Winter Wonderland; Powerful Museums

 11/21: We awoke to quite a bit of snow on the ground! It was beautiful, and Bob and Simone headed out for an early morning walk.

Iconic Sarajevo tv tower

Back home and the sun starting to peek through

Bob headed out to take more pics:

I learned the star and crescent is a symbol of the Ottoman Empire and of Islam (though apparently the Turkish flag does not have religious meaning)

We met our host's son, Vedad (10), and he joined us on our trip to the War Childhood Museum

Quinn: playing kick the can/capture the flag in our yard

Simone: Christmas Eve night with Mom, Dad, brother

Me: finally getting up on 1 ski at sunset with my mom and Karl in the boat

Bob: playing double dodgeball with neighborhood friends

This swing was supposed to hang outside, but ended up in this girl's basement during the war. Her mom couldn't pay as much attention to her as usual because of the war, so she put a bell on it to hear when the little girl climbed into it. It meant so much to her - the only fun she had amidst the fighting. She cherished it so much, and gifted it to her Neice many years later, but she found it dull and boring. It's interesting how objects can have such different meaning and value for each person. So - she decided to gift it to the Museum.

They rotate the objects every so often so it's always changing

Simone, Quinn, and Vedad (cemetery behind the metal grate)

Another beautiful sunset - we can't get enough of this view!

Out to a local restaurant that our host, Esmir, recommended. We had the traditional Bosnian cevapi (sausage in a pita with a side of cream cheese) along with liquid yogurt to drink. It's growing on us!

11/22: Bob started the day with a walk and saw the actual place of Franz Ferdinand and his wife’s assassination:

A bit later the two of us went to the Museum of crimes against humanity and genocide 1992-1995. We had planned on taking the kids, but multiple reviews cautioned against taking kids under 18. We decided we’d check it out first, and take the kids back if we thought it was appropriate. It was incredibly strong and graphic, and we’re very glad we did not take the kids. The evil and atrocities that people have endured is so hard to see. One of the most horrific things we saw was a video showing soldiers shooting civilians - it said this video was a Serbian war tribute and could be rented in Serbian video stores. It was nauseating. I feel like I have researched and learned so much about this conflict in the past 24 hours, but I’m left feeling like I have only scratched the surface.

We walked home around lunchtime in the pouring rain, had some lunch together, and Bob headed to the airport to pick up our rental car. The weather got colder and the rain turned to snow - it was beautiful to watch from our cozy place - but I felt terrible that Bob had to be out driving around in it! Thankfully he returned safe and sound. Our host allowed him to park next door in front of his garage door. The kids finished their weeks work and we celebrated with HH and cards - they're off for a week for Thanksgiving! We had our spaghetti leftovers and watched Ace Ventura (lots of laughs!)