Beijing, China: Give Me All Your Dumplings and Also All The Other Foodby Randi / August 6, 2017
Time for a confession: I must admit that Z is the one that planned this trip. Doing the Trans-Siberian was always his dream, and it was his planning that created our route doing the Trans-Mongolian version of that, then touring China, then going back to London via the Silk Route. Literally all I was responsible for this summer was figuring out our one day visit to the Great Wall, which you most commonly access with a day trip from Beijing. That’s all I was doing, really. I decided I wanted to do the hike from Jinshanling to Simitai, a 6 or so hour hike that seemed challenging (yay activity!) but also beautiful, and not absolutely covered with tourists like some other sections. Yay, I made a decision! Go me!
Jinshanling is currently closed.
It’s hard to find information when all the internetting results are in a language you don’t speak, so we didn’t really know until we got to Beijing that we needed a new plan. Simitai itself in another direction was an option, but it’s the less beautiful, more treacherous/wild of the two, so it didn’t call to me. There were a couple other wild sections we could have gone to, but we aren’t expert hikers enough to deal with dangerous segments, and the more wild sections are at least a 3 hour drive away, and we didn’t want to waste yet more of our time driving after Mongolia. And Badaling was never an option – it’s the closest, yes, and it’s beautiful, but it’s the most touristed. It’s like Forbidden City levels of people, but on the Wall, when it’s even more important to get unobstructed views. We decided on Mutianyu, a good mix of all positives – gorgeous scenery, mainly paved with only a bit that’s wild, not toooo far (like 2 hours), popular but not crowded. There’s also a cable car you can take up to save time from climbing the 1000 steps or whatever it is, and a toboggan slide you can take down. Yesss. We booked our bus with the asshat who has a table in the 161 Wanfujing Hotel, that I talked about in the Beijing city post, and it was pretty reasonable price for the two of us to get picked up at the hotel by bus (giant bus instead of minibus like the guy told us, ugh), get a giant lunch (was good too!), and have a guide explain stuff to us. Not having to deal with the public buses going there was worth it. AND the bus made a lot of toilet stops on the way out, so that was good.
took forever to get a picture that wasn’t full of posing people
We packed my day backpack full of water, coconut water, bananas, pretzels, and random vegetarian meat jerky and other fun snacks and set off at 7:30am. Because it was a big bus, we made stops at other hostels to pick up as many people as possible before starting the real the drive – which wasn’t that bad, except for the super annoying Americans sitting around us who were like ‘totally finding themselves’ and also liked to talk about all the weird meats they’d eaten. ORIGINAL. Anyway, once we arrived at Mutianyu, we bought tickets for the cable car, which are 40 RMB for a return journey, if I recall correctly. We wanted to walk up the 1000 steps to get to the wall (we love climbing stairs!), but we were told that that would take almost half the time we had for the entire day’s exploration, and we would much rather use that time to go farther along the wall to the wild section, which we did, than just climb stairs with no view. Smart decision. The cable car was kind of long and rickety but they always seem longer and ricketier than they are to me. Scary! But fun! We wanted to buy tickets to take the toboggan slide down (I mean come on of course we did, is it a luge???) but they had closed the slideway because it was going to rain later. Boooo.
My disappointment at the slideway closure vanished when we got off the cable car at the top and made our way onto the main part of the wall. Guys, it really is Great. More than great, it’s one of the most spectacular things I’ve ever seen. Better than I could have expected just seeing pictures. It’s amazing, and even high expectations could not hold a candle to the real thing. Even just realizing that you’re here, on the real Great Wall of China, is the coolest feeling.
We met an Australian mother and daughter and became friends and did most of the hiking with them. The daughter was literally the Aussie version of me, down to the same thick frizzy long brown hair in a braid that tended to the left side. They were so nice and we enjoyed huffing and puffing alongside them. Mutianyu is no joke of a hike, people. There’s one section that is another 1000 stairs (maybe not really but felt like it, at least 100s), just going straight up, and other stair sections with super steep scrambly bits that you need to use your hands for too.
this section of steps was SO steep and they were sooo small
that’s not me
We went farther than most people ventured so we could see the wild, untamed section, the part that is mostly forest overgrowth on some old stone path instead of the solid path.
wild section begins
It was cool to see but not much fun to climb on because I was too busy maneuvering my footing and trying not to fall to enjoy the scenery. Still, that was only a small percentage of our hike. Most of it looked like this:
So flinging flanging gorgeous! Ugh it was amazing, it really was. It was much more difficult that I expected, with the heat and the steep steps and stuff, but it was so much fun. And to be really at the Great Wall itself was so special. You can’t actually see it from space, apparently, but it’s cooler than space is. I don’t like space.
We saw some amazing shirts on the wall, continuing one of China’s best trends for our amusement. And we saw a lot of kids – Mutianyu is apparently good for families, they say – including these adorable girls doing a jumping shot:
Do you see the one’s shirt? It says “mermazing”. I want it.
Not only shirts, but the signage on the wall itself was also amusing. Whyyyy is there a travel ban in this most famous tourist spot?
The only negative about this section is that there is only a bathroom at the cable car entrance point at tower 14 of the 26 that compose Mutianyu. So we got off at tower 14, hiked to 24 ish where it became wild, then went as far into the wild as we could given the time and the, well, wildness of it. Then we went all the way back down to 14 and then past it to see the preteen towers (more of the same, all beautiful), and there was only a toilet at 14, that whoooole time. That’s hours! Now I wouldn’t want them to change this historic monument by building facilities where they don’t necessarily belong, but, like, maybe I do. Just one little toilet in say tower 20 would be amaazing, k thanks.
Aside from that, it was the best experience. I could not get over how magnificent it all was and how special it was to be there. It was by far the biggest highlight of our summer so far.
Aside from that, it was the best experience. I could not get over how magnificent it all was and how special it was to be there. It was by far the biggest highlight of our summer so far.
don’t mind the super sweaty mess
Related Posts
Nanxun, China: Little Known Water Town is an Absolute Must
After our time in Shanghai, we decided to make a stop at a nearby water town before heading to another big city, Hangzhou. Water towns are these tiny traditional villages on canals and what nots that are supposed to provide a charming break from big cities. Nanxun, though little known, is supposed to be the most beautiful water town. It’s touristed by Chinese domestic travelers, but not very visited by Westerners. In fact, it’s not even in our 1000-page guidebook. But the few things we saw online about it tempted us to give it a shot. And thank goodness we did, because Nanxun is the most beautiful village maybe in all of China. Now I haven’t seen all of China yet, but Nanxun is special enough that I would bet on it. If you can get there, you must. I really loved everything about it.
You’re gonna have to take my word for it, though. Not that I don’t have pictures – oh I took more pictures of this beautiful place than anywhere else – to prove it, but just that you can’t verify it with other non-Chinese travelers you know, because I actually don’t think more than five have gone. After our time in the big cities of Beijing and Shanghai, going straight to Nanxun was a rude awakening in terms of anyone knowing English. First of all, we didn’t see a white person from the time we left the Astor House Hotel lobby in Shanghai until we got to Hangzhou, the next destination. And I don’t think anyone in Nanxun had seen a white person in a very long time. In fact, our hotel in Nanxun only had one online review in English, and it was from people who went there in April and said the staff told them they were their very first Western guests. I imagine that means we were the second. How cool is that!
Our amazing hotel, Nanxun Xunyi Jingdian Hostel
When we got out of the car after the 2 1/2 hours or so drive from Shanghai (we just hired a car, it was easier than figuring out various buses can you imagine? outside cities?), we were surprised to see that the ‘hostel’ we booked on the main road, Nanxun Xunyi Jingdian Hostel, right outside the entry to the Old Town section, was a beautiful boutique hotel. They just don’t know what the word hostel means, I think, because this was a hotel if there ever was one. In fact, it was one of the most beautiful hotels I’ve seen. Everything was gorgeous, and the room was sublime. Spacious, airy, and comfortable while still looking like a traditional Chinese place, with a beautiful bathroom, giant clean lovely bed, strong air conditioning, two of the fluffiest robes you’ve ever seen in the closet, two water bottles, and room-specific wifi – can you believe it? So it was the strongest yet. And cheap enough that we assumed it was indeed a hostel, before we saw it. God I loved this place!
This shower was so beautiful! That tile and the sun oh man
yes I’m sharing a picture of robes I don’t care
So, the staff was wonderful – and they didn’t speak a word of English. We communicated back and forth solely via Google Translate, which, if you’ve ever used it, you know is never reliable and in Chinese is often hysterically mistaken. The owner’s phone kept saying ‘daughter-in-law’ to us. “The daughter-in-law is good and the right sort of money. You will find a good daughter-in-law there it’s close to the daughter-in-law and there will be a daughter-in-law.” We just nodded. Oh and the very first thing he had his phone say to us while checking in was, “Are you traveling here?” Um……sure???? Right? Isn’t that…obvious… It was so funny but everything was sorted and great. The fact that dealing with their friendly staff solely via phone apps went 100x more smoothly than dealing with English-speaking staff at the Astor House shows what a better place this was – and for a lot less money. God I loved this place.
Also, the info booklet in the room was amazing, and it did have English – though not very decipherable English. Yes I do want to continue to live! Tell me what to do! Also no wonder our credit card didn’t work – it was not any of those flowers or magical animals, but a regular credit card indeed. Shucks.
After we basked in the delight of a perfect hotel room, we meandered down the block to the Old Town entrance. So Nanxun is a regular small town with a main street and other streets, and the actual old traditional water town part is set back, preserved, and requires an entrance ticket. I was a little surprised and taken aback that the ‘town’ we came to see was ticketed, but it was only 100 yuan (like $15 maybe?) and doing this, I realized, helps preserve the beautiful area and keep it from being built up or modernized or ruined in some way. So, good idea, town.
The sights inside the water town part – like various houses, museums, gardens – close at 5pm, and it was already after 4pm when we arrived, so we weren’t able to do that then. But a kindly guide person told us that at 5pm, when the inside sights close, the grounds are still open and free! So we spent the evening walking around and taking most of our grounds pictures of all the canals and bridges and buildings and boats and it was so flipping beautiful. It’s so lovely
We also got a chance to scope out the things we really wanted to prioritize when we returned for the ticketed parts the next morning. Like the Lotus Garden, which had the biggest lotuses I’ve ever seen.
It was so cool! We also went to a few of the small museums the next day, most of which were fine if not as interesting as the scenery (and not in English). In one, a family asked Z for his picture and then to take pictures with him, the whole family. They didn’t even look at me. After they did their photoshoot, I heard the woman say about Z “Beautiful”. It was weird. But, anyway, they didn’t want my picture so f them.
Taking a boat ride seemed like the thing to do along the canals, Venezia-style, but it was so hot and sunny that sitting still with no shade and not going fast enough for wind seemed like a bad idea. I’m glad we decided to just walk around in the splendor and peace.
Well, the free evening time was peaceful. The next day was PACKED with busloads of Chinese tourists. I forgot that this country was so gigantic that more than a billion Chinese people would still be tourists here. Not all of them were there that day, probably just a million. No it wasn’t that bad, really. Nothing could ruin this little visit for us. It was so perfect.
Inside the old town, there are plenty of shops, selling all kinds of things like fruit teas, weird juices, nut brittles, and lots and lots of Chinese food (tip: it’s just called food here). There was an adorable cat themed cafe that had a real cat inside and an English menu of drinks. I had this delicious watermelon tea drink. We went there both days I think. We needed a lot of cold drinks in that heat.
We were lucky to get to see the old town all quiet and full of locals in the evening, and then boisterous and full of tourists the next. Also, we got to take tons of pictures in different light. Damn we took a lot. Can you blame us?
The best part of Nanxun, well, of course was how beautiful and charming it was. But the second best part was the signage. There are ample signs around the whole old town, and the English translations were INCREDIBLE. I would expect nothing less.
HEAR, HEAR
so….basil?
don’t spare any trash from what? FROM WHAT? also definitely civilzed behavior significantly!
just…everywhere?
WAIT FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!
…i’ll try harder
I AM NOW THE LOCATION!
Well, that’s just like…your opinion, man…
I don’t even care about the ‘remarks’ spelling — ARE THESE BABIES THE VOLUNTEERS?????
I would love if a Chinese speaker could translate for us and tell us what they were going for. Can you imagine if these were actually accurate and the sign makers are simply hippies or high, maybe? We were smiling all day.
So, if you have time, a visit to Nanxun is essential. It’s important to see a traditional water town to have a well-rounded view of China. But also, it’s so freaking gorgeous, and, coming from Shanghai especially, seems very calm and relaxed. It was like we had chanced upon a secret they had kindly shared with us.
Out in the main part of town, things were more like a normal Chinese city, just small. Everyone stared at us, because we were the only non-Chinese people in town like I said, and probably the first in a while. No one spoke English. NO ONE. I’m not complaining, it’s just crazy to find a place where people don’t even know yes and no and good and stuff. It’s a good reminder not to get too complacent, considering how amazing it is that the common language between all travelers is English. (We would witness Japanese tourists speaking with Spanish tourists in Russia and you know what they speak? English. Sub in literally any other country in either of those three spots and the answer was always English. We are so lucky.) But we can’t rest on our imperialist laurels here! Well, everyone knows ‘hello’ at least. In fact, they shout ‘hello hello’ at us every second of the day, but that is standard practice in China. According to a book Z is reading, sometimes Chinese people refer to two white people as ‘two hellos’. It’s not a friendly hello when they shout it at us from the street. But aside from the shouting, people were friendly despite the language barrier. We had two hilarious interactions as we tried to get food and drink. First, we went into a small tea shop for our next required cold drink. They didn’t have English anywhere, and they didn’t know any. Well, the daughter of the owners knew a few words – literally like yes and no – so they kept hoping she would help, but she couldn’t. We used the app to try to read the menu and figured out it was fruit teas. But even with that, it was still so hard to order, but funny. Everyone was laughing, on both sides, as we tried to understand each other enough to proceed. We ordered a peach tea, which sounded good. Z pointed to one his phone said was peach and I held up one finger to signify we wanted one (to share, see if it’s good first!). Finally it seemed like they got it, and they went in the back to make them. Then they came out with two drinks – one with a half a giant peach in side, pushing out the sides of the plastic, and one yellow one. Apparently, when I held up the one finger, they assumed I was asking for ‘the first one’ in the list, which is a sort of lemonade tea. Oops! Well, better to have two to try! The lemon was way too sweet, but after we drank a little and filled the cup back up with water, it was great. But the peach one was amazing! So if you are in Nanxun go to this little shop and get the peach tea. We ate the peach too, of course.
|
|
Even funnier was our attempt at finding dinner. Well, it wasn’t ha ha funny at first. We were hungry, and it was impossible to figure out what had vegetarian options when no one spoke English and there weren’t English menus. We didn’t expect those things, but we at least needed a picture menu so we could point to things we wanted. (I have so much newfound appreciation for places with picture menus. No more looking down on them.) But this was a small town and most of the restaurants had menus just scribbled on a board or printed up but without pictures. Finally we found one that had pictures on the wall, but not on a menu. So we gestured towards the wall and asked if we could point to what we wanted. They got it! It was okay! I said the words for ‘vegetarian food’ and pointed at a tofu dish and a few vegetables and he nodded when I asked to make sure ‘vegetarian’. There was no picture of rice but that one is easy enough to get across. We got food! It was good – except the eggplant dish was the Chinese version of vegetarian, meaning it had pork in it. Ughhhhh. More food just for Z. Luckily the greens and the tofu were good and uncontaminated.
our required menu format from now on
|
|
But the best part of this meal was the conversation, again solely via Google Translate and the guy’s phone app for translating. Early, he very frustratedly tried to say something that we just DID NOT understand. A word apparently in English, but we didn’t get it. He went away, and came back 10 minutes later with a translated statement up on his phone screen “The USA has a place called Las Vegas.” Guy, you’re right and that was totally worth the trouble.
This happened a lot during the meal, with everyone looking at us and the owner-man coming up every few minutes with his phone queued up with some ridiculous statement. It was amazing. We tried so hard not to laugh every time. But the kicker, oh man, the kicker. At the end, I guess he felt comfortable enough finally in our conversationship to ask us about politics. And not just any politics. but the best political question ever framed. He came up to us, held out his phone, and it read, “Do you support the merchant, president tranp?” We still have bruises from how hard we were kicking each other, trying not to laugh but FAILING MISERABLY. Can you even? The misspelling! The comma! THE MERCHANT! We bring that up every day and still lose our shit laughing. Oh my god. I think we said no but the guy was probably super confused by how hard we were laughing while trying not to.
OH man, Nanxun. I love everything about you.
We were in Nanxun for only 24 hours, but it was one of our fullest visits. The sights were glorious, the hotel was perfection, and the interactions with people were beyond hilarious and adorable. And the signs. My god, the signs. I definitely wholeheartedly recommend a short jaunt here if you are planning to visit Shanghai (2.5 hour drive) or Hangzhou (2 hour drive) – where we headed next.
Sarajevo, Bosnia: Tragic Past, Beautiful Present
Baščaršija, the main square of Old Town
For the first full day in Sarajevo, we explored the Old Town and hit the major cultural sights. First stop was Baščaršija (“Bashcharshia”, maybe), the Ottoman-built bazaar and old town.
The quaint Old Town felt simple and pleasant, and it was fun to wander around without worrying about getting too lost (not possible). Tiny, cobbled alleyways were that perfect sort for wandering. It was astonishing to consider that the tragic siege of this city by the Serbs occurred relatively recently, and that every local we met lived through it.
The quaint Old Town felt simple and pleasant, and it was fun to wander around without worrying about getting too lost (not possible). Tiny, cobbled alleyways were that perfect sort for wandering. It was astonishing to consider that the tragic siege of this city by the Serbs occurred relatively recently, and that every local we met lived through it.
However, in the main parts of town, the extreme toll the war took on Sarajevo was omnipresent. This building stands on the former front line, and the damage remains as it did 20 years ago.
Old Serbian Orthodox Church
Since religious clashing formed a major part of the (every) conflict, it makes sense that Sarajevo is one of the most religiously diverse cities in the world. In just a few minutes, just a few blocks, I passed a Serbian Orthodox Church…
Gazi Husrev-beg’s mosque |
…a mosque… |
|
Old Sarajevo Synagogue and Museum. You must go here. The museum has an exhibit noting the many Bosnians who helped keep Jews in the city safe. And it’s so beautiful, dating back to the 16th century, when Jews came to Bosnia after being expelled from Toledo. F-ing Toledo, man. |
…a synagogue…
|
The Catholic Cathedral (for Bosnian Croats) |
…a Catholic cathedral… |
Orthodox Cathedral for Bosnian Serbs
…and a newer Orthodox Cathedral.
Because the siege and the war occurred in recent history, it is the main focus of a visit to Sarajevo. It’s difficult, heartbreaking, but necessary to learn about. I won’t attempt to explain the complicated details of the horrible war as if I were an expert, and instead I urge you to read about it and, if possible, go and speak to locals all over the Balkans.
One such local we met was Samra, an absolutely wonderful guide for Insider City Tours & Excursions. She led a (highly recommended) group tour to the tunnels on the outer edge of the city.
The tunnels were built by the Bosnian Army to connect Sarajevo with territory closer to the mountains, in order to smuggle food, supplies, weapons, and other aid in, and people out.
At right: Walking through an actual section of the tunnels. Above: The entrance to the tunnels. The tunnels run about 160 meters under the land where the UN airport was positioned. So, in order to use them, people still had to make it all the way to the outskirts of the city without being seen. And for the people who escaped through them, if they successfully got to and through the tunnels, they still ended up lost somewhere near the mountains. |
|
The bottleneck to the left of the red text reading ‘Serbian Forces’ shows the location of the tunnels.
Visiting the tunnels is an intense experience, because you get to walk through a portion and realize you cannot grasp what it must have been like for the people whose lives relied upon their use. What made this experience extra emotional for my group was that was our guide used the tunnels, when she was just a child, to escape from the region. How often do you to learn history from someone who actually lived it?
I recommend you take the very affordable and informative afternoon tunnel tour with Insider Tours, which is located right across the street from the Sarajevo 1878-1918 Museum.
I recommend you take the very affordable and informative afternoon tunnel tour with Insider Tours, which is located right across the street from the Sarajevo 1878-1918 Museum.
This intersection was where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated.
Speaking of: In addition to the 1990s war, the main historical draw in Sarajevo is that it provided the location of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s 1914 assassination, the catalyst for World War I. The assassination by Gavrilo Princip, the buildup to the event, and of course some details of the subsequent war are commemorated in the Sarajevo 1878-1918 Museum. It’s a clunky name, but it’s easily identified outside simply by Muzej and the plaque citing the event.
Plaque on the side of the buildings commemorating the assassination.
Somehow, being in this spot seemed cool in a history nerd look-I-remember-things-from-high-school kind of way.
However, the tragedy of the 1990s was truly the overriding lesson to learn in Sarajevo. Everywhere you turn, there’s a distressing and emotional reminder of what happened. Shop for produce in the Markale Market in the center of town…
However, the tragedy of the 1990s was truly the overriding lesson to learn in Sarajevo. Everywhere you turn, there’s a distressing and emotional reminder of what happened. Shop for produce in the Markale Market in the center of town…
Markale Market
…and you learn that this market was the site of two deadly mortar attacks on civilians.
Memorial at the back of the Markale Market
This memorial stands in the back of the Markale market to commemorate the people killed in the attacks. The first attack occurred on 2/5/1994, when 68 civilians were killed and 144 were wounded. The second attack occurred on 8/28/1995, when 38 were killed and 75 were wounded.
Walk from the lovely old town towards the more modern areas, and when you pass a park you’ll see one of the most upsetting, hauntingly beautiful memorials ever constructed. This monument stands to commemorate more than 1000 children killed in the city during the siege. See the textured depressions around the edge? They are cast from footprints of surviving siblings of the children killed. Heartbreaking.
Look down when you walk along the street, and see one of the (few remaining) “Sarajevo roses” – shell craters that an artist filled in with red resin. The Sarajevo roses spattered around town make the terror of shell craters somewhat beautiful as they stand in memorial.
Downtown, we fortuitously passed Gallery 11/07/95, the first memorial photograph gallery dedicated to the Srebrenica massacre. (Apparently the Jolie-Pitts helped fund the gallery.) It was incredibly upsetting, of course, but powerful and worth a visit. The dark side of humanity will shock you, even if you know what happened. If you don’t know about Srebrenica, you should read a little about it.
It’s fried flaky pillows of potato! What is not to love?
Not everything about Sarajevo is so grave though. Some incredible food awaits here, including savory bureks! Although I loved the fruit-filled bureks they have in Zagreb, Sarajevo’s potato-filled ones were just heaven.
The BEST ones are at Buregdzinica Sac, a small corner shop in an alley called Bravadziluk Mali. They sell the huge slabs like slices of pizza, cut off from the circular pies.
The BEST ones are at Buregdzinica Sac, a small corner shop in an alley called Bravadziluk Mali. They sell the huge slabs like slices of pizza, cut off from the circular pies.
|
I also found a great new dessert – tufahija, an apple poached in syrup and filled with walnut paste. So good! This version from the famous Hotel Europe downtown was delicious. A visit to the hotel is on most must-do lists for its lovely Viennese café, so when you go, try this! Everyone I asked about its recipe confirmed its natural veganness, as long as the whipped cream is on the side for someone else to eat. |
We also had some fantastic meals:
– Read about my luck getting vegan Italian food at the only restaurant open one Sunday night, TAVOLA!
– Read about the amazing dinner (and dessert!) at KARUZO, a fancy vegetarian restaurant that focuses all of its attention on your experience.
– Read about the Middle Eastern food from ZAATAR & CO. in old town!
Although I’m making it seem like the only happy things were food-related, that’s just me. The city was full of wonderful surprises, from the friendly and welcoming locals to the beautiful views:
– Read about my luck getting vegan Italian food at the only restaurant open one Sunday night, TAVOLA!
– Read about the amazing dinner (and dessert!) at KARUZO, a fancy vegetarian restaurant that focuses all of its attention on your experience.
– Read about the Middle Eastern food from ZAATAR & CO. in old town!
Although I’m making it seem like the only happy things were food-related, that’s just me. The city was full of wonderful surprises, from the friendly and welcoming locals to the beautiful views:
The view from the Yellow Fortress above the city.
The view from our train journey from Sarajevo to Mostar.
We also stayed in the best hotel, Hotel Bristol. It’s in the more modern part of town, near the famous Holiday Inn where journalists found shelter during the siege. It was one of the most beautiful and luxurious hotels I’ve stayed in – and for the price of a mid-range anywhere else! Notably, it has a small gym, a sauna – and one of the Top 5 beds I’ve ever slept in. Oh I miss that bed. Seriously, it was superb.
Sarajevo is a really special city. If you are taking a trip to the Balkans, I urge you to carve out time here. I was very wary of swapping time on the Dalmatian coast to come here instead, but I’m so glad I did.
Sarajevo is a really special city. If you are taking a trip to the Balkans, I urge you to carve out time here. I was very wary of swapping time on the Dalmatian coast to come here instead, but I’m so glad I did.
