Last explorings before moving on

9.8.15

We walked up to the fortress which is at the top of the hill close to our guesthouse.
Fabulous view over the city made it well worth the climb and jelly legs.

Had a morning espresso and hot chocolate and chilled for a while.
Then walked to the old town to go inside the cathedral but could only look through the doorway as there was a service taking place. It was absolutely stunning and glad we saw it, sadly no photos allowed.

We were going to go to an exhibition about the war but after going up in the lift to 3rd floor felt the entrance fee was too much for looking at old photos and some of the photos in reception we had seen before in the museum. John finds these things too sad and depressing anyway, so we bought nuts and sweets and got on tram 3 to Ilidza. (approx 50p).
Was shocked at the amount of graffiti on the tram, but other than that it was a 40 minute journey through dismal tower blocks interspersed with shops, cafes and even a Porsche/ Audi showroom.
The extremes of rich and poor continue to baffle me.

Ilidza is the last stop and had the feel of a traditional small town with shops and multinational eateries including Arabic and of course Turkish.
We asked for directions to Vreli Bosne Spa and soon found the road we needed.
At first there was a huge park with small stately home like buildings which were hotels.

In the guide book it said it was a 30 minute walk to the water area but it was closer to an hour.
It was a beautiful shady walk along a tree lined path shared with cyclists and horses with carriages.

Once we arrived we paid the modest entry fee (about 75p each ) and it was time for beer and a snack.
I ordered a breaded cheese thinking starter size but was a full scale meal.
Very tasty served with a relish made with gherkins which was delicious considering I hate gherkins. Think it was probably a garlic yoghurt base and still can’t believe I ate gherkins and enjoyed them.

The spa area was used by the Romans and there are thermal pools too apparently although we didn’t see those. The park area is a series of little wooden bridges, streams and small lakes with icy water from the surrounding mountains.
Really beautiful and lots of tourists and local families chilling and enjoying the lovely scenery.

Such a welcome escape from city life, so tranquil and relaxing.
Currently blogging while Johns having a post beer snooze.

Lovely long walk back to the town. Made the mistake of stroking a street dog who then thought she was ours but luckily another couple stroked her and we escaped.

Stopped in the town and had a coffee and killed time until we were hungry enough so we could eat something different.
The food is very samey in Sarajevo town and is mainly fast food and lunch food.

We found a really grotty looking place and had lasagne, it was pretty good.

Caught the tram back, and did the big hill back to our room for the very last time. Pheww!

The texting and driving lady is picking us up at 6.30 am tomorrow morning ready for our 7.15 am train to Mostar.
Will definitely be hoping that the car doesn’t have any accelerator problem and assume no one will be messaging that early….!

Night night from Sarajevo, we’ve enjoyed it but ready for a new city experience now.

Last observations :-

Lots of chocolate orange flavoured things
The currency has a very flat metal sound
Graffiti everywhere
They’re very quiet people in Sarajevo
They don’t greet each other with kisses like many other Europeans do