The first experience of living in Sarajevo

On February 25, 2023, my family and I set off from Prague by flixbus, passed through some small towns in Hungary and Croatia, and drove all the way to Sarajevo. It snowed so heavily that even the locals were shocked. The day before was sunny, and when we woke up, the whole city was covered in snow. Since our bus arrived two hours earlier than expected, we had to wait for the landlord to wake up in the heavy snow, hoping that she would come to pick us up earlier.

In order to find a place to warm up, we walked into the nearest coffee shop, which was simple but had everything you need. After looking at the menu, I double-checked whether the settlement currency is the mark or the euro. Many things only cost one or two marks. It is unbelievable that even the euro is cheap enough.

After half an hour, we waited until the landlord. This is a woman wearing a black headscarf, with a beautiful and delicate face, who speaks fluent English. She enthusiastically helped us put our suitcases in the trunk of the car, and then told us about the city's history, transportation, and herself while driving. She is a local, went to university in Sarajevo, and has been in the city since then, and her current job is special education. A job like special education seems to only be done by someone who is patient, caring, and caring enough, and then we saw that from her.

When we arrived at our apartment, we found that it was even more beautiful than the pictures. The room was spotlessly cleaned, books, plants, lamps, etc. were arranged in an orderly manner, and every corner seemed to have traces of careful design by the landlord. She told us the details of all the home appliances as if teaching a child, and helped us prepare all the necessities of life. We no longer need to add anything, and leave a sentence if we need anything else, please tell her, and she will bring it . The pink kitchen looks so cozy. I found some familiar authors on the bookshelves, even if they were written in Bosnian, I could recognize some books by Owen Yalom and Milan Kundera.

Our goodwill towards the city thus begins with the landlord and the apartment. Downstairs we have a large supermarket, much bigger than any I've visited in Prague, where people can buy almost anything they want. Looking at the prices again, we couldn't believe our eyes again. Although we had heard about the low prices here, we didn't expect that many products could be priced at almost the same price as third-tier cities in China. In Prague, I am used to living a life of a few hundred crowns (about 20 euros) for just a few things. Seeing this price, I can't help but sigh that the cost of living will come down. Feel good again.

But something strange happened. On the day I first arrived in Sarajevo, I found a nearby McDonald's from Google Maps, which showed open and marked the business hours. But within a few days, this McDonald's was marked as "permanently closed." I immediately searched for related news, and some reports said that it was still renovating and designing products a few days ago, but it suddenly closed.

Let's talk about the streets of Sarajevo. The inspiration we got is not to go out in snow or rain. Because the streets are full of potholes, and a lot of dirty water is drained directly to the ground through pipes, if you don't pay attention, the black and black dirty water may splash on your shoes or trousers. Public transportation is also very unfriendly to foreigners. You can’t find the route on Google Maps, but you can only use a niche map called Moovit, but after practice, I found that this map is not so accurate. There is no stop sign at each station, and I don't know if this is the station I am looking for, and whether I should get on the train here. The buildings of this city, no matter how you look at it, look like a city in ruins, and many bullet holes still leave heavy marks on various buildings.

This is a city without the Chinese Super League and the Asian Super League. When I walk on the street with my family members, I often get curious, but fortunately also friendly looks. But the strange thing is that just like the decline of this city, there are not many young people in this city, but more elderly people. It is said that the children here will go to Germany to work when they grow up. All in all, the city feels like an "old man", compared to Prague's "romantic girl" and Berlin's "cool youth".

Later, I made a British friend through facebook who has lived here for ten years and knows the history here very well. He told us that this is a country on the verge of collapse and there is a risk of war at any time. That also seems to explain McDonald's retreat. This is a country where many ethnic groups "make do" together. Different ethnic groups have obvious divisions. They use different national flags, elect their own presidents, and establish their own governments. The whole country is not interoperable. This also explains this The slow development and fragmentation of the city, the risk of war.

Riding a shared bicycle nextbike through the city, while feeling the ruin and sadness of the city, at the same time feeling the joy and relaxation from the depths of our hearts. This is the first time I have lived a life like this, in a city where the Internet is free, there is always sunshine and good weather, a life that forgets time, does what comes to mind, and there are indeed infinite possibilities.