Hiking in and around Sarajevo

The Bosnian countryside is beautiful and one of the many wonderful things about living in Sarajevo is that within 20 minutes you can be deep into the surrounding countryside, enjoying everything it has to offer.

We have done some exploring in the hills around the city, but probably not as much as we would have like to have done. Sadly, it is not quite a simply as just heading out for a walk as you need to aware of the landmine treat as these litter the countryside around Sarajevo and throughout the whole country.

This spring we have managed to get out and enjoy several walks, either on routes we know are safe or with friends and guides who know the area.

1. Barice

Located at the north-end of Sarajevo, Barice overlooks the city (see map below). Drive up the road as far as you can, it gets quite windy and then you come to a little car park, which offers the first fantastic view point. From here, leave the car. Follow the path to the right of the building (I think it is a cafe/restaurant). The track is stony and uneven and 4x4 vehicles do venture up there. Basically, follow the path for about 30 minutes (it is all up hill on the way there) and eventually you will come to an open’ish area and here there is the most perfect little restaurant which serves ice cold beer! There is a lovely meadow area with some tables and chairs and there is also a little shade offered. It is easy to relax here for a couple of hours... or until the beer runs out (unless you are driving, soft drinks are also served). They also serve some snacks including ustipci and omelets. The walk back is downhill and there are a couple of routes (follow the red dots). This is an easy hike, suitable for kids.

 

2. Trebabic
Located on the southern side of Sarajevo, Trebavic towers over the city and was once famous for hosting the 1984 Olympic Bob-Sleigh.

It is possible to hike all the way to the top, where the TV ariel’s sit proudly on the summit of the hill. Follow the signs out of Sarajevo to Trebavic (via Grbavica), as you get up onto the mountain road you will pass a couple of disused building and viewing points on your left (be careful around here, don’t wander off the path as this area was mind during the war). You will then see a sign and a right hand turn to 'Vrh Trebavic' (Trebavic Summit). Follow this road. It is a long road (10km approx.) and soon the tarmac runs out and you are on a dirt track. There are a lot of hairpin bends and depending on the time of year, it will depend how far up the road you can get. When you have had enough, park up. You then continue to follow the road a little further and will eventually the forest will meet the road on the right hand side, here you pick up the red footpath dots and turn right into the forest, heading up. Keep following the signs, sometimes it feels as though they disappear, but you will always find the next one. There are also sign posts to the summit (Vrh) so follow these and you should do just fine. This hike is a little more strenuous and takes a good hour and half, the terrain is steep. But, it is well worth it as the view from the top is magnificent. On one side, you face north and look over the city, you can see as far as the flat plains around the airport. To west you can see the snowcapped mountain of Bjelasnica and to the south west you can see the other Olympic mountain of Jahorina. There are no facilities at the top of Trebavic, so be prepared and take the necessary provisions.

3. Backside of Bjelasnica

There are plenty of walks and hikes which can be undertaken up beyond the Olympic mountain of Bjelasnica. If you take the road up to Bjelasnica (out of the city past the airport, past Butmir Military base, follow the road and just before the flags into the RS you turn right, it is sign posted and then follow this road for about 20mins), when you get to the ski resort carry on through the resort and the road continues. The next section of road is somewhat dodgy, large pot whole, stones and rocks falling from the rock face etc... So just take it easy. After about another 10mins there is a sign post to a mountain restaurant - you can park here, and also enjoy cold beer and light refreshment. From here there are a number of amazing walks up into the mountains and down into the surrounding villages. In light of the land mine issue, I would strongly recommend hiring a guide for walks in this area, especially for the first time. Fikret is a local mountain guide and he organises weekly walks which are a great way to get out and see more of the beautiful Bosnian countryside.

For more information, go to: http://www.bosnian-mountaintourism.com

May and June in photos

The last few weeks have been extraordinarily busy! We have taken a massive road trip to Monaco for the Grand Prix, I have been to the coast for a lovely long weekend, I have taken a trip to The Hague with work and we have been camping and my Dad and his wife have been over to visit. The summer has started and promises to be a great one!



Pocitelj

Blagaj - the source of the Buna River

The Famous Mostar Bridge

Spring roses in Herzegivina

 

Race Day in Monaco

Monaco bay and F1 spectator stands

View form our seats... the garages / pit lane are on the right

Villefranche Bay and beach

Villefranche Bay

 

Lopud Bay, Croatia

 

 

Lopud Church, from the town

 

Boracko Lake, Konjic

Bake Sale fun!

I recently organised a Bake Sale at one of the places I work. I thought it would add a welcome distraction for a Friday and I was proved very right!

The voluntary group I am involved with, Helping Hands and Hearts Foundation (HHH), has been on the lookout for a new project to get involved with and we have been successful in finding something very worthwhile.

HHH will start a new project, to raise funds to enable the British Advanced Life Support Group (ASLG), (http://www.alsg.org/uk/) to come to Bosnia to teach a Pre-hospital Obstetric Emergency Training course (POET) to the Sarajevo Emergency Unit. ASLG is already involved in training doctors in Sarajevo, Advanced Pediatric Life Support (APLS) and Managing Obstetric Emergency and Trauma (MOET) .The doctors who receive training in POET will the following year be supervised by ASLG when they in turn teach the course to other doctors in Bosnia.

The money raised at various fundraising events over the next 6 months by HHH will enable the hospital to purchase the necessary equipment and mannequins in order to undertake this training.

The office Bake Sale was the first event to kick start the fundraising.

I baked some Bespoke British Baking vanilla cupcakes and I trialed Tana Ramsey's Lemon Drizzle cake, which I have to say was easy and delicious! By popular demand Liz made her chocolate brownies which literally sold like hot cakes. Also, under a bit of duress from me, my partner whipped up some triple choc cornflake crisps - these included an awful lot of chocolate, several mars bars and dash of golden syrup and were topped with white chocolate! They were delicious and again were very popular, so much so that he didn’t even get to try one!

Thanks to all those who contributed with cakes and the generosity of those who bought them, we raised an impressive 170KM! This is fantastic and gets us well off the mark with our fundraising efforts!

I am now going to try to undertake a similar effort at the other office I work in and try to encourage some other friends to do the same in their offices, what this space for a Bake Sale near you, soon!

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!