There was no rain in the weather forecast today and I have been craving tofu for days. We’ve searched every supermarket we encountered but none of them sell tofu. Our plan was to walk along Vilsonovo šetalište (Wilson’s Promenade) and have dinner at a Chinese restaurant then take a taxi back. That route would curve with the Miljacka River and would allow us to see a different part of the city. I read that a beautiful tree-lined stretch of Vilsonovo šetalište is closed to traffic after 5:00 pm on weekdays and also on the weekends, and wanted to check it out.
It was a beautiful fall day. I was mesmerized by the innumerable bullet holes on the buildings; “mesmerized” might be too cheerful a word to describe how I felt. Other sights were interesting too; so interesting that I didn’t realize that we hadn’t been walking along the river for a long time. The big boulevard we were on was Zmaja od Bosne, known as Sniper Alley during the Sarajevo Siege (April 1992 – March 1996).
See the bullet holes on the buildings? They’re shot from the hills way over the other side.
By the time Kenric realized we had been on a parallel street, we turned towards the river at our first chance, but we had already reached the end of the beautiful tree-lined section of Vilsonovo šetalište.
“Ugh! Kenric!”
“You lead the way from now on.”
“I don’t have my phone with me!” Because the battery dies within ten minutes even when fully charged.
We ❤️ Sarajevo!
Since it was only 4:40 pm, we decided to continue walking towards the restaurant. Minarets jutting out among houses on colorful hills are quite a sight. The big apartment buildings reminded me of the communist feel I had in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Come to think of it, communism did cover a huge geographical area.
I pity the kids and adults who lost their balls.
Now he tells me we had been walking on the wrong street!
We ❤️ Sarajevo!
As I was getting excited to take pictures of the Olympic Rings in the middle of a roundabout (Sarajevo hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics), a little girl coming our way ran up to her father and clutched tightly at his forearm and tried to bury her face. She was visibly scared of me. Did it hurt my feelings? Of course it did. Her father seemed like a nice guy. Ours eyes met for a split second before we passed each other. In that split second, I could tell he is someone who would try to ease her fear, telling her something like “It’s OK. She’s just Asian.”
Olympic Rings. Sarajevo hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics.
Poor girl. She’s so scared of me.
I laughed and I made sure he heard me so that he would at least know that I didn’t take offense. Kenric and I looked back. Based on the father’s body language, I could tell that he was giving her good counsel. She looked back a few more times. I zoomed in and snapped a photo. Yeah, that kid thought I was going to eat her. No kiddo, I only want tofu tonight.
I didn’t want to continue walking yet because I really wanted to help the father. She’s probably afraid of everyone who doesn’t look Slavic/European. My continuing on with my own life won’t help this little girl with her irrational fear which may one day turn into prejudice. Well, it’s already prejudice but she’s like five years old. At the junction, her father waved at us. We waved back. He encouraged her to wave. She did, with a smile.
Finally, at 6:15 pm, the restaurant was in sight. Uh-oh, a tour bus full of Chinese tourists just pulled up. This is going to be a long wait.
“Table for two? Sorry, we are fully booked.”
“#$?a@&%@#$&!!!! We walked nine kilometers from Old Town!! That’s like 5.6 miles! It took us almost three hours! I just want some tofu!”
Of course I didn’t say any of that. Why would she give a damn?
As we walked out, another tour bus full of Chinese tourists pulled up. Where am I going to get some tofu tonight in Sarajevo? Nowhere because, true to its damn name, there seems to be “Only One” Chinese restaurant in Sarajevo.
“Only One” Chinese Restaurant. Just give me some damn tofu.
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