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Short notice Trip to Budapest and Sarajevo

I just finished a last minute 5 night stop in Budapest, followed by 6 nights in Sarajevo. My daughter who lives internationally asked me to meet her somewhere during her spring break and Sarajevo was her choice. I had just finished 2 weeks in Norway, but needed somewhere to chill for 5 nights, so I obviously headed to Budapest. Lol.

Budapest:
I did very little actual sightseeing this time because my main purpose was to relax and just be there. However two new things I did were 1) the Hungarian Railway Museum and 2) dinner and show at the Opus Jazz Club.

The Railway Museum is a collection of old trains in a big open space. While it isn’t on the scale of the York Railway Museum by any means, if you like wandering around trains, it is a nice couple of hours with very few people and it cost less than $5. It’s in an entirely different part of Budapest than I have previously been to, so a new bus route (I just use Google Maps). On the way back to city center, I took a detour and wandered around St. Ladislaus Church of Angyalföld - beautiful architecture and tile work.

The Opus Jazz Club is in a beautiful building not too far from the Great Market. Head to the basement for an intimate small setting. I am not a huge jazz fan and obviously most of the music is by small jazz groups. But in a great coincidence for my time it, there was a performance by Sefardito - a 4 person group performing arrangements of traditional Jewish music referencing the memories, both bitter and sweet, of being on the road.

My ticket purchased a couple of weeks ahead was only $9. You can come for show only or come an hour early and eat. I chose to eat and was surprised that the food was both good and normal pricing for a Budapest restaurant.

I need to do a new restaurant post. I always think I am going to repeat somewhere - but didn’t….

Then I flew to Sarajevo.

Cont.

Posted by
4825 posts

Sarajevo:
Sarajevo has a delightful small town feel. I spent 6 nights there last year and some of what I did this year was a repeat but with new company. :)

Stayed: in a nice, new 2 bedroom apartment just to the west of city center but within the tram loop. Everywhere was walkable.

Did:
Sunset one night at the Yellow Fort. Our trip was during Ramadan and this is where they fire the cannon from (with a few fireworks) to announce sunset and the end of fasting for the day. It is probably always crowded at sunset, but it was full of locals bringing their Iftar meal to eat picnic-form in community. This added a significant layer beyond just a pretty view.

5 hour city tour through Tour Mage covering buildings in the city center and history from the beginning through the present; the Tunnel of Hope (built under the airport runways to move supplies and people into and out of town during the war); and a drive up the mountain to the former Olympic bobsled run. Ahmed is an amazing guide - a young historian with a wealth of knowledge who lived through the war in the 90’s as a young child.

An all-day tour through Tour Mage to Travnik to visit the old fort and Multi-colored Mosque, along with sampling local cheese and prosciutto, and on to Jajce to see the Pliva waterfall and Pliva Lake and the Mlicini - a group of ancient small mills with delightful streams of running water throughout. Guide and driver Edis could not have been better.

An all-day tour through Funky Tours to Livno to ride ATVs up into the mountain to see the wild horses that roam the area. This was purely for fun and scenery, but our guide Merima and driver Mario were so personable and fun and informative.

All three of these tours are advertised as small group tours but our group of 3 were the only participants. So effectively we had 3 private tours. The latter two included quite a bit of driving time, but the countryside is stunning - so it is an easy way to see more of Bosnia without changing location. The guides are young, smart, and enjoyable.

Food and drink: is so affordable in Sarajevo. And good. My daughter and friend fell in love with “pies” - burek. I already loved it: meat, cheese, spinach, or potato.

Places we ate: Dveri; The Singing Nettle; Nanina Kuhinja; Barhana; and Klopa. One night we just ate leftovers. The 2 girls are also vegetarian, so we needed places that offered vegetarian options in a meat-heavy country. None of us were disappointed a single time.

I know a lot of people make it to Mostar from Dubrovnik as a day trip. But Bosnia has so much to offer and is so affordable. It would be well worth your time to see more.

Posted by
33838 posts

None of us were disappointed a single time.

Can't often say that. Glad you had a good trip

Posted by
5383 posts

Ok, I want to visit for enough nights to try each of the restaurants and all the types of Burek!

Let's see, where can I fit Sarajevo into a trip? (Insert chuckling emoji here)

Glad your trip went well!

Posted by
885 posts

Thanks so much for your report. I hope to get to Bosnia one day! I’m reading an old, dated but still interesting book about Yugoslavia, “Black Lamb and Grey Falcon.” Just finished the Bosnian section which included Jajce and Travnik! So your report was perfectly timed!

Posted by
4825 posts

@ Nigel, thank you. None of the restaurants were “fine dining” but they were all tasty, quality, and relatively inexpensive. :)

@ CW, yes, you do. I am sure I can help you find a time. LOL! Fall 2025? Put it after some Montenegro. Oh, wait. That is Romania….. We have a tough life. Ha!

@ Eef, I have the same book. I think Dave recommended it. I started it last year and haven’t finished it yet and need to. It has been interesting to me in my travels to hear how “Yugoslavia” seems to be remembered with nostalgia for a good era. Not the way I heard it growing up. Another one, recommended by Dave, that gave me a good frame of reference for more recent events is The Bosnia List.

Posted by
3562 posts

It all sounds great! We have an extended trip to Europe (87 days) in 2026 and plan to spend 2 weeks in Budapest. Can’t wait!

Posted by
4825 posts

Ah, Tammy, welcome to the club! lol. There’s plenty to do and see in Budapest (or on day trips from) for 2 weeks. But it’s also a great place to just “be” while you sightsee. You have me beat, though. I am only firm through 2025. Not yet decided on 2026. Ha!

Posted by
5383 posts

I have to decide if Sarajevo will be an add on to a trip or part of its own trip. I'm loving mixed trips of new and return city visits. A nice way to "relax" at the end of a trip. After Romania, I might want an "easy" revisit, like nearby Sofia.

By then, I'll have been to Tirana and gone back to Skopje, so maybe Sarajevo (new) plus one or both of those.

I do get the years in advance planning, though. We had to book our 2025 tour 15 months in advance to get spaces!

Posted by
4825 posts

That 2025 tour will be great - and you could easily choose a return city from it, although Tirana (much as I liked it) might not be top of the list. I am starting to mentally plot a return to Albania, though, to hit a couple of return stops and a couple of new places I didn’t make it to. Hmmmmm. This is dangerous. Lol.

Day trips from Sarajevo are plentiful.