May 10, 2023
Day 84: Gorazde to Sarajevo
Beyond Here There Be More Tunnels
We awaken to a downpour. However, by the time we finish the hotel breakfast and load the gear and bikes into the car, the rain has stopped. There is fog high in the mountains.
The hotel owner is driving us to the top, we need to remove the front wheels and the bikes and gear get fitted in the back of a station wagon. The driver and Patrick speak French to each other. On our way up the hill we learn more about the seige of Gorazde. On the hill high above Gorazde, the driver explains how snipers, tanks and artillery positioned themselves on the hills around the town pound the residential area. He stops for us to see the memorial park where a Serbian tank is still parked.
The driver explains to Patrick how food ran out while Bosniak refugees from the surrounding towns kept pouring in.
The road winds up the mountain side, the views obscured by the clouds and fog. At the top where we are dropped off, there is another memorial. There is an occasional drizzle, we are already wearing our rain gear when we start the downhill.
For 13km, the switchbacks take us down through beautiful beech forest. The road flattens out a bit but the rain gets more significant. We stop for coffee in a small town. Men also in the cafe are gambling a popular activity.
The road follows the boundary between the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska, the two entities that make up Bosnia Herzegovina. We first think people in the Republika Srpska are flying the Russian flag, but the colors are reversed.
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After the coffee we have a long steady climb, pass through a long tunnel and then a nice downhill to Pale, once a Bosnian Serbs stronghold. We stop at a gas station for another cup of coffee.
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We are not done with tunnels, by the time we reach our hotel we’ve gone through 9 more. Traffic gets progressively busier and some of the tunnels are a bit unnerving. But we put our blinkie lights on and take our space and get through okay.
Our hotel is on the east side of Sarajevo and very easy to access for us. It looks like a funky place, painted a peach color with small rooms but a nice common area. The bikes are locked in a garage and the hotel staff takes care of a large pile of smelly laundry we have produced since Peje. For 10Euros the hotel staff washes, dries and folds the clothes.
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The rain has let up, there is even some sunshine. Since the forecast for our next two days in Sarajevo is rainy we decide to take advantage of the weather now and go for a walk around town. The eastern side where we are at is Ottoman and Muslim, the western side is Austro-Hungarian and Christian.
Afterwards we visit the Celtic Pub for a nice dark Czech Budweiser draft beer. The rain has picked up again, we head back to our room and watch a bad movie.
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We are surprised by how many tourists are in town. There are restaurants everywhere, we settle on a place that gets good reviews for their authentic fajitas. Not quite the same as Andrades in Boise, but pretty good.
Afterwards we visit the Celtic Pub for a nice dark Czech Budweiser draft beer. The rain has picked up again, we head back to our room and watch a bad movie.
Today's ride: 57 km (35 miles)
Total: 3,057 km (1,898 miles)
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