Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Getting into Bosnia proved more difficult than expected… We were turned away from one border because we did not have the correct papers, and got briefly stranded in no-mans-land (between Croatia and Bosnia) whilst our papers were sorted on the second crossing attempt. Entry successful and my first impression was that Bosnia and Herzegovina is very mountainous, and as a result very pretty. However signs of the recent conflict are apparent, with bullet and shell marked buildings on the road to, and within, Sarajevo. A large new grave site was also visible on the road.

Known as where the east meets the west, Sarajevo itself is the most remarkable city that we have visited. After declaring their independence from Yugoslavia, the city was held under siege by the Yugoslav Peoples Army (the Bosnian Serbs) from 1992 to 1995. The reasons for the siege are complex, but basically boil down to: Serbia’s wish to dominate the region, Croatia’s desire for more land, and a general persecution of the Muslim people (whom made up the majority of the cities population).

Totally surrounded from the hills and besieged from within; the locals built a tunnel under the UN held airport in order to obtain munitions, oil and food from their supporters in the free land to the west. Against all odds Sarajevo never surrendered, making this the longest city siege in known history. As a testament to those that fought, a healthy mix of Churches, Mosques and Synagogues still occupy the small streets of the old town today. Sarajevo is possibly the most cultural and religiously diverse city you could ever visit.

During our stay, we were taken on a tour of the (formally mentioned) war tunnel and the surrounded hills by a soldier who had helped to defend the city. One of the remarkable stories that he told was how they used to swap cigarettes for alcohol with the enemy across the front. At times the battle front’s were less than 15 meters apart, and one soldier from each site would make the exchange in no-mans-land. This story more than any other, brought home to me the stark human realities of war. Real people lived and fought for their lives and homes, in a ‘civilised’ Europe, only a decade ago.

Upon leaving Sarajevo we drove to the Serbian border intending to visit Belgrade. We actually entered Serbia; however the same could not be said for our car - Unfortunately it would have cost us too much to obtain the documents necessary to drive through the country… we turned round and decided to head north to our next stop – Lithuania.

Croatia

The Croatian coast is beautiful! It’s easy to see why so many Europeans come here on their summer holidays. For our first few nights we stayed in a tiny campsite called Paridiso, right on the sea front. It was run by a Croatian guy called Mario, who made his introductions over homemade vino and his special “medicine“ drink. Very special. On our first night we met lots of fellow campers; including Yan and his wife a Polish couple who offered honey Vodka to everyone in the camp as “integration“. Some people’s hospitality in amazing, and on the last night a German family, whom we had just met, cooked us a grand BBQ dinner – a welcome change from noodles indeedy!

I brought my pirate boat with me to Croatia, and we used it to good effect invading lots of islands. From the safety and comfort of the mainland these islands usually seemed pretty close, but would often take us pirate wannabies hours to row out to. As such we decided engines are an awesome invention. You cant complain over a cheap form of island hopping though  Sadly we ended our trip in Croatia “sitting on the dock of the bay, watching our boat float away“ that might learn us to bring rope...doh. Anyhow tis Bosnia nx. Ciao for now. daves xx

(P.S. new photos in the album)

Leeds Festival (UK)

One day I was in sunny Budapest watching the Red Bull Air Race, the next I was in the rather colder and wetter city of Leeds for a certain music festival. Apart from adjusting to a 20 degree drop in temperature, I also encountered a strange substance - mud - and lots of it!! This initially made me regret not taking a tent :-) The festival itself wa great, and well worth flying back for. I had a mini reunion with some of the legendary Bennicassim crew, and also met some great new people... I´m beginning to think that I have picked up some of this northern lingo too.

On my return to Budapest I met up with Andy again (who had spent the weekend in Poland). We spent our final afternoon in Hungary at the Statue Park watching old communist spy training videos; learning how to bug rooms and keep people under surveillance - always useful. Anyhow the car still lives, so the trip continues. Nxt stop = Croatia...