Hogwarts in Sarajevo?
Even though my plane landed in Sarajevo, I was staying for my first month in Visoko, so I didn't get to explore the city when I landed.
Actually, I landed at midnight, and would have been completely screwed if it weren't for a taxi driver who took me to Visoko and called my AirBnB host for me when I got there. My phone didn't work at all in Bosnia!
The driver's name is Kenan, and a couple of weeks later, he picked me up in Visoko, and took me on a small tour of Sarajevo.
Pigeon Square with Kenan
My first Bosnian Coffee:D
When my stay in Visoko was over, I booked 3 days in Sarajevo. I was able to explore the city by myself.
I stayed in a place known as Papagajka. In English, I think it would be called the parrot building. It is called that way because it is brightly colored.
When I first walked from my hotel room in Papagajka, I walked across the bridge into Old Town, and I heard singing. When I turned the corner, I saw this 12 or so year old girl busking. She was rocking back and forth and singing this amazing song. There was so much power and raw emotion in her voice...
Her voice cut straight through to my heart, and I freakin' cried. It was incredible.
I sat there crying through my dumb-ass Covid mask, marveling at Sarajevo and this little girl with the voice...
When I got back to my room, I listened to the snippet of video that I have of her, and searched for the lyrics.
I learned that the song is called 'Čudna jada od Mostara Grada.' (roughly translated it means The strange suffering of Mostar)
I searched for every version of the song on YouTube, and NONE of them come close to power of this girl. She sings it sad and slow, and all of the other versions are happy.
This girl sings the truth.
Čudna jada od Mostara Grada... the best version I've heard so far.
When I return to Sarajevo, I hope to find her and get a complete recording of the song. When I sing this song, I want to sing it like her.
Here are some more shots from Sarajevo.
I hung out here a lot. This is an old Roman bridge, and it is where Franz Ferdinand was shot.
For many reasons, the city of Sarajevo took my breath away. There's so much history there, and the city seems to be alive...
I will post more about the city, because I will go back. Hopefully the Covid bullshit will be over by then.