KOŠEVA PARK - My Neighbrhood Park

These stones mark the death of Sarajevo Muslims who fought with the Ottoman Empire. There were raids by Eugene of Savoy in 1697, and for two centuries the struggle lasted until 1878 when Bosnia was occupied by Austria-Hungary.


The starkly white markers remember those who were killed defending Sarajevo in the 1992-95 war against the Serbian army

War IS part of the landscape. This is the kiosk display in front of the park

The hood

Here is my neighborhood. On one side of Marshal Tito Blvd are these Austria-Hungarian buildings built around 1880-1920. On the other side is Kosova Park which has the mark of Olmstead. It was designed as part of the landscape architecture of Sarajevo and is a cemetary as well as walking park

Not more than 25 yards from my door is a "road of steps" that goes up to another well established neighborhood of cafes, stores, and apartment buildings

Here is Grace sitting in a traditional 2-room Bosnian stone house.  This is the living room, eating area, and when the table is cleared away, the place for the kids to sleep. Behind her is the crib.  

I'm concentrating on the Bosnian

Chasing lamb in Jablanica

In Bosnian it's  jagnjetinja - lamb!  The lambs are roasted outside on the spit that is turned by a water wheel.                      

You  order the lamb by the kilo and the beer by the half litre.

Chasing Tito

And Saturday it was Jablanica.

The initial decision to see the famous Bridge on the Drina in Visegrad was scrapped when we were told once we got to the bus station that the schedule doesn't let 

you do a day trip.  Go figure.  Visegrad was just named a UNESCO protectorate.  Tourism?

So John, Grace, and I hauled ourselves over to the main bus station and happily boarded a bus bound for Jablanica in Herzegovina.  A 2 hour ride.  There are only two things to do here:  visit the shrine devoted to the memory of the Jablanica retreat and eat roasted lamb.  In that order

The story of Tito being pursued by the Germans and ordering the bridges over the Neretva river torn down is one of Yugoslavia's most revered WWII stories.  Tito's strategy was to convince the German/Italian coalition that he had changed directions.   This torn do

wn railroad bridge remains in place as a commemoration of the brilliant s

trategy.

During the retreat, Tito had a makeshift bridge built next to the torn down one 

and evacuated 4000 injured Partisan soldiers.  

The museum on the site was closed, but John rattled the doors so persuasively (and looked so Slovenian) that the caretaker let us in.  Actually, he was taken with our Bosnian language skills, and happily showed us his museum.  The war posters and the communications between Tito and his commanders was worth the trip here.