“We work to live, and not live to work,” said an incredibly friendly local as we walked down the side of a mountain overlooking the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Yes, last weekend was my inaugural visit to Sarajevo.

I have been around, through and close to Sarajevo in the past but never spent an extended period of time there. And my first real visit was truly in the style of Sarajevo as a group of six friends travelled together in a van from Dubrovnik. Song, laughter and fun marked our drive, basically a warm-up for the big weekend.

So first impressions. A cultural melting pot. I wouldn’t really describe it as a place where east meets the west, more like east, west, north and south are thrown into a centrifugal.

I can see why the locals call this pigeon square - Photo Mark Thomas 

It quickly became clear why this city was the hub of creative arts before the war. The combination of all these cultures into one relatively small place was a winning formula for music, art, film and of course comedy. The sense of humour is alive and well. Basically if you make a cake from only one ingredient than it’s going to be a pretty boring cake, but when you start mixing in ingredients of all different tastes and textures then you are going to have a delicious one.

As I said comedy is still close to the surface, it seemed that we couldn’t have an interaction with a local without a large dose of humour. As Charlie Chaplin said “A day without laughter is a day wasted.” We didn’t waste an hour let alone a day in Sarajevo.

High above the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Photo Mark Thomas 

I wanted to see a few important sites, such as where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated bringing the start of World War 1, to visit a Mosque, to see some of the 1984 Olympic sites, to ride the cable car and see the City Hall. We did all of these and much more.

With more luck than judgment our hotel was on the doorstep of the labyrinth of shops, cafés and restaurants that is Baščaršija. If Sarajevo is a volcano of cultures, then Baščaršija is the absolute epicentre.

The Ottoman Empire is alive and well in the heart of Europe. I am always fascinated by the effect that history has on the present and indeed the future. Over 570 years ago Mehmed II troops took control of this city and evidence of this invasion is served on plates, poured into cups and dominates the architecture. Fascinating.

Remains of the Ottoman rule in Sarajevo - Photo Mark Thomas 

Sarajevo is a complex city that showcases a varied and often tragic history. And yet they have this unbreakable lust to live life to the maximum and with laughter. They have this sarcastic blend of almost deadpan humour that greatly appeals to an Englishman. And of course “When in Rome…” so we ate, drunk, sang, danced and got very merry.

The night scene in Sarajevo is, to say the very least, lively. I didn’t know the words to any of the songs that bellowed from the instruments of the bands in the restaurants and breweries, but that didn’t matter at all. Our table mixed with the next and then the next and by the end of the night we were singing and dancing as one.

“Of course it has changed due to all the conflict but the spirit of the city seems unbreakable,” added my new friend. We had ridden the cable car to the top of Trebević mountain but due to strong winds it temporarily closed when we tried to go back down. Deciding to walk we set off and followed the old shell of the bobsleigh track from the 1984 Olympics. It was then that we bumped into this couple, an opposite mirror image of my wife and I, she was English and he a local.

“Walk down with us and we’ll drive you down to the city,” they offered. Interaction with true locals is for me priceless. And his positivity was infectious. Sarajevo will remain as a fond memory. Quality time with quality friends in a city with a soul that shines bright in spite of everything.

The author Ivo Andrić once famously wrote that Sarajevo is a city that is wearing out and dying, while at the same time being reborn and transformed.       

Read more Englishman in Dubrovnik…well, if you really want to

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About the author
Mark Thomas (aka Englez u Dubrovniku) is the editor of The Dubrovnik Times. He was born and educated in the UK and moved to live in Dubrovnik in 1998. He works across a whole range of media, from a daily radio show to TV and in print. Thomas is fluent in Croatian and this column is available in Croatia on the website – Dubrovnik Vjesnik