So, it has been a little over a month since I arrived here in the Balkans. It has been an interesting stay so far. After spending the weekend with a friend in Dubrovnik, my boyfriend, Arno, came to visit and we spent a weekend in Dubrovnik with a side trip to a nearby nature reserve island called Lokrum. A very nice time!! :o) Click here to see some photos from that trip!>Photo above is from the balcony of our room.
We journeyed back to Sarajevo by bus, a 7 hour ride (the form of transportation I use most)...the next weekend, June 23rd-25th, we went to Belgrade which is the capital in the neighboring country of Serbia. (You might recall Serbia from the news stories for once being home to the tyrant & war criminal, Milosevic, and the subsequent NATO bombings in 1
999, as well as to its recent separation from Montenegro because Montenegro voted for independence from Serbia). The bus ride was a grueling 8 hours each way with little to no air coming from the air vents--the ride back was ten times worse and like a sauna, literally. Anyhow, after some fun stops by the border police going to and from Belgrade, we did enjoy ourselves in the city.>Photo above is from the walls surrounding Dubrovnik
Upon entering the outskirts of Belgrade, you notice there is a Roma (aka gypsy) community living among trash heaps--there is a large Roma population in the Balkan region...Well, despite that, the city is a very modern European city which really surprised us. It felt more modern and
city-like than Berlin. The food, shopping, and cafes are great there, not to mention still cheap...they even have a McDonalds which doesn't exist in the entire country of Bosnia. There are only about two buildings which NATO bombed which have not yet been rebuilt...the city has been rebuilt throughout history like 60 times or something, so they are used to it and quite good at it. Damage from the war is otherwise not visible. This city has great potential and I think it will again become one of the top European tourist destinations in the next ten years.Click here for a lot of Dubrovnik photos from my first visit!
>Photo above is an example of mountainous Bosnia
I have been living in Sarajevo now and going to my internship for a month now. The city is nice, as I have already mentioned before. The nightlife (and daylife for that matter) is a cafe culture, going to the cafes in the morning, afternoon, and evening for coffee! Nobody eats at these places because they can't really afford to and you will literally find groups of people sitting there throughout the day just drinking coffee and sometimes juice. The nightlife is rather mild, not much dancing. Since the World Cup, large tv screens have been placed at all the cafes outside, which is where I've been watching several of the games. It's nice to sit there in the cool shade, sip on a beer, watch the games and the people go by. Walking around is a major affair in this city, and in other Balkan cities too. People dress to the nines, especially the women. Low cut, tight shirts and pants, and high heels, and usually lots of makeup. On average the women are pretty, but sometimes they overdo it.
>Photo left is overlooking city of Sarajevo
Work has been good. I have done a few projects for NDI normally consisting of doing some research on a problem the Bosnian government is encountering, write a report explaining the research and providing recommendations for legislation and policies to implement. I am also doing an independent research project for the Office of the High Representative, which is the organization managing the country. It's on local self governance...I know, so interesting for you, isn't it?
Well, Arno has come and we will hopefully see each other again in a month--he ended his stay here in style singing Born to be Wild in karaoke at one of the EUFOR mil
itary base bars; the bar is an interesting place to say the least. ;) Also, one of my classmates is arriving tonight and she is interning somewhere else, so we get to hang out now. Next weekend, I am driving with Parish and his girlfriend to another city in Serbia, Novi Sad. There is a huge music festival going on and we'll be dancing in the hot sun all weekend.> Photos: Me and Arno en route to Belgrade and one of the NATO bombed buildings, near some government buildings.
For more Belgrade photos (and more of Arno and I, of course) click here!
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