So, the WCCES conference that I went to was in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Not to say that I wouldn't have gone to the conference had it not been in Sarajevo, but that was a definite bonus as it was an extremely interesting city and country to visit. I arrived on the Sunday before the conference at 6:30 in the morning on the train (thank goodness it was the last stop as the conductor had to come and wake me up, even though there weren't sleepers, I had "hogged" three seats and made a little bed for myself and was quite comfortable to say the least)... so in a pretty desolate, train station at 6:30 on a Sunday morning, what to do. As I had done little homework on getting money, I just assumed there would be an ATM or change place near to the train station. Luckily, after a little asking around, I was told that though there were no change places in the train station, there was an ATM at the bus station. So, went over the bus station next door, got some money out. Now, next step getting to the pension... hmmm well, after consulting the map I wasn't quite sure how far it was as I never know the scale of maps in guide books. It doesn't seem like there is a consistent scale, so sometimes it may be 1in to a mile while other times it is 1/2in. mile and still other times something very different. Point being it doesn't sometimes help to look at a map to determine whether or not the place you are going to is walkable with 30 pounds on your back and 15 pounds on your front (computer and books). Deciding to be on the safe side I took the tram; however, upon getting off of the tram two stops later I decided I definitely could have walked. I walked to the street where I thought the pension was... though wasn't sure as there were no street signs. So looking around quite "lost", a street cleaner looking bemused asked me where I was going, I showed him and walking up the hill at the same time was a gregarious old man who with one look at me with my 45 pounds around me exclaimed that he would show me where I was to go. Where are you from? Belarus, Romania, Poland, he asked? No, I sheepishly replied, United States (I am never quite sure how I should respond to such a question) but in this case it was fine as the old man replied with a positive oh! Though, this was about the extent of our conversation as we literally walked the rest of the way up the hill and on the right hand side was the pension. He knocked on the door, the owner and his grandson answered the door, looked at me a little and asked if I had reservations. Yes, I explained, but I was a little early, so I was welcomed inside. Anyway, to make a long story a little shorter, the owners quickly figured out who I was and with etc. and were offering me Bosnian coffee and a nice comfortable place to sit within minutes!! (Though, I quickly discovered that Bosnian coffee and delicious as it may be, I can only have one cup of the thick brew before my body says NO more!!!(or suffer the consequences:).
Sarajevo at dusk from the other direction
As much as I would have liked to, I had a littl
