Spring has sprung

After a very mild winter and a lot more rain and less snow than last year, the sun is at last shining and it is lovely! I have lost the jacket and we can once again enjoy a drink outside in the sunshine. If we were in the UK, the summer dresses and shorts and flip flops would already be out!

Spring is a wonderful time of year - perhaps one of my favorites. The smell of fresh cut grass, and the cherry blossom on the trees. There is certainly a feeling of excitement and anticipation, as everyone comes out of hibernation, the cafes open up their outside seating areas and the heating gets tuned off. At least here in Sarajevo we can almost guarantee a long, hot summer is ahead of us.

We went to our first BBQ last weekend and even enjoyed a couple of glasses of Pimms! I know it will not be long until my Facebook newsfeed is filled with status updates from friends back home drinking rose and Pimms sitting on the Northcote Road!

I am not expecting this lovely weather to be with us indefinitely, in fact, there is rain on the horizon for early next week. But hopefully this will just be some April showers and the sun will return again.

"(I) oni su branili ovaj (svoj) grad"

A new photography exhibition has opened in Sarajevo, which is definitely worth popping along to if you have the time.

"(I) oni su branili ovaj (svoj) grad" translated "(And) they have defended this (his) town" is a photo exhibit by Bosnian photographer Milomira Kovačevića Strašnog who captured photos of all those who defended the City of Sarajevo throughout the Siege (April 1992 - February 1996). The imagery is strong, regular people posing for the camera with guns and weaponry, in the background destroyed parts of this beautiful city.

The exhibition is in the National Gallery (Umjetnicka galerija BiH) located next to the Dom Armija. It is open until early May. Entrance is free, however a donation is suggested.

A little bit of France in Sarajevo

Herewith an important update... a new French Bakery has opened in Sarajevo. And this is the real deal.

Proper French croissants, pain au chocolate, tarts and a real assortment of breads, all made the traditional way.

Everything really is excellent, very reasonably priced and well worth a visit.

At the moment, it is just takeaway, but I have heard rumors that seating and coffee will be available soon.

Bon Appétit!

Address; Kranjcevica, just past the Intesa SanPaulo Bank on the right hand side (at the bottom of Alipasna)

Pika the cat!

So, we have a new addition to our little family. A little kitten. We found her loitering outside our flat a few weeks ago and after much agonising, we took her in.

We had talked about getting a kitten, but never thought it would actually happen! It is quite common for internationals here to end up taking various pets back home. If we are honest with ourselves, it is probably not the most sensible decision we have ever made, but I know we can make it work and more importantly give her a nice home!

The vet reckons she about 4 months old. She is a little tabby cat with a white chest and a kind of tiger print on her front legs and she has a spotty tummy (thus her name, Pika, which is spot in Bosnian).

I am getting used to having an animal to care for, she is quite a vocal creature and for something so small she can make a lot of noise! It took us a couple of disturbed (and frustrating) evenings to realise that we could not ignore the meowing and she just simply wanted us to play with her. Ever since, she has been much better and she seems to be settling in nicely.

The only downside of a cat (especially living in a flat) is the litter tray. No matter how clean you keep them, they always seems to smell. I am struggling a little bit with this and have moved the tray out of the sitting room into the spare room we don’t use and am hoping this might help.

All in all, the positives outweigh the negatives and it is always lovely to get home to a little face waiting for you at the door!

 

Night skiing at Bjelasnica

Another post about skiing...! Last night, on a boring, wet and generally quite miserable Monday evening we hit the slopes after work. And it was brilliant!

In my 25 or so years of skiing, this was a first for me, and it was great fun. We headed up to Bjelasnica after work and if this was not all great, we pretty much has the mountain to ourselves! The weather was a bit rubbish - snowing heavily, but there was not a breath of wind and everything was very calm - much more so than during the day.

There was one T-bar open, which offered skiing on two runs, one lit and one not.

The two bars at the bottom were open and a quick break half way through for a beer and a plate of ustipci made it the perfect evening.

Night skiing takes place every evening at Bjelasnica from 18:30-21:00. The cost is 20KM for the ski pass. Parking is free. However, there did not seem to be any ski rental shops open.

All in all, another excellent Bosnian experience only 30 minutes from our front door. And what a way to spend a Monday night... I will certainly miss this when I am back in London... crammed on a train trying to get home!

A year in Sarajevo

This weekend has marked our one year anniversary here in Sarajevo. And what a year it has been!

In reflection we have achieved a lot, travelled to a variety of new places and countries, met some wonderful new people, who are now great friends and made this city our home.

My highlights so far:

February: Two (ish) or so metres of snow falling in a few days

March: My 30th birthday, friends and family visiting, great nights out and plenty of skiing

April: First trips to Dubrovnik and Belgrade

May: A road trip to Ljubljana

June: Queen's Birthday Party and Jubillee celebrations, sailing around Hvar

July: The Olympics, and all the celebrations which went with it. Starting a new job. Camping, Bosnian style and Sarajevo Film Festival

August: Amazing weather and endless trips to the coast

September: Montenegro and more birthdays

October: A beautiful autumn, more sailing and a weekend in the rain in Cavtat

November: Istanbul

December: Panto-time, Diplomatic Winter Bazar, Christmas Carols, importing and BBq'ing a turkey on Christmas Day and the start of the ski season

Skiing in Sarajevo

I am sure there will be plenty more blogs over the coming months about skiing, as I am ever so slightly fanatical about throwing myself down a mountain in sub-zero temperatures with two planks of wood strapped to my feet!

Therefore, living in Sarajevo is a dream come true... Sarajevo city centre is approximately 30mins from two Olympic Mountains - Jahorina and Bjelasnica. Therefore, it is completely acceptable to head to the hills for a 3-hours skiing... most mornings!

Jahorina: A prefect day

Last season was amazing, purely due to the amount of snow which fell at the beginning of February (approximately 2 meters), however as we had only just arrived, my ski kit did not get here until the middle of February, which meant I was tortured on a daily basis until I could get up there!

However, this year I am more prepared, especially as we spent Christmas here. We had a good 'dump' in early December, which meant the base could be prepared and by the end of the second week in December, I had already, hit the piste. Subsequently, I have skied as much as possible, mainly at Jahorina, but nipping over to Bjelasnica when I fancy a change.

So, here is a quick guide to what the two resorts offer (in my opinon):

Bjelasnica: Located out past the airport in the Federation. This was the destination for the Men's Olympic activities in the 1984 Winter Olympic Games. It is steeper and in general the infrastructure is not quite as up-to-date as at Jahorina. There is one main chair lift (a three-man) which runs from the bottom and links to a number of T-Bar drag lifts. This chair is quite slow and old. There is one bar at the top of this chair lift (it does not have toilet facilities and only serves instant coffee (!!)). Parking is almost always possible as there is a big car park, which costs 5KM per day. There are also a number of ski rental shacks in the car park, cost to rent skis and boots is approximately 20KM per day (they do not offer half-day rates).

Bjelasnica

 

 

Bjelasnica: top T-Bar drag lift to summit

Jahorina: Located out of Sarajevo in Pale (in the RS), as you get to the outskirts of Pale town (from Sarajevo), there are sign posts on the right, up the mountain to Jahorina. This was the resort for the Women's Olympic activities in 1984. Jahorina is a larger and more developed resort than Bjelasnica with three six-man high-speed chair lifts and a number of button lifts. There is a good variety of restaurants and cafes across the mountain, including the Termag Hotel (which is probably the nicest hotel in the resort). There are also a number of chalets which can be hired for very reasonable rates. Ski and boot hire is available at a number of locations and costs are the same as Bjelasnica. Parking is not quite as organised, so if you get there early, you can get a good spot for free, but it gets busy quickly and by lunchtime it can be hard to find a space.

Jahorina

Jahorina

I am very lucky to have not just one, but two resorts to choose from. If I had to choose which I prefer, I would opt for Jahorina. The lift system is quicker which means less time sitting on chair lifts (and getting cold) and more time skiing. There is plenty to keep an advanced skier occupied for a day at a time and I have my eye on some off piste, which I am hoping to explore when we have a bit more snow, and with someone who knows it. However, Bjelasnica offers some challenging skiing, so it nice to pop up there to ring the changes every now and again.

Jahorina: View from middle 6-man chairlift

My other-half had never stepped foot on snow before we arrived and it has been fantastic that he has been able to learn here and not break the bank. He and a couple of our friends had lessons last season and he is now more than capable to get down the mountain, and has recently bought himself some ski boots! A three hour lesson for three costs approximately 90KM.

The cost is non-comparable to the main European ski resorts, yet it is important to remember that the facilities are not quite up to the standard you'd get in France or Austria. There is some form of mountain rescue, but I would not want to put it to the test!

3-hour ski pass at either Jahorina or Bjelasnica costs 23KM (£10) - not bad really and it would be rude not to ski a lot at that price!