Sarajevo - simply sublime

Advantages: Plenty to see; good value for money;
Disadvantages: No budget flights yet (but also a good thing!)

...the Bosnian War but has since been restored and stands in its original location once more. I dreamed of seeing it one day. Today Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Under the terms of the Dayton Peace Accord, Bosnia and Herzegovina was split into two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska. It was also stipulated that Sarajevo should be the capital of the whole country, but should also be split with east Sarajevo being in the Srpska Republic. The main business district and the historic old town of Sarajevo are in the Federation; the section in Republika Srpska has some business and some industry but is mainly residential from what I witnessed. Unless they make efforts to do otherwise, it?s unlikely that most tourists will see the Serbian part of the city, though we saw a small section when we took...

fizzytom 18.10.2009 (20.10.2009) · Read review
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Review of Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

Welcome back to Sarajevo

Advantages: Historic, beautiful, cheap
Disadvantages: Not easily accessible, war damage

...My announcement that I would be spending my summer in Bosnia met with bemused silences. "But why?", they asked - "Be careful" or "Good for you". My neighbour told me "be sure to take a headscarf with you, it's a Muslim country y'know." So many concerned family members asked me if it was safe, that I began to have doubts. After watching the film "Welcome to Sarajevo" and reading graphic books about the conflict in an attempt at researching this forgotten corner of Europe, I felt even more unsure. My worries were to prove unfounded. The hijab I didn't pack proved to be unnecessary, and ironically, I felt safer in Bosnia than I do at home in Birmingham. I discover a country that is simultaneously familiar and foreign. Glamorous young people frequent the city bars, but one Bosnian girl tells me "we can only afford one coffee...

MissDirect 16.12.2004 (30.10.2007) · Read review
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Review of Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

Sarajevo, Famous for the wrong reasons!

Advantages: Smart and quaint city. Peaceful now
Disadvantages: Still being fixed after the war

...and Herzegovina entity, and the de jure capital of the Republika Srpska entity, as well as the center of the Sarajevo Canton. Sarajevo is located in the Sarajevo valley of Bosnia, surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated around the Miljacka river. The city is famous for its traditional religious diversity, with adherents of Islam, Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Judaism peacefully coexisting there for centuries. The Miljacka river is one of the city\'s chief geographic features. It flows through the city from east through the center of Sarajevo to west part of city where eventually meets up with the Bosna river. Miljacka river is \"The Sarajevo River\", with its source in the town of Pale, several kilometers to the east of Sarajevo. The Bosna\'s source, Vrelo Bosne near Ilid?a (west Sarajevo), is another notable natural landmark and a popular...

gt5952 20.11.2007 · Read review
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Review of Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

Mostar's bridge over troubled waters

Advantages: Idyllic setting, fascinating history, friendly people
Disadvantages: Difficult to get to - limited range of facilities

...Writing any article on Mostar is very difficult for me as every time I think of this city in Bosnia Herzegovina I feel very emotional. I have only visited twice but the whole city and people left a great heartfelt impression on me. I am not sure if it is because of what happened to the town in the Bosnian War, where families who had lived together side by side for centuries suddenly started killing each other, or whether it is the destruction of the houses and buildings, and the famous old bridge or perhaps it is just because the town overlooking the river is such a beautiful, tranquil place. I don't know, but I hope you will read my review and hopefully go along one day to see this important and interesting city in Bosnia Herzegovina. Location The city of Mostar is situated in the southern part of Bosnia Herzegovina spread over both...

Praski 23.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

Banja Luka - the city I'd like to like

Advantages: Some stunning buildings
Disadvantages: Hard to get to know locals, run down with few signs of regeneration

...Sarajevo and Banja Luka quite unsettling. As Sarajevo is the country's capital it will obviously be more cosmopolitan and open to outsiders but Banja Luka is effectively a capital city too. I couldn't help feeling that the Bosnian Serbs are second class people in Bosnia and Herzegovina but now and again I saw indications that the Bosnian Serbs don't appear inclined to move forward. I had a strong impression that it is because of their stubbornness that the Republika Srpska is poorer and less developed. In Republika Srpska the buses were elderly Serbian cast-offs belching thick black smoke; in Sarajevo the buses were Scandinavian hand-me-downs, as good as new. I doubt whether anyone would make a trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina just to visit Banja Luka. However, the city is only two hours from the Croatian capital Zagreb and is well connected...

fizzytom 11.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Banja Luka (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

Mostar - rebuilding bridges?

Advantages: Lots of culture and history, cheap, tasty food, kind people
Disadvantages: Those slippy footpaths!

...I remember seeing, as a child, a photograph showing daring young Yugoslav men jumping from a bridge into impossibly blue water below. It struck me as very exciting and must have made quite an impression on me as I told myself that one day I would see it for myself. The bridge was in Mostar which is now in the independent country of Bosnia and Herzegovina; more specifically, it is the regional capital of the province of Herzegovina in the south west of the country. There is a bridge there today but it is not the original; that was blown up by a Croatian rocket during the Bosnian war but after the war it was rebuilt, partly using the original materials which fell into the gorge below. In the summer of 2009 I was able to visit this city I had longed to see for so many years and found a small but charming place that has so much more to offer...

fizzytom 22.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

Sarajevo's underground lifeline

Advantages: An important piece of recent history, interesting, enlightening
Disadvantages: Not a great deal to see so for the really interested only

...In the mid 1990s I watched television news bulletins transfixed at the pictures coming from the besieged city of Sarajevo. For over four years the people of Sarajevo were trapped in their city, often cold, usually hungry as missiles rained down on them. In spite of many months of fierce attack plucky Sarajevo managed to defend itself ? thanks mainly to an 800 metre tunnel that connected the city with ?Free Bosnia?. How the exact location of the tunnel was not discovered by the Serbs is a miracle. The tunnel runs under Sarajevo Airport which, although it was designated a neutral zone, was often closed due to heavy shelling. The Serbs knew roughly where the tunnel was but were never able to pinpoint it exactly. The tunnel was no secret; everyone knew of its existence, Serbs included. Food, fuel, medical supplies and arms ? all were...

fizzytom 30.09.2009 (01.10.2009) · Read review
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Review of Sarajevo Tunnel Museum, Sarajevo

When beggars can't be choosers

Advantages: Only book available in English so far
Disadvantages: Lack of attention to detail, overly studious and stuffy

...and include more or less the same information but in slightly different formats. When looking for a guidebook earlier this year for a trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina, I was surprised to find that neither publisher has yet published a book on this country. The only guide I could find was published by Bradt in 2008. I?ve used Bradt guides before but I wouldn?t buy one if Lonely Planet or Rough Guides have a guide for that destination. I didn?t get to look at the book before buying; I had a voucher for Play.com and bought straight from the website. That said, I don?t think that a quick flick through it in a bookstore would have alerted me to the shortcoming of the Bradt guidebook. From first appearances, the Bradt guide looks more strait-laced and scholarly than the Lonely Planet (slick and modern, for backpackers and high end travelers alike...

fizzytom 25.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Tim Clancy

Jewel in the Balkan Crown

Advantages: Cheap, value for money, friendly
Disadvantages: Still rebuilding after the war

...Sarajevo...Jewel in the Balkan Crown...location of the 1984 Winter Olympics....place where thousands of Bosniaks were killed 1994. I worked in Bosnia Herzegovina for 12 months in 1998 as part of the Police Peace Keeping Force and lived in Sarajevo for the whole time. Although ravaged by war, the city is still a beautiful place. The people, although poor and still coming to terms with rebuilding the city, are excellent. A short 15 minute drive out of the city and you find yourself in the mountains of Igman and Jahorina. During the winter the skiing is excellent and really cheap. 2 weeks in a lodge on the mountain next to the ski resort is around £200 ...try and get that in Austria !!!! Food is cheap and plentiful..mexican, chinese, indian and italian restaraunts can be found all over the city. Cinemas, clubs and two Irish Bars help you to...

batman6393 30.09.2000 · Read review
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Review of Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

The forgotten corner of Europe

Advantages: Beautiful, interesting, very little tourism, very cheap
Disadvantages: Ethnic divisions, poverty, disturbing past

...million people. The landscape varies from rolling valleys to dramatic mountains and rushing rivers. Bosnia and Hercegovina as it is known today was created in 1995 following the Dayton Peace Agreement. It is divided up into the Federation, and Republika Sprska (RS, the majority Serb part). I spent most of my time in Banja Luka, the capital of RS, but also stayed in Sarajevo and Travnik, as well as some places in the countryside. The aim of the project I was working on was to create an alternative travel guide to Bosnia. This enabled me to meet many local people, talk to them about important issues, to visit many places, and hopefully gain a better insight into the country than an ordinary traveller would. I found a country that varied hugely, from Turkish influenced Muslim dominated towns in the South, to relaxed Western style...

MissDirect 07.09.2004 (30.10.2007) · Read review
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Review of General: Bosnia-Herzegovina