Bosnia-Herzegovina definitely seems like a country caught in the middle. They are pretty much landlocked and surrounded by countries progressing rapidly and joining the EU. The ethnic distribution is almost split evenly between Croats, Serbia, and Bosniaks – Sandwiched between Croatia and Serbia, the Muslim Bosniaks seem quite caught in between too. This was especially the case 20 years ago during the breakup of Yugoslavia – Bosnia was completely caught in the center of the conflict. Politics, corruption and disagreements among the main ethnic groups continue to prevent forward movement.
Most of this stays hidden from the casual tourist but it’s still hard to miss the Sarajevo roses (concrete mortar explosion scars) and bullet ridden exteriors of nearly all old buildings. We also had the chance to meet up with some old colleagues that gave us some good insight.
My highlight was climbing up into the hills south of Sarajevo and walking down the abandoned bobsled track leftover from the ’84 Olympics. We also celebrated Aya’s third birthday (on the run)
