The Radical Sabbatical: Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and some reflections

July 28 through 31, 2022

"Not all who wander are lost." - J.R.R.Tolkien

... but in the maze of Sarajevo's Old Town, sometimes you really are lost 😅. This is our final day in Bosnia-Herzegovina (also our last in eastern Europe) so it seems an appropriate time for an update and some reflections on our trip so far.

On Thursday, I was fortunate to book a tour to see a (small) piece of Serbia since the border is just a few hours from Sarajevo. The first thing to mention is that when you have a tour that is crossing borders, the tour guide should really check with everyone at the very start to make sure they have their passports (!). I had mine, but the other participant did not, and unfortunately the tour guide didn't ask that question until 20 minutes in. So... we had to turn around and drive all the way back, which definitely affected the timing of the whole day, and eventually made us miss lunch and the historic train ride 😞 I am a super patient tourist but that was annoying to say the least. We did spend the day exploring Serbia and the Republic of Srpska (which is in Bosnia but is largely made up of Serbians), seeing the town of Visegrad and its cool bridge, taking a boat ride on the River Drina (which was beautiful), and visiting some "touristic" villages. I'm not really a fan of "touristic" places but these were at least charming and pretty 😍

On Friday, Art gave his talk at the Fibonacci Conference so I went to give moral support (not that he needed it). I also heard 4 other talks (of which I understood very little) and got to meet more of the attendees. Art and I dipped out after the conference ended, skipped the final lunch (we had many meals with the group already) and walked around Old Town. We tried more local foods, bought some souvenirs (small ones, of course) and soaked up the sabbath vibe. Later we headed to another part of town to try a fancy Italian place that one of my tour guides recommended. After so many heavy meat meals, we were ready for some good pasta. Unfortunately we didn't realize we needed a reservation 😓 Fortunately we were able to make a reservation for the very next night (the benefits of staying awhile in one place). An added bonus was that we passed a procession of international folk dancers along the way which was super cool to see. This city seems to always have a festival or cultural event happening!

Yesterday was a full day tour of another part of BiH which included a long drive (way longer than Art expected), a view from a fortress (way more steps than Art expected), a visit to the historic town of Travnik (way more history than we expected), and a trip to the stunning Jajce waterfall (as beautiful as expected 💗). The day also included a lunch of "cevapi" which is a type of mini-sausage and pita that Bosnia is famous for and is supposedly especially good in Travnik. At this point in the trip, I was fully maxed out on meat so it was just okay 😐 We did end the long day with a fabulous Italian dinner that was only marred by the number of smokers in our restaurant. I still don't understand why there are so many smokers in this country and so many of them are teenagers 😕

We are now one month into our travels so it seems like a good time to offer some reflections.

I have now seen 3 new countries (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia). Yay!
Smoking is way too prevalent in eastern Europe.
Although you can find vegetarian food in BiH, it's helpful to like meat (especially veal and lamb).
Drinking water is safe in Bosnia-Herzegovina and is readily available at fountains in the city center. Love that!
BiH is way more multicultural than expected and has 3 presidents to represent its 3 ethnic groups (Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks). By every tour guide's account, it's a great idea that doesn't really work.
Seeing mosques, churches, and synagogues all in one area is amazing to experience (outside of Jerusalem).
The weather has been much hotter than we thought. Haven't touched my fleece since Canada.
It was definitely worth packing light and in packing cubes, and my travel vest, travel pillow, and sneakers have been extremely helpful. In retrospect, I could have managed with fewer clothes.
Happily, even after so many nights eating out, my clothes still fit 👍
Most of my luggage weight is cameras, devices, batteries, and chargers (crazy!)
We've kept our phones on airplane mode the whole time we've been away (except once at the Canadian border) 😜 Wifi has been prevalent and pretty efficient.
We've stayed safe and healthy (although others from our various conferences have gotten COVID). I credit my diligent masking; not sure what to credit for Art's good health 😏

We miss our girls very much but we know they're managing without us. FaceTime and Zoom has helped us stay connected every few days. Tomorrow we leave for Copenhagen, Denmark for two weeks, where we hope it's a bit cooler. I expect we will have a lot more downtime and a chance to catch our breath.

Art and Deena