Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina

Alright, maybe I'm not badder than ever, but I'm definitely back! My armpit is still stinky, but no longer itchy. The funk that formerly resided in my left armpit has now migrated down to my right hip. One can only guess where it will go next. I'm considering taking a shower when I get back to Hawaii -- sometime soon!

Sarajevo is a fantastic little town! It has a lively little cafe scene, with people of all ages filling the streets every night. It also has a surprisingly good brewery, with a pint of tastey beer costing only $2.00!

They are doing a lot of reconstruction work here, with money pouring in from the international community. Most of the buildings are still covered in bullet holes, but the streets are all being resurfaced, and there is a fair amount of optimism for the future. More than any other place I've seen on this trip, I would recommend Sarajevo as a vacation destination for my friends and family back home. Just don't step on the landmines (they estimate it will take another 20 years before all the mines are cleared).

Yesterday I hiked up two of the mountains surrounding the city. The outlying neighborhoods are incredibly charming, with narrow, winding, cobble-stone streets snaking their way up the hillsides. The two story wooden homes are all covered with stucco on the street level and emblished with carvings on the second floor. Most houses have wooden balconies that jut out over the street with wooden half-arches supporting their weight. But even the homes on the narrow side streets are covered with bullet holes, and many have rooms missing from missile strikes. Some of the more badly damaged homes are laying in ruins, while others are being replaced by newer models. Sadly, all of the open areas in these neighborhoods (the former parks?) have been transformed into graveyards. Muslim graves have both headstones and footstones, giving a Christian eye the illusion of many more dead than actually reside in these places. (Betchya didn't know I have a Christian eye, did ya? Check it out the next time you talk to me -- my left eye is always busy loving my neighbor, if ya know what I mean.)

Much like the wooden churches of Romania, the neighborhood mosques of Sarajevo all have wooden minarets that blend nicely with the alpine setting. There are mosques on every other street, and it seems many of them have been built within the last ten years. In downtown Sarajevo the Croat Catholic and Serb Orthodox churches are still standing, and their bells still toll every half hour, adding to the musical Muslim call to prayer that fills the air five times a day. I visited the old Serbian Orthodox Church yesterday and was surprised to see that it suffered no damage or looting during the war.

I have found some excellent restaurants here in Sarajevo. While the traditional Bosnian cuisine consists of meat heaped upon meat and soaked in fat, there are plenty of fresh vegetables to be found, and a few restaurants have decided to emphasize the fresher and lighter side of the Bosnian kitchen. Not only could you survive in this town as a vegetarian, you would actually have some delightful options! I had a great vegetable risotto last night, with home made bread, fresh salad, and some tasty home made white wine!

(Photo by Eric: "Sarajevo Rose", caused by a rocket strike, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina)