usa: indiana: pickles and a bridge

Pickles. I love pickles. Dill pickles, not sweet pickles.

On the day I drove from Chicagoland to Bloomington, I decided to make a drive a bit longer, and take a tour of a pickle factory.

Sechlers Fine Pickles is located on IN-1, technically in St Joe, Indiana. That being said, it's out in the middle of nowhere, in rural Indiana.

Anyone can visit the pickle factory and join a free tour that takes place several times a day. To join the tour you have to wear closed toe shoes, and put on a hairnet.

I ended up in a group with a couple families, our guide led us around the factory while pointing out the different steps in producing pickles. I liked the machine that split the pickles into spears, then shot them out into buckets.

After the tour I realized there is a slight smell of vinegar over the whole area. I wonder how often employees actually eat anything that is pickled.

When the tour ends you're back in the front office/gift shop. The factory produces more than pickled cucumbers, there are also salsa and other items. I was happy to buy raspberry and mango salsas.

My drive home started by driving further down IN-1, through more of rural Indiana. Beautiful in its own way. At one point I saw a sign saying a covered bridge was nearby, of course I made the turn onto a smaller road.

Spencerville covered bridge was built in 1873, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 after an extensive restoration. The information sign says it is still in use, but when I was there it was blocked off, as was the road to get close.

You never know what you'll find when you drive through the smaller roads of Indiana.

usa: illinois: state parks, zion, and an arboretum

Now that I know how to find information about things to do and places to see, it seems like a whole new world when I go back to the States each summer. My friends live in a (boring) suburb of Chicago, but there is still heaps going on not too far away.

One of my first adventures after coming back to Chicagoland was on a regular work day. I went with Kelley to her job in Zion, then borrowed her car while she worked. I first drove to Illinois Beach State Park, which wasn't a long drive.

Once you go down the rabbit hole of clicking on different spots on Google Maps, you only come out hours later with a long list of places to go.

I parked near a small pond, and immediately fell in love with the quiet. Well, almost every part of the quiet. I could hear the mozzies straightaway, and they immediately found me as well. Sigh. There was a shelter with toilets, as well as a couple picnic tables and benches near the pond, it was all really peaceful. Standing close to the water were at least five fishermen, I wonder how much they were catching.

I walked around the other side of the pond, just enjoying being near the water. From there the trail took me through prarie grass, which truly felt undeveloped and almost secret. Walking through the grass was really nice, I was surprised no one else was out there.

The parkplatz was not far from my main destination of the day: the beach. It was the middle of July, but the water of Lake Michigan was still really chilly, there was no one else on the beach, let alone in the water. I was in heaven, as it was a slice of light sand with waves rolling in regularly.

As expected, walking along the beach was almost a workout. Just another example of why runners go to beaches and dunes to get a good workout. It's soft, but moving forward is hard work.

Further down the beach I found a trail leading to a completely new area, so I followed that for a while. I almost felt like an explorer, silly as that sounds. I can see why leaving everything you know behind holds such appeal to some people.

Eventually I turned around and came back to the beach, then followed the trails to another small beach area. 

This one wasn't as pretty, a couple large rocks even had graffiti. I'm quite sure I'd never expected to see graffiti in the States saying that the USSR is best.

When I returned to the car there were fewer people around, the mozzies seemed to be hiding, and there was no shade anywhere. Thank goodness for air conditioning in cars.

I drove back into Zion, my main stop was Shiloh House. This was the home of Dr John Alexander Dowie, the founder of Zion. Zion was founded as a planned conservative Christian community in 1901 by Dowie, a Scots-Australian evangelical Christian minister. 

He owned most of the land in the area, and the businesses as well.

In general when you hear the name of a community or world leader you tend to assume they are tall, as most of them are. Dowie was not, he was only 5'6" (168cm) and the way his house was built reflects his shortness. The steps are slightly shallower than is normal, and a few shelves had built in steps in some of the rooms.

The Shiloh House is a 3 story, 25 room mansion. Dowie shared the space with his family, as well as a couple friends and some family servants.

There is an entry fee to visit the house, but I was able to wander all over on my own, taking as many photos as I wanted. My favourite part was the winding, wooden staircase, which was beautifully carved. The balconies were also pretty fantastic, they were on all three level s of the house. Another unique part of the house were the bird head spouts on the bathtubs.

Each room had information about the furniture on display, as well as the person who slept there. The whole house is really well presented for visitors, I highly recommend visiting.

When Zion was founded, everyone who lived there was white. That's not anywhere close to reality now. There are currently about 25,000 residents of Zion, with a mix of African American, Latino, and white residents.

After walking through the house I found a random local cafe for lunch, then kept going. Another random sight spotted on a map was up next.

A pyramid!! The great pyramids of Egypt are famous for good reason, but I'd never expected to find one in the States. This one is an event center, so I wasn't able to go in because no events were taking place. 

There is also a giant statue of a pharoah nearby. Just. Wow. (I don't know if that is a good wow or not.)

A few days later Kelley had to work, but Jon and I didn't. We spent a couple hours cleaning up the house, then drove to Matthieson State Park, a bit over an hour away. Matthieson State Park is the relatively unknown neighbor of Starved Rock State Park, one of the most visited state parks in the state of Illinois.

Matthiessen State Park is named for Frederick William Matthiessen, who owned the 176 acres that are still the core of today's park. 

After his death in 1918 the family donated the land (which was then called Deer Park,) to the state. I don't know why it took so long, but the park was renamed in his honour in 1943, in the middle of WW2.

Matthiessen State Park is now 1938 acres, and none of the buildings from the original estate still exist.

Jon knew where he was going, so we pulled into a busy parkplatz and immediately started walking to get away from all the people. Even though this park is far less known than its neighbor, there were still plenty of people there. (Not a surprise in the middle of summer.)

There are a number of trails available in this park, so we randomly followed a couple of them. Since Jon has been to this park several times previously I wasn't worried about getting lost at any point, no matter where we went.

Even though the parkplatz was busy, and the trailheads were often busy, it didn't take us long to get away from everyone else. It was easy to find places with no one else around. It was easy to get to waterfalls. It was easy to find small canyons carved out by the eternal motion of water.

A few hours of getting out in nature was awesome.

The next day all three of us were free, so we piled in the car and drove to a place that had been on my list: Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois. The arboretum is a public garden, outdoor museum, and tree research center covering more than 1700 acres.

Morton Arboretum was established in 1922 by Joy Morton, who owned Morton Salt Company. The goal then and now, is to encourage planting and conservation of trees and other plants for a greener, healthier, and more beautiful world.

The arboretum probably wouldn't have made it onto my list of places to visit except for a recent addition to the plants and trees: a series of GIANT wooden trolls placed around the grounds. These six trolls were created by Danish artist Thomas Dambo, made from reclaimed wood.

The trolls are all made from untreated wood, so there will be no chemicals leeching into the ground as they are slowly taken over by nature.

When you enter the arboretum (paying an entrance fee of $15 per adult,) they give you a map of the grounds, showing the general location of each troll. 

There are small parkplatzes near most of them, so you don't have to walk all over if you don't want to. We visited on a hot day, walking would've been very unpleasant.

Near each troll is a small sign with a 'clue.' You're supposed to write down or remember the clues, and put them together with your map to figure out where the troll 'house' is in the arboretum. It's a neat way of getting people involved in what they're seeing, rather than just taking a photo and moving on.

I would love to see the trolls in fall or winter, I bet they're amazing.

usa: illinois: chicago

Despite spending the first two weeks of my summer break with Kelley in Chicagoland, I went into the city just once in all those days.

Social media lets me know about a lot of things, including the various travels of friends and former colleagues. This happened in mid-July, I was able to arrange meeting up with someone who is normally in Florida.

I got up early, and took the Metra train into the city. My meetup was mid morning, so I took my early arrival time as a chance to walk all the way to the old water tower.

When I got there I had to admit I never would've thought it used to be a water tower. It's made of stone, and was one of the only structures to survive a fire that destroyed most of the city in 1871. Very photogenic, but not worth more than a minute to see the tower.

From the tower I walked to a branch of a coffee shop chain called Intelligentsia Coffee. It was great to see Laura again, we figured out it had been more than 10 years since we met and worked together in Seoul. It was also nice to meet her boyfriend Ryan.

From there it was another long walk to Manny's deli. I felt like I'd earned the calories of a giant corned beef sandwich and potato pancakes.

After eating I didn't have any specific sights planned to see, so I walked back toward the city center, which is generally full of people and things to see.

At one point I realized I was walking by a library with great decoration outside. The inside was pretty impressive as well.

Not far from the library was a dog park with a great skyline view of downtown. Since it was mid afternoon on a hot sunny day, I was the only person out there. If there had been benches and shade, I'm sure more people would've been there.

More walking brought me to Buckingham Fountain. It's big, but you can't get too close because of a low chain that blocks off the whole thing. Though I wanted to get close enough to feel the cold water, I was happy to take a photo without anyone in the frame, since no one else could get close either :)

One place in Chicago that I'd wanted to see was the Art Institute. I'd wanted to see it until I got through the front doors and discovered the entry fee was $25. That felt a bit steep, so I opted to save the museum for another visit. Sigh.

Looking at my phone, I discovered the Chicago Cultural Center wasn't far away. It's a beautiful building, and best of all, it's free to visit! The stained glass window at the top is amazing, as are all the mosaics throughout the building.

Chicago is amazing, I know I'll be back.

usa: indiana: kokomo

I always enjoy going to Kokomo, Indiana, even though I don't usually do very much while I'm there. Kokomo is Kelley's hometown, and as such, a second hometown for me. It's always two or three days of perfect relaxation, I love it.

During this visit Kelley and I realized we have been friends for 21 years. Awesome.

This past year Kelley's mom passed away, so this was my first visit to the house without Rhonda. It was very different, to say the least. Rhonda was an amazing woman, I miss her. There is no way to adequately describe her, to really show how amazing she was. All I know is that the world is a lesser place without her.

The drive from Chicagoland took a little over four hours, plus moving forward an hour in time. We picked up Portillo's for dinner from the branch in Merrilville, which is always tasty.

The next day consisted of almost nothing. I got to go to Mom's Homemade Pies, which is easily one of the best pie shops in the whole world. (Side note, it closed at the end of 2019, I was supremely disappointed.)

I don't know if anyone has ever said how many pies one 'should' have at one time, but I blew past whateva that limit would be. I bought four pies that morning. YUM. This place has a fantastic ratio of filling to crust, and the flavours are always perfect.

The next day we met up with Anita and Chris, Kelley's longtime friends. I met them during the Ireland trip, almost 10 years ago. The five of us spent the entire afternoon at the house of a friend of Chris, the house had a pool, and poolhouse.

It was a perfect day. The pool had a slide, and a fake palm tree, and the host had different floaties to play with in the water. So nice to just hang out and talk, play around in the water, and relax. At one point we ate a picnic lunch, then spent another hour or two in the water. Absolute perfection.

The next day we drove back to Chicagoland. I know I'll come back to Kokomo, as Kelley's house will always be a second home for me. One of these visits I'll actually see some of the 'tourist' sights of the city, hahahaha. 

russia: adler and sochi

Going on a beach holiday in Russia wasn't high on my list of things to do in this country. That being said, Sochi was on two city lists that interest me: it is an Olympic city, as well as being one of the host cities for the World Cup in 2018. One of my very first goals in traveling Russia was to visit all of the World Cup host cities.

The airport called Sochi is actually located in Adler. As I discovered during this trip, nearly everything was actually located in Adler, or outside of Sochi. The flight from Moscow was a little under four hours, and getting to my accomodation only took 30 minutes thanks to a convenient local bus.

I'm somewhat embarassed to admit that I did not drop off my bag and immediately walk back out to start exploring a bit. Instead I stayed in my bed for a few hours, only leaving again during sunset. The humidity was a lot higher in Adler than in Moscow, as were the temperatures, and I felt it all immediately. I grew up in the Midwest, with plenty of heat and humidity, but I haven't lived in it in a while, and it always hits me hard when I'm traveling.

The next morning I took my sweet time getting moving, but I can say I was slightly productive during the morning hours. 

I spent time looking up the history of the area, as well as what I could see or do other than laying out on a beach. (Laying on the beach was the focus of this trip, but not the only thing to do.)

There has been population in this part of the world for a long time, going back to even before the Roman Empire. Wikipedia is full of names of kingdoms that ruled this place that no longer exist, but a general list would include the Romans, the Abkhazians, the Ottomans, the Georgians, and more.

Russia took charge around 1830, and stayed in charge for the most part. Since the region is almost 1700 kilometers from Moscow, it doesn't completely feel like Russia. Adler and Sochi are resort towns, I didn't feel a lot of traditional Russian culture while I was there. Part of this is because Russians make up 70% of the residents, and Armenians make up much of the rest. The Armenians come from enclaves in Turkey and Georgia. The other small minorities are Georgians and Ukrainians. The architecture is nearly all boring Soviet, there is very little of interest in that regard. 

While I was in the area, I took each day pretty easy. For the most part, I went to the beach for at least a few hours each day, while also seeing something else in Adler, or Sochi itself.

I found Lenin in Adler, he was quite small and painted silver. Definitely not like the other Lenins I've seen around the country, and as he was just off a street, with no platz in front, the statue didn't feel as important as in other places I've seen. Figuring out how to take a picture with the man wasn't easy, as I didn't want to get run over by a car, nor did I want my phone run over by a car. 

I found Lenin in Sochi too, but in Sochi he was unique. In Sochi, Lenin is not a statue. He is part of a big mosaic with red tiles. It's really eye catching, and feels more like art instead of politics. I don't know if that makes any sense.

It was in Sochi that I was able to take a boat tour of the coastal waters. It felt really good to be out on the water, with the wind in my face, looking back at the coast. I think there was some information from the boat captain, but since it was in Russian I didn't pay any attention, nor did I care. I was just in it to see the coast from out on the water.

When I took the boat tour I was surprised at the cost, because it was only 500 rubles for 90 minutes or so, which is a great price. I was originally expecting a much higher price. I assume you could probably rent a boat for the full day for a completely reasonable price.

In one of the smaller neighbourhoods of Sochi I found a bust of Yuri Gagarin. Though the man is a Soviet hero (for good reason,) I was surprised to find him. I don't know of any connection between Gagarin and the Black Sea area. (Nor have I done any research.)

One morning I took a bus from Adler, heading north to a spot in between Adler and Sochi. Stalin had a dacha built for himself there, visitors can tour the place every day. Getting from the bus stop to the dacha involved an hour long hike up roads that wind up a mountain, mostly in the sun. That part wasn't so much fun, but I was excited to see something of Stalin's, as there isn't much left in Russia.

As usual, the only tour option was in Russian, so I didn't understand most of the information. That being said, it wasn't hard to figure out what each room was, and the dates or style of architecture didn't mean much to me. 

Stalin wasn't a tall man, he was quite a bit shorter than most world leaders. His dacha was built with his height in mind, complete with shorter steps on the staircases.

His pool had mosaic decorations all around, his balconies were wide and spacious, his billard room had plenty of space, and more. It was quite fun to see how each room was arranged, and I have to admit I liked the place. That's probably because most of it was decorated with wood, not gold or other flashy stuff. It's a big building, but in the way the rich do, I bet Stalin referred to it as his 'cottage.'

One day in Sochi I visited the sports museum. The lady wanted to charge me the foreigner entry fee, even after I showed her that I live and work in Russia. She definitely had an attitude, but let me pay the local fee after I started to leave. I live in Russia, therefore I pay into the tax system that subsidizes museums in the country. That means I should be paying the local fee, not the foreigner fee; I hate being looked at as a human ATM. Just because I'm a foreigner doesn't mean I have a lot of money. Sigh.

Random note: the train stations of Adler and Sochi are very very different. 

The station in Adler is much bigger, and much newer. Think glass and wide open atrium like atmosphere. The station in Sochi is much closer to a traditional grand station with columns in front. You have a fantastic view if you're at the Adler train station for sunset.

My beach time was all at the beaches of Adler. All the beaches I saw were made of small stones, and none were very big. They were all quite busy, none of them were peaceful. I have no idea why someone would make this area a traditional beach vacation for their family. Of course, it's not as if Russia has a lot of options for a beach vacation.

The entire time I was in Adler and Sochi the weather was sunny and hot. The day I left it was rainy and cloudy, which seemed perfect. Would I come back to Sochi? I didn't see the mountain areas where the Olympic games took place, and I'm sure there are other hiking options in the area. There are also a couple small towns I'd like to come back to see.

bosnia: sarajevo

Medical tourism is a thing, but for the longest time I never thought I would travel for this reason. Then I did just a little research into something I wanted to have done, and how much it would cost if I had it done in the States. The numbers were not happy numbers for my wallet, to say the least.

I didn't do anything else for several years, until I saw a social media post from a friend, who had gone to a dentist in another country, and was really pleased with both the work and the price. I messaged him for details, and started planning a trip.

What ended up happening was a trip to Bosnia, staying in Sarajevo for most of the time. I made an appointment with the same dental office, happy to finally have a solution to what I wanted to do. Since Bosnia was a country I'd wanted to visit for quite a while, this was absolutely perfect.

The cheapest flights had me spending most of the first travel day in Vienna, before arriving in Sarajevo very late in the evening. I'd made sure to download directions to my accomodation so I'd be able to figure out what I was doing even though I wouldn't have the ability to use my phone.

My first in person experience in Sarajevo was amazing. I found the bus stop I needed (a 15 minute walk from the airport,) and only had to wait another 15 minutes for the bus I needed. I had no idea how much the bus cost, but I handed the driver the smallest bill given to me by the ATM in the airport, 10 BAM.

I think the driver asked me if I had anything smaller, I said I didn't. The man behind me in line realized I was not local, and spoke to me in English. He said he would pay for my bus ticket, since the driver didn't have change for a 10 BAM bill, as the ride was only 1.8 BAM. I was absolutely floored by this kindness, it was totally unexpected and very much appreciated.

When I got to my accomodation and checked in I fell asleep within 10 minutes, as it was now after midnight.

Sarajevo is the capital, and biggest city in Bosnia, with 275,000 residents within city limits. 

If you take into account the entire metro area, the number goes up to more than 550,000 people. Bosnia is not a big country, and almost immediately I realized the capital city didn't feel like a big city. Sarajevo mostly lies within a valley, you can see most of the city if you climb up some of the surrounding hills.

Wikipedia tells me people have been living in this area since prehistoric times, though 'modern history' of the area doesn't begin until the 15^th century. At that time, the Ottoman Empire ruled the area, and Sarajevo was one of their stronghold cities.

Perhaps the most (in)famous moment in modern Sarajevo history took place on the 28^th of June, in 1914. This was when Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated, which was the start of WW1. When this happened, Sarajevo was part of the empire of Austria-Hungary. After the war, the city became part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which then became the Socialist Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina in the second Yugoslavia.

From 1992-1996 Sarajevo was one of the focus points of the Yugoslav Wars, being under seige for over 1400 days. This fighting is probably what most people think of when they hear the name Sarajevo, or Bosnia. I learned a lot about this war during this trip, but a lot of it still confuses me. The fighting was between several groups of people, with different desired outcomes. There were religious groups, as well as 'ethnic' groups involved in everything. To figure it all out, you have to sort through who was involved, and what they wanted in regards to every other group involved. 

From what I understand, some of the religious tensions are still

quite high, more than 20 years after the official end of the war.

One other historical event might come to mind when people think of Sarajevo: the 1984 winter Olympics. The facilities for these games were built on the hills that surround the city, so you don't see many reminders when you're wandering through the city center.

The first place I visited was City Hall, which has massive moorish influences in its architecture. There is an entry fee of 10 BAM, but that allowed me to wander all over the building, taking photos to my heart's desire. (Lots of photos, obviously.)

The ceiling was stained glass, absolutely lovely. There were amazing stairs, and a walkway on the second level, and very few other people wandering around. Yay!!

From city hall, I made my way to one of the main streets running through the city center. Just walking down that street I got to see a few bakeries, an Orthodox church, the Sarajevo Cathedral, and a memorial with an eternal flame. I didn't buy anything in any of the bakeries, as I was too hot to have an appetite for any of it.

My visit to the dentist's office was a success. I was thrilled with the work they did, and the price I paid. Awesome.

After the dentist I went to the Museum of War and Genocide from 1992-1995. Sarajevo has a number of museums dedicated to the different aspects of the Yugoslavian War, all of them are really intense to visit. I was mentally and emotionally exhausted by the time I walked out of the museum. There were photos and information about all that happened during the war, much of it beyond the pale of acceptable behaviour. How people can do things like that to other people is beyond me.

I had dinner at a random local restaurant, and stopped at a grocery store on my way home. There is a river running through the middle of the city, with several bridges crossing the water. I crossed on a bridge that had been designed by students in design school, there was a loop de loop in the middle.

The next day I didn't get moving very quickly. Eventually I started my day with a hike. It was steep, and I had to stop more than once to catch my breath. Thank goodness I'd brought water with me, because sweat was pouring off me. I climbed toward the White Fortress, on top of a hill at the eastern end of the city. 

Wikipedia tells me there are several stories about the history of this fortress, but whicheva is right didn't matter to me. The place is in ruins, but has amazing views looking both east and west.

Despite Sarajevo not being on flat ground, the city used to have entry gates and city walls. From the White Fortress I walked to what remains of one of the gates, Visegrad gate. Nothing particularly impressive, but I'm always a fan of visible history, so I was glad I'd seen it.

I followed various twisting roads a little down the hill to the Yellow Fortress. Though the spot still has the name, there is almost nothing left of the fortress other than the great view over the city. Very pretty, and quite peaceful. Further down the hill I found one of many cemeteries in the city. Photogenic, but at the same time, very sad; especially when you think of how many of these people should still be living, and how old they would be if still alive. 

I walked up the hill on another side of the city to visit Svrzo house. This is a house that was owned by an upper middle class during Ottoman times. The house is separated into two sections, as homes were back in the day. One section is the public section, where visitors came, and the men spent time. The other part was for the women and family only.

Even though there was no air conditioning, the house was still quite cool, even in the middle of the afternoon on a hot day. Most rooms had windows, and/or balconies. There were low 'couches' around the edges of each room in which people hung out, and the wood tables all had intricate carvings all over.

After that I went to another intense war museum. This was the War in Childhood Museum. There are 50 objects on display, each one from someone who was a child during war. Most of the objects are from Bosnia, from the war in the 90s, but there are a few from places like Syria, where the war is still taking place. Intense in its own way.

This was a day of museums, as I went to yet another one after the Childhood Museum. The Jewish museum is located in an old synagogue. The history of Jews in Bosnia is quite long, and sadly, there aren't nearly as many Jews in the country as there used to be. As with other countries during WW2, the local Jewish population has never recovered.

This museum had photos of Jewish life back in the day, as well as items in daily and celebratory use. There were also propaganda posters from WW2, which were obviously very anti Semitic.

I went to one final museum as my last sight in the day. 

I suppose it was more a photo gallery than museum, but all the photos were from the war years in the 90s, so it felt like a museum, and was just as intense as the other museums I saw in Sarajevo.

The photos were blown up to very large sizes, with captions and descriptions for a few of them. It was completely quiet inside, none of the visitors were talking.

My dinner that night was at the same cafe as the night before, but felt almost like a relief after the emotions of the museums of the days.

The next day I again took my time getting moving, but that's what holidays are all about, right? I followed my phone to get to the bottom station of a cable car that would take me up the mountain on another side of the city. There were round trip and one way tickets; I seriously thought about walking down the hill, but as hot as it was I knew I wouldn't be in the mood to do so.

I rode the cable car to the top station, which lets you out at a spot where you have fantastic views of the whole city. The reason I rode this cable car was to see a sight of a completely different sort than what I'd seen the past two days.

The luge and bobsleigh track from the 1984 winter olympic games was not far from the cable car station. The track has been abandoned since the games, and has been covered in graffiti for years; the art is redone regularly. Parts of the track are falling apart, with mold growing in some spots. There are leaves and other dirt in areas, you can see nature is slowly trying to take back what humans have created.

The whole thing is really photogenic. Instagram gold, if you will. It is super easy to walk up and down the track, taking photos of all the different bends in the track.

After walking down to the bottom of the track, I walked all the way back up, then over to another section of the mountain. That section gave me more views over the city, better than I'd seen from the White Fortress or Yellow Fortress.

From the cable car on the way back down I saw a bell tower, so when I got to the bottom station, I headed in that direction. It wasn't that hard to get to St Anthony's monastery. The main church was open, so I walked in and enjoyed the atmosphere for a few minutes. I'm always a sucker for stained glass.

After the church I walked back across the river, and made my way to the main walking street of the city center area. Along this street is a mosque that has history stretching back to Ottoman times. The clock tower tells time according to a lunar clock, which was neat to see; the numerals were Arabic. Thank goodness there was a sign explaining how to read the clock, I was completely clueless until I read the sign.

I wanted to go in the mosque itself, but I was wearing shorts, and felt that would be inappropriate.

The next day I made sure to wear a long skirt, and made my first stop back at the mosque. There is a washing spot in the courtyard, as washing your feet (and hands?) is a traditional part of prayer in Islam.

I could see people praying outside, on one side of the mosque, but the door going inside was closed. At first I thought that meant the entire mosque was closed, but then I heard a tour guide speaking in English, and the guide was taking the group around the side of the building. The guide took the group in a side door, I followed.

There is a small area sort of fenced off, this is the only area in which visitors are allowed. I don't know how often Muslims pray inside, or if the inside is only seen for the most part by visitors.

Further down the street is the current version of a market that also stretches back to Ottoman times. At one point I think it was quite similar to the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, but now it's a kitchy market, with souvenirs and other items geared almost entirely to tourists. It's listed as a place for tourists to see, but I was not at all impressed.

I walked all the way to the end of the pedestrian area, and kept going. At that point I was on a street that was called Sniper's Alley during the war in the 90s. You can still see bullet holes on many of the buildings. Amazing, and really sad. Life during those years must've been absolutely terrifying for everyone.

I walked all the way to a block that has two museums. I was too late to visit the National Museum, but the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina was still open. It turned out to be very small, and quite lame. Part of the museum seemed to be under renovation, and unless I'm mistaken had only two rooms of items to see. Totally not worth it.

The next day was my day trip to Jajce, when I lost my camera.

After that was my last morning in Sarajevo. I packed up and checked out, taking my backpack with me. Despite the tiny Jewish community in Sarajevo, the main synagogue is plenty big, and open for visitors.

Even though the synagogue is open for visitors, you still have to ring a bell in order for the locked door to be opened from inside. Jewish facilities around the world have more security than other religious facilities because anti-Semitism is world wide.

Someone gave me a quick tour of the synagogue, I was interested to learn that the current congregation is so small that it doesn't have a full time rabbi. I think they gather from time to time, and bring in a rabbi for bigger holidays and celebrations. If I remember correctly, there are less than 2000 Jews in the city now.

After the synagogue I walked to the nearby bus stop to catch the bus to the airport.

The first part of my trip went as planned, woo hoo. I had a much shorter layover at the airport in Vienna going back to Moscow, thank goodness. 

My flight from Vienna to Moscow was supposed to arrive back in Moscow at 0200 or so, I originally planned to hang out for a few hours before taking the train back into the city center to get home.

Not long after I arrived at the gate I heard an announcement saying the flight was overbooked, asking for volunteers to be bumped to the next flight. Rewards for doing so would be 300 euros and a food voucher. I knew I would rather hang out in the Viennese airport for an extra three hours than the Moscow airport, so I made a beeline for the desk at the gate.

I ended up being bumped to the next flight, I was the only one who got bumped. Yay! That was the first time I've ever been able to take advantage of that sort of situation.

I would love to go back to Sarajevo, and I'd love to see more of Bosnia in general.