The last country on our tour of the Balkans was the young Republic of Kosovo.
Category: Europe
Ohrid, Macedonia
The microclimate of Ohrid was a welcome change after the brutal temperature of Serbia. Arriving at midnight, we did little except to collapse into our beds. The next morning, as I opened up the doors to our balcony, I was greeting with the magnificent site of the majestic Lake Ohrid, framed on one side by the terracotta rooves of the old town, and the towering mountains on the other. It was such a scenic place for breakfast every morning, it put all of us in a relaxed mood, eager to see what other beautiful places this region had to offer.
On one of our days here, we hired a local family to take us on a boat ride across the lake, nearly reaching Albania. Once he resigned himself to the indignity of wearing a life-vest, Hayden enjoyed the boat ride, stretching his hand over the edge to feel the spray. After sailing past the Bay of the Bones, our first stop was the St Naum monastery. There is a tradition of keeping peacocks here, and we saw many peahens with little peachicks. Continue reading Ohrid, Macedonia
Serbia
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
The city of Sarajevo quietly captured my heart. At the airport, we learnt that our luggage was still in Brussels, and would be delivered the next day (it arrived the day after that). My troubles were soon put into perspective as we were driving from the airport, with the pot-marks still visible on many of the tall apartment buildings. From 1993-1995, this city was under siege and constant bombardment after declaring its independence from Serbia. Although now the city is vibrant and bustling once again, the graveyards that cover the hills and the grenade “roses” on the footpaths give this place a vulnerable and introspective nature. Everywhere one looks in Sarajevo, there is a reminder of war.
We visited the long and tiny tunnel that was built under the airport to allow food and water (and cigarettes) to be smuggled into the city. As I watched Hayden walking through the entrance, I was so very thankful that he was able to see this place as a tourist, not a soldier. The soldiers who fought in the war are now shell-shocked, many of them living on a pension as little as 3 KM a month. Here, the UN is called United Nothing, after their failure to stop the genocide at Srebrenica. I watched the video testimony of many of the women recounting the loss of their sons and husbands, and their words haunt me still.
