Sarajevo

It is impossible to visit Sarajevo and not be confronted with the city's history. If you walk along the Miljacka through the city, you will inevitably pass the Latin Bridge, which became sadly famous for the assassination of the heir to the throne Franz-Ferdinand and the subsequent First World War. Bullet holes in the walls of some of the houses bear witness to the war in Yugoslavia that raged here less than 30 years ago. From conversations I get the impression that the conflict is too recent and was too cruel to be depicted with abstract data such as the duration of the war, the number of people killed and the parties involved. The museums here in Bosnia (and presumably in the Balkans as a whole) therefore do not offer an abstract overview of the topic, but tell the events from different perspectives using personal stories that give the war a name and many faces.
Together with two friends, I then visit a museum that uses many small details to bring the war very close and emotionally stirring. I can't stay there for long, the stories told there are too dramatic for that.

Fortunately, walking around the city takes my mind off things and it's hard to realise that today - after all the atrocities that have taken place here - I am able to move freely and unharmed through the city, whereas a few years ago it was still hell on earth.Read more