Week 42: Sarajevo and Mokra Gora (posted by Annie)

This past week we stayed in Sarajevo and the mountains of Serbia with Hampo and Tatta. Overall, we had lots of fun learning about history and hiking.

We arrived in Sarajevo on Monday, April 13. We stayed in a hotel that used to be an old Ottoman hamam, which is a public bathouse. Our hotel was just a block away from where Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which started World War I. On our first full day Jane, Dad, and I went on a walking tour of the old part of Sarajevo. I learned about the Siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s and the old Ottoman buildings in the bazaar. 

Hampo and Tatta met us at the hotel on the Tuesday afternoon and we showed them around the old part of Sarajevo. We went on a history walking tour about the Siege of Sarajevo. First, we went on the hilltop above the city where our guide explained to us where the Bosnian Serbs surrounded the city and how they launched mortar shells. He then took us to the famous tunnel that connected Sarajevo to the outside world. Dad even got to talk to a veteran Bosniak soldier who came through the tunnel during the war. Our final stop on the tour was to a war museum made by an old veteran. We got to have a Q&A with him after we looked at his collection of war memorabilia. One of the interesting things that he told was that he was friends with Bosnian Serbs before and after the war. 

The next day we visited the city hall, where the archduke gave his last speech before he was assassinated. It had a beautiful stain-glass ceiling. I got some special alone time with Tatta walking around the Austrian part of the city and we shared some candy. For lunch we went to a burger restaurant that was run by Bosnian-Americans. They were very kind and talked about their experiences during the war, their time in the United States, and how hard it is to come back to Sarajevo and start a business.

On our drive from Sarajevo to Mokra Gora we stopped at the famous old bridge of Visegrad. Mokra Gora is a small town in the mountains of Serbia that's main industry used to be a railway station. Now it is a tourist attraction. We stayed at a resort that had a great indoor basketball gym, a pool, and scenic views. The day after we arrived we walked down from the town, ate some convenience store ice cream, and played ping pong. Eliza beat Hampo 11 to 3. There weather was crystal clear skies and the next day we had a longer hike to an orthodox church nestled in the valley.

But most importantly, though, we had a lot of fun spending time with grandparents.

Week 41: Himarë, Albania & Kotor, Montenegro (posted by Jane)

After six days of hiking in Greece, we split up with Nana and Pops. The five of us headed to Himare, an Albanian beach town. We spent our day and a half relaxing and enjoying the gorgeous weather.

On April 9th we had a eight hour drive to Kotor, Montenegro. Kotor has a walled medieval town at the base of the steep mountains. It is also a destination for huge cruise ships!

The next day we explored the old town and walked up the fort walls to a Venetian fortress. We also found a zipline that Anne and Eliza spent a lot of time riding!

Off to Bosnia we go!

Week 40: Zagori, Greece (posted by Megan)

We had a special week hiking into mountains and along the gorges of Zagori, Greece. Nana and Pops hosted our inn-to-inn adventures that took us to four idyllic villages: Kipoi, Monodendri, Vikos, and Megalo Papingo.

The week started out wet and cold. Some highlights included walking along Zagori's famous 18th century stone bridges and taking in the spectacular views of Vikos Gorge - according to their signs, it's the steepest gorge in the world!

On our third day of hiking, the weather became beautiful - spring had once again arrived, hopefully this time staying around. Our trail took us down into gorge and along the rocky riverbed. Wade and I debated whether or not we were prouder of the septuagenarian grandparents or the grandkids for handling the physical challenges without complaint. We were all grateful for the seven sets of hiking poles that Nana and Pops toted over from the US for us.

Each village was complete with cobblestone streets, old stone houses, and delicious local food. The tourist season is about to start, so we were lucky to get there before the onslaught of the crowds.

Best of all, though, was spending some quality time with grandparents. After six days of hiking, we said goodbye to Nana and Pops. They headed south to tour the rest of Greece, and we loaded into our massive van for a drive north, back into Albania.