FINE, AND YOU?
While I was riding the streetcar to go see the masseur, I found a sign that said the fine for 'riding black' (ie without a ticket) is 26.60 BAM. No idea what the .60 is for. With the amount of graft and such, I'd expect the fine to be more, especially for 'rich foreigners'. With the frequency of the ticket checkers (like the group that jumped on when I was writing this) it is just not worth it. And believe me, as a foreigner, your tickets are inspected much more closely than the locals.
MASSAGE FOR YOU!
I finally got my 35 BAM full body massage. I tipped the guy 5 BAM because massaging me is like trying to work wood - with your bare hands. If my back had popped as often as this poor guys fingers, I'd have been a happy camper. Believe it or not, he tried to refuse the tip but I pressed and he happily relented. Of course, this does make me wonder what kind of dick would take it back when they said "Oh - I can't take this!" "No problem, yoink!" Nope. Anyway, I would say that despite his best work, I only feel about 5% looser. This tells me that I'm needing a chiropracter instead of or preceeding a massage to have any real effect. I don't know if chiropractic medicine has made its way out here. If it has, could the average Joe afford it? Well, maybe the folks who work for the governmet could. I still find it strange that the government pays about double what private practice does and gives a lot better working hours.
LOGAN GETS HEALTHIER
I am so full of health right now I could shit a dietician. I found a place that did grilled vegetables. Considering everything else is 'meat over flame' I said 'what the heck'. To use Holmes' (Pete's) description of the meal, "It was very nice." Cost, 7 BAM. I also tried a yogert drink (cost 1.5 BAM). The best thing I can say about that was 'it was wet'. It was damned bitter. I managed to choke it down in hopes that the horrible taste meant it was good for me. Rather than poisoned. If you're in Sarajevo and want to go there, I think the name of the restaurant might be 'Ascinica Cevabdzinica Sur Bosna'. Short names are for suckers, I guess.
CELEBRATE YOUR HEALTH
In order to celebrate my health, I bought a bar of Toblerone dark chocolate. Don't look at me like that, I kind of had to. I saw it in the grocery store and realized I had begun talking to it. I suppose I was trying to make friends with it before I took it home. People were starting to give me those side-long looks so it came home with me.
PRISON BITCHES
According to my local expert on all things...local... Mirza - they have some interesting rules on prisoners and jails here. First, if you commit a 'small crime' (not like rape and murder, I'm guessing) you can get out of jail for a weekend every month or two. Also, for these 'small crimes' they have an over crowding problem. They call you when they get space in their jail so you can come do your few months or whatever. Until then, you sit at home.
Now, for people who are in jail - especially for big crimes - they don't get any visitors but immediate family. They do have an interesting way to receive messages from the outside world. They have a couple channels that play music videos non-stop. Scrolling across the bottom of the screen are SMS messages. These are sent by their friends for about ten times the cost of a normal SMS message to the station who then scrolls them across. Also, you can pay to have a video you like played. Believe me, the thought of playing REM's 'Shiny Happy People' and having a message saying "How's prison folks? Love, Logan" did come into my brain. I wasn't sure if I could get that video and song though and it's just not worth it otherwise.
Showing posts with label Sarajevo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sarajevo. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
BEWARE THE WAITERS
BEWARE THE WAITERS
Beware the waiters in Sarajevo. They practice a minor graft (possibly witchcraft as well) - tacking on an extra BAM here and there to the bill. Doubtless for a larger party it would be more than I'm getting stuck with. The waiters are apparently the worst paid profession. It is expected by their employers that they will steal enough to make up the difference. Weird. So - when you are thinking about tipping them, just remember that they have probably tipped themselves already by adding it to your bill.
MONEY
The advice I read somewhere about not carrying anything larger than a 20 BAM bill is true. ATM's like to give you 50 BAM bills. This normally sends the waiter out to hunt for change. Weird.
By word! I have found Sherlock Holmes' clothing! There seems to be some sort of invisible barrier between the clothing and I!CUISINE
Cuisine from this part of the world is pretty much summed up as meat, potatoes and bread. The main spice is paprika. Compared to other countries I've been in the food is nothing really too exciting. Hence, I suppose it is a good place for me to try to eat less. Go health! I don't suppose all of the rum and cigarettes are helping but dammit I'm doing what I can here. Can I do more? Perhaps - but baby steps is the thing here.
TURKEY
I can't tell you how depressed I am that everyone I talk to keeps telling me that Turkey is more expensive than Bosnia. I'm trying to figure out where a new destination country is. It is looking like Turkey will be another 'pass through' country as I won't be able to stay as long as I'd like. The more I discover the more it is starting to look like Asia.
Minela (left) and Mirza (right). If you get to Sarajevo, go meet Mirza. Nice guy, knows a lot of stuff and excellent English.ROUGH PLAN
Here's what I'm currently pondering. From Sarajevo head to Belgrade (Serbia). From there, go to Romania and see who all is willing to host me on couch surfing. If I like it there, find a pension and stay a bit longer. From Romania, eat to Moldova. Moldova, as I understand it, has the dubious distinction of being the poorest country in Europe. I might be able to survive there for awhile. If I like it, maybe even teach some English to the school kids. I'm contemplating going further east possibly into Odessa (Ukraine) to check it out afterward. Possibly. I will get more information when I get closer. I might even go visit the 'break away state' (bit more dangerous there I hear) between Moldova and Ukraine - not sure on that yet. Maybe even cut back through Romania to go to Bulgaria. A lot depends on my finances. If at any time they fall to the amount I've defined as "Oh oh" then I'm going to see about getting transport of some sort to India and finding a cheap place to hole up for awhile. Given the countries between where I'm at and India, probably an airplane and pray it doesn't drop out of the sky.
Monday, May 9, 2011
A PLETHORA OF LITTLE THINGS
SUNDAYS
Sundays pretty well suck in Europe. Most things are closed on them - and half of Saturday. In addition, like today (Monday), Sunday was rainy. So I sat around watching movies on the computer, drinking rum and smoking. I think that's what Hemingway did too. Well, aside from the computer part.
Plus, my feet were hurting pretty bad. I think I had a blister on one. I'm very proud of it. It shows me that I am walking a lot. Hence, deserving of the rum. And cigarettes. I am becoming more healthy. Kind of.
The people in the next room were talking to Mirza (the main man at the hotel) and getting him to switch their room. The reason they were giving was that the light is insufficient. No mention of being next door to a snorer with paper thin walls was made. Perhaps because I was sitting there when they were talking to him. I am thinking I don't believe them on the whole light issue but whatever.
SCAMS
The scams in Sarajevo seem to be very small ones - one BAM here, one there type of thing. Apparently, that is a comfortable level of graft. For example, yesterday, I went out to get something quick to eat from a restaurant. I selected a picture off of the sign that had the price marked at 5 BAM. The guy wanted to charge me 6 BAM. I was a little drunk and my feet hurt so I just kept saying "But the sign says 5 BAM" until the proprietor got frustrated and said "It's OK" and dismissed me from his shop.
Although in America that would be called 'false advertising' and is illegal, I'm really not sure what is illegal here. I'm trying to just stick with common sense and negotiating beforehand like with cabs.
The cab rates here seem pretty reasonable. The cab rates are the same whether it is just you or a group of people. Taking the cabs in Sarajevo is no problem at all.
EXPAT
Mirza's definition of expat: "Refugees with a choice."
SHOPPING
Mirza is still trying to reach the dentist we were going to visit today but apparently the light rain has made them give up going to the office. I'm not kidding. This sort of thing seems to be pretty common here for the self employed - if you don't feel like going to work, don't. It's not as bad as it was in Egypt 25 years ago but it is still frustrating for American's who are expected to show up to work even if the driving conditions can best be described as 'suicidal'.
Mirza did take me to go buy some socks, underwear (1 BAM per set of socks, 4 BAM per underwear - all are weird and look very thin and cheap). He also took me to the government run pharmacy to get refills of my medicine. You don't need a doctor's prescription here for it. One month's supply of six different medicines - 137 BAM. That's about $91 for all of them. To put it in perspective, without insurance, I could have gotten maybe one or two of them. Quite a deal - and best yet I didn't have to go to the doctor.
I think Mirza is the gem of this city. Even if you decide not to stay at the hostel he works at, I'd recommend going to visit it and meet him. See if you can hire him as a tour guide or something on the weekends. Like all of the other Bosnian's I've spoken to, he works hellish hours during the week.
A STREETCAR NAMED WHAT?
Mirza told me that apparently all of the streetcar stop names had been taken down during the war. Over a decade ago. And not been put back up. Maybe, he said, they will be back up in another 20 years. Egad.
BIGGEST BOSS
They have a lot of different bosses here in Sarajevo. I talked to a guy who is apparently the boss of bosses for the area I'm staying at. He owns a lot of different businesses here. Among other things, he told me that Sarajevo was founded back in 1462 and he gave me a good quote on the current government:
"The only thing the government agrees on is that they must steal some money."
Nice.
PANSION SEBILJ:
Obala Kulina baba between Careve cuprija and Novi most (at the Miljacka riverside), [29]. Most of the staff speaks English somewhat fluently. An internet-cafe is downstairs in the same house, a restaurant in the atrium. The restaurants in the Old Town, groceries and a pharmacy are all in walking distance. Good things: Location, friendly staff, hot water, clean. Bad things: No internet, walls are paper thin - you can hear someone cough (or scream) in the next room easily as well as the loud music from downstairs until about midnight, uncomfortable slat beds. Unisex showers (only 2) and bathroom. No way to lock bathroom or shower area when inside. No laundry service, no kitchen. No lockers for gear. €15/person/night.
This is the article on it from Travelwiki as they seem to like changing it back to 'pre-Logan'. If they want to keep doing that, fuck them, they get no more user contributions from me.
The above review is truthful if not especially complementary. Truly the best thing about that place is Mirza. It would suck if he wasn't there.
TRAVELER'S TIP
If you have special brands of undergarments you like (underwear, socks, etc) pack extra because that brand will not be available overseas. Also, socks and underwear determine when you are forced to do laundry.
Sundays pretty well suck in Europe. Most things are closed on them - and half of Saturday. In addition, like today (Monday), Sunday was rainy. So I sat around watching movies on the computer, drinking rum and smoking. I think that's what Hemingway did too. Well, aside from the computer part.
Plus, my feet were hurting pretty bad. I think I had a blister on one. I'm very proud of it. It shows me that I am walking a lot. Hence, deserving of the rum. And cigarettes. I am becoming more healthy. Kind of.
The people in the next room were talking to Mirza (the main man at the hotel) and getting him to switch their room. The reason they were giving was that the light is insufficient. No mention of being next door to a snorer with paper thin walls was made. Perhaps because I was sitting there when they were talking to him. I am thinking I don't believe them on the whole light issue but whatever.
SCAMS
The scams in Sarajevo seem to be very small ones - one BAM here, one there type of thing. Apparently, that is a comfortable level of graft. For example, yesterday, I went out to get something quick to eat from a restaurant. I selected a picture off of the sign that had the price marked at 5 BAM. The guy wanted to charge me 6 BAM. I was a little drunk and my feet hurt so I just kept saying "But the sign says 5 BAM" until the proprietor got frustrated and said "It's OK" and dismissed me from his shop.
Although in America that would be called 'false advertising' and is illegal, I'm really not sure what is illegal here. I'm trying to just stick with common sense and negotiating beforehand like with cabs.
The cab rates here seem pretty reasonable. The cab rates are the same whether it is just you or a group of people. Taking the cabs in Sarajevo is no problem at all.
EXPAT
Mirza's definition of expat: "Refugees with a choice."
SHOPPING
Mirza is still trying to reach the dentist we were going to visit today but apparently the light rain has made them give up going to the office. I'm not kidding. This sort of thing seems to be pretty common here for the self employed - if you don't feel like going to work, don't. It's not as bad as it was in Egypt 25 years ago but it is still frustrating for American's who are expected to show up to work even if the driving conditions can best be described as 'suicidal'.
Mirza did take me to go buy some socks, underwear (1 BAM per set of socks, 4 BAM per underwear - all are weird and look very thin and cheap). He also took me to the government run pharmacy to get refills of my medicine. You don't need a doctor's prescription here for it. One month's supply of six different medicines - 137 BAM. That's about $91 for all of them. To put it in perspective, without insurance, I could have gotten maybe one or two of them. Quite a deal - and best yet I didn't have to go to the doctor.
I think Mirza is the gem of this city. Even if you decide not to stay at the hostel he works at, I'd recommend going to visit it and meet him. See if you can hire him as a tour guide or something on the weekends. Like all of the other Bosnian's I've spoken to, he works hellish hours during the week.
A STREETCAR NAMED WHAT?
Mirza told me that apparently all of the streetcar stop names had been taken down during the war. Over a decade ago. And not been put back up. Maybe, he said, they will be back up in another 20 years. Egad.
BIGGEST BOSS
They have a lot of different bosses here in Sarajevo. I talked to a guy who is apparently the boss of bosses for the area I'm staying at. He owns a lot of different businesses here. Among other things, he told me that Sarajevo was founded back in 1462 and he gave me a good quote on the current government:
"The only thing the government agrees on is that they must steal some money."
Nice.
PANSION SEBILJ:
Obala Kulina baba between Careve cuprija and Novi most (at the Miljacka riverside), [29]. Most of the staff speaks English somewhat fluently. An internet-cafe is downstairs in the same house, a restaurant in the atrium. The restaurants in the Old Town, groceries and a pharmacy are all in walking distance. Good things: Location, friendly staff, hot water, clean. Bad things: No internet, walls are paper thin - you can hear someone cough (or scream) in the next room easily as well as the loud music from downstairs until about midnight, uncomfortable slat beds. Unisex showers (only 2) and bathroom. No way to lock bathroom or shower area when inside. No laundry service, no kitchen. No lockers for gear. €15/person/night.
This is the article on it from Travelwiki as they seem to like changing it back to 'pre-Logan'. If they want to keep doing that, fuck them, they get no more user contributions from me.
The above review is truthful if not especially complementary. Truly the best thing about that place is Mirza. It would suck if he wasn't there.
TRAVELER'S TIP
If you have special brands of undergarments you like (underwear, socks, etc) pack extra because that brand will not be available overseas. Also, socks and underwear determine when you are forced to do laundry.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
More photos are up...
FOR THOSE JUST TUNING IN
I am going to be headed from Sarajevo (Bosnia) to Belgrade (Serbia) and from there to Romania.
Right now, I've got people in four cities in Romania willing to host me - Orastie, Cluj Napoca, Reghin and Brasov. I'm not sure which ones I'm going to be able to hit - I'm going to check on transportation once I get to Belgrade and see where I can get to. It's looking like I could probably get from Belgrade to Timisoara (Romania) as Timisoara is a transportation hub for Romania.
The loose plan is to make my way to Moldova.
If you're wanting to meet up, and you live where I'm going to be, let me know.
FOOD IN SARAJEVO
The cheapest mail in Sarajevo is a 'hamburger'. Note, it is not a hamburer as people in the USA might think of it. It starts off with some sort of big bread. The guy then artistically put on a very small piece of lettuce that covvers say one eighth of the surface area of the burger. He then scoops on some shredded lettuce. No, I have no idea why the first piece of lettuce went on there. then, he slices off three small pieces of tomato and puts a wafer thin piece of meat. Mayo and catchup. Then, french fries are added on top. The whole thing is then compressed and put into a greasy bag. Cost is 2.5 BAM. Avoid it unless you have a very strong stomach. Mine stomach had a lot of weird noises coming from it. I was worried I'd be in for fun later but I seemed to have avoided that. Aside from that, it is the cheapest meal you can get for just over a dollar.
GERMAN
Nothing better than trying to speak German after you've had a few shots of rum. I'm sure that people who havve heard me speak German might say "Well, it couldn't hurt!"
SUNDAY IN SARAJEVO
Sundays here (as in most of Europe) seem to suck. Many of the local stores are closed. If you stay in the tourist areas, stuff is still open but that's about it.
I'd recommend to anyone wanting to travel cheaply in Europe to try to arrive on Sunday. Use that day to get settled in and de-stress from your travel time. Then, you have several days to see the sites and such during the week day. You can probably leave FRI or SAT - many (not all) hostels jack their rates then.
I am going to be headed from Sarajevo (Bosnia) to Belgrade (Serbia) and from there to Romania.
Right now, I've got people in four cities in Romania willing to host me - Orastie, Cluj Napoca, Reghin and Brasov. I'm not sure which ones I'm going to be able to hit - I'm going to check on transportation once I get to Belgrade and see where I can get to. It's looking like I could probably get from Belgrade to Timisoara (Romania) as Timisoara is a transportation hub for Romania.
The loose plan is to make my way to Moldova.
If you're wanting to meet up, and you live where I'm going to be, let me know.
FOOD IN SARAJEVO
The cheapest mail in Sarajevo is a 'hamburger'. Note, it is not a hamburer as people in the USA might think of it. It starts off with some sort of big bread. The guy then artistically put on a very small piece of lettuce that covvers say one eighth of the surface area of the burger. He then scoops on some shredded lettuce. No, I have no idea why the first piece of lettuce went on there. then, he slices off three small pieces of tomato and puts a wafer thin piece of meat. Mayo and catchup. Then, french fries are added on top. The whole thing is then compressed and put into a greasy bag. Cost is 2.5 BAM. Avoid it unless you have a very strong stomach. Mine stomach had a lot of weird noises coming from it. I was worried I'd be in for fun later but I seemed to have avoided that. Aside from that, it is the cheapest meal you can get for just over a dollar.
GERMAN
Nothing better than trying to speak German after you've had a few shots of rum. I'm sure that people who havve heard me speak German might say "Well, it couldn't hurt!"
SUNDAY IN SARAJEVO
Sundays here (as in most of Europe) seem to suck. Many of the local stores are closed. If you stay in the tourist areas, stuff is still open but that's about it.
I'd recommend to anyone wanting to travel cheaply in Europe to try to arrive on Sunday. Use that day to get settled in and de-stress from your travel time. Then, you have several days to see the sites and such during the week day. You can probably leave FRI or SAT - many (not all) hostels jack their rates then.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
NO SWIMMING, FAT BOY
BOSNIAN SAYING
"A smart guy takes notes, a dumb guy remembers."
BOSNIAN SLANG
If the Bosnians wish to be more obscure (from Croats, Serbs, etc) they say many of their words backwards. It is common enough to have become slang. Sexy would become Yxes, for example.
SMOKING
Smoking is as common here as in 1920's to 1950's America. Smoking in restaurants, smoking while eating, smoking while preparing Logan's food.
POOL PRICES
5 BAM - 3 hours in the pool area.
7 BAM - Access to pool, sauna and gym.
20 BAM - Massage for 25 minutes on back and arms.
35 BAM - Full body massage for 45 minutes. This is the one I wanted. Fortunately, they have a set rate rather than charging for surface area.
NO SWIMMING, FAT BOY
After arguing with the ticket selling, non-English, German, French or any other popular language speaking lady who kept denying she sold the daily pass for the tram until she sold me one (and she is the only one who sells them), I made my way onto the tram.. Mirza had kindly circled the stop I needed to get off in order to get to the swimming pool. It was at this point I noticed that none of the tram stops were labeled. At all. Nothing. Nada. I suppose the thinking (if any) was that tourists would never go out there and the locals would know which stop they needed. Fortunately, a nice lady on the tram told me which stop I needed to disembark at. Before we reached it, someone claiming to be a ticket inspector asked to see my ticket. Having read about the scam involved, I asked to see his laminated plastic ID card. He grumblingly produced it so I showed him my hard won ticket. Never has a ticket been so scrutinized but in the end he had to admit defeat. The prospect of fleecing a foreigner for 40 BAM (or so) had really appealed to him. He took out his wrath on some argumentative old woman and his squad removed her from the train, possibly for later execution. I smugly stayed on the train and disembarked at the large, obvious swimming pool.
It was closed.
When I say closed, I meant to me. Apparently, they were having some kids doing a swimming match. I inquired whether my shorts I had brought for swimming would be sufficient to enter their pool but they weren't. In order to get into the pool, it looked like an investment of 40 BAM for regulation shorts and (believe it or not) a swimming cap would be required. Fuck that. I have no interest in buying what would essentially be single use clothing. Also, the swimming trunks would be tight enough that it might cause distress to those viewing me. And mental trauma. The shorts I had brought would have been kinder, but they wanted to make some money.
I said it was OK, I could skip the swimming, how about the massage? In honor of the kids doing their swimming thing, the massage place was closed as well. What if one of the kids needed a rub down after their competition? Will no one think of the children? Or the fat guy? So, it was all for nothing.
As in the USA, I got to see a lot of parents trying to live vicariously through their kids.
After glowering dubiously at the hairdresser they had in the swimming place, I decided to wander around this neighborhood.
I'd be very curious to have one of those walking counters to see how much walking I actually do - I'm sure it's right up there.
I got to see a lot of the 'soviet style block homes' as I looked for a cheap place to eat.
After wandering through a pretty grim neighborhood, I found a place within some sort of shopping center that sold food. I'm not clear on what the shopping center actually sold. The food I ate there was probably the worst I've had in Bosnia.
I asked the German only speaking waiter what one of the selections was. He said what sounded like 'hoon'. I asked 'hund'? This means dog. We eventually got it sorted out that it was chicken. Not fish is fine with me. I would have been OK with dog. The last time I ate dog was in Korea. Before animal lovers get their panties in a twist, the dogs served in Korea were raised for that purpose. It's not like when you ordered dog that a little kid would come out crying as the family pet was butchered. Though, honestly, I'd be strangely comfortable with that.
COUCH SURFING
I think on Monday I'm going to try to get a bus or train ticket out of here. The problem is that I have no idea where exactly I'm going. I have a couple of people who have said they are willing to host me in Couch surfing but others are wary because I have no references or 'friends' on Couch surfing. I did point out to a couple of these people that everyone starts off with none - don't they? I didn't see an option to 'get free friends' when I signed up but I may have missed that. So, they'll just have to suck it up and try Logan out. I think (aside from my snoring which I can't control) I'm a pretty good guest. Note, I've only been contacting people who don't have a 'shared sleeping space' - ie in the same room because I know that any lodging I got there would just be for a single night then "Logan I like you but your snoring makes me want to stab you in the eye".
I even had one guy tell me I should put up more information on the site - I asked him if he had seen the numerous references to my blog. I think this constant, nearly daily stream of consciousness stuff gives a pretty good indication of who I am and what I'm about.
PETE MAY BE RIGHT
I like Europe but the prices in Asia (inc India) probably got it beat hands down. If my money gets down to a certain spot, I'll probably jet off immediately to India and find somewhere cheap to sit for awhile. Or Thailand. Or where ever.
SARAJEVO
The city of Sarajevo - what I've seen of it reminds me of a race track - an oval. The racetrack itself is the street car tracks. On the curves at either end are shops and such. One end is the tourist area of the 'old town'. Not a lot of Americans here that I've discovered - believe me. The other end of the racetrack has the place where the Bosnians seem to shop and such as the prices aren't jacked for whatever tourists come here. The straight aways between the two curves, residential. By residential I mean predominately depressing concrete Soviet block housing with only one window per room, even for the corner apartments so that nobody gets a better deal than their neighbors.
With the women here, I've noticed a lot more of them have 'normal people shapes' rather than the 'fashion models' of Prague. No doubt they are missing the effects of the 'Czech Stairmaster'.
With the men, the point of hair in the middle of the head seems popular as does the Mohawk, when they have a 'non-standard' hair style. Those who are balding are saved from this fashion indignity.
Health wise, the food here sucks. It tastes good but no nutritionist in the world would call it at all 'healthy'.
In some of the guides I've read, they talk about the air pollution being a problem. I've seen it in a couple limited areas but overall it doesn't seem that bad.
The people themselves fall into one of two different classifications much of the time - either cheerful or 'withdrawn and bitter'. Perhaps that should be whether they have a job or are among the half or more unemployed but it doesn't seem to work like that.
The people who don't speak English or German seem to fall into one of two categories most of the time - either the type that try to 'talk to you in Bosnian regardless and hope you will figure it out' or the 'I am angry you haven't learned our language that isn't in the top 40 languages spoken in the world'.
How would I describe the mood here? In some ways, it is just like every other European city. They have people busy wandering around on mysterious errands, coffee shops, bars, metal and glass buildings, old women with strangely colored hair, men with sunglasses and baseball caps, serious looking kids, old men who walk even slower than Logan and look like they're ready to fall and break a hip given the slightest provocation. Beggars, banks, cars, commerce, etc. The war has come and gone leaving little trace but some old bullet holes in the walls. This country, like every other former communist country I've been to has lots of the pre-fab slap together buildings that I've been told were suppose to be temporary housing.
But the mood of the people themselves? Wary? Waiting? Helpful and good natured? Despite this country having over half of it's population unemployed, brightly colored balloon sellers ply their trade selling 'Sponge Bob' balloons.
Maybe this is a place of good natured people frustrated by the government? I think that whatever the 'mood' of the people, it is something subtle. Although I'm told revolution must come, it doesn't feel close.
[In writing this, I realize that if it comes within the next couple weeks or a month, I'll look like a complete tool.]
THE MUSEUM
While I was nodding off on the tram headed back to the old city, I saw a big building labeled simply 'museum'. Since I didn't feel like falling asleep and getting pick pocketed, I hopped off of the tram. It turns out that the museum is across the street from the famous Holiday Inn where reporters during the war really got a close up look at the action. Kitty corner to the museum, the bunker like American embassy - where even Americans seem forbidden to go - squatted.
Unfortunately, I had forgotten about the strange European hours. On what should have been their biggest day of the week when everyone would be off work to be available to take their kids to give them an infusion of culture (like it or not) the museum was.... Closed. Closed at 1 PM. What the fuck.
So, I got back onto another over packed street car. In most European countries, street cars are a good way to see the city. Not so here - they are packed with people.
So, I got off in an unfamiliar part of town and went to visit a really large mosque.
In Bosnia, God is closed for business on Saturday as well.
I'm guessing that not a lot will be open tomorrow (Sunday) so I'll probably just wander around.
On Monday, the big plan is to visit the dentist and see how much that will cost me. Maybe even go get a ticket out of here...
"A smart guy takes notes, a dumb guy remembers."
BOSNIAN SLANG
If the Bosnians wish to be more obscure (from Croats, Serbs, etc) they say many of their words backwards. It is common enough to have become slang. Sexy would become Yxes, for example.
SMOKING
Smoking is as common here as in 1920's to 1950's America. Smoking in restaurants, smoking while eating, smoking while preparing Logan's food.
POOL PRICES
5 BAM - 3 hours in the pool area.
7 BAM - Access to pool, sauna and gym.
20 BAM - Massage for 25 minutes on back and arms.
35 BAM - Full body massage for 45 minutes. This is the one I wanted. Fortunately, they have a set rate rather than charging for surface area.
NO SWIMMING, FAT BOY
After arguing with the ticket selling, non-English, German, French or any other popular language speaking lady who kept denying she sold the daily pass for the tram until she sold me one (and she is the only one who sells them), I made my way onto the tram.. Mirza had kindly circled the stop I needed to get off in order to get to the swimming pool. It was at this point I noticed that none of the tram stops were labeled. At all. Nothing. Nada. I suppose the thinking (if any) was that tourists would never go out there and the locals would know which stop they needed. Fortunately, a nice lady on the tram told me which stop I needed to disembark at. Before we reached it, someone claiming to be a ticket inspector asked to see my ticket. Having read about the scam involved, I asked to see his laminated plastic ID card. He grumblingly produced it so I showed him my hard won ticket. Never has a ticket been so scrutinized but in the end he had to admit defeat. The prospect of fleecing a foreigner for 40 BAM (or so) had really appealed to him. He took out his wrath on some argumentative old woman and his squad removed her from the train, possibly for later execution. I smugly stayed on the train and disembarked at the large, obvious swimming pool.
It was closed.
When I say closed, I meant to me. Apparently, they were having some kids doing a swimming match. I inquired whether my shorts I had brought for swimming would be sufficient to enter their pool but they weren't. In order to get into the pool, it looked like an investment of 40 BAM for regulation shorts and (believe it or not) a swimming cap would be required. Fuck that. I have no interest in buying what would essentially be single use clothing. Also, the swimming trunks would be tight enough that it might cause distress to those viewing me. And mental trauma. The shorts I had brought would have been kinder, but they wanted to make some money.
I said it was OK, I could skip the swimming, how about the massage? In honor of the kids doing their swimming thing, the massage place was closed as well. What if one of the kids needed a rub down after their competition? Will no one think of the children? Or the fat guy? So, it was all for nothing.
As in the USA, I got to see a lot of parents trying to live vicariously through their kids.
After glowering dubiously at the hairdresser they had in the swimming place, I decided to wander around this neighborhood.
I'd be very curious to have one of those walking counters to see how much walking I actually do - I'm sure it's right up there.
I got to see a lot of the 'soviet style block homes' as I looked for a cheap place to eat.
After wandering through a pretty grim neighborhood, I found a place within some sort of shopping center that sold food. I'm not clear on what the shopping center actually sold. The food I ate there was probably the worst I've had in Bosnia.
I asked the German only speaking waiter what one of the selections was. He said what sounded like 'hoon'. I asked 'hund'? This means dog. We eventually got it sorted out that it was chicken. Not fish is fine with me. I would have been OK with dog. The last time I ate dog was in Korea. Before animal lovers get their panties in a twist, the dogs served in Korea were raised for that purpose. It's not like when you ordered dog that a little kid would come out crying as the family pet was butchered. Though, honestly, I'd be strangely comfortable with that.
COUCH SURFING
I think on Monday I'm going to try to get a bus or train ticket out of here. The problem is that I have no idea where exactly I'm going. I have a couple of people who have said they are willing to host me in Couch surfing but others are wary because I have no references or 'friends' on Couch surfing. I did point out to a couple of these people that everyone starts off with none - don't they? I didn't see an option to 'get free friends' when I signed up but I may have missed that. So, they'll just have to suck it up and try Logan out. I think (aside from my snoring which I can't control) I'm a pretty good guest. Note, I've only been contacting people who don't have a 'shared sleeping space' - ie in the same room because I know that any lodging I got there would just be for a single night then "Logan I like you but your snoring makes me want to stab you in the eye".
I even had one guy tell me I should put up more information on the site - I asked him if he had seen the numerous references to my blog. I think this constant, nearly daily stream of consciousness stuff gives a pretty good indication of who I am and what I'm about.
PETE MAY BE RIGHT
I like Europe but the prices in Asia (inc India) probably got it beat hands down. If my money gets down to a certain spot, I'll probably jet off immediately to India and find somewhere cheap to sit for awhile. Or Thailand. Or where ever.
SARAJEVO
The city of Sarajevo - what I've seen of it reminds me of a race track - an oval. The racetrack itself is the street car tracks. On the curves at either end are shops and such. One end is the tourist area of the 'old town'. Not a lot of Americans here that I've discovered - believe me. The other end of the racetrack has the place where the Bosnians seem to shop and such as the prices aren't jacked for whatever tourists come here. The straight aways between the two curves, residential. By residential I mean predominately depressing concrete Soviet block housing with only one window per room, even for the corner apartments so that nobody gets a better deal than their neighbors.
With the women here, I've noticed a lot more of them have 'normal people shapes' rather than the 'fashion models' of Prague. No doubt they are missing the effects of the 'Czech Stairmaster'.
With the men, the point of hair in the middle of the head seems popular as does the Mohawk, when they have a 'non-standard' hair style. Those who are balding are saved from this fashion indignity.
Health wise, the food here sucks. It tastes good but no nutritionist in the world would call it at all 'healthy'.
In some of the guides I've read, they talk about the air pollution being a problem. I've seen it in a couple limited areas but overall it doesn't seem that bad.
The people themselves fall into one of two different classifications much of the time - either cheerful or 'withdrawn and bitter'. Perhaps that should be whether they have a job or are among the half or more unemployed but it doesn't seem to work like that.
The people who don't speak English or German seem to fall into one of two categories most of the time - either the type that try to 'talk to you in Bosnian regardless and hope you will figure it out' or the 'I am angry you haven't learned our language that isn't in the top 40 languages spoken in the world'.
How would I describe the mood here? In some ways, it is just like every other European city. They have people busy wandering around on mysterious errands, coffee shops, bars, metal and glass buildings, old women with strangely colored hair, men with sunglasses and baseball caps, serious looking kids, old men who walk even slower than Logan and look like they're ready to fall and break a hip given the slightest provocation. Beggars, banks, cars, commerce, etc. The war has come and gone leaving little trace but some old bullet holes in the walls. This country, like every other former communist country I've been to has lots of the pre-fab slap together buildings that I've been told were suppose to be temporary housing.
But the mood of the people themselves? Wary? Waiting? Helpful and good natured? Despite this country having over half of it's population unemployed, brightly colored balloon sellers ply their trade selling 'Sponge Bob' balloons.
Maybe this is a place of good natured people frustrated by the government? I think that whatever the 'mood' of the people, it is something subtle. Although I'm told revolution must come, it doesn't feel close.
[In writing this, I realize that if it comes within the next couple weeks or a month, I'll look like a complete tool.]
THE MUSEUM
While I was nodding off on the tram headed back to the old city, I saw a big building labeled simply 'museum'. Since I didn't feel like falling asleep and getting pick pocketed, I hopped off of the tram. It turns out that the museum is across the street from the famous Holiday Inn where reporters during the war really got a close up look at the action. Kitty corner to the museum, the bunker like American embassy - where even Americans seem forbidden to go - squatted.
Unfortunately, I had forgotten about the strange European hours. On what should have been their biggest day of the week when everyone would be off work to be available to take their kids to give them an infusion of culture (like it or not) the museum was.... Closed. Closed at 1 PM. What the fuck.
So, I got back onto another over packed street car. In most European countries, street cars are a good way to see the city. Not so here - they are packed with people.
So, I got off in an unfamiliar part of town and went to visit a really large mosque.
In Bosnia, God is closed for business on Saturday as well.
I'm guessing that not a lot will be open tomorrow (Sunday) so I'll probably just wander around.
On Monday, the big plan is to visit the dentist and see how much that will cost me. Maybe even go get a ticket out of here...
Friday, May 6, 2011
TEA WITH MIRZA
BLOG READERSHIP - OF ALL TIME
The top readers of all time (country wise) are - in order from most to least - United States, New Zealand, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Sweden.
SETTING THE SCENE
I am currently in a bar called Zembilj listening to Guns and Roses (Sweet Child of Mine) song. Prior to this they were playing music that if there was a 'bottom 40' would have probably made it. For months. I'm showing them just how long I can nurse a beer. I think they're a bit shocked as I've been here for awhile soaking up their internet. And I'll be here for awhile yet typing up this blog. Aside from the music, I like the bar - not gaudy and with a lot of dark woods and sturdy furniture. Like the rest of the bars in this country, it smells of stale tobacco smoke and strange scents blown in from the exotic (not erotic TJ) goods sold in the market it is in the center of. I don't know if I'll be able find it again as I consistently get myself lost in the labyrinth of twists and turns in the old town market.
TRAVELER'S TIP
In your fake wallet, carry the amount of cash you are allowed to spend on this day - ONLY. In that way, you can keep within your budget. Sure, you might need to use a restroom somewhere and dig more out of your hidden stash of money but this method does keep you from overspending what seems to be 'funny money' (valueless).
HOSTEL 'S'
I can't remember the name right now of the place I'm staying but I found out from sleeping a night there that it has a couple interesting things. If someone farts in the next room, you hear it. Thin walls. Consider them partition screens. Also, in order to save a couple of dollars on beds, they are using that 'slat' shit. Problem - if a slat breaks, they repair them by spreading out the remaining ones. I have partially rearranged (thought it looks trashed - it's not) the beds so that I could make space to put a couple of mattresses stacked on the floor. The slat bed nearly crippled my ass. Dealing with the thin walls, I am more concerned about the people next to me. I suspect they won't be staying long due to what we call "Pete's Theory".
PETE'S THEORY
Logan will eventually have any room where ever he is to himself due to snoring.
MUSEUM
I went to a very small museum today. I probably spent a half hour in there. It was mildly interesting. I very much appreciated the cost (2 BAM). The best thing they had in there was a ten year old hand made model of the old town. I took several pictures which I hope to get good enough internet someday to upload. They didn't mind me taking pictures when I assured them they wouldn't show up in a magazine. I think they were reassured when they saw my crappy camera. They also had some unidentified non-alcoholic 'traditional drink' I sampled but really couldn't describe. I'm not even sure if I liked it or not. I suspect the fact it is not available in stores means nobody else was sure either. I was given a private tour by a young German speaking man until a gaggle of school children entered and he had to go protect the exhibits. I happily watched the kids being subjected to 'culture'.
FOOD
For breakfast, I had 'screna dolma'. It was 7 BAM and not traditionally a breakfast food. They don't seem to have any traditional breakfast foods. Rice soup with meat in it and pita bread. I thought it was a good breakfast. I discovered later that the restaurant it was from is family owned. Everything is made fresh daily and when they run out of food, they simply close. Weird.
A lot of locals don't order a drink with their food. I've noticed that the food cost (like my lunch) might be 12 BAM and the drink 5 BAM. If you can wait to get to a kiosk after lunch, you can get the same drink for half or a third of what the restaurant gouges you for.
BEGGARS
I may sound like I'm kidding but I'm not when I say that the beggars here are dressed much better than I am.
INTERVIEW WITH MIRZA
Here are some random facts I noted down from my interview with Mirza. I found that he is a really knowledgeable person and can easily range over a lot of different topics. I think if I ran into more people like him, I'd be happier and much better informed. I think that I really got a heck of a deal for a 2 BAM cup of tea to talk to him! I will be talking to him more as he works at the hostel I am staying at for 12 hours a day, 5 days a week - and believes he has a pretty good job. Interesting! Logan's comments are in []'s. Quotes from Mirza are in " "'s. [Mirza - if I mess up any of your quotes, please put it in the 'comments' section below! If you tell me direct, I may forget.] Also note, I got a picture of Mirza and Minela (she cleans the hotel) - it will be uploaded when I get more consistent internet.
Average pay - private sector, 500 BAM/month. Government, 1200 BAM/month - which is considered 'good' money.
Bosnians just got the ability to travel in Europe without a visa. They may start leaving to find work elsewhere.
I had asked Mirza about the war and he said he didn't like to talk about it. A few minutes later, he realized he was deep in conversation about the war. "It's inevitable." This helped illustrate to me that I don't really need to bring up the war - anyone I talk to long enough will on their own.
From the minute the war ended, it was safe here. [I've felt perfectly safe everywhere I've traveled. I've spotted a few shady characters who were checking me out for scams or robbery but I've used tradecraft to elude/irritate/frustrate them or let them know there are easier targets. Plus, I have no obvious (or hidden, sadly) wealth.]
They have places of worship for orthodox, Catholics, Jews and Muslims - all within 200-300 meters of each other here in Sarajevo.
"Money is the first, second and third problems. No money, no honey."
Good companies give 21 days of vacation here.
With money, people are very close to the 'edge'. [They aren't on 'food quest' here but finances are stretched very tight.]
Up to thirty years old, people may live with their parents.
At clubs and such, women tend to drink more than men.
The divorce rate is about the same as in the USA - half or more. Most divorces [like seem to be in the USA] have their roots in money issues.
"XXX" stuff is illegal - not on the basis of religion. Prostitutes and such are available for prices between 50 to 400 HUF. Obviously, the low end gives you some really interesting, dirty, nasty etc stuff. [No, I have no interest in 'sexual tourism' here. But it is interesting to report on.]
Beware of women in the Balkans - the men folk are often irrationally jealous. [I told him that I was safe from this sort of jealousy based on my physical appearance and the utter lack of sexual interest from women I meet.]
Sixty percent of the country is Muslim. There is a popular conspiracy theory that the war was stopped when the Bosnians were winning because it wasn't going the way that the people keeping it going wanted it to go. It wasn't stopped when civilians were getting massacred and such. The entire war could have just been a plot to wipe out the Muslims.
Sarajevo is the first city in Europe to have toilets.
Every story (and government here) has three sides. Everything is in triplicate.
The current flag (yellow and blue with stars) was designed by Western European designers as the three governments here couldn't agree.
The famous tunnel imported food for the siege during the war. They were selling things at ten times the normal cost. The war may have been about profit. The tunnel was used for three years. [One of the things here that a lot of people talk about is 'the tunnel'. They have quite expensive tours to see it. This tunnel a couple guys dug - one from each end and met in the middle. I'm not sure if they did it with no tools or no power tools. The tunnel was made to get supplies in to the city during it's siege. The military apparently took control of it and used it to make (by local standards) a lot of money. In talking with the locals, they seem agreed on two things a) you are only able to see a small part of the tunnel and b) it looks like a tunnel. I've personally be in caves that have gypsum flowers, columns, stalactites, etc - what do I want to see with a hand dug tunnel that I can only see a few feet of? This has confused some of the locals who say 'but the history'! I assure them that they have just given me the history and I can save my money for something like dental work.]
'Chow' is used as a greeting and goodbye.
Within Sarajevo, there was more comradery during the war.
When the war first started in March of 1992, there was a foreign army here - it was not a 'civil war'.
Gays are not popular/accepted here.
'White gypsies'. These are gypsies with lighter skin who have assimilated into the culture.
In costs, Beograd is a notch below Sarajevo and Macedonia is notch below them.
Government corruption is a big problem.
SIDEWALK DRIVERS
Parking up on the sidewalks is no big deal. If the sidewalk has big 'cars keep the fuck out' posts, people may drive their car to an area without them, up on the sidewalk and park next to the posts - on the sidewalk. I have no idea if the cops care or not.
LOGAN'S RESIDENCE
I've paid for the week at the hostel. I rearrange the furniture to be able to put a couple mattresses on the floor because the slat beds are killing my back. Apparently, if a slat gets broken, the rest are just re-spaced further apart. I wish owners of hotels and hostels were required to regularly sleep in all of the beds. For months.
I can already feel myself becoming restless, ready to move on to the next country. I'm thinking it my money gets low enough, I'm just going to India or something to see how cheaply I can live.
If I was physically stronger, I'd be able to carry a tent and sleeping bag. Not sure if I'll ever be able to do that with my physical condition but it would allow me to get more out in the country. Where I can find less people who speak English.
NOTEBOOK
Due to my constant scribbling, I seem to have filled yet another notebook. I'm not sure what to do with it. I'm not famous enough to have my secretary take it to the Smithsonian for putting in their preserving cases. And I'm unwilling to lug it around. It will probably be trashed but I'll probably wait till after I am ready to move on from here before trashing it. It just feels a bit wrong to do so but I can't say why. Maybe I wrote something important in it I should be looking at? Hum...
The top readers of all time (country wise) are - in order from most to least - United States, New Zealand, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Sweden.
SETTING THE SCENE
I am currently in a bar called Zembilj listening to Guns and Roses (Sweet Child of Mine) song. Prior to this they were playing music that if there was a 'bottom 40' would have probably made it. For months. I'm showing them just how long I can nurse a beer. I think they're a bit shocked as I've been here for awhile soaking up their internet. And I'll be here for awhile yet typing up this blog. Aside from the music, I like the bar - not gaudy and with a lot of dark woods and sturdy furniture. Like the rest of the bars in this country, it smells of stale tobacco smoke and strange scents blown in from the exotic (not erotic TJ) goods sold in the market it is in the center of. I don't know if I'll be able find it again as I consistently get myself lost in the labyrinth of twists and turns in the old town market.
TRAVELER'S TIP
In your fake wallet, carry the amount of cash you are allowed to spend on this day - ONLY. In that way, you can keep within your budget. Sure, you might need to use a restroom somewhere and dig more out of your hidden stash of money but this method does keep you from overspending what seems to be 'funny money' (valueless).
HOSTEL 'S'
I can't remember the name right now of the place I'm staying but I found out from sleeping a night there that it has a couple interesting things. If someone farts in the next room, you hear it. Thin walls. Consider them partition screens. Also, in order to save a couple of dollars on beds, they are using that 'slat' shit. Problem - if a slat breaks, they repair them by spreading out the remaining ones. I have partially rearranged (thought it looks trashed - it's not) the beds so that I could make space to put a couple of mattresses stacked on the floor. The slat bed nearly crippled my ass. Dealing with the thin walls, I am more concerned about the people next to me. I suspect they won't be staying long due to what we call "Pete's Theory".
PETE'S THEORY
Logan will eventually have any room where ever he is to himself due to snoring.
MUSEUM
I went to a very small museum today. I probably spent a half hour in there. It was mildly interesting. I very much appreciated the cost (2 BAM). The best thing they had in there was a ten year old hand made model of the old town. I took several pictures which I hope to get good enough internet someday to upload. They didn't mind me taking pictures when I assured them they wouldn't show up in a magazine. I think they were reassured when they saw my crappy camera. They also had some unidentified non-alcoholic 'traditional drink' I sampled but really couldn't describe. I'm not even sure if I liked it or not. I suspect the fact it is not available in stores means nobody else was sure either. I was given a private tour by a young German speaking man until a gaggle of school children entered and he had to go protect the exhibits. I happily watched the kids being subjected to 'culture'.
FOOD
For breakfast, I had 'screna dolma'. It was 7 BAM and not traditionally a breakfast food. They don't seem to have any traditional breakfast foods. Rice soup with meat in it and pita bread. I thought it was a good breakfast. I discovered later that the restaurant it was from is family owned. Everything is made fresh daily and when they run out of food, they simply close. Weird.
A lot of locals don't order a drink with their food. I've noticed that the food cost (like my lunch) might be 12 BAM and the drink 5 BAM. If you can wait to get to a kiosk after lunch, you can get the same drink for half or a third of what the restaurant gouges you for.
BEGGARS
I may sound like I'm kidding but I'm not when I say that the beggars here are dressed much better than I am.
INTERVIEW WITH MIRZA
Here are some random facts I noted down from my interview with Mirza. I found that he is a really knowledgeable person and can easily range over a lot of different topics. I think if I ran into more people like him, I'd be happier and much better informed. I think that I really got a heck of a deal for a 2 BAM cup of tea to talk to him! I will be talking to him more as he works at the hostel I am staying at for 12 hours a day, 5 days a week - and believes he has a pretty good job. Interesting! Logan's comments are in []'s. Quotes from Mirza are in " "'s. [Mirza - if I mess up any of your quotes, please put it in the 'comments' section below! If you tell me direct, I may forget.] Also note, I got a picture of Mirza and Minela (she cleans the hotel) - it will be uploaded when I get more consistent internet.
Average pay - private sector, 500 BAM/month. Government, 1200 BAM/month - which is considered 'good' money.
Bosnians just got the ability to travel in Europe without a visa. They may start leaving to find work elsewhere.
I had asked Mirza about the war and he said he didn't like to talk about it. A few minutes later, he realized he was deep in conversation about the war. "It's inevitable." This helped illustrate to me that I don't really need to bring up the war - anyone I talk to long enough will on their own.
From the minute the war ended, it was safe here. [I've felt perfectly safe everywhere I've traveled. I've spotted a few shady characters who were checking me out for scams or robbery but I've used tradecraft to elude/irritate/frustrate them or let them know there are easier targets. Plus, I have no obvious (or hidden, sadly) wealth.]
They have places of worship for orthodox, Catholics, Jews and Muslims - all within 200-300 meters of each other here in Sarajevo.
"Money is the first, second and third problems. No money, no honey."
Good companies give 21 days of vacation here.
With money, people are very close to the 'edge'. [They aren't on 'food quest' here but finances are stretched very tight.]
Up to thirty years old, people may live with their parents.
At clubs and such, women tend to drink more than men.
The divorce rate is about the same as in the USA - half or more. Most divorces [like seem to be in the USA] have their roots in money issues.
"XXX" stuff is illegal - not on the basis of religion. Prostitutes and such are available for prices between 50 to 400 HUF. Obviously, the low end gives you some really interesting, dirty, nasty etc stuff. [No, I have no interest in 'sexual tourism' here. But it is interesting to report on.]
Beware of women in the Balkans - the men folk are often irrationally jealous. [I told him that I was safe from this sort of jealousy based on my physical appearance and the utter lack of sexual interest from women I meet.]
Sixty percent of the country is Muslim. There is a popular conspiracy theory that the war was stopped when the Bosnians were winning because it wasn't going the way that the people keeping it going wanted it to go. It wasn't stopped when civilians were getting massacred and such. The entire war could have just been a plot to wipe out the Muslims.
Sarajevo is the first city in Europe to have toilets.
Every story (and government here) has three sides. Everything is in triplicate.
The current flag (yellow and blue with stars) was designed by Western European designers as the three governments here couldn't agree.
The famous tunnel imported food for the siege during the war. They were selling things at ten times the normal cost. The war may have been about profit. The tunnel was used for three years. [One of the things here that a lot of people talk about is 'the tunnel'. They have quite expensive tours to see it. This tunnel a couple guys dug - one from each end and met in the middle. I'm not sure if they did it with no tools or no power tools. The tunnel was made to get supplies in to the city during it's siege. The military apparently took control of it and used it to make (by local standards) a lot of money. In talking with the locals, they seem agreed on two things a) you are only able to see a small part of the tunnel and b) it looks like a tunnel. I've personally be in caves that have gypsum flowers, columns, stalactites, etc - what do I want to see with a hand dug tunnel that I can only see a few feet of? This has confused some of the locals who say 'but the history'! I assure them that they have just given me the history and I can save my money for something like dental work.]
'Chow' is used as a greeting and goodbye.
Within Sarajevo, there was more comradery during the war.
When the war first started in March of 1992, there was a foreign army here - it was not a 'civil war'.
Gays are not popular/accepted here.
'White gypsies'. These are gypsies with lighter skin who have assimilated into the culture.
In costs, Beograd is a notch below Sarajevo and Macedonia is notch below them.
Government corruption is a big problem.
SIDEWALK DRIVERS
Parking up on the sidewalks is no big deal. If the sidewalk has big 'cars keep the fuck out' posts, people may drive their car to an area without them, up on the sidewalk and park next to the posts - on the sidewalk. I have no idea if the cops care or not.
LOGAN'S RESIDENCE
I've paid for the week at the hostel. I rearrange the furniture to be able to put a couple mattresses on the floor because the slat beds are killing my back. Apparently, if a slat gets broken, the rest are just re-spaced further apart. I wish owners of hotels and hostels were required to regularly sleep in all of the beds. For months.
I can already feel myself becoming restless, ready to move on to the next country. I'm thinking it my money gets low enough, I'm just going to India or something to see how cheaply I can live.
If I was physically stronger, I'd be able to carry a tent and sleeping bag. Not sure if I'll ever be able to do that with my physical condition but it would allow me to get more out in the country. Where I can find less people who speak English.
NOTEBOOK
Due to my constant scribbling, I seem to have filled yet another notebook. I'm not sure what to do with it. I'm not famous enough to have my secretary take it to the Smithsonian for putting in their preserving cases. And I'm unwilling to lug it around. It will probably be trashed but I'll probably wait till after I am ready to move on from here before trashing it. It just feels a bit wrong to do so but I can't say why. Maybe I wrote something important in it I should be looking at? Hum...
Thursday, May 5, 2011
SURPRISE BUTTSEX WITH CANNON
Thanks to Pete - he managed to find the painting I have renamed 'Surprise Buttsex with Cannon'. I believe this was from the London National Gallery. This shows the English can be a bit naughty.
EDIN BIG BOSS OF TITO46
[Logan notes in brackets.]
Despite the hideous waste of my time and money the registration problems caused me, Edin (owner of Tito46) proved to be an entertaining and engaging host. Kane (an Australian staying there) and I questioned him about the recent war they had and Edin told us the following:
Bosnia lost it's heavy industry during the war. Because of this, people lost their jobs. Right now, he puts the unemployment rate at 50%, though other Bosnians I've spoken to think it is up to 60%. Edin believes that due to this, revolution will come - it is inevidable.
The people in Bosnia like that the USA ended the war but dislike the agreement that was forced upon them causing the government to be split three ways - Serbian, Croation and Bosnian. Because of this, there is effectively no government as the three sides rarely agree on things. [Oddly enough, there are three different animals I've seen that seem to live in harmony loose here - pigeons, cats and dogs. They aren't after each other at all. I'm sure there is an analogy here but I don't know enough about the politics to go further with it.] Even the language is split - it is called alternatively Serbian, Croation and Bosnian - even though it is exactly the same language.
The people aren't nationalistic but the government(s) are.
Bosnia use to be the heavy industry of Yugoslavia.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Kane the Australian. I swear to god, Australians are everywhere. No, it's not a bad thing. Anyway, Kane is an mechanical engineer graduate and seems to be a nice, laid back guy. He's been doing a lot of traveling around before he settles down to his career.
DOGS
For some reason I haven't figured out, there are a lot of loose dogs wandering around. They seem happy and well fed though they wear no collars. No idea what that's all about.
THE NEW HOSTEL
It's a bit more rudimentary than I had first thought. Little things like the shower I used had no where to hang up the sprayer and the water pressure made me think it was broken. And there was no shower curtan. I had asked about that but was assured 'someone will clean it up'. I figure so long as that 'someone' is not me, great.
I decided to pay the full price for tonight and if I like it to pay the remander of the previously negotiated lower rate for additional nights. So long as it doesn't completely suck, I'm going to stay there for a week. I'm tired of moving.
I was keeping track of my expenditures and I think that I'm right at the break even point. This means that I'm probably not going to be spending a month or couple here. I've heard that Serbia is about the same price but Romania is cheaper. I am not sure if I want to try staying in this country and slowly heading east or if I just want to pop over to Romania. I'm not sure how fascinated I am to see Serbia. I'm not really wanting to do the tourist thing right now so much as just live really fucking cheaply.
BRIBERY WORKS
So, I went to the new hostel and discovered that - for reasons that escape me - they haven't figured out that laundry can equal a nice source of extra income. They suggested I do my laundry myself. The sinks there are fucking tiny. After doing a couple pieces, I said 'fuck this' and went down to see the staff who were sitting around drinking coffee at a table outside of the hostel talking and smoking.
"Who is the person who does all of the cleaning for the hotel?" I asked Mirza. He pointed to a lady across the table from him. I got her name (Minela) and said "I'll give you 10 BAM to do a bag of laundry." She looked surprise and after much talking in Bosnia it was agreed. I had to specify I didn't want them sorted, ironed, startched, etc. Just cleaned, dried and stuff back into the bag.
Bribery. It works.
THE OLD MARKET
Mildly labrynthine, I was wandering around looking at all of the stuff for sale. Stuff I have no use for nor wish to carry. I did, however, come across belly dancing outfits complete with bangles and such. Since they seemed to be out of the XXXL size, I decided to take a pass on them. They also have a shitload of 'turkish coffee service' sets. I have no clue why - nobody seems interested in buying them. It's like a factory went nuts making them and a whole bunch of merchants are being forced to display them. I have no idea how they stay open, I really don't.
Fortunately, the Turks are everywhere here so I went to a Turkish restaurant. I got some food - and a salad. I did a lot of 'staring at it suspiciously' but I eventually ate it. It's suppose to be good for me somehow. I'm going to try to eat more of them. Well, actually, one a month would be 'more'. The Turkish restaurant was playing (not surprisingly) Turkish music. I'm not really into Turkish music but it is better than if they were playing something like the Bee Gees. Which is still popular in the Czech Republic. Because they are currently living in the 1980's. Which is why Jana likes to wear white pants. In another 20 years, she'll start photoshopping the color of the pants she's wearing to change it. Ten years after that, white pants will come back into style.
My ranting about Jana aside, my lunch consisted of some sort of stew, bread, a salad and water - all for 9 BAM.
And yes, I'm still doing the 'Viking Funeral' custom when I'm done with my food. For those who don't know the custom of the 'viking funeral', when I am done with the food, I drape the napkin across the remains like a funeral shroud. This is the 'abbreviated Viking Funeral' ritual. The restaurants tend to object if I then light the plate and the contents thereof on fire and send them off to sea.
As a side note - something I haven't seen in the Old market (or Sarajevo for that matter) is XXX and porn stuff. I suspect this is due to the various religions but it's absence actually is interesting.
BEGGAR SCHANINAGANS
Apparently, the beggars around here have another fun trick they like to do. When someone decides they wish to be generous they pull out their wallet to get some money out. The beggar then grabs it and runs off. This is a good reason to pack bollos. Fortunately, I'm not affected by this because I tend to throw (foreign) coins in the beggars general direction or drop them on the street where I'm walking as though I am clumsy. Which, I actually am. This is still the best way to get rid of your foreign coins after you've switched countries.
Costs for one day - the record
5 BAM - taxi. I was feeling too lazy to hump my heavy ass pack a couple kilometers.
10 BAM - promised to the cleaning woman if she cleans my laundry. I will need to pay this probably once a week.
20 BAM - lodging cost (for a week rate, this is one day's worth)
9 BAM - Lunch
3 BAM - Breakfast
1 BAM - Fanta
5 BAM - Thyme tea and an expresso while I type up this stuff.
7 BAM - dinner
2 BAM - coffee
I think I'll have to go further east to make financial ground but right now I think I'm very close to the break even point. Very, very close. Maybe a tad over. If the local currency wasn't artificially tied to the euro, I think things would be much, much cheaper. It's starting to look more and more like 'interesting places in Asia' might be the ticket.
According to two Turkish folks I met in a cafe, Turkey is actually more expensive than here. I can't tell you how depressing I find that.
INSANITY KICKING IN
The town of Sarajevo is located on a long, flat area. It is surrounded, football stadium style, by the suburbs. A shitload of houses, streets and businesses on hills. Tourists don't go there. I decided to climb up the hill in the name of 'health'. It was a 'obviously my brain has broke' moment for me.
So I hiked up the endless hill.
They have a lot of mosques in Sarajevo - all the major religions are represented here as a matter of fact which is one of the neat things about it. But when I was up on the hill was the first time in twenty some years I'd heard the Muslem call to prayer.
While on the hill from hell, I encountered a shop keeper who had very good English. Although he saw very few people who spoke English (he seemed surprised to see me - given that steep assed hill I get it - he said he worked on his English since he was a shop keeper. I wish that attitude would spread to the areas actually used by tourists.
If you're traveling with others, there is always someone else you can try to pin the blame on for your stupid ideas. When you're alone, it's harder. Since nobody is around, I'll pin the blame on Richard. He told me to find a different way off of the hill.
Let us say that the suburbs up on the steep assed hills do not suffer from 'civic planning'. It is a maze. Really. I felt like Pac Man traveling his maze. Instead of ghosts to worry about, I had cars that did 40-60 KPH. They have a saying here "When you cannot be bothered to watch for traffic in Sarajevo, you have grown tired of life." Well, that is to say they will have that saying here - I just started it. I had walked under the thinking that as long as I was going downhill, I'd be OK. No - some roads that start to go down later go up and up.
And up.
I got a couple good pictures from altitute that felt above cloud cover. When I get good internet some day I will post them.
The neighborhood I saw between gasps for air and cigarette breaks appeared to be very poor yet clean. Like the people who probably had no work or money or perhaps even hope still cleaned the sidewalks outside of their home with water. Poor but proud. I'm glad these folks are (in general) too poor to beg or you couldn't swing your bag without getting charged for assault.
The reactions of the people themselves to me way off of the tourist trail was anything from friendly to a bit hostile. I'm sure some were wondering how I got my fat ass up there at all.
EDIN BIG BOSS OF TITO46
[Logan notes in brackets.]
Despite the hideous waste of my time and money the registration problems caused me, Edin (owner of Tito46) proved to be an entertaining and engaging host. Kane (an Australian staying there) and I questioned him about the recent war they had and Edin told us the following:
Bosnia lost it's heavy industry during the war. Because of this, people lost their jobs. Right now, he puts the unemployment rate at 50%, though other Bosnians I've spoken to think it is up to 60%. Edin believes that due to this, revolution will come - it is inevidable.
The people in Bosnia like that the USA ended the war but dislike the agreement that was forced upon them causing the government to be split three ways - Serbian, Croation and Bosnian. Because of this, there is effectively no government as the three sides rarely agree on things. [Oddly enough, there are three different animals I've seen that seem to live in harmony loose here - pigeons, cats and dogs. They aren't after each other at all. I'm sure there is an analogy here but I don't know enough about the politics to go further with it.] Even the language is split - it is called alternatively Serbian, Croation and Bosnian - even though it is exactly the same language.
The people aren't nationalistic but the government(s) are.
Bosnia use to be the heavy industry of Yugoslavia.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Kane the Australian. I swear to god, Australians are everywhere. No, it's not a bad thing. Anyway, Kane is an mechanical engineer graduate and seems to be a nice, laid back guy. He's been doing a lot of traveling around before he settles down to his career.
DOGS
For some reason I haven't figured out, there are a lot of loose dogs wandering around. They seem happy and well fed though they wear no collars. No idea what that's all about.
THE NEW HOSTEL
It's a bit more rudimentary than I had first thought. Little things like the shower I used had no where to hang up the sprayer and the water pressure made me think it was broken. And there was no shower curtan. I had asked about that but was assured 'someone will clean it up'. I figure so long as that 'someone' is not me, great.
I decided to pay the full price for tonight and if I like it to pay the remander of the previously negotiated lower rate for additional nights. So long as it doesn't completely suck, I'm going to stay there for a week. I'm tired of moving.
I was keeping track of my expenditures and I think that I'm right at the break even point. This means that I'm probably not going to be spending a month or couple here. I've heard that Serbia is about the same price but Romania is cheaper. I am not sure if I want to try staying in this country and slowly heading east or if I just want to pop over to Romania. I'm not sure how fascinated I am to see Serbia. I'm not really wanting to do the tourist thing right now so much as just live really fucking cheaply.
BRIBERY WORKS
So, I went to the new hostel and discovered that - for reasons that escape me - they haven't figured out that laundry can equal a nice source of extra income. They suggested I do my laundry myself. The sinks there are fucking tiny. After doing a couple pieces, I said 'fuck this' and went down to see the staff who were sitting around drinking coffee at a table outside of the hostel talking and smoking.
"Who is the person who does all of the cleaning for the hotel?" I asked Mirza. He pointed to a lady across the table from him. I got her name (Minela) and said "I'll give you 10 BAM to do a bag of laundry." She looked surprise and after much talking in Bosnia it was agreed. I had to specify I didn't want them sorted, ironed, startched, etc. Just cleaned, dried and stuff back into the bag.
Bribery. It works.
THE OLD MARKET
Mildly labrynthine, I was wandering around looking at all of the stuff for sale. Stuff I have no use for nor wish to carry. I did, however, come across belly dancing outfits complete with bangles and such. Since they seemed to be out of the XXXL size, I decided to take a pass on them. They also have a shitload of 'turkish coffee service' sets. I have no clue why - nobody seems interested in buying them. It's like a factory went nuts making them and a whole bunch of merchants are being forced to display them. I have no idea how they stay open, I really don't.
Fortunately, the Turks are everywhere here so I went to a Turkish restaurant. I got some food - and a salad. I did a lot of 'staring at it suspiciously' but I eventually ate it. It's suppose to be good for me somehow. I'm going to try to eat more of them. Well, actually, one a month would be 'more'. The Turkish restaurant was playing (not surprisingly) Turkish music. I'm not really into Turkish music but it is better than if they were playing something like the Bee Gees. Which is still popular in the Czech Republic. Because they are currently living in the 1980's. Which is why Jana likes to wear white pants. In another 20 years, she'll start photoshopping the color of the pants she's wearing to change it. Ten years after that, white pants will come back into style.
My ranting about Jana aside, my lunch consisted of some sort of stew, bread, a salad and water - all for 9 BAM.
And yes, I'm still doing the 'Viking Funeral' custom when I'm done with my food. For those who don't know the custom of the 'viking funeral', when I am done with the food, I drape the napkin across the remains like a funeral shroud. This is the 'abbreviated Viking Funeral' ritual. The restaurants tend to object if I then light the plate and the contents thereof on fire and send them off to sea.
As a side note - something I haven't seen in the Old market (or Sarajevo for that matter) is XXX and porn stuff. I suspect this is due to the various religions but it's absence actually is interesting.
BEGGAR SCHANINAGANS
Apparently, the beggars around here have another fun trick they like to do. When someone decides they wish to be generous they pull out their wallet to get some money out. The beggar then grabs it and runs off. This is a good reason to pack bollos. Fortunately, I'm not affected by this because I tend to throw (foreign) coins in the beggars general direction or drop them on the street where I'm walking as though I am clumsy. Which, I actually am. This is still the best way to get rid of your foreign coins after you've switched countries.
Costs for one day - the record
5 BAM - taxi. I was feeling too lazy to hump my heavy ass pack a couple kilometers.
10 BAM - promised to the cleaning woman if she cleans my laundry. I will need to pay this probably once a week.
20 BAM - lodging cost (for a week rate, this is one day's worth)
9 BAM - Lunch
3 BAM - Breakfast
1 BAM - Fanta
5 BAM - Thyme tea and an expresso while I type up this stuff.
7 BAM - dinner
2 BAM - coffee
I think I'll have to go further east to make financial ground but right now I think I'm very close to the break even point. Very, very close. Maybe a tad over. If the local currency wasn't artificially tied to the euro, I think things would be much, much cheaper. It's starting to look more and more like 'interesting places in Asia' might be the ticket.
According to two Turkish folks I met in a cafe, Turkey is actually more expensive than here. I can't tell you how depressing I find that.
INSANITY KICKING IN
The town of Sarajevo is located on a long, flat area. It is surrounded, football stadium style, by the suburbs. A shitload of houses, streets and businesses on hills. Tourists don't go there. I decided to climb up the hill in the name of 'health'. It was a 'obviously my brain has broke' moment for me.
So I hiked up the endless hill.
They have a lot of mosques in Sarajevo - all the major religions are represented here as a matter of fact which is one of the neat things about it. But when I was up on the hill was the first time in twenty some years I'd heard the Muslem call to prayer.
While on the hill from hell, I encountered a shop keeper who had very good English. Although he saw very few people who spoke English (he seemed surprised to see me - given that steep assed hill I get it - he said he worked on his English since he was a shop keeper. I wish that attitude would spread to the areas actually used by tourists.
If you're traveling with others, there is always someone else you can try to pin the blame on for your stupid ideas. When you're alone, it's harder. Since nobody is around, I'll pin the blame on Richard. He told me to find a different way off of the hill.
Let us say that the suburbs up on the steep assed hills do not suffer from 'civic planning'. It is a maze. Really. I felt like Pac Man traveling his maze. Instead of ghosts to worry about, I had cars that did 40-60 KPH. They have a saying here "When you cannot be bothered to watch for traffic in Sarajevo, you have grown tired of life." Well, that is to say they will have that saying here - I just started it. I had walked under the thinking that as long as I was going downhill, I'd be OK. No - some roads that start to go down later go up and up.
And up.
I got a couple good pictures from altitute that felt above cloud cover. When I get good internet some day I will post them.
The neighborhood I saw between gasps for air and cigarette breaks appeared to be very poor yet clean. Like the people who probably had no work or money or perhaps even hope still cleaned the sidewalks outside of their home with water. Poor but proud. I'm glad these folks are (in general) too poor to beg or you couldn't swing your bag without getting charged for assault.
The reactions of the people themselves to me way off of the tourist trail was anything from friendly to a bit hostile. I'm sure some were wondering how I got my fat ass up there at all.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
BOSNIA - ROLL YOUR BUREAUCRACY SKILL
TERMS AND DISCLAIMERS
Any time I mention BAM, that is the currency used in Bosnia. It is also referred to as KM or 'marks'. I have tried to use BAM throughout the text but sometimes I fuck it up. You can convert it to your own currency.
I'd like to appologize for the partially random order of this text. It's kind of 'either go do shit or type to you' - so I am compromising by typing stuff quickly. Some day, some crazy fucker who wants to lose a bunch of money may decide to put this into a book. An editor will then be hired who can put this stuff into logical order, get rid of the things I kept repeating and such. That editor will then read part of the text and commit suicide. Then a new and stronger editor will be hired.
SARAJEVO RANT
Everywhere I go in Europe, American music assails my ears. Shit from the 1970's through 1990's you hoped you had escaped from is still popular here.
Drink warning! 'Schoketa' is actually code for 'grape fruit Fanta'. It is meant to teach you not to drink it again but I failed my lesson and accidentally bought another. I suck at this.
All over Europe, shit closes early. By early, I mean between 9PM (21:00) and midnight (24:00). Of all of the places I have been, only the USA has gone onto the 24 hour work clock to keep the machine going. Everyone else seems to work normal hours, goes home and spends time with family and friends. Poor dumb bastards. [Disclaimer: For my numerous non-native English speaking readers, that last sentence is 'sarcasm'.]
Speaking of non-native English speakers, I was just thinking of the fun someone would have running my blog through Google translate. I'm not sure if it would make less sense or more.
In Europe, beware of the beginning of May. May 1st seems to be a fairly universal holiday. Possibly the second as well in some places. A lot of shit closes for those days.
TRAVELER'S TIPS
Unless you like high prices and diarrhea, I recommend eating at the places locals eat at.
For your first nights stay in Sarajevo, stay at a pretty good place and insist on getting your 'register with the police paperwork' thing taken care of. See 'Logan attempts to get legal' section below.
In Sarajevo, when you negotiate a taxi ride cost, you pay the negotiated rate regardless of what is on the meter. I always ask 'how much to get to X' when I first get in the cab. The cab driver said '10' and was running the meter. The meter got to 13+ but we still paid 10. Always negotiate first. If you feel bad because the taxis are so damned cheap here, negotiate anyway then tip whatever you want - the driver will be delighted.
Small fucking tips here. Rounding up to the nearest BAM may be sufficient. Adding one or two BAM is sure to get a smile. Seriously - small tips work here.
To greet each other in Sarajevo, they say something that sounds to my untrained ear the same as the Czech 'dobry den'. I've just started saying that - it seems to work. [For any Czechs that say 'that is not how you spell dobry den' - it's how I say it and will make more sense phonetically. If you feel like putting in the right way to spell it in the comments, go for it.]
While it may seem pretty easy to 'ride in the black' or 'ride black' or 'ride the streetcars without buying a ticket', be advised that they do have teams of ticket inspectors which hop on, flash plastic ID cards and will fine your ass some unknown amount (no clue here) if you don't have your ticket. Be ye warned, says I.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Anouk ("Ann-Uke") - from the Netherlands. I met her at TITO46 hostel. Nice lady. she is writing about (for school) corruption and such in the local press and government. I asked her if this was dangerous for her (ie would she be in a landfill soon) but she assured me it wasn't. She seems passionate about journalism and is going to school for it.
TRAVELER LORE
When Danielle, Matt and Anouk were talking, I picked up some interesting bits of traveler lore from them regarding anti-malarial drugs that people get prescribed. There seem to be three different ones - Larium, Malarone and Planquil. Note, I may have misspelled the names but that is how they sound. The last two are OK but apparently, Larium - which is the cheapest and most readily available can make you go crazy. If you have any kind of potential to go nuts in your genes etc, congratulations this drug can push you right over the edge screaming. And apparently doctors don't bother telling people about this big fucking side effect when prescribing it. I think this information is pretty good because Danielle has worked for the World Health Organization in disease control and such - that's way more than enough credentials for me. Also, malaria seems to be one of those diseases that once you've gotten it, it can keep resurfacing like a bad LSD trip. What a bummer. It will give me something fun to look forward to when I get to visit Africa eventually. I am filled with happiness and joy. As a side note, apparently Bill Gates and a bunch of other rich people are throwing money into looking for an actual cure for some of these diseases like malaria. Good!
TROLLEY TICKETS IN SARAJEVO
A couple of interesting things about these. First, I'm not sure if they also work on buses or just the trolley. I have no idea and haven't encountered someone who can explain it to me. Or I forgot to ask them. Either way, like most places in the world, travelers here seem to avoid the buses. They are a bit confusing and such. The city isn't really that big. If you want to get around, trolley and taxi are fine.
A one way ticket is about 2 BAM. The daily ticket is 5 BAM. They sell one trip tickets on the train but naturally you can't buy a fucking day ticket there. Instead you have to seek out a kiosk. I'm not sure if it is just a special kiosk I know of or if any tobacco seller can hook you up with a ticket. Naturally, these tickets are filled out by the person who sells them to you so that you have to report to the kiosk every day you decide you want one. This is very strange because for the one trip tickets on the trolley they have a machine there you feed the tickets into and it stamps them. I don't know why they don't make the tickets for the day the same design (they're totally different) so that you can feed them into the stamper. That way, you could stock up on the tickets. Buying the first daily ticket is quite a challenge because the tobacco sellers I've spoken to don't know any English (or German) nor seem inclined to try any. They tried to sell me a lot of weird random ticket stuff but fortunately I knew the price of the day ticket (5.40 BAM) and wrote it down. That got me the correct ticket. Now, I can keep this ticket and show it to them if I decide I want another one.
On top of this, they have very cheap month long passes that....You're not able to get. Pretty much the paperwork involved makes this a 'local's only' thing.
In a lot of places, the tram (streetcar) is a good way to see the city. Here, they seem to have too few street cars and too many people wanting to get on them. You can see the city like that but...
MONEY EXCHANGING
Every other country I've been to in Europe has 'currency exchange' places. Not so here. They have a shit ton of banks. I have no clue why. Maybe there are some sort of weird 'favorable to those with special needs and money laundering' rules that allow so many banks to flourish. I'm really not sure. So, I learned from other travelers that you need to go to a bank to exchange currency. This is partially true. You can exchange some currencies at banks - others are a problem. Like the Hungarian (HUF) money I had. Eventually, I found one that did this currency - Raiffeisen. Their symbol is crossed black wrenches on a yellow field. I have no idea why. A couple of notes on this - first, plan on it taking awhile. There is a half hour or longer line in this bank. They are really popular for some reason. Second, in order to exchange money, you need your passport with you. For most people, this shouldn't be a problem - you should carry around your passport with you at all times. In many countries, it is the law. Just carry it in a completely pain in the ass place to get to so that it doesn't get pick pocketed. I keep mine in a place that takes 30-60 seconds to get to. It may take considerably less if they just tear it off of my cold dead corpse.
RETURN OF SARAJEVO RANT
I went to a restaurant that the locals were eating at. The menu consisted of drinks and three other listings. 'Big portion', 'middle portion' and 'small portion'. No clue as to what it was. As I am an adventurous soul, I decided this sounded good to me. Since my (inner) stomach has shrunk to European size, I ordered the 'small portion' and waited to see what it was. With the exception of sea food, I can eat about anything. What I got was some greasy looking pita bread, some sort of dead animal meat cooked over fire, diced onions and two 'death peppers'. Any time you get a couple tiny peppers on your plate, you can be reasonably sure that they are 'death peppers'. They were. I liked them. The meal was 5 BAM and it filled me up. It was delicious but I can't think of anyone who would call it 'healthy'.
Afterward, I tried Bosnian coffee (2 BAM). It reminded me of Greek coffee in that it was very bitter and you aren't suppose to drink the dregs. You pay for it if you do. It was served in a small carafe thing with a tiny cup. There was enough coffee for two tiny cups and it came with two cubes of sugar. I was told that you are suppose to put a cube of sugar into your mouth then drink it. I tried that but it was way too much sugar for me and you couldn't just sip the coffee. If you did, you were stuck with a lump of half dissolved sugar in your mouth. Not good. If you added the sugar to the cup itself, you couldn't stir it or you'd bring up the dregs - which you're not suppose to drink. Kind of a lose - lose thing. If you give Bosnian coffee a pass you're not really missing out on a lot IMO.
Now, in most of the European countries I've been to, I've said on this blog that you take your life in your hands crossing the street. In Sarajevo, you don't even need to cross the street. I've lost count of the times I've seen (or been surprised by) a car doing 40 KM/hour forward or backward on the sidewalk. I'm not even joking. You have to 'walk defensively'. Cars do NOT owe you the right of way. Some of the self satisfied 'I can walk where I want to' people I've seen in the states would be statistics here. Unless the sidewalk is physically too narrow for a car, you aren't safe from them. Even if you are safe from the cars there are motorcycles and mopeds for bonus fun. They are fast and fairly reckless. I'm really surprised there aren't more random blood stains on the sidewalks.
LOGAN ATTEMPTS TO 'GET LEGAL'
In Bosnia, it is apparently the law that you are suppose to register either within 24 hours of coming into the country or 48 - reports vary. Reports with the police vary. People seem unsure on the number. Or what happens if you don't register. The hotel or hostel you are in is suppose to register you. Unfortunately, I didn't know about this when I first entered the country and the people at TITO46 (hostel) were making excuses and changing their story when I asked about it. I have zero tolerance for stupid shit like this so I decided to go to get myself registered. Matt and Danielle were also anxious to avoid possible legal complications - they went with me for part of the trip but after a couple hours of 'fun and adventure' decided to just rely on the hostel owner to sort it out. I am not so trusting of the double talking hostel folks so I pressed on.
There was two taxi rides (at 10 BAM each), a couple of long street car rides and a bit over half a day burned because the people at the Hostel were fucking it up. Part of the problem was that I had gotten completely erroneous advice on where to go from the horrible old woman at Hostel Ljubicica. Always be very suspicious of a place you are given directions to if they can't provide you with an address - especially if they claim to send them documents every day. More on this fun filled Hostel Ljubicica later...
If you ever need (god forbid) to register yourself, go to the "Office for Foreigners Ministry of Security", Pijacna 8. That's the address. [It's near a big blue 'BM Hotel]. I got it from the US Embassy which even my US passport wasn't enough to enter the bunker like building. They are still hunkered down behind concrete and bullet proof glass, but they try to be helpful through the telephone... [If you need to call the US Embassy and don't know how to search for it on the internet, their phone number is 033 704 000].
I eventually got to the "Office for Foreigners Ministry of Security" and discovered it to be a guitar shop. I'm not even kidding. After talking to the people who ran the guitar shop I discovered you had to go out of the building, around back and up a couple of flights of stairs. This was not the huge bureaucratic organization I was envisioning. Instead, it was one man and a telephone. He was helping another man fill out some paperwork. The other man to me seemed unremarkable other than sporting a larger than normal mustache. After the mustache man was gone, this guy washed his hands, opened a window and lit a cigarette. "Gypsy." he said by way of explanation. Wow, they hate them here too. I then explained my situation to the man in the office. I said "I wish to register in accordance with your laws with the police since I am a foreigner." After some consideration, he said "Why?". I blinked a couple of times. "Because I don't want to break the laws of this country?" was what I came up with. He considered this as well then gravely nodded. Apparently, my answer was good enough to proceed. At first, he tried to convince me that he was not the person I needed to see. From my earlier extensive run around, I was ready for this one. I said "The US Embassy which called you told me to see you. The hostels told me to see you. The police told me to see you." Sure, part of this was fabricated but it did get him to admit it was indeed his job. The US Embassy had indeed called him. He then asked for the phone number of the pension I am staying at. Fortunately, I had gotten a business card from them in case of emergency. He then called them up and had a 'conversation'. I couldn't tell if he was talking to them or yelling at them. It may have been both. During the long conversation, he gestured at me in short, sharp gestures as though the people on the other end of the phone had some way of seeing it. Whenever he did, I nodded gravely despite my complete lack of understanding what was going on. This seemed to satisfy him and so he yelled at them more. I smoked. He smoked. Eventually, he hung up (slammed down) the phone and told me, "You no trouble. They - I make trouble. They give you paper morning 10." I got his name and phone number written down and told him I would call him if they didn't give me my paper by ten in the morning. He seemed to look forward to the prospect of yelling at them again. Given how much trouble they had caused me, I am hoping a stiff fine for rabid incompetence will be in order.
So, I went to a nearby cafe the man in the office recommended in order to celebrate his yelling at the hostel on the phone with a very light meal. While I was in the cafe I met a man (by sitting at his table) who it turned out works on heating and air conditioning and spoke no English. Our entire (long) conversation was in German. Apparently, kids in school use to be forced to learn German and a lot of people from around here have lived in Germany. Excellent for me. I bought him an espresso (1 BAM) which was really cheap since we were far away from the expensive city center. By expensive, I mean cheap - but comparatively expensive. Although he was waiting on a work colleague, he offered to give me a ride in his car to the streetcar stop but I declined saying the walk would be good after eating. It was a nice lunch (and very cheap - around 4 BAM I think) and a suitable salve for the heavy bureaucracy shit I'd been dealing with that morning.
But when I returned to the hostel, I discovered the fun was not yet over.
In order to increase security, they had changed the locks on all of the rooms. Unfortunately, the locks were so secure that nobody could get into my room. Additionally, the hostel is completely booked - all thirty beds - after tonight. So, now I have a wonderful activity for this afternoon as well. As TJ would say "It's a mutherfucker of a day". At least, I think that's what he says.
So I went to look for additional places to stay while the desk clerk uselessly pounded on my door. The stuff on Travelwiki all seemed to be pretty useless as did Hostelworld and such. Fortunately, from the tram (streetcar) I had espied several likely hostels where it makes a curve near the river. I went to look into them.
I discovered they have 'Pansions' as well. I don't know what makes them different from hotels - you can't rent a bed, just a room. Those will cost you about $40-$50/night. Why would you want one?
So I found two different places I will now detail for you.
HOSTEL LJUBICICA
Before staying anywhere, I always ask to see the room. If they give me a story about how I can't (because it's occupied or whatever) I thank them politely, say I'll be back later and go find a new place. Assume if they won't show you the room that it's a shithole. At Hostel Ljubicica, they were happy to show me the room. It was a shithole. Oddly enough, their brochure shows they are endorsed by 'Lonely Planet' and 'Lets Go Europe'. [Apparently, it either costs extra money for the word 'To' or they are trying to encourage the continent in some way - I'm not sure which.] Hostel Ljubicica has no wifi, is dirty, crowded and on top of that, the old lady who runs the place has a minor scam going. She tells people that the rooms are 20 BAM plus 3 BAM for 'registration fee'. I closely questioned her about this and she assured me that she must register people every day they stay there. You don't - you get registered once when you enter the country and that's fucking it. Plus, I don't believe it costs any money to do so. So, consider the cost 23 BAM for the room. She may be related to Gummy Sue but I'm not sure.
Needless to say, I kept searching. Eventually, I found a place called "Pension Sebilj'. This place confused me a bit because some of the signs called it a 'pension' and some called it a 'hostel' so I went to check the prices. I spoke with a nice guy called Mirza there. The price for a bed was 30 BAM a night - a bit more than I wanted to pay but I entered into negotiations with him and got it down to 20 BAM a night if I stayed for a week. In addition, after I voiced my concerns about gear safety (there are no lockers) he said that he would give me a room to myself despite the room containing 4-5 beds. They are really empty and apparently hurting for business. This confuses me a bit because it is a nice looking, comfortable place and located right next to the labyrinth of streets and shops known as the 'old town' and overlooking the river. He didn't think he'd be able to do this rate when the 'high season'/summer came but if I enjoy the city for a week, I may try to negotiate with him for a rate for the month. We'll see how I like it. In addition to no gear lockers at all, the hostel has no wifi. I did some recon and found a Turkish coffee shop in easy walking distance that has free wifi and no loud annoying music. It will work. Mirza also told me that if I didn't get a registration card from hostel TITO46, he would get me one. That's good but I'm not sure what the officials will do if they notice the dates don't match. We'll see what happens with that.
I'm contemplating a longer stay here so that I have some time to see if I can make the couch surfing thing actually work (it still hasn't yet) as well as to plot my next move. I may end up staying here for a month so to try to get some extra money saved up from the trickle of money that is social security.
After finding a non-shithole hostel to stay at, I went and ate an interesting dinner (23 BAM) of skewered chicken, bread, beer and (gasp) a salad. Keep in mind, that 23 BAM is sometimes less than what I was paying in Blacksburg, VA!
Lastly, I managed to procure a couple more books (25 BAM total, a bit pricey) of the blank variety that I use to make notes in to write this blog.
Any time I mention BAM, that is the currency used in Bosnia. It is also referred to as KM or 'marks'. I have tried to use BAM throughout the text but sometimes I fuck it up. You can convert it to your own currency.
I'd like to appologize for the partially random order of this text. It's kind of 'either go do shit or type to you' - so I am compromising by typing stuff quickly. Some day, some crazy fucker who wants to lose a bunch of money may decide to put this into a book. An editor will then be hired who can put this stuff into logical order, get rid of the things I kept repeating and such. That editor will then read part of the text and commit suicide. Then a new and stronger editor will be hired.
SARAJEVO RANT
Everywhere I go in Europe, American music assails my ears. Shit from the 1970's through 1990's you hoped you had escaped from is still popular here.
Drink warning! 'Schoketa' is actually code for 'grape fruit Fanta'. It is meant to teach you not to drink it again but I failed my lesson and accidentally bought another. I suck at this.
All over Europe, shit closes early. By early, I mean between 9PM (21:00) and midnight (24:00). Of all of the places I have been, only the USA has gone onto the 24 hour work clock to keep the machine going. Everyone else seems to work normal hours, goes home and spends time with family and friends. Poor dumb bastards. [Disclaimer: For my numerous non-native English speaking readers, that last sentence is 'sarcasm'.]
Speaking of non-native English speakers, I was just thinking of the fun someone would have running my blog through Google translate. I'm not sure if it would make less sense or more.
In Europe, beware of the beginning of May. May 1st seems to be a fairly universal holiday. Possibly the second as well in some places. A lot of shit closes for those days.
TRAVELER'S TIPS
Unless you like high prices and diarrhea, I recommend eating at the places locals eat at.
For your first nights stay in Sarajevo, stay at a pretty good place and insist on getting your 'register with the police paperwork' thing taken care of. See 'Logan attempts to get legal' section below.
In Sarajevo, when you negotiate a taxi ride cost, you pay the negotiated rate regardless of what is on the meter. I always ask 'how much to get to X' when I first get in the cab. The cab driver said '10' and was running the meter. The meter got to 13+ but we still paid 10. Always negotiate first. If you feel bad because the taxis are so damned cheap here, negotiate anyway then tip whatever you want - the driver will be delighted.
Small fucking tips here. Rounding up to the nearest BAM may be sufficient. Adding one or two BAM is sure to get a smile. Seriously - small tips work here.
To greet each other in Sarajevo, they say something that sounds to my untrained ear the same as the Czech 'dobry den'. I've just started saying that - it seems to work. [For any Czechs that say 'that is not how you spell dobry den' - it's how I say it and will make more sense phonetically. If you feel like putting in the right way to spell it in the comments, go for it.]
While it may seem pretty easy to 'ride in the black' or 'ride black' or 'ride the streetcars without buying a ticket', be advised that they do have teams of ticket inspectors which hop on, flash plastic ID cards and will fine your ass some unknown amount (no clue here) if you don't have your ticket. Be ye warned, says I.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Anouk ("Ann-Uke") - from the Netherlands. I met her at TITO46 hostel. Nice lady. she is writing about (for school) corruption and such in the local press and government. I asked her if this was dangerous for her (ie would she be in a landfill soon) but she assured me it wasn't. She seems passionate about journalism and is going to school for it.
TRAVELER LORE
When Danielle, Matt and Anouk were talking, I picked up some interesting bits of traveler lore from them regarding anti-malarial drugs that people get prescribed. There seem to be three different ones - Larium, Malarone and Planquil. Note, I may have misspelled the names but that is how they sound. The last two are OK but apparently, Larium - which is the cheapest and most readily available can make you go crazy. If you have any kind of potential to go nuts in your genes etc, congratulations this drug can push you right over the edge screaming. And apparently doctors don't bother telling people about this big fucking side effect when prescribing it. I think this information is pretty good because Danielle has worked for the World Health Organization in disease control and such - that's way more than enough credentials for me. Also, malaria seems to be one of those diseases that once you've gotten it, it can keep resurfacing like a bad LSD trip. What a bummer. It will give me something fun to look forward to when I get to visit Africa eventually. I am filled with happiness and joy. As a side note, apparently Bill Gates and a bunch of other rich people are throwing money into looking for an actual cure for some of these diseases like malaria. Good!
TROLLEY TICKETS IN SARAJEVO
A couple of interesting things about these. First, I'm not sure if they also work on buses or just the trolley. I have no idea and haven't encountered someone who can explain it to me. Or I forgot to ask them. Either way, like most places in the world, travelers here seem to avoid the buses. They are a bit confusing and such. The city isn't really that big. If you want to get around, trolley and taxi are fine.
A one way ticket is about 2 BAM. The daily ticket is 5 BAM. They sell one trip tickets on the train but naturally you can't buy a fucking day ticket there. Instead you have to seek out a kiosk. I'm not sure if it is just a special kiosk I know of or if any tobacco seller can hook you up with a ticket. Naturally, these tickets are filled out by the person who sells them to you so that you have to report to the kiosk every day you decide you want one. This is very strange because for the one trip tickets on the trolley they have a machine there you feed the tickets into and it stamps them. I don't know why they don't make the tickets for the day the same design (they're totally different) so that you can feed them into the stamper. That way, you could stock up on the tickets. Buying the first daily ticket is quite a challenge because the tobacco sellers I've spoken to don't know any English (or German) nor seem inclined to try any. They tried to sell me a lot of weird random ticket stuff but fortunately I knew the price of the day ticket (5.40 BAM) and wrote it down. That got me the correct ticket. Now, I can keep this ticket and show it to them if I decide I want another one.
On top of this, they have very cheap month long passes that....You're not able to get. Pretty much the paperwork involved makes this a 'local's only' thing.
In a lot of places, the tram (streetcar) is a good way to see the city. Here, they seem to have too few street cars and too many people wanting to get on them. You can see the city like that but...
MONEY EXCHANGING
Every other country I've been to in Europe has 'currency exchange' places. Not so here. They have a shit ton of banks. I have no clue why. Maybe there are some sort of weird 'favorable to those with special needs and money laundering' rules that allow so many banks to flourish. I'm really not sure. So, I learned from other travelers that you need to go to a bank to exchange currency. This is partially true. You can exchange some currencies at banks - others are a problem. Like the Hungarian (HUF) money I had. Eventually, I found one that did this currency - Raiffeisen. Their symbol is crossed black wrenches on a yellow field. I have no idea why. A couple of notes on this - first, plan on it taking awhile. There is a half hour or longer line in this bank. They are really popular for some reason. Second, in order to exchange money, you need your passport with you. For most people, this shouldn't be a problem - you should carry around your passport with you at all times. In many countries, it is the law. Just carry it in a completely pain in the ass place to get to so that it doesn't get pick pocketed. I keep mine in a place that takes 30-60 seconds to get to. It may take considerably less if they just tear it off of my cold dead corpse.
RETURN OF SARAJEVO RANT
I went to a restaurant that the locals were eating at. The menu consisted of drinks and three other listings. 'Big portion', 'middle portion' and 'small portion'. No clue as to what it was. As I am an adventurous soul, I decided this sounded good to me. Since my (inner) stomach has shrunk to European size, I ordered the 'small portion' and waited to see what it was. With the exception of sea food, I can eat about anything. What I got was some greasy looking pita bread, some sort of dead animal meat cooked over fire, diced onions and two 'death peppers'. Any time you get a couple tiny peppers on your plate, you can be reasonably sure that they are 'death peppers'. They were. I liked them. The meal was 5 BAM and it filled me up. It was delicious but I can't think of anyone who would call it 'healthy'.
Afterward, I tried Bosnian coffee (2 BAM). It reminded me of Greek coffee in that it was very bitter and you aren't suppose to drink the dregs. You pay for it if you do. It was served in a small carafe thing with a tiny cup. There was enough coffee for two tiny cups and it came with two cubes of sugar. I was told that you are suppose to put a cube of sugar into your mouth then drink it. I tried that but it was way too much sugar for me and you couldn't just sip the coffee. If you did, you were stuck with a lump of half dissolved sugar in your mouth. Not good. If you added the sugar to the cup itself, you couldn't stir it or you'd bring up the dregs - which you're not suppose to drink. Kind of a lose - lose thing. If you give Bosnian coffee a pass you're not really missing out on a lot IMO.
Now, in most of the European countries I've been to, I've said on this blog that you take your life in your hands crossing the street. In Sarajevo, you don't even need to cross the street. I've lost count of the times I've seen (or been surprised by) a car doing 40 KM/hour forward or backward on the sidewalk. I'm not even joking. You have to 'walk defensively'. Cars do NOT owe you the right of way. Some of the self satisfied 'I can walk where I want to' people I've seen in the states would be statistics here. Unless the sidewalk is physically too narrow for a car, you aren't safe from them. Even if you are safe from the cars there are motorcycles and mopeds for bonus fun. They are fast and fairly reckless. I'm really surprised there aren't more random blood stains on the sidewalks.
LOGAN ATTEMPTS TO 'GET LEGAL'
In Bosnia, it is apparently the law that you are suppose to register either within 24 hours of coming into the country or 48 - reports vary. Reports with the police vary. People seem unsure on the number. Or what happens if you don't register. The hotel or hostel you are in is suppose to register you. Unfortunately, I didn't know about this when I first entered the country and the people at TITO46 (hostel) were making excuses and changing their story when I asked about it. I have zero tolerance for stupid shit like this so I decided to go to get myself registered. Matt and Danielle were also anxious to avoid possible legal complications - they went with me for part of the trip but after a couple hours of 'fun and adventure' decided to just rely on the hostel owner to sort it out. I am not so trusting of the double talking hostel folks so I pressed on.
There was two taxi rides (at 10 BAM each), a couple of long street car rides and a bit over half a day burned because the people at the Hostel were fucking it up. Part of the problem was that I had gotten completely erroneous advice on where to go from the horrible old woman at Hostel Ljubicica. Always be very suspicious of a place you are given directions to if they can't provide you with an address - especially if they claim to send them documents every day. More on this fun filled Hostel Ljubicica later...
If you ever need (god forbid) to register yourself, go to the "Office for Foreigners Ministry of Security", Pijacna 8. That's the address. [It's near a big blue 'BM Hotel]. I got it from the US Embassy which even my US passport wasn't enough to enter the bunker like building. They are still hunkered down behind concrete and bullet proof glass, but they try to be helpful through the telephone... [If you need to call the US Embassy and don't know how to search for it on the internet, their phone number is 033 704 000].
I eventually got to the "Office for Foreigners Ministry of Security" and discovered it to be a guitar shop. I'm not even kidding. After talking to the people who ran the guitar shop I discovered you had to go out of the building, around back and up a couple of flights of stairs. This was not the huge bureaucratic organization I was envisioning. Instead, it was one man and a telephone. He was helping another man fill out some paperwork. The other man to me seemed unremarkable other than sporting a larger than normal mustache. After the mustache man was gone, this guy washed his hands, opened a window and lit a cigarette. "Gypsy." he said by way of explanation. Wow, they hate them here too. I then explained my situation to the man in the office. I said "I wish to register in accordance with your laws with the police since I am a foreigner." After some consideration, he said "Why?". I blinked a couple of times. "Because I don't want to break the laws of this country?" was what I came up with. He considered this as well then gravely nodded. Apparently, my answer was good enough to proceed. At first, he tried to convince me that he was not the person I needed to see. From my earlier extensive run around, I was ready for this one. I said "The US Embassy which called you told me to see you. The hostels told me to see you. The police told me to see you." Sure, part of this was fabricated but it did get him to admit it was indeed his job. The US Embassy had indeed called him. He then asked for the phone number of the pension I am staying at. Fortunately, I had gotten a business card from them in case of emergency. He then called them up and had a 'conversation'. I couldn't tell if he was talking to them or yelling at them. It may have been both. During the long conversation, he gestured at me in short, sharp gestures as though the people on the other end of the phone had some way of seeing it. Whenever he did, I nodded gravely despite my complete lack of understanding what was going on. This seemed to satisfy him and so he yelled at them more. I smoked. He smoked. Eventually, he hung up (slammed down) the phone and told me, "You no trouble. They - I make trouble. They give you paper morning 10." I got his name and phone number written down and told him I would call him if they didn't give me my paper by ten in the morning. He seemed to look forward to the prospect of yelling at them again. Given how much trouble they had caused me, I am hoping a stiff fine for rabid incompetence will be in order.
So, I went to a nearby cafe the man in the office recommended in order to celebrate his yelling at the hostel on the phone with a very light meal. While I was in the cafe I met a man (by sitting at his table) who it turned out works on heating and air conditioning and spoke no English. Our entire (long) conversation was in German. Apparently, kids in school use to be forced to learn German and a lot of people from around here have lived in Germany. Excellent for me. I bought him an espresso (1 BAM) which was really cheap since we were far away from the expensive city center. By expensive, I mean cheap - but comparatively expensive. Although he was waiting on a work colleague, he offered to give me a ride in his car to the streetcar stop but I declined saying the walk would be good after eating. It was a nice lunch (and very cheap - around 4 BAM I think) and a suitable salve for the heavy bureaucracy shit I'd been dealing with that morning.
But when I returned to the hostel, I discovered the fun was not yet over.
In order to increase security, they had changed the locks on all of the rooms. Unfortunately, the locks were so secure that nobody could get into my room. Additionally, the hostel is completely booked - all thirty beds - after tonight. So, now I have a wonderful activity for this afternoon as well. As TJ would say "It's a mutherfucker of a day". At least, I think that's what he says.
So I went to look for additional places to stay while the desk clerk uselessly pounded on my door. The stuff on Travelwiki all seemed to be pretty useless as did Hostelworld and such. Fortunately, from the tram (streetcar) I had espied several likely hostels where it makes a curve near the river. I went to look into them.
I discovered they have 'Pansions' as well. I don't know what makes them different from hotels - you can't rent a bed, just a room. Those will cost you about $40-$50/night. Why would you want one?
So I found two different places I will now detail for you.
HOSTEL LJUBICICA
Before staying anywhere, I always ask to see the room. If they give me a story about how I can't (because it's occupied or whatever) I thank them politely, say I'll be back later and go find a new place. Assume if they won't show you the room that it's a shithole. At Hostel Ljubicica, they were happy to show me the room. It was a shithole. Oddly enough, their brochure shows they are endorsed by 'Lonely Planet' and 'Lets Go Europe'. [Apparently, it either costs extra money for the word 'To' or they are trying to encourage the continent in some way - I'm not sure which.] Hostel Ljubicica has no wifi, is dirty, crowded and on top of that, the old lady who runs the place has a minor scam going. She tells people that the rooms are 20 BAM plus 3 BAM for 'registration fee'. I closely questioned her about this and she assured me that she must register people every day they stay there. You don't - you get registered once when you enter the country and that's fucking it. Plus, I don't believe it costs any money to do so. So, consider the cost 23 BAM for the room. She may be related to Gummy Sue but I'm not sure.
Needless to say, I kept searching. Eventually, I found a place called "Pension Sebilj'. This place confused me a bit because some of the signs called it a 'pension' and some called it a 'hostel' so I went to check the prices. I spoke with a nice guy called Mirza there. The price for a bed was 30 BAM a night - a bit more than I wanted to pay but I entered into negotiations with him and got it down to 20 BAM a night if I stayed for a week. In addition, after I voiced my concerns about gear safety (there are no lockers) he said that he would give me a room to myself despite the room containing 4-5 beds. They are really empty and apparently hurting for business. This confuses me a bit because it is a nice looking, comfortable place and located right next to the labyrinth of streets and shops known as the 'old town' and overlooking the river. He didn't think he'd be able to do this rate when the 'high season'/summer came but if I enjoy the city for a week, I may try to negotiate with him for a rate for the month. We'll see how I like it. In addition to no gear lockers at all, the hostel has no wifi. I did some recon and found a Turkish coffee shop in easy walking distance that has free wifi and no loud annoying music. It will work. Mirza also told me that if I didn't get a registration card from hostel TITO46, he would get me one. That's good but I'm not sure what the officials will do if they notice the dates don't match. We'll see what happens with that.
I'm contemplating a longer stay here so that I have some time to see if I can make the couch surfing thing actually work (it still hasn't yet) as well as to plot my next move. I may end up staying here for a month so to try to get some extra money saved up from the trickle of money that is social security.
After finding a non-shithole hostel to stay at, I went and ate an interesting dinner (23 BAM) of skewered chicken, bread, beer and (gasp) a salad. Keep in mind, that 23 BAM is sometimes less than what I was paying in Blacksburg, VA!
Lastly, I managed to procure a couple more books (25 BAM total, a bit pricey) of the blank variety that I use to make notes in to write this blog.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
SARAJEVO INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
STUFF THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE PREVIOUS BLOG POST BUT I FUCKED UP SO YOU GET IT HERE
Bruderschaft! While hanging out with my new Polish friends, I got to find out about the Polish version of Bruderschaft. Note, this is a German word I've never heard of before so I didn't know the Germans also had this. Weird. In the Polish language - like in the German language - there are both formal and informal ways of addressing someone. The informal way is usually used on kids and close friends. Anyway, how it works is that you link arms in order to drink. Apparently, several cultures have this tradition, but that is the only picture I've found of it. After doing that, you kiss cheeks. I don't know if it is left-right-left or the other way around but we skipped the kissing part.
I found a couple interesting things about the Polish way of doing it.
First, this is a 'once in a lifetime' thing with a specific other person. In other words, once Fred and George (for example) do it, they never do it again. If Fred meets Phil and does it with him, they are done on that part. After doing 'bruderschaft', they then address each other with the informal case.
Second, in the Polish culture, you don't look into each others eyes as you drink. It is seen as 'proactive' - the angry challenging sort.
And yes, I did bruderschaft with all of my new Polish friends and even poor Chris the Englishman. So, if I ever learn Polish, I can address them in an informal way.
TRAIN TO SARAJEVO
There were three main things I fucked up in my journey.
First, I got a 'whistle stop' train instead of a fast train. Basically, it stops at every little village on the way there. This caused my travel time to balloon from seven or eight hours to eleven hours. It was a fucking nightmare. Be sure to get the right ticket when you book a train!
Second, I had forgotten to get local currency before leaving. You have to visit the currency exchange but it is better than trying to lug around a heavy backpack and find an ATM when you get there. Anything to avoid more walking than necessary with the pack is a good thing. Also, some places - like Sarajevo - don't have handy ATM's at train stations. Even if they do, you aren't sure if you can trust them as opposed to ones inside in a bank with a security guard watching them.
Third, I forgot to get food and water - for an eleven hour train ride. Alarming for a fat man. Fortunately, for the first three hours of the train voyage, they had a dining car. I bought two half liter bottles of water and two eighty gram bags of pistachios. The nuts weren't very good. Total price, 1420 HUF. I remember reading somewhere that slaves on their way to America were stuck in ships for weeks and fed only nuts. I figured I could rough it and eat nuts for a day. Plus, I really didn't feel comfortable either lugging my pack all of the way to the dining car or leaving it unattended (though chained) while I ate a meal so it was hurry there, grab nuts hurry back.
Hopefully, I won't repeat my mistakes in the next country I go to - but you can never tell.
My great and noble thoughts as I was on the train (aside from my crippling fear of midgets punching me in the nuts as I law sprawled out on the seat) were that of Chokeahontis.
THE STORY OF CHOKEAHONTIS, INDIAN PRINCESS
Once upon a time lived the daughter of the head chief of the surrounding tribes, Chokeahontis. All of the chiefs immediate family were blessed with exceptional health and happiness, except for poor Chokeahontis. She was possessed of a psychotic rage that would cause her to choke the shit out of those she encountered. Because of this, she could not go and visit members outside of her immediate family. One day, two foreign explorers - just like Lewis and Clark but possessing sillier names - came to visit. Chokeahontis immediately attempted to choke the shit out of Lewis but he was able to redirect her hands and she choked something else. And was sprayed with a refreshing 'medicinal' substance. So long as she concentrated on choking this, she did not feel the need to choke other people. And Lewis seemed to enjoy it. Chokeahontis was so happy she offered to guide the explorers around to all of the other tribes she had previously been unable to visit. They happily accepted and went to visit all of the other tribes. Sadly, this caused all of the other tribes to get smallpox and die. The end. PS: Chokeahontis was a 'gasper'.
I have no idea why that shit goes through my brain, but now it may be going through yours as well. This makes me feel perversely better. I suppose it may be either a sense of sadism or schadenfreude on my part.
BACK TO THE TRAIN INSTEAD OF THE DISEASED RAMBLINGS OF LOGAN'S BROKEN BRAIN
So, the train then went through several border control check points. I have no clue at all which countries I went through. I suspect Croatia but there were a total of six border checks - that implies three countries to me. You get one border check when you're leaving a country and one when entering a country. I have no idea what the third one was. Logan Horsford - world traveler. And he has no clue what country he is in. For some reason, I imagine Jana saying "Good on ya".
The border control uses some sort of box that appears to be about as large and heavy as babies women carry around in the slings on front of their bodies. This is for sticking your passport into and allowing the box to do something mysterious. Maybe it checks to see if it is a real passport. Maybe it tells someone where you are. Maybe it gives attack coordinates to an alien invasion fleet. I just don't know.
Two of the border guards stick out in my mind. One was very careful not to look at me while I sat there with the large, cartoon grin on my face. I was trying to appear as non-threatening as possible. She had large, impractical hoop earrings in her head. Not a good thing for someone carrying a gun to wear. The other lady looked very much like Amy Lee from the musical group Evanescence. Now, I do realize that people might think that I'm hallucinating again. I still do think it was Robert De Niro I saw in Amsterdam (I'd swear it was him). I don't think this guard was Amy Lee but I do think she could have worked as her stunt double. She was way too good looking to be in a 'border control' field. She was messing up the 'average look'. [Note - if good looking border guard women wish to object to this sort of stereotyping, feel free to submit pictures of yourself in uniform. They will be posted for the audience to make a decision. If you don't want to submit a photo, you'll just have to live with the stereotype.]
In addition to having my passport literally checked six different times, my train ticket was also checked six different times by different conductors as they kept switching them in each country. Keep your ticket and passport handy!
All of the passport checks were extremely perfunctory. I could have had nothing but a backpack full of condemns or cocaine and nobody would have ever known. [Disclaimer: I have nothing illegal on me if you are a good looking border guard who is still upset about the earlier stereotype remark.]
Yes, I managed to sneak off an back on the train after the border checks for a quick smoke. I am a bad man. Note that when the conductor whistles loudly, you've got just a few seconds to re-board the train. Lots of fun there.
On the train, I literally had my own compartment until I hit Bosnia when it suddenly filled up. Prior to that, the train seemed mostly empty and I contented myself with having Vietnam flashbacks while I was headed to 'the heart of Charley'. I wonder if I'll have more Vietnam flashbacks when I get to Vietnam?
I in all of the countries that had communists running them (including this one) I keep passing masses of the communist style block homes. I wonder "Fuck - where the hell did everyone live before the communists came?"
If I didn't note it before, the train from Budapest to Sarajevo is 14470 HUF.
Sometimes, when you are on the train for close to a half day, you may find yourself wanting to put your feet on the unoccupied seat opposite. Many conductors don't seem to care, others get as offended as they would if you raped their dog.
Once we got into the Bosnia area, I had conversations with several different people - all in German. It seems that a lot of them fled to Germany during the war. As of right now, I haven't yet found anyone who claims to have been here during the war.
The area around Sarajevo is wooded and hilly. It must have been a bitch to fight in.
The train passed through several towns that you, the reader, won't give a shit as to what the names are. Just insert some random letters if you're curious.
One interesting thing I was told is that they (archaeologists) have apparently discovered pyramids in a town called Visoko. But, I was told, they aren't excavated. I asked 'Did they just find little triangles on the ground and figure they must be connected to bigger pyramids below?' but I think the joke was lost in translation. I'm not sure if I'll get over to see them or not.
While we were riding on the train in Bosnia, a couple of the men in the car pretty much insisted I smoke with them. In the train. Eventually, I did - fearing the wrath of the conductor - but apparently it is legal to smoke pretty much everywhere here.
They also have big piles of hay with weird stick things protruding from it. It's regular enough to be a symbolic thing but I'm not sure what it means.
I had a long conversation with "Yas-Me" who is training to be a dentist. He's still got three years to go or I'd head to his office to have him check out my tooth and see what's up with it. He also thought that taking care of my tooth problem would probably cost about 70 BAM. Nice.
Upon reaching the town, I wandered around till I found an ATM then 'Hostel Enjoy'. This hostel was the closest to the train station. Nobody was home. Apparently, they don't feel the need to man the desk. They were so confident of their business, they didn't eve feel the need to have a sign. It was a name on a buzzer in a big building. What the fuck is that shit? I then got a cab (4 BAM for 2-3 KM - really cheap) over to hostel 'TITO46' This place seemed clean and such and my first night there was enjoyable. Unfortunately, I discovered that you have to register within the first 48 hours of your stay in Sarajevo with the police or you get a fine (no idea how much) when leaving the country. The better hotels and hostels do it for you but TITO46 claims not to know about it. When I went to them and said I had been to the police, they modified their story, saying they'd only be open for a month and were still doing the paperwork. A different hostel I spoke with believes that TITO46 is purposefully ignoring the registration in order to keep the prices down (registration costs a small amount) in order to get more business. Seems like a shitty practice to me. Also, the lockers of most hostels are large enough to store your backpack. Not so at TITO46 - you can fit in some valuables but that's about it. Also, if you can't find the small, unlit light switch in the hallway, navigating up the two flights of irregularly shaped stairs to the hostel can be tricky - really, the flashlight I carry has paid off so many times. They also have only two single person bathrooms - not sure how many guests they can hold. I really can't recommend TITO46 although it is clean - and you are required to remove your shoes when entering. Not my favorite place thus far but I've got three nights there which should allow me time to scope out the town and maybe find a different place to stay.
This is yet another European town that seems to have a lot of shit close after nine or ten PM - I grabbed some shitty (non-chain) fast food and unwound with three rum and cokes (7 BAM each on the 'strip').
I've also noticed that the spike in the middle of the head hairstyle is popular here - that makes me vaguely nervous.
THE LANGUAGE RANT
I accept the fact that if I go off of the 'beaten tourist path' - whether to businesses that don't see a lot of tourists like barbers or if I go to small villages that don't see tourists that I will need to speak some of the local lingo. I'm good with that. However, when I'm in the big tourist area of a town that attracts tourists I often run into people who only speak their native language. Which is not one of the top 30 in the world. And who sometimes look insulted that I haven't taken the time to learn whatever minor language they happen to speak. This is baffling to me. If English (for example) had the popularity of Czech and Italian was the 'international language', my ass would be up late nights trying to learn it as I did with German. More so if I'm working in an area that is trying to get money from tourists. Given the choice, I'd rather devote time to learning Russian than Bosnian (Russian being number eight on the list and Bosnian not making the list). I don't mind learning a couple of polite Bosnian phrases but for time invested, I think Russian would pay off better even though I won't be able to visit Russia until they relax their visa situation.
LANGUAGES LOGAN KNOWS OR KNOWS PIECES OF
Because someone may want to know, here are the languages I currently speak:
English (native)
German (enough to hold a conversation if the other person is patient)
Languages I know some pieces of:
ASL (American sign language), Czech, Dutch, French, Italian, Korean, Mayer (Hungarian) and Spanish (I am from the USA...). It would be a lot more impressive if I had all of these at conversational level.
Of course, I rely on gestures, body language, facial expressions and micro-expressions to help communicate.
BACK TO THE HOSTEL
I met up with Danielle (Australian) and Matt (Welsh) who are traveling together. They had the extreme misfortune to be quartered in the same room as I. They changed the next morning. Tomorrow morning, we're going to go together to the police station to get registered. When I write later, I'll talk about my experience. So far, it's been a nightmare as the police I've spoken to don't speak (or have any interest in doing so) either English or German.
My goal is to live on 60 BAM a day. Don't know if it will happen but we'll see. The hotel room is 20 BAM a night. Ironically, this is (after conversion) exactly the same price I was paying to rent an apartment in Blacksburg, VA.
SHAVE
I managed to find a Turkish barber lady who used the 'razorette' shave style of straight razor. For those who don't know, basically they hook up a new razor blade for each person to keep you from dying of AIDS and still get a great shave.
VARIOUS THINGS
As I usually do when getting to know a place, I wandered off of the beaten path. I found a little out of the way restaurant. Although the waiter claimed to speak English he was much more proficient in German. He also brought me a packet of something that I had to ask what it was. It turned out that it was honey but closer to 'raw' with the consistency of soft butter. It was pretty decent. I had an interesting and unusual breakfast in a place with cloth napkins for 6 BAM. I felt generous and tipped 2 BAM. He seemed very pleased so we were both happy. With the tip, what I spent could have bought a shitty breakfast at McDonald's. Instead, I ate at a swanky place with good food. Cheap food make Logan happy.
They also sell blue, grapefruit flavored Fanta here. I'm not kidding. It's a very strange taste.
I've also seen bullet holes in some of the buildings. As Pete would say, "Interesting."
I also bought some Slovak cigarettes for 2.5 BAM. They are as good (or as bad) as anything else I've smoked. I miss Muriel Sweets.
the city itself is much cleaner than I expected. There is some graffiti and such but they don't seem to have the 'culture of littering' as they do in Prague. I also have yet to see anyone 'making a prayer' when they throw out garbage as I saw Jana and Marianna do in Prague. Which, if you think about it, is strange behavior for Atheists.
Later, for lunch I had something called 'Burek' which may be Turkish. It is some sort of bread stuff around meat or cheese or potatoes. The first two weren't bad but I don't know what sort of horrible shit had been done to those poor potatoes. With a .25 liter of Coke (tiny!) the total cost was 6.5 BAM.
Bruderschaft! While hanging out with my new Polish friends, I got to find out about the Polish version of Bruderschaft. Note, this is a German word I've never heard of before so I didn't know the Germans also had this. Weird. In the Polish language - like in the German language - there are both formal and informal ways of addressing someone. The informal way is usually used on kids and close friends. Anyway, how it works is that you link arms in order to drink. Apparently, several cultures have this tradition, but that is the only picture I've found of it. After doing that, you kiss cheeks. I don't know if it is left-right-left or the other way around but we skipped the kissing part.
I found a couple interesting things about the Polish way of doing it.
First, this is a 'once in a lifetime' thing with a specific other person. In other words, once Fred and George (for example) do it, they never do it again. If Fred meets Phil and does it with him, they are done on that part. After doing 'bruderschaft', they then address each other with the informal case.
Second, in the Polish culture, you don't look into each others eyes as you drink. It is seen as 'proactive' - the angry challenging sort.
And yes, I did bruderschaft with all of my new Polish friends and even poor Chris the Englishman. So, if I ever learn Polish, I can address them in an informal way.
TRAIN TO SARAJEVO
There were three main things I fucked up in my journey.
First, I got a 'whistle stop' train instead of a fast train. Basically, it stops at every little village on the way there. This caused my travel time to balloon from seven or eight hours to eleven hours. It was a fucking nightmare. Be sure to get the right ticket when you book a train!
Second, I had forgotten to get local currency before leaving. You have to visit the currency exchange but it is better than trying to lug around a heavy backpack and find an ATM when you get there. Anything to avoid more walking than necessary with the pack is a good thing. Also, some places - like Sarajevo - don't have handy ATM's at train stations. Even if they do, you aren't sure if you can trust them as opposed to ones inside in a bank with a security guard watching them.
Third, I forgot to get food and water - for an eleven hour train ride. Alarming for a fat man. Fortunately, for the first three hours of the train voyage, they had a dining car. I bought two half liter bottles of water and two eighty gram bags of pistachios. The nuts weren't very good. Total price, 1420 HUF. I remember reading somewhere that slaves on their way to America were stuck in ships for weeks and fed only nuts. I figured I could rough it and eat nuts for a day. Plus, I really didn't feel comfortable either lugging my pack all of the way to the dining car or leaving it unattended (though chained) while I ate a meal so it was hurry there, grab nuts hurry back.
Hopefully, I won't repeat my mistakes in the next country I go to - but you can never tell.
My great and noble thoughts as I was on the train (aside from my crippling fear of midgets punching me in the nuts as I law sprawled out on the seat) were that of Chokeahontis.
THE STORY OF CHOKEAHONTIS, INDIAN PRINCESS
Once upon a time lived the daughter of the head chief of the surrounding tribes, Chokeahontis. All of the chiefs immediate family were blessed with exceptional health and happiness, except for poor Chokeahontis. She was possessed of a psychotic rage that would cause her to choke the shit out of those she encountered. Because of this, she could not go and visit members outside of her immediate family. One day, two foreign explorers - just like Lewis and Clark but possessing sillier names - came to visit. Chokeahontis immediately attempted to choke the shit out of Lewis but he was able to redirect her hands and she choked something else. And was sprayed with a refreshing 'medicinal' substance. So long as she concentrated on choking this, she did not feel the need to choke other people. And Lewis seemed to enjoy it. Chokeahontis was so happy she offered to guide the explorers around to all of the other tribes she had previously been unable to visit. They happily accepted and went to visit all of the other tribes. Sadly, this caused all of the other tribes to get smallpox and die. The end. PS: Chokeahontis was a 'gasper'.
I have no idea why that shit goes through my brain, but now it may be going through yours as well. This makes me feel perversely better. I suppose it may be either a sense of sadism or schadenfreude on my part.
BACK TO THE TRAIN INSTEAD OF THE DISEASED RAMBLINGS OF LOGAN'S BROKEN BRAIN
So, the train then went through several border control check points. I have no clue at all which countries I went through. I suspect Croatia but there were a total of six border checks - that implies three countries to me. You get one border check when you're leaving a country and one when entering a country. I have no idea what the third one was. Logan Horsford - world traveler. And he has no clue what country he is in. For some reason, I imagine Jana saying "Good on ya".
The border control uses some sort of box that appears to be about as large and heavy as babies women carry around in the slings on front of their bodies. This is for sticking your passport into and allowing the box to do something mysterious. Maybe it checks to see if it is a real passport. Maybe it tells someone where you are. Maybe it gives attack coordinates to an alien invasion fleet. I just don't know.
Two of the border guards stick out in my mind. One was very careful not to look at me while I sat there with the large, cartoon grin on my face. I was trying to appear as non-threatening as possible. She had large, impractical hoop earrings in her head. Not a good thing for someone carrying a gun to wear. The other lady looked very much like Amy Lee from the musical group Evanescence. Now, I do realize that people might think that I'm hallucinating again. I still do think it was Robert De Niro I saw in Amsterdam (I'd swear it was him). I don't think this guard was Amy Lee but I do think she could have worked as her stunt double. She was way too good looking to be in a 'border control' field. She was messing up the 'average look'. [Note - if good looking border guard women wish to object to this sort of stereotyping, feel free to submit pictures of yourself in uniform. They will be posted for the audience to make a decision. If you don't want to submit a photo, you'll just have to live with the stereotype.]
In addition to having my passport literally checked six different times, my train ticket was also checked six different times by different conductors as they kept switching them in each country. Keep your ticket and passport handy!
All of the passport checks were extremely perfunctory. I could have had nothing but a backpack full of condemns or cocaine and nobody would have ever known. [Disclaimer: I have nothing illegal on me if you are a good looking border guard who is still upset about the earlier stereotype remark.]
Yes, I managed to sneak off an back on the train after the border checks for a quick smoke. I am a bad man. Note that when the conductor whistles loudly, you've got just a few seconds to re-board the train. Lots of fun there.
On the train, I literally had my own compartment until I hit Bosnia when it suddenly filled up. Prior to that, the train seemed mostly empty and I contented myself with having Vietnam flashbacks while I was headed to 'the heart of Charley'. I wonder if I'll have more Vietnam flashbacks when I get to Vietnam?
I in all of the countries that had communists running them (including this one) I keep passing masses of the communist style block homes. I wonder "Fuck - where the hell did everyone live before the communists came?"
If I didn't note it before, the train from Budapest to Sarajevo is 14470 HUF.
Sometimes, when you are on the train for close to a half day, you may find yourself wanting to put your feet on the unoccupied seat opposite. Many conductors don't seem to care, others get as offended as they would if you raped their dog.
Once we got into the Bosnia area, I had conversations with several different people - all in German. It seems that a lot of them fled to Germany during the war. As of right now, I haven't yet found anyone who claims to have been here during the war.
The area around Sarajevo is wooded and hilly. It must have been a bitch to fight in.
The train passed through several towns that you, the reader, won't give a shit as to what the names are. Just insert some random letters if you're curious.
One interesting thing I was told is that they (archaeologists) have apparently discovered pyramids in a town called Visoko. But, I was told, they aren't excavated. I asked 'Did they just find little triangles on the ground and figure they must be connected to bigger pyramids below?' but I think the joke was lost in translation. I'm not sure if I'll get over to see them or not.
While we were riding on the train in Bosnia, a couple of the men in the car pretty much insisted I smoke with them. In the train. Eventually, I did - fearing the wrath of the conductor - but apparently it is legal to smoke pretty much everywhere here.
They also have big piles of hay with weird stick things protruding from it. It's regular enough to be a symbolic thing but I'm not sure what it means.
I had a long conversation with "Yas-Me" who is training to be a dentist. He's still got three years to go or I'd head to his office to have him check out my tooth and see what's up with it. He also thought that taking care of my tooth problem would probably cost about 70 BAM. Nice.
Upon reaching the town, I wandered around till I found an ATM then 'Hostel Enjoy'. This hostel was the closest to the train station. Nobody was home. Apparently, they don't feel the need to man the desk. They were so confident of their business, they didn't eve feel the need to have a sign. It was a name on a buzzer in a big building. What the fuck is that shit? I then got a cab (4 BAM for 2-3 KM - really cheap) over to hostel 'TITO46' This place seemed clean and such and my first night there was enjoyable. Unfortunately, I discovered that you have to register within the first 48 hours of your stay in Sarajevo with the police or you get a fine (no idea how much) when leaving the country. The better hotels and hostels do it for you but TITO46 claims not to know about it. When I went to them and said I had been to the police, they modified their story, saying they'd only be open for a month and were still doing the paperwork. A different hostel I spoke with believes that TITO46 is purposefully ignoring the registration in order to keep the prices down (registration costs a small amount) in order to get more business. Seems like a shitty practice to me. Also, the lockers of most hostels are large enough to store your backpack. Not so at TITO46 - you can fit in some valuables but that's about it. Also, if you can't find the small, unlit light switch in the hallway, navigating up the two flights of irregularly shaped stairs to the hostel can be tricky - really, the flashlight I carry has paid off so many times. They also have only two single person bathrooms - not sure how many guests they can hold. I really can't recommend TITO46 although it is clean - and you are required to remove your shoes when entering. Not my favorite place thus far but I've got three nights there which should allow me time to scope out the town and maybe find a different place to stay.
This is yet another European town that seems to have a lot of shit close after nine or ten PM - I grabbed some shitty (non-chain) fast food and unwound with three rum and cokes (7 BAM each on the 'strip').
I've also noticed that the spike in the middle of the head hairstyle is popular here - that makes me vaguely nervous.
THE LANGUAGE RANT
I accept the fact that if I go off of the 'beaten tourist path' - whether to businesses that don't see a lot of tourists like barbers or if I go to small villages that don't see tourists that I will need to speak some of the local lingo. I'm good with that. However, when I'm in the big tourist area of a town that attracts tourists I often run into people who only speak their native language. Which is not one of the top 30 in the world. And who sometimes look insulted that I haven't taken the time to learn whatever minor language they happen to speak. This is baffling to me. If English (for example) had the popularity of Czech and Italian was the 'international language', my ass would be up late nights trying to learn it as I did with German. More so if I'm working in an area that is trying to get money from tourists. Given the choice, I'd rather devote time to learning Russian than Bosnian (Russian being number eight on the list and Bosnian not making the list). I don't mind learning a couple of polite Bosnian phrases but for time invested, I think Russian would pay off better even though I won't be able to visit Russia until they relax their visa situation.
LANGUAGES LOGAN KNOWS OR KNOWS PIECES OF
Because someone may want to know, here are the languages I currently speak:
English (native)
German (enough to hold a conversation if the other person is patient)
Languages I know some pieces of:
ASL (American sign language), Czech, Dutch, French, Italian, Korean, Mayer (Hungarian) and Spanish (I am from the USA...). It would be a lot more impressive if I had all of these at conversational level.
Of course, I rely on gestures, body language, facial expressions and micro-expressions to help communicate.
BACK TO THE HOSTEL
I met up with Danielle (Australian) and Matt (Welsh) who are traveling together. They had the extreme misfortune to be quartered in the same room as I. They changed the next morning. Tomorrow morning, we're going to go together to the police station to get registered. When I write later, I'll talk about my experience. So far, it's been a nightmare as the police I've spoken to don't speak (or have any interest in doing so) either English or German.
My goal is to live on 60 BAM a day. Don't know if it will happen but we'll see. The hotel room is 20 BAM a night. Ironically, this is (after conversion) exactly the same price I was paying to rent an apartment in Blacksburg, VA.
SHAVE
I managed to find a Turkish barber lady who used the 'razorette' shave style of straight razor. For those who don't know, basically they hook up a new razor blade for each person to keep you from dying of AIDS and still get a great shave.
VARIOUS THINGS
As I usually do when getting to know a place, I wandered off of the beaten path. I found a little out of the way restaurant. Although the waiter claimed to speak English he was much more proficient in German. He also brought me a packet of something that I had to ask what it was. It turned out that it was honey but closer to 'raw' with the consistency of soft butter. It was pretty decent. I had an interesting and unusual breakfast in a place with cloth napkins for 6 BAM. I felt generous and tipped 2 BAM. He seemed very pleased so we were both happy. With the tip, what I spent could have bought a shitty breakfast at McDonald's. Instead, I ate at a swanky place with good food. Cheap food make Logan happy.
They also sell blue, grapefruit flavored Fanta here. I'm not kidding. It's a very strange taste.
I've also seen bullet holes in some of the buildings. As Pete would say, "Interesting."
I also bought some Slovak cigarettes for 2.5 BAM. They are as good (or as bad) as anything else I've smoked. I miss Muriel Sweets.
the city itself is much cleaner than I expected. There is some graffiti and such but they don't seem to have the 'culture of littering' as they do in Prague. I also have yet to see anyone 'making a prayer' when they throw out garbage as I saw Jana and Marianna do in Prague. Which, if you think about it, is strange behavior for Atheists.
Later, for lunch I had something called 'Burek' which may be Turkish. It is some sort of bread stuff around meat or cheese or potatoes. The first two weren't bad but I don't know what sort of horrible shit had been done to those poor potatoes. With a .25 liter of Coke (tiny!) the total cost was 6.5 BAM.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)