Some rain, more rain and some more more rain and the hail one afternoon in Siena. O sole mio, dov’e sei? Otherwise, lots of fun, good food, chianti, lots of art and medieval history 🙂 So besides the sun that I haven’t found, Tuscany is best known for its rolling hills, which are populated by […]
Some large city in a hilly region in North Rhine-Westphalia, Wuppertal is a constellation of smaller towns on the high banks of the Wupper River. In the early days of industrialisation the Wupper Valley was a hotbed of nascent industry in a landscape of textile mills and coal mines. The wealth that these businesses brought […]
What’s the first image that springs to mind when you think of Switzerland? If it’s cheese, chocolate, banking, or mountains, then you have the same impression of the country as most people. To the reality of these stereotypes, I am adding some more. Stereotype number 1: You know how they say that Switzerland is super […]
Regensburg Best visiting is the golden hour visiting – every corner seems enlightened, every rooftop has its moment, every facade shows its magic pulled out from the history of being. And indeed, when strolling through Regensburg, you encounter evidence of the city’s magnificent history every step of the way. Regensburg is a city in eastern Bavaria, […]
A girl who spent most of her life next to the border with Slovenia, it is hard to explain what this country is about. To me, the country of Slovenia was a place to do the shopping, the place where people speak my dialect but not my official language, a country that always complicates the […]
It was the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine. Following its rise to prominence in the Age of Enlightenment, it was nicknamed the “capital of Eastern France” in the late 19th century. The motto of the city is Non inultus premor, latin for ‘”I am not injured unavenged”, a reference to the thistle, which is a symbol of Lorraine. The exiled […]
There is a post on my blog already dedicated to Flemish cities of Belgium . But I have decided that this city deserves one single post for itself. Even more, as I have been to Brugge many times, and as always, there is a place to discover something new. With its cobbled streets, crooked bridges, […]
The two cousins that like to compete. Prague is obviously the capital, and Brno a second biggest city in Czech Republic. It is quite clear that Prague is beautiful, great historical city and a capital which means way more opportunities, foreigners, tourists, businesses.On the other hand, Brno is a very compact city, with great atmosphere, […]
If you are not familiar with Madeira, it is a Portuguese island sitting in the Atlantic Ocean between Portugal and Morocco. It is an archipelago in region known as Macaronesia (group of volcanic islands: Azores, Madeira, Canary Island and Tenerife and Cabo Verde). History by Greeks claims this might be Atlantida. Plutarch writes the impressions of founding […]
Visiting the Burg Eltz it was inevitable to stroll down the hills of Rhineland-Palatinate and explore. To be honest, the navigation was not up to date as bringing us to the closed local roads or reserved only for the local agricultural vehicles. But there is a beauty in getting lost like that! 🙂 Koblenz is […]
Eltz Castle (German: Burg Eltz) is a medieval castle nestled in the hills above the Moselle between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. It is still owned by a branch of the same family (the Eltz family) that lived there in the 12th century, 33 generations ago. Hidden in the western Germany, in the hills above river Mosel, deep deep in the Rhineland […]
Guess what’s new? – Corona. Guess how long it will last? – China. Never mind. The travel ban is still on for Belgium, so explorations within the country continues. This weekend was reserved for Tournai. A beautiful city on the west of Belgium. Kinda looks like Lille at the first sight. Although, being part of […]
So many times I have been to this country… most recently I have visited Sarajevo as my friends were getting married… This time I will not upload the map of the country, as Sarajevo is the Olympic city and should be known to many of travellers… Let me start with the most beautiful thing in […]
So many times I have been to this country… most recently I have visited Sarajevo as my friends were getting married…
This time I will not upload the map of the country, as Sarajevo is the Olympic city and should be known to many of travellers…
Let me start with the most beautiful thing in Sarajevo: the Baščaršija!
Baščaršija – old bazaar of Sarajevo
Sarajevo’s old bazaar and the historical and cultural center of the city. Baščaršija was built in the 15th century when Isa-Beg Isaković (Ottoman general of Bosnian origin and the first governor of the Ottoman province of Bosnia) founded the town. The word Baščaršija derives from the Turkish language. The word “baş” in Turkish literally means “head“, in some contexts however also “primary“, “main“, “capital” and “çarşı” in Turkish means “bazaar” or “market“.
Macedonian bestie and me strolling the streets of Sarajevo
If you stroll through the puzzled streets of Baščaršija, grab a coffee or shisha and watch buy some trinkets from the cute shops which line the small Old Town lanes. Nearly half of Sarajevans are there to enjoy their time too.
Hidden gems of BaščaršijaTypicall coffee place in Sarajevo: kafa aand rahatlukCoffee and Sisha
Sarajevo City Hall was designed in 19th century by czech architect (Bosnia and Herzegowina was back then part of Habsburg Empire) but criticized by austrian minister cause of the facade style.
It is the largest and most representative building of the Austro-Hungarian period in Sarajevo. GThe building is placed at the banks of the river Miljacka.
City Hall on the banks of river MiljackaCity Hall interiorMauri style of City Hall
Very close by is an Ottoman bridge called Latin ćuprija over the river Miljacka. The northern end of the bridge was the site of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by Gavrilo Princip in 1914, which became casus belli of World War I.
Latin bridge/ ćuprija ocer river Miljacka and the Museum of Assasination of Arcduke Franz Ferdinand and beginning or World War I Latin ćuprijaLatin ćuprija and river MiljackaA memorial plaque to the murder of the Habsburg prince Franz Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip
Being a huge fan of history and politics, we entered the museum. I was fascinated by the failed diplomacy and ultimatums of the then superpowered countries that brought the world into the biggest war known by that time.
Asassination place
Franz Ferdinand and his wife in front of the City Hall
Aressment of Gavrilo Princip
The car in which Franz Ferdinand was murdered
Talking about historical facts, I was fascinated by the Inat Kuća – House of Spite, also very close to City Hall. The story says that during the rule of Austria-Hungary monarchy, the Habsburgs wanted to build City Hall and by that to demolish the very same house, but the owner was against that and house was moved to the other side of the river in its original form. Brick by brick, stone by stone. 🙂
Spite House
Nowadays a restaurant, one can eat local food like čevapčići with kajmak (Bosnia and Herzegowina were under Ottoman rule long time, thereby muslim religion left huge impact, as well on the food and beverage habits) or burek – no pork meal.
Čevapčići with kajmak
Burek with yoghurt
Oe of the fascinating sites in Sarajevo is Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque built in 16th century as the largest historical mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the most representative Ottoman structures in the Balkans. Being the central Sarajevan mosque since the days of its construction, today it also serves as the main congregational mosque of the Islamic community of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the Baščaršija neighborhood in the Stari Grad (Old town) municipality and, being one of main architectural monuments in the town, it is regularly visited by tourists.
Entrance to Gazi Husrev-bey MosqueGazi Husrev-bey Mosque
Especially beautiful is the fountain in the courtyard.
The fountain in the courtyard of the mosqueMy friends at fountain taking the Holy Water ❤
Gazi Husrev-bey Mosque was the first mosque in the world to receive electricity and electric illumination in 1898 during the period of Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Another museum that I need to stress out it the Museum of Srebrenica. As my country of Croatia together with Bosnia and Herzegowina were attacked in 1991, on my birthday in 1995 the biggest massacre and genocide after World War II happened over muslim people in Bosnia.
More than 8,000 Muslim Bosniaks, mainly men and boys, in and around the town of Srebrenica were killed during the Bosnian War. The 16 years old boy’s boes were found in 4 different mass graves.
Nowadays, the happenig is discussed at International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), located in the Hague, as a crime under international law.
In 2005, Kofi Annan, then Secretary-General of the United Nations (who failed to protect) described the mass murder as the worst crime on European soil since the Second World War.
Inside the Museum of Srebrenica massacreMirror in the elevator of Museum
Once you get Sarajevo, the city where the Western & Eastern Roman Empire split; where the people of the Roman Catholic west, Eastern Orthodox east and the Ottoman south, met, lived and warred – and nowadays live again together – I suggest you the climb the hills of Sarajevo and visit the fort Bijela Tabija (White Fortress).
Bijela Tabija
It is an old fort overlooking the historic core of Sarajevo and a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The forthress was built in 16th century as eastern natural entrance to Sarajevo.
From there you can visit some of the coffee places and enjoy the view. You may re-think about Sarajevo as an example of historical turbulence and the clash of civilizations, as well as a beacon of hope for peace and tolerance through multi-cultural integration.
It’s an interesting city with a horrific history. We visited Sarajevo last summer on our way from Croatia …we stopped in Mostar and then spent two days in Sarajevo, I especially enjoyed the museums.
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It’s an interesting city with a horrific history. We visited Sarajevo last summer on our way from Croatia …we stopped in Mostar and then spent two days in Sarajevo, I especially enjoyed the museums.
Tadeja
http://www.happynami.com
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Yet again, I love your blog posts. Would love to visit at some stage.
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Your post is so informative and I love all the pictures. I hope I get to visit these places one day.
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This is place is so lovely. I would love to visit one day. It seems like it has great things to see.
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Sarajevo is so beautiful! I could spend hours strolling around and checking out all those shops.
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I would love to visit Sarajevo one day. One of my families at work is from Sarajevo.
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of course like your web-site but you have to test the spelling on quite a
few of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling issues
and I to find it very troublesome to tell the reality on the other hand
I’ll definitely come again again.
LikeLike
I seriously love your blog.. Very nice colors & theme. Did you create this web site yourself? Please reply back as I’m trying to create my very own website and want to learn where you got this from or just what the theme is named. Appreciate it!
LikeLike
May I simply say what a comfort to uncover somebody who really knows what they’re discussing over the internet. You actually realize how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More and more people have to read this and understand this side of the story. I was surprised that you aren’t more popular given that you definitely have the gift.
LikeLike