SARAJEVO - BOSNIA

After a rather lengthy journey from Budva (due in part to extensive mountain range in the south of Bosnia and also because the bus driver decided to stop for 30 minute breaks about every hour), I finally arrived in Sarajevo where I was greeted by the first really dull weather of my time in Europe. This did not however serve to dampen my spirits over the duration of my stay as the city offered plenty of great scenery and interesting history for me to take in.

During my time in Sarajevo I wandered around various parts of the city and was amazed that the scars of battle from the Balkan wars were so apparent. Almost every building contained bullet holes, whilst in some parts of the city there were numerous burnt-out apartments, still abandoned, 7 years on. Furthermore, the famous ´Sarajevo roses´ (places in the footpath were shell damage had been repaired using red coloured cement) were littered around various parts of the city. It was incredible to see all this when I had not even visited a museum and thankfully the topic of the war was not still ´touchy´and I was able to learn a great deal from talking with the owner of the apartment in which I was staying.

My first day in the city was spent wandering around the various hills on the city outskirts and I managed to get some great shots, despite the inclement weather. Also located on these hillsides were literally dozens of cemetaries containing victims from the war. It was chiling to see hundreds of gravestones all displaying the same year of death and despite the morbid nature of the place, I was pleased that such an obvious reminder of the regions tumultuous past was on display for all to see.