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Category: Sarajevo

  • Balkans Trip Day 10 – Sub-Optimal Sarajevo Transportation

    Balkans Trip Day 10 – Sub-Optimal Sarajevo Transportation

    The previous post ended with the sub-optimal news that we had been deposited at East Sarajevo Bus Station, rather farther from the city centre than we had expected. My mobile plan had included data roaming in Montenegro but not Bosnia and Herzegovina, leaving us without an easy way to work out how to fix the situation. It was too far to walk, particularly in the considerable heat, so we needed a plan.

    Our plan involved walking until we found somewhere with shops and, ideally, Wi-Fi. Fortunately, we soon encountered the universal sanctuary of the stranded traveller, a shopping centre. It had Wi-Fi, a supermarket and somewhere to change money, so all our immediate requirements were met.

    Jonathan changed some money, I acquired snacks and, using the shopping centre’s Wi-Fi, I plotted a route into the city centre. I was pleased to discover what appeared to be a direct journey on the 103 trolleybus.

    We waited for the 103 trolleybus, but it never appeared. Several 108s passed instead and we were just about to abandon the plan and return to the shopping centre in search of another one when a driver noticed our confusion. He asked whether we needed help, which we very much did, and kindly told us to get aboard. He would make sure that we reached the tram line into the centre and we were very grateful for his assistance.

    Jonathan managed to look remarkably casual while neither of us had much idea what was happening. The driver was also helping another passenger and eventually dropped us at the main tram line into central Sarajevo. His kindness made an otherwise confusing journey considerably easier.

    At the tram stop, we discovered that tickets needed to be purchased with cash from the driver. The process felt slow and clunky, particularly after Belgrade had made its entire public transport network free. The tram was also extremely crowded, apparently because of a football match that evening, and we encountered some impressively determined use of elbows from our fellow passengers that was absolutely not ideal. By the time we escaped, hot, slightly battered and grumpy (well, I was grumpy, Jonathan wasn’t), my first impressions of Sarajevo’s public transport were not especially charitable. Admittedly, arriving at the wrong bus station without mobile data and then attempting the journey during a football crowd may not have constituted the fairest possible assessment, butI was confident that I would calm down eventually, probably within a few days.

    Whatever I thought of the transport system, the driver who noticed our confusion and went out of his way to help us had been exceptionally kind. And given that Jonathan was still cheery, I did debate that Sarajevo’s principal public transport difficulty may have been one particular British passenger.

  • Balkans Trip Day 10 – Coach Journey from Montenegro Border to Sarajevo

    Balkans Trip Day 10 – Coach Journey from Montenegro Border to Sarajevo

    We were back on the road after the first part of the expedition and I was pleased to see the driver demonstrating his ability to multitask by driving while using his phone.

    Following the formalities at the Montenegrin checkpoint, we climbed back into our increasingly adventurous minibus and continued across the border into Bosnia and Herzegovina. We had another short wait at the Hum border checkpoint while the Bosnian authorities checked our passports. Hum is located within Republika Srpska, one of the two political entities which make up Bosnia and Herzegovina. They did not need to inspect us individually, as the driver simply carried a job lot of passports into the office. It was an efficient system, provided everyone eventually received the correct identity back and I’m pleased to say that they did, although we did have an extra passport for a while.

    Around ten minutes after crossing the border, we entered Foča, an attractively situated town beside the River Drina with an exceptionally dark recent history.

    Foča was the scene of some of the worst atrocities committed during the Bosnian War. Bosnian Serb forces conducted a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the town’s Bosniak population, involving killings, forced displacement, unlawful imprisonment, torture and systematic sexual violence. Several of those responsible were subsequently convicted of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

    We stopped in Foča for a short while, allowing passengers to visit the café or use the facilities. I tend to regard these interruptions as an unnecessary delay to the important business of arriving, whereas Jonathan considered them a welcome part of the journey. One of us was clearly better suited to coach travel.

    During the later part of the journey, the driver opened the passenger door while we were moving to provide some improvised air conditioning. I appreciated the sudden flow of cool air, although Jonathan had to ensure that neither his bag nor he followed it out of the vehicle. I was very pleased with the whole arrangement.

    I had visions of Final Destination 2. The countryside that we went through was beautiful once again, although photographing it whilst holding on for dear life in the front seat was more challenging, so I concentrated on road photos.

    Against several reasonable expectations, we arrived safely at East Sarajevo Bus Station in Lukavica. The safe arrival was welcome, but the location was not, as we had assumed that the service would terminate at Sarajevo’s central bus station. East Sarajevo turned out to mean a separate city within Republika Srpska rather than merely the eastern side of central Sarajevo. Resolving that little geographical misunderstanding will feature in the next blog post. Oh, the anticipation once again.

    As a final note, I would add that the bus journey was a very enjoyable one, the driver was engaging and personable, the bus didn’t fall apart and we got there in time. So all rather lovely.