I haven't been to the movies in months, maybe even a year. I haven't been to the movies in Sarajevo in decades, I think, from before the war!
On Thursday, I went with my friend Tomi and her friend to see Midnight in Paris ("Ponoć u Parizu") at multiplex Cinema City. The cinemas that I knew from before are no longer there. They have been converted to banks, shopping centers, and the such. From what I understand, there are just two other cinemas, one specializing more in "artistic" movies, or as we would call them "alternative", and the other in domestic movies. Cinema City is in the center of the town, near BBI center, and was opened two years ago. It has 5 show rooms, with a total capacity of 700 seats. It's very modern, and has pretty much all the amenities that the US theaters do: wall-to-wall screens, Dolby Digital sound system, comfortable anatomic chairs, cups holders, concession stands...and the whole look and feel is just very modern. The bonus: the movie was great! :) The ticket is 6KM, or about $4.5.
On Saturday evening mom and I went for another cultural event, this time to a performance theatre, Chamber Theatre 55 ("Kamerni Teatar"). This one was a few minutes walk from Cinema City closer to the center, on the main center street. It started at this location over 55 years ago. It's a small, 3-side amphitheatre, with I think no more than 150-200 seats, if even that many. Their show season just started back again few days ago and we went to see their 3 persons comedy play, Die Hard ("Umri Muški"). It has nothing to do with the movie with that same name. We had some loughs and enjoyed being there together. The ticket is 10KM, or about $7.5.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
The Countryside
Today was a day for getting out of the city. We went to Bijambare.
I have never heard for this place, but my mom went there with one of her groups. This trip was organized by their seniors' center, and about 65 people went. I was very hesitant to go. Partly because I wanted to spend as much time in Sarajevo as I could, partly because these were all seniors except handful of people who work there, and partly because mom didn't go with me to another trip the day before. That one was a last minute deal - rafting on Neretva! I know mom would not have enjoyed it, but it sounded so adventurous to me. Instead of trying to convince her right away, I dragged the decision until the evening, and then it was too late to get it on that. No point in having regrets later.
Bijambare is just 45 minutes from Sarajevo, but you feel totally far away in the country. It's a nature park surrounded by hills and great views. The organizers distributed a sandwich and juice to everyone at the parking lot, and then we walked to a picnic area. Since this center really promotes healthy living, they first had some exercises there, before the hike to the lodge. Some took a little tourist train, but we went through the woods. It was a nice little hike, but we took one wrong turn and after realizing we were on the wrong path some 15 minutes later, had to turn back. Some old ladies were so not OK with that, and complained all the way back. It's hard to work with some old folks.
The resting area around the lodge had many benches, so we had our lunches and coffee there. It was a nice area to relax, walk around, or just lay on the ground. Then they took us to a 45 min tour of a cave, which was a nice place to cool down. Afterwards the atmosphere got musical when one gentleman got out his guitar and we all sang some old traditional folk songs. Just like we used to do. We started our hike back around 3, got into the buses, and were at home by 4.30.
As if all that walking wasn't enough for us, mom and I again went for a stroll that evening down the avenue next to the river, Wilsonovo Setaliste. Since it's closed to traffic in the evenings, there are always many other walkers/bikers/joggers there.
I wish I brought my pedometer here with me to measure all the walking I have done. My feet and legs and hips are letting me know we've done quite a bit of walking! :)
I have never heard for this place, but my mom went there with one of her groups. This trip was organized by their seniors' center, and about 65 people went. I was very hesitant to go. Partly because I wanted to spend as much time in Sarajevo as I could, partly because these were all seniors except handful of people who work there, and partly because mom didn't go with me to another trip the day before. That one was a last minute deal - rafting on Neretva! I know mom would not have enjoyed it, but it sounded so adventurous to me. Instead of trying to convince her right away, I dragged the decision until the evening, and then it was too late to get it on that. No point in having regrets later.
Bijambare is just 45 minutes from Sarajevo, but you feel totally far away in the country. It's a nature park surrounded by hills and great views. The organizers distributed a sandwich and juice to everyone at the parking lot, and then we walked to a picnic area. Since this center really promotes healthy living, they first had some exercises there, before the hike to the lodge. Some took a little tourist train, but we went through the woods. It was a nice little hike, but we took one wrong turn and after realizing we were on the wrong path some 15 minutes later, had to turn back. Some old ladies were so not OK with that, and complained all the way back. It's hard to work with some old folks.
The resting area around the lodge had many benches, so we had our lunches and coffee there. It was a nice area to relax, walk around, or just lay on the ground. Then they took us to a 45 min tour of a cave, which was a nice place to cool down. Afterwards the atmosphere got musical when one gentleman got out his guitar and we all sang some old traditional folk songs. Just like we used to do. We started our hike back around 3, got into the buses, and were at home by 4.30.
As if all that walking wasn't enough for us, mom and I again went for a stroll that evening down the avenue next to the river, Wilsonovo Setaliste. Since it's closed to traffic in the evenings, there are always many other walkers/bikers/joggers there.
I wish I brought my pedometer here with me to measure all the walking I have done. My feet and legs and hips are letting me know we've done quite a bit of walking! :)
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Active Vacation
There is so much happening here every day! Sometimes I have a hard time grasping that something happened just a day before.
Today was one of those days.
Mom went for an exercise at her seniors' center, and I picked her up just after 10. We then walked some toward the farmers market. It's a nice 30 min stroll through a neighbourhood where I grew up. Before I broke my camera, I took few photos of my kindergarten and school. Today, I decided to go in. What memories! I haven't been inside that building since....1983! I was much smaller then, so the school and yard looked much bigger. I walked the halls and climbed up to 2nd level where my classroom used to be. The kiddos in the hallways were so tiny! And I was shocked that the two boys who greeted us at the entrance downstairs were 7th and 8th grade. They looked like 4th grade tops! I have no sense of how old the kids are. :)
We talked to few farmers who had their products out on the street on our way to the market, and tried to bargain with them. We had some loughs, but couldn't get the price we wanted from them. We finally arrived at the market, and while mom shopped outside and checked out some items inside the store. When we were done shopping, we set at the outside cafe and had some coffee. As is often the case here, we saw our neighbour from our weekend house at the table next to us, and had a little chat.
After the brake, we walked home the same way. Short rest is all we had and then in the mid afternoon went around the corner to eat some kebabs. Then we met with a man who came to collect the payment for our hotel in Makarska. And then again walked some 20min to meet at a desert place with my professor who helped me come to the US.
Kinda busy day. Just like almost every day here. Love the dynamic! It makes the time here seem so much longer. :)
Today was one of those days.
Mom went for an exercise at her seniors' center, and I picked her up just after 10. We then walked some toward the farmers market. It's a nice 30 min stroll through a neighbourhood where I grew up. Before I broke my camera, I took few photos of my kindergarten and school. Today, I decided to go in. What memories! I haven't been inside that building since....1983! I was much smaller then, so the school and yard looked much bigger. I walked the halls and climbed up to 2nd level where my classroom used to be. The kiddos in the hallways were so tiny! And I was shocked that the two boys who greeted us at the entrance downstairs were 7th and 8th grade. They looked like 4th grade tops! I have no sense of how old the kids are. :)
We talked to few farmers who had their products out on the street on our way to the market, and tried to bargain with them. We had some loughs, but couldn't get the price we wanted from them. We finally arrived at the market, and while mom shopped outside and checked out some items inside the store. When we were done shopping, we set at the outside cafe and had some coffee. As is often the case here, we saw our neighbour from our weekend house at the table next to us, and had a little chat.
After the brake, we walked home the same way. Short rest is all we had and then in the mid afternoon went around the corner to eat some kebabs. Then we met with a man who came to collect the payment for our hotel in Makarska. And then again walked some 20min to meet at a desert place with my professor who helped me come to the US.
Kinda busy day. Just like almost every day here. Love the dynamic! It makes the time here seem so much longer. :)
The Sea & The Beach
The Adriatic coast was great!
We had really nice weather. The daytime temperatures were around 30C and water around 24C (but I think it was less). Except for one morning of few minutes of rain and wind, we were able to be at the beach all the time. We were under the pine trees most of the time, because I was not interested in burning under the sun. I would come out only to go into the water, which for me takes more than 20 minutes to get wet, and to dry out when we come out of the water. Neutrogena sunblock spray is the best one! It's so easy to apply, there is no grease mess, and I did not get any sunburn. I was praising it so much I could have been their advertiser! :)
When we first got there I was thinking I will be bored after the whole week. We actually had 8 days of sun and beach. And even though we didn't do anything, just relaxed and planned one hour at a time, this week was just right. I have slowed down, and it felt good not to start counting days left because we had enough time.
So, how did we spend our days? Well, pretty much every day was the same. We'd wake up around 8, have coffee on the balcony, then come down for breakfast around 9. We were 5 minutes walk from the beach, just behind hotel Biokovka, and we would come down around 10.30 and stake out our spot in the shade. We'd go for a swim, which for me involves long warm-up time, talk to people around us, play cards. I did sudoku, listen to ipod, take naps. To get away from the mid-day heat, as if we were not in the shade already, we would sit in one the many, many outside cafes/restaurant by the beach. Mom would stick with her macchiato, but I tried all different coffee options. At one place the sugar bags they served said ProCoffee, which I thought was funny - that's me! :) Next we had some light lunch, shared a pizza or something similar. We definitely ate too much! Then we got back to our towels, rested some more (we laughed that we rested after a rest :)), swam some more, throw pebbles, people watched,...relaxing! We would leave around 6-6.30, got ready for dinner, ate, and then walked for couple of hours down the Riva, all the way to the other side of the town, get some ice cream or desert, and get back to our room around 10.30PM. Full day of pretty much nothing. Gotta love it! :)
The last day, we were able to still enjoy the beach until 2.30PM. Two ladies from our hotel that we met let us use their room to shower and change for the trip. Our mini-bus picked us up around 3.30 and we were back in the apartment by 9.
The one casualty of this trip was one my camera. Next to the last day on the beach, at sunset, I was trying to take a photo of myself on the beach. I set it down on the beach umbrella post, about 20 inches off the ground, and set the timer. When the shutter clicked, and shook the camera and it fell face-down to the pebbles, lenses still open. The inner lens got crooked and couldn't retract back into the outer lens. I tried to pull it out myself, but couldn't. It still turns on, but I can't take pictures because of the lens error. When I get back to Austin I hope to have it fixed at WOLF. But, it means no more photos for the rest of this vacation. :(
We had really nice weather. The daytime temperatures were around 30C and water around 24C (but I think it was less). Except for one morning of few minutes of rain and wind, we were able to be at the beach all the time. We were under the pine trees most of the time, because I was not interested in burning under the sun. I would come out only to go into the water, which for me takes more than 20 minutes to get wet, and to dry out when we come out of the water. Neutrogena sunblock spray is the best one! It's so easy to apply, there is no grease mess, and I did not get any sunburn. I was praising it so much I could have been their advertiser! :)
When we first got there I was thinking I will be bored after the whole week. We actually had 8 days of sun and beach. And even though we didn't do anything, just relaxed and planned one hour at a time, this week was just right. I have slowed down, and it felt good not to start counting days left because we had enough time.
So, how did we spend our days? Well, pretty much every day was the same. We'd wake up around 8, have coffee on the balcony, then come down for breakfast around 9. We were 5 minutes walk from the beach, just behind hotel Biokovka, and we would come down around 10.30 and stake out our spot in the shade. We'd go for a swim, which for me involves long warm-up time, talk to people around us, play cards. I did sudoku, listen to ipod, take naps. To get away from the mid-day heat, as if we were not in the shade already, we would sit in one the many, many outside cafes/restaurant by the beach. Mom would stick with her macchiato, but I tried all different coffee options. At one place the sugar bags they served said ProCoffee, which I thought was funny - that's me! :) Next we had some light lunch, shared a pizza or something similar. We definitely ate too much! Then we got back to our towels, rested some more (we laughed that we rested after a rest :)), swam some more, throw pebbles, people watched,...relaxing! We would leave around 6-6.30, got ready for dinner, ate, and then walked for couple of hours down the Riva, all the way to the other side of the town, get some ice cream or desert, and get back to our room around 10.30PM. Full day of pretty much nothing. Gotta love it! :)
The last day, we were able to still enjoy the beach until 2.30PM. Two ladies from our hotel that we met let us use their room to shower and change for the trip. Our mini-bus picked us up around 3.30 and we were back in the apartment by 9.
The one casualty of this trip was one my camera. Next to the last day on the beach, at sunset, I was trying to take a photo of myself on the beach. I set it down on the beach umbrella post, about 20 inches off the ground, and set the timer. When the shutter clicked, and shook the camera and it fell face-down to the pebbles, lenses still open. The inner lens got crooked and couldn't retract back into the outer lens. I tried to pull it out myself, but couldn't. It still turns on, but I can't take pictures because of the lens error. When I get back to Austin I hope to have it fixed at WOLF. But, it means no more photos for the rest of this vacation. :(
Monday, September 5, 2011
Small World
Ah, vacation. And the beach. Love. It.
We arrived in Makarska on Saturday. Unpacked, and headed to beach for a nap since we didn't sleep much the night before. In our little hotel, of some 30 rooms, that evening they had some special group of miners from Kakanj for dinner. I think they doubled the capacity, and took all the tables on the terrace. We set inside.
As faith would have it, I recognized my math professor Galic from the first year of college in Sarajevo. It has been 20 years since I had his class, but I saw him few times during the war. I said hi to him, but he at first pretended it wasn't him (just his personality). Next to our table mom recognized a acquaintance from her former work place. And those two have rooms on either side of hours. Small world!
Last night I went to Mass in a church in downtown square. It was so full that people were standing outside. Maybe they were smart, because inside was hot we were melting. No AC, of course.
It's nice that we are here for a whole week, because today the weather is not the best. It has been raining early in the morning, and right now there is thunder in the distance. I don't mind relaxing here at the hotel, either. But just for today. :)
We arrived in Makarska on Saturday. Unpacked, and headed to beach for a nap since we didn't sleep much the night before. In our little hotel, of some 30 rooms, that evening they had some special group of miners from Kakanj for dinner. I think they doubled the capacity, and took all the tables on the terrace. We set inside.
As faith would have it, I recognized my math professor Galic from the first year of college in Sarajevo. It has been 20 years since I had his class, but I saw him few times during the war. I said hi to him, but he at first pretended it wasn't him (just his personality). Next to our table mom recognized a acquaintance from her former work place. And those two have rooms on either side of hours. Small world!
Last night I went to Mass in a church in downtown square. It was so full that people were standing outside. Maybe they were smart, because inside was hot we were melting. No AC, of course.
It's nice that we are here for a whole week, because today the weather is not the best. It has been raining early in the morning, and right now there is thunder in the distance. I don't mind relaxing here at the hotel, either. But just for today. :)
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