were starting to question what happened over those five days, they dug up parts of the mass graves and moved them to other burial sites... This separated bodies and allowed for incomplete skeletons to be found and tested. Records show that remains for one body were located across five different sites due to this cover-up scheme.

Srebrenica Genocide Museum

After our somber visit to the memorial site, we crossed the street and visited the museum that opened in 2011, where we had our eyes opened to the many atrocities of war.

When Serbia invaded Bosnia in 1992, the United Nations sent troops to Sarajevo's airport to maintain a presence, which we learned about yesterday at the Tunnel of Salvation Museum. The UN also established a "safe zone" in Srebrenica at this factory that has now been turned into a museum. This safe zone was known as a place for people to flee if they felt they were in danger during the Serbian invasion.

An important thing to note: Bosnia has two major ethnic groups- the Bosniaks, which are the Bosnian-Muslim population, and the Bosnian Serbs. The Bosnian Serbs want a united Serbia, while the Bosniaks want a free country and independence, but these two groups live together and are mixed in all cities across the country.

In July 1992, UN soldiers were attacked by the Bosnian-Serbian forces, and fourteen Dutch UN officers were taken as prisoners. During the negotiations, talks of an air raid on the Bosnian-Serbian army were threatened, but never happened. Through discussions with the Dutch UN leaders and Ratko Mladić, the leader of the Bosnian Serb unit referred to as the "Army of Republika Srpska" were held, and an agreement was established.

On July 17, the Serbian forces let the UN bus out all women and young children from the Srebrenica 'safe zone' facility. In trade for the fourteen UN soldiers being held by the Serbs, the UN had to turn over the 5,000 Muslim Bosniak men (and boys) to the Serbian army. And they agreed.

Did the UN know that the Serbian Army planned to lock these 5,000 men and boys in school gymnasiums and barns while finding another 3,000+ Bosniaks around the area to add to the mass "collection" of ethnic Bosnians? Did the UN know that the Army would load these men on trucks, drive them into open fields, force them to turn their backs, and then fire on them to kill as many as possible at one time?

They say they didn't know. They say they didn't expect anything to happen to them.

But over five days, the Bosnian-Serbian unit alongside the Serbian Army would murder over 8,000 Bosniak men and boys. With the use of construction equipment, they would quickly dig mass graves to bury the bodies before finding another nearby field to kill more.

Five days.

8,372 bodies found, so far.

In another part of the museum, we learned about a group of 13,000 people (predominantly men) who heard about the UN discussions and decided to walk north to try and break through Serbian forces and reach an outcrop of the Bosnian Army. The 'column' of men walked in a single file line stretching 7-9 miles long, in the hopes of avoiding land mines. A few days into their journey, they were ambushed by Serbian forces, and some were captured, some successfully reached Bosnian-controlled territory, and others ended up hiding out in the forests and living in caves along the Bosnian-Serbian border, trying to evade capture.

Part of the museum showcased a memorial display of shoes that were found along this column-walk. Seeing these shoes and reading some of the testimonies of boys who survived for months in the woods, living off mushrooms and small streams, brought us to a humble pause. Witnessing this museum and hearing the stories was horrifying, but also knowing it took years of international trials before this atrocity was even classified as a Genocide is truly despicable.

Days following the massacre, US aerial surveillance took photographs from the sky, revealing disturbed areas assumed to be mass burial sites around Srebrenica. However, photographs taken between August and October showed these areas were later re-disturbed, with additional, smaller grave sites appearing nearby. During international trials, it came to light that this was a deliberate cover-up operation designed to exhume and spread out the bodies across multiple secondary locations, in the hope of concealing the true scale of the killings.

From 2003 through 2009, international court cases occurred to understand what happened during those five days. In 2009, the European Parliament established this disaster as a genocide.

In 2011, Ratko Mladić, the Bosnian Serb leader and mastermind behind the genocide, was finally caught in Serbia. He was turned over as a precondition to Serbia being considered for EU membership. (So he wasn't turned over because his people thought he had done wrong- it was a political move.) He was tried and convicted to life in prison, where he remains today.

In 2015, Russia vetoed the UN's attempt to recognize the massacre as a genocide in a formal government resolution. In May 2024, a similar resolution was finally passed in the UN after being sponsored by Germany and Rwanda. This finally acknowledged this horror as a true genocide against the Bosnian Muslim ethnic group. Almost thirty years after it happened.

Serbia still doesn't recognize this event as a genocide.

Our van was silent as we left the museum, as we all prepared for our final stop of the day's experience. A few minutes' drive, we arrived at a normal-looking apartment building and were welcomed by a young girl and her mother, who had prepared a home-cooked meal for us. Since neither the mother nor daughter spoke English, our tour guide and van driver translated for us.

We learned that the mother lost 16 men from her family to the genocide. Her father was lucky to have been working in Croatia at the beginning of the war, but her uncle and several cousins weren't as lucky. Together, the mother and daughter enlightened us on what life as a Bosniak looks like today.

Neither the mother nor the daughter interacts with Bosnian-Serbs. They nod as they cross paths, but they don't eat or shop at Serbian-owned establishments. They aren't friends with Serbs, even though the daughter says she attends a mixed-ethnicity school. It seems like these two cultures live in the same apartment buildings, but interact at a bare minimum. I guess having your neighbors turn on you and your family seemingly overnight and 'show their true colors' makes it hard to reconcile.

On a lighter note, the food was amazing! Local chicken soup, homemade cheese, peppers from their garden, fried eggplant, chicken, potatoes, cevapi (like yesterday!), and a Bosnian bread that resembled a cinnamon roll- the food was to die for! So while the conversation was heavy, I feel like we learned a ton about local culture and what life looks like for this community thirty years later.

Ok, now I promise the heavy topics are done. I may have gone into a lot of detail, but I feel like this story isn't told in the Western World, and it needs to be talked about. This history may be in an obscure part of the world, but that doesn't make this tragedy any less, and learning of the world's horror makes us more empathetic and understanding of how differences should be celebrated- not extinguished.

Sarajevo Publishing

This evening, when we made it back to the city of Sarajevo, Bryan and I had one goal- find a Bosnian copy of Harry Potter! It took us two bookstores, but we found it, AND it was a new cover for our collection!

Vječna vatra

As we made our way back to the hotel for the evening, we passed the Vječna vatra, a monument containing an eternal flame as a memorial for WWII.

Tuesday, October 21: Mostar & Herzegovina Tour

Ok! I promised our whole time in Bosnia wasn't just filled with war history. We did enjoy a day of sightseeing along the southern part of the country in the Herzegovina region!

Bosnia and Herzegovina is one country, but made up of three major governing bodies: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, representing 51% of Bosnia and Herzegovina's total area (and home to a majority of the Bosniak population), while Republika Srpska covers 49% (and is mostly inhabited by Bosnian-Serbs). There's also an independent district that represents both groups but is governed independently, which makes up 2%. So, Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only country that somehow totals up to 102%! They also have three presidents from each governing body that have to agree on everything...meaning they agree on nothing.

Stara Ćuprija Konjic: Стара Ћуприја Коњиц

We learned all of this on our way to our first break of the day in Konjic, a small town with a pretty bridge! We snapped a few photos, had an espresso each, and also a quick bathroom break before hopping back in the van for our next stop!

Blagaj Tekija

Our next stop was a monastery for a branch of Islam called Sufism. While I'm still not sure what Sufism exactly is, the monastery is from 1520 and was built combining Ottoman architecture with traditional Mediterranean architecture. Located along this river, Bryan and I enjoyed walking through the monastery and then wandering the surrounding grounds, marveling at the stunning landscape!

Inside the monastery, women are asked to cover their heads, like in mosques. It was a unique wooden home that was covered in carpets that reminded us both of our times in Turkey and Morocco.

Bryan spotted unique Cokes for sale in the one restaurant that was open during our visit. After our last two days learning about Bosnia's gruesome history, it's no surprise to see them supporting Gaza and Palestine in their current war.

Počitelj Village

Next up was a tiny hillside village, Počitelj. Bryan and I climbed to the remains of a fortress up on the hill while listening to the Muslim Call to Prayer from the mosque down below. Nothing beats a short hike with your best friend that ends with stunning views of the river below!

Kravica Waterfall: Vodopad Kravica

Speaking of short hikes, our next stop was at Kravica Waterfall. After climbing down a ton of stairs, we reached these 80-foot falls and a stunning lake where a few brave souls were swimming!

Mostar

Our final stop for the day was in the famous city of Mostar. Named after the bridge keepers from the 16th century, called mostari, this ancient city has survived for ages and really has an old-world vibe.

Tima - Irma

By 3 pm, we were quite ready for food, so we grabbed a linner (aka lunch-dinner combo meal) of Cevapi and kajmaka, a Bosnian clotted cream cheese that was to-die-for! Bryan was quick to order a local Bosnian beer to enjoy alongside our killer dinner!

With full bellies, we spent some time exploring the cute town and winding alleyways of Mostar.

Mostar Old Bridge Photopoint

But I have to admit, my favorite spot in the city was this viewpoint of the Old Bridge from down below! We sat and watched children play in the water, ducks swim by, and guys fly their drones around the bridge. This quiet spot was the perfect place to sit and just enjoy time together. It was lovely!

As the sun began to set, it was time to make our way back to Sarajevo! Today was our final day of exploring in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and tomorrow we make the journey by car from Sarajevo to Belgrade, Serbia.

That's right, after spending three days learning all about Bosnia and the suffering their people have endured, we are headed to the land of their aggressors. I won't say I'm excited for Serbia, but this is why we travel- I want to learn about everything from everyone's perspective. So I'll listen and then formulate my own opinions.

Until then,

--Katie