My parents left on Tuesday morning, and I’m so glad that they
had the chance to visit me here.
We left at the crack of dawn on Friday morning to take a bus to Dubrovnik. The bus ride took a little bit longer
than expected, nearly eight hours!
We were held up for a long time at the first border crossing between
Bosnia and Croatia, and to make matter worse, the air conditioner was broken it
was extremely hot on the bus. So
my parents got a small taste of how difficult it can be to travel into and out
of Sarajevo. J At
least the scenery between Sarajevo and Dubrovnik is so beautiful that it makes
the long bus ride worth the trip.
 |
| Croatian Coastline |
When
we got to Dubrovnik, we only had a short walk to find our hotel, which was very
convenient. My dad went to the
desk to check in, and was quickly informed that the hotel’s air conditioning
system was broken. We all groaned,
but decided to stick it out anyway.
By the evening, the city had cooled off, and upon opening the window, we
were able to get our room to a reasonable temperature before going to sleep.
We
spent Friday afternoon and evening walking around the old city of
Dubrovnik. It was just as charming
as I remembered from my first visit, although this time it was brimming with
tourists. Despite the crowds, I
still enjoyed walking down the old main street, the “Stradun”, and sitting out
on the piers looking out toward the island of Lokrum. I think my parents also enjoyed the stroll, as well as
seeing all of the unique old-fashioned boats.
 |
| Mom and Dad in Dubrovnik |
We
woke up very early again on Saturday to return to Sarajevo, via a three-hour
stop in Mostar. It was nice to
break up the bus ride into two shorter chunks, and although we got stuck on the
same bus without air-conditioning, at least we were able to get off of it after
only a few hours into the ride.
Once we got to the bus station in Mostar, I could confidently lead my
parents in the direction of the old city.
Mostar is always picture perfect, so my mom and dad spent a lot of time
taking photographs. I already have
so many pictures of Mostar, and could finally sit back and enjoy it more this
time around. I made sure to take
my parents to my favorite restaurant, on the west side of the old bridge. By the time we finished eating, looking
around the old city, and shopping for a few souvenirs, it was already time to
catch a mid-afternoon bus back to Sarajevo.
 |
| Taking pictures on the old bridge |
Saturday
was a very long day; after getting back from our trip, we had just an hour to
eat dinner, change, and head off to a concert. The Radio-Television Orchestra of Slovenia was in town for a
local music festival. They are a
pretty strong group of musicians, and played a short concert of some well-known
hits from various operas. My
parents liked seeing the concert, but especially liked eating, drinking, and
meeting new people during the post-concert reception. Somehow, my mom managed to meet the Austrian ambassador to
Bosnia and invite him to visit Colorado.
My
parents also spent Sunday and Monday in Sarajevo, but we spent most of the time
recovering from the Dubrovnik trip.
It was hard not to feel sleepy, since the weather suddenly changed from
hot and sunny to cold and, believe it or not, snowing! I can’t believe that after sweating on
a 90-degree bus from Mostar to Sarajevo on Saturday evening, I woke up to
several inches of snow by Monday morning!
Very strange… although the same thing happens in Colorado, so my parents
didn’t seem too shocked. They
braved the cold air and soggy streets to visit me in Otes, and finally see my
neighborhood and my apartment.
Now, I’m looking forward to played tour guide again when my sisters
arrive next week!
 |
| May 14th, 2012! |
No comments:
Post a Comment