The city of Sarajevo was under siege for 4 years (April 1992 to Feb 1996) - the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare (*Wikepedia). The city had been encircled and all routes were blocked. The Serbs had thought that the city would capitulate quickly, but instead the locals resisted. The museum was incredibly well done with video footage, a small area the types of items that were created to provide basic necessities to the people and a small portion of the original tunnel that you could walk through. The tunnel was only 1.6M high and about 1m wide. you had to crouch down slightly to make it through and Bosnians would trudge through with their belongings on their back with goats and children in tow. It was very powerful and worth the stop.
We then carried on towards the coast…again a lovely drive. The border crossing into Croatia was hugely long, and then as it would turn out, we had to travel back into Bosnia again and then back into Croatia again because of the land division along the coast. This meant a lot of waits, but the weather again is so bloody hot, that we are happier in the car with AC turned on high.
As we drive along the coast the landscape and architecture turns Mediterranean and it is absolutely stunning. The water is a beautiful colour and beautiful homes resorts dot the coastline.
As we enter into Dubrovnik, we are amazed at the city. We are staying within the old town city walls which is really a neat opportunity. There are no cars allowed and the streets are extremely narrow and steep with stairs. Our place is an extremely narrow and extremely steep 4 story. The stairs basically wrap straight up with doors that pop out at every storey with the bedrooms. I wouldn’t say this is the best place…it is find and the bathrooms are clean, but its a little treacherous and I’m a little dubious about the cleanliness of the blankets. Anyways, its cool to be within the old city walls.
We are sooo hot, so we quickly make our way to the beach for our first swim in the Adriatic Sea. It is sublime! We cool off before heading back to get cleaned up for dinner.
We had contacted a lady here to give us a tour and she booked us reservations for dinner at a place down by the water. Tea comes to meet us to discuss what we will do with her the next day. She is a total hoot and we like her instantly. She helps us to order and we decide to meet her at 9am the next morning. We enjoy lots of seafood and wine but it is so hot that we are all really melting here. Even though its late and we are on the water, there is no breeze and everyone is really feeling the heat. After dinner we stroll along the main pedestrian walkway where a live band is playing. It is the summer festival in Dubrovnik so there are lots of outdoor music venues.
We make our way back to the apartment and go to sleep - the heat again is making our days pretty difficult and trying for everyone. Even the locals are suffering from the heat. Sleep comes easily as usual!
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