Here is a video I made with some of the highlights of my trip to Bosnia! Check back for more information about what to see and do in Sarajevo and surrounding areas! Enjoy!
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Over the last eleven days, I had the opportunity to travel to Bosnia on a missions trip. Our church has connections to believers throughout Bosnia, and we had the opportunity to go, and learn about the mission in Bosnia and pray for the people and the believers. We were able to travel all over Bosnia and experience the culture and the country. Follow the map, to see where we traveled! Day One/Two: Treavling to Bosnia Our flight from Detroit was in the afternoon and we flew to Frankfurt, then to Munich, then to Sarajevo! At the airport was a van waiting for us, that we would have for the whole time we were in Bosnia. One of the guys on the trip, Aldin, is from Bosnia and could drive us! We named the van Kevin, and she (yes, Kevin's a girl) became a big part of our trip. We took her with us everyday and had so many fun times in her. Once we got on the road we headed straight for our Hostel in downtown Sarajevo. If you need a place to stay in Sarajevo, Hostel Massimo is the place! They had amazing staff, comfortable rooms and its very safe! After we had some time to freshen up, we headed to the downtown area, Bascarsija (Boss-char-see-ya). There are so many people here all the time. There are tons of little shops with souvenirs, jewelry, crafts and lots of Traditional food. We arrived in Sarajevo around lunch time, so we decided to get Döner for dinner! Döner is like a gyro. It was delicious. Then we took a tram (an electric train that runs on tracks through the city) to the Twisty Tower. At the Twisty Tower we took some time to look at the amazing views of Sarajevo and pray for the city and our time here. Then we headed back to our hostel to get some sleep! We were all exhausted! Day Three: Sarajevo Our morning started off with breakfast in our Hostel and then we were off for Training about the work in Bosnia. After training we went to get lunch Ćevapi, sausages inside a pita with onions and a sour cream sauce. It was delicious! Then we went around the city to pray. First we went up to one of the mountains surrounding the city to pray. The house on the mountain was in complete ruins from the war. Everywhere you look in the city and the country, there are bullet holes or remembrances from the war; it is heartbreaking. Next we went to the White Fortress, a castle that overlooks Sarajevo from another view. It was beautiful! Then we headed back to Bascarsija for dinner! This time, we got pita, a phyllo pie. There are many different types, Burek, which has meat, ones with potatoes and onions, cheese ones, and spinach ones. Again, Bosnian food is delicious!! Day Four: Visiting Visoko To start off our morning, we headed to the office for training on Islam, to better understand the people and culture here. It was really informative and helpful! Then we drove to Visoko, to meet up with Aldin's family and visit their home. After we got pizza, we went shopping for dinner and went to Aldin's parents house, then we climbed the Pyramid to see a great view of Visoko. Then we headed back to have dinner and a relaxing night with Aldin's family. Aldin's mom even taught us how to make Bosnian Coffee! It was a really great evening, full of laughter and great company! Day Five: Sarajevo I was a little apprehensive to go to our training that morning. Another believer was going to train us in talking to Bosnians about God and our faith, and what that looks like practically. It was really helpful and even useful for the states, but also intimidating and scary because we went out to do it that afternoon! After we had lunch we went out and talked to people. We got to meet some really cool people. Bosnians are so welcoming and willing to talk and it was a really good experience! Then we got to do a little shopping and went to a nice restaurant for dinner! After dinner, we walked to a hotel called Hecco, that has a coffee shop on the top floor, with a balcony and amazing views of the city! At night, it was gorgeous! We got crepes, which was also amazing! It was a great way to end our last full day in Sarajevo! Day Six: Bugojno Day Seven: Breza and Vareš Day Eight: Olovo and Caves Day Nine: Markets and Foča Let me start this post by saying this was one of the craziest days of my life! I am going to try to keep this short, but we'll see. The day started off great! We went to a Pekera (bakery) to get pastries for breakfast and to the market for fresh fruit and fresh squeezed juice. It was amazing! Then we had one last training before we left Sarajevo. After lunch, we headed to the market to do some shopping. We all wanted clothes, and the market was the best place for that! After the market, we left in Kevin (our van) for our two day excursion to Foča (Fo-cha)! We were about 20 minutes outside of Sarajevo and we stopped to get gas! When Aldin tried to start the van again, it wouldn't start. It was clear that there was some sort of electrical problem but we couldn't get her stop start. Another thing about our trip was that we never got a phone to use there. So we had to use the gas station attendant's phone to call for help. We got ahold of someone and were told they were on their way with a new van. So we had wait. After two hours, they finally arrived with our new van (the Green Machine/ LaSquisha). Then, we got on the road! One our way we got stopped twice by the Serbian Police. (To end the war in Bosnia, the Serbians required that they have territory in Bosnia that is run by them. It is called the Republic of Srpska. The land is owned by Bosnia, but it has its own rules and police. On the map above, it is indicated as the purple outlined area throughout Bosnia.) We finally made it to Foča, and to the travel agency that would take us to our camp for the weekend! Our driver was a little crazy and was making us all a little nervous. We were flying around one lane, dirt roads in the mountains, praying we would be ok. Then all of the sudden we hear metal scraping on the ground. The driver stops and finds that the front bumper is falling off. So Aldin and he get to work fixing the van and we wait, again for about 45 minutes until it is fixed. By this time it is about 9pm at night and we are all just ready to be at our camp! We get back on the road and have to cross the boarder of Montenegro to get to our camp. Thankfully, we made it through and were on our way to the camp, when all of the sudden we are chasing a brown bear. We chased it for about a minute before it jumped off the side of the road. It was crazy (see the video below)!! We pull up to the drop off point and our driver tells us we have a 2km walk to camp. We all look at each other scared, and he leads us down a path, where we see a few other guys, the river and a raft. Then we realize that we are about to get into a raft with our luggage, and cross the river Tara at ten o'clock at night to get to our camp. And that is just what we did. The stars were amazing and it was completely dark. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done. We make it ashore and are greeted with Rakia, and find our way to our cabins. We finally eat dinner around 10:30p and get to bed. Day Ten: Rafting and Relaxing Day Eleven: The Hike |
AuthorMy name is Lindsey. I graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a degree in Early Childhood Education in 2015 and moved to Germany as an Au Pair for a year! I love my Savior and my relationship with Him is most important. I also love traveling. I have been to the UK and Ireland, South Korea, China, Bosnia, Montenegro, and now Germany, Italy, Austria and France. I started this blog to chronicle my life as an Au Pair in Germany and my European Travels. My hope is that future Au Pairs would find my blog helpful and informative as they decide if they would like to be an Au Pair. Lindsey's Instagram:
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