Naše putovanje kroz Bosnu i Hercegovinu

Kada se stanovnike Njemačke pita koje su njihove ideje o Bosni i Hercegovini, odgovori su obično isti; nažalost, sukobi s početka dvedesetih godina prošlog stoljeća su ostali primarna asocijacija u ljudskim umovima. Stoga je, za vrijeme ovogodišnje razmjene mladih iz njemačke biskupije Limburg i mladih iz Vrhbosanske nadbiskupije, bilo jako važno ukazati i na važnost drugih aspekata Bosne i Hercegovine, te na taj način iskorijeniti neutemeljene predrasude. Naše putovanje, s predznakom 25. godišnjice partnerstva između biskupija Limburg i Sarajevo, povelo nas je kroz polovicu zemlje.

Program našeg susreta uključivao je različitu selekciju krajolika, kulture i susreta s lokalnim ljudima. Naša prva destinacija bio je Travnik. Odmah po dolasku u Katolički školski centar Petar Barbarić, u subotu navečer, naša grupa je odmah doživjela bosanskohercegovačku gostoljubivost. Naravno, sljedeći dan, u obilasku grada, nismo propustili otići na Plavu vodu, te se popeti na staru tvrđavu.

Visoko iznad krovova Starog Grada s prekrasnim pogledom na okolne planinske vijence, mogli ste prepoznati kako se među našim mladim sudionicima probudio određeni entuzijazam za zemlju koja se općenito upravo rijetko spominje u njemačkim medijima. Rečenice poput: Nikada ne bismo pomislili da je ovo Bosna ili Nikada nisam mogla zamisliti da je ovdje ovako impresivno, čuli smo više puta na našem putovanju. U povratku za Sarajevo, zaustavili smo se kratko u samostanu Služavki maloga Isusa, u Gromiljaku, gdje smo imali kratku posjetu kapelici i crkvi, te smo popili topli kakao uz razgovor sa sestrom Jelenom Jovanović.

Konačno, u ponedjeljak je bilo vrijeme da otkrijemo glavni grad Bosne i Hercegovine, Sarajevo. Naša prva ekskurzija bila je posvećena prezentaciji Sarajeva, kao nevjerojatnog spoja kultura, zbog čega smo posjetili najvažnija religijska mjesta u srcu grada. Put je išao kroz džamiju Gazi-Husrev-Beg i aškenašku sinagogu, kao i posjetu srpskoj-pravoslavnoj crkvi, Baščaršiju sa svojim orijentalnim karakterom, a nasuprot svemu tome kroz Ferhadiju u katedralu Srca Isusova izazvalo je pravo oduševljenje. A tek ćevapi i veliki izbor bosanske kave, čaja i, naravno, salep u sarajevskim čajdžinicama!

Prije nego što smo se sljedećeg dana uputili u Mostar, prisjetili smo se 25. obljetnice biskupijskog partnerstva Sarajeva i Limburga; za svaku od 11 razmjena mladih između Centra za mlade Ivan Pavao II. i Katoličkog centra za mlade (KFJ) iz Montabauera, održanog tijekom tog perioda, predan je simbolički paket gumenih medvjedića na kojima je oznaka s logom svake dosadašnje razmjene.

U program razmjene se odlično uklopilo i putovanje u Fojnicu. Naime, imali smo priliku sudjelovati na lokalnoj proslavi Dana kruha za čiju je organizaciju zaslužna osnovna škola Ivana Gorana Kovačića iz Fojnice, čiji smo poziv za sudjelovanje opet rado prihvatili.
Tijekom ove posjete, imali smo priliku otići u Deževice gdje nas je srdačno dočekao velečasni Marin Marić koji je mlade poveo na Vrelo svetog Jakova Markijskog, te im približio važnost tog svetišta.

Mostar sa svojim svjetski poznatim Stari mostom i fantastičnim starim gradom – zasigurno je jedna od najvažnijih nagrada ovog tjedna. Nije bilo važno što smo krenuli vlakom u 7 ujutro!
U Mostaru nas je dočekao don Mladen Šutalo i pokazao nam malu, ali vrlo karakterističnu župnu crkvu, katedralu i franjevačku crkvu sa svojim ogromnim zvonikom. Zvonik privlači pažnju osobito u odnosu na njegov sivi beton, ali pogled na Mostar i planine s vrha zvonika bio je apsolutno zapanjujuć! Nakon kratke šetnje kroz beznadno pretrpan stari grad Mostar s uglavnom njemačkim turistima spontano smo se uputili u Međugorje. Na putu smo se zaustavili na brdu iznad Mostara da uživamo u pogledu na šesti po veličini grad Bosne i Hercegovine, iz jedne sasvim druge perspektive!

Zadnji dan prije polaska kući, svatko je imao priliku organizirati dan onako kako je htio. Tako da se jedan dio grupe uputio u Muzej ratnog djetinjstva, dok su ostali prošetali Baščaršijom sve do Vijećnice, a neki su iskoristili vrijeme za kupovinu suvenira. Vrhunac gotovo cijelog tjedna bio je pogled u predvečerje, sa Žute tabije, na osvijetljene sarajevske krovove. Učinilo se to kao izvrsno mjesto na kojem su mladi još jednom razmijenili najbolje impresije, kao i nove ideje bez predrasuda o Bosni i Hercegovini.

When the citizens from Germany are asked about their ideas of Bosnia and Hercegovina, the answers are usually the same; unfortunately, the Yugoslavian war has remained a primary association in people’s mind. Therefore, it was all the more important to show the 10 German participants also the other facets of Bosnia and Hercegovina during this year’s “Youth Exchange“ with the diocese of Limburg and thereby eradicate unfounded prejudices.

Our journey, which was characterised by the 25th anniversary of the diocesan partnership between Sarajevo and Limburg, took us through half the country. However, the first shock: our eventful week would have been over by a hair’s breadth after arriving at airport – a supposedly stolen passport and involuntary encounter with Interpol initially caused confusion, nevertheless was repeatedly addressed with a hearty laugh throughout the week!

Our travel programme included a diverse selection of landscape, culture and local encounters. The first destination was Travnik. Immediately after the arrival on Saturday evening at the “Katolički školski centar Petar Barbarić“, our small group already got a first impression of the Bosnian hospitality. Of course, on our sightseeing tour through the city we didn’t miss a walk along the “Plava Voda“ or a visit to the old fortress. High above the roofs of the “Stari Grad“ with a breathtaking view over the surrounding mountain ranges, you could recognize, how a certain enthusiasm was awakened among our young participants for a country which is in general just mentioned sparsely in the German media. Sentences like “I wouldn’t have imagined Bosnia like this“ or “I never thought it would be so impressive here“ we heard more than once on our journey. On our way back to to Sarajevo, we took a break to stop at the monastery “Servants of the Child Jesus“, where we had as well a short visit to the chapel as also to the attached church and heard many explanations by one of the sisters; of course we also enjoyed a warm cocoa.

Finally, the time had come on Monday to discover the Bosnian capital. After all, everyone had their own ideas and expectations, so that a certain anticipation was noticeable. Our first excursion was therefore dedicated to presenting Sarajevo as a melting pot of cultures, which is why we visited the most important religious buildings in the heart of the city. Besides the English speaking guided tours through the “Gazi-Husrev-Beg“ Mosque and the “Aschkenasi“ Synagogue as well as the visit to the new Serbian-Orthodox Church, the Baščaršija with its oriental flair and, in contrast, the Ferhadija Street with its Catholic Cathedral spread astonishment. Both the first Bosnian Ćevapi and the large selection of Bosnian coffee, tea and, of course, Salep in the Teahouse caused a great mood. Before the tour would take us to Mostar the next day, however, the celebrations on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the diocesan partnership between Sarajevo and Limburg were in the foreground; for each of the 11 youth exchanges between the Youth center “Ivan Pavao II“ and the “Catholic Youth Centre“ (KFJ) held during these period, a symbolic package of gummi bears was handed over.

Mostar with its world-famous “Stari Most“ and the fantastic old town – surely one of the greatest highlights during this week was waiting for us! So it didn’t matter to us that we had to take the train at 7 o’clock in the morning. Because of our tiredness, we almost missed the unique landscape of the Hercegovina, which passed at the windows of the train while we waited eagerly for our arrival. Mostar seemed to us – in comparison to the hectic Sarajevo – more like a Mediterranean holiday resort, which was not least due to the summer temperatures and the numerous palm trees. Here the parish priest welcomed and showed us the small but very characteristic parish church, the cathedral and the Franciscan church with its huge bell tower. Even if the tower attracts attention especially concerning its grey concrete, the view over Mostar and the mountains was absolutely astonishing! After a short walk through the hopelessly overcrowded old town of Mostar with mainly German tourists we spontaneously drove to the pilgrimage place Međudorje. On the way, we made a stop above Mostar to enjoy the view over the sixth largest city of Bosnia and Hercegovina from another persepective!

After the daily Holy Mass in the morning and a long last evening at the Youth Center (when we exchanged all our impressions from Mostar), the following day was dedicated to the sad past of the country and especially to the fate of the civilian population during the Yugoslavian war. In order to gather as many different impressions as possible, we divided into three groups, each visiting a different museum in Sarajevo. Regardless of wether we saw in the “Tunel Spasa Museum“ how the inhabitants of Sarajevo tried to keep in touch with the outside world, wether we heard in the “War Childhood Museum“ about the life of children during the war or wether we were in the exhibition about the massacre of Srebrenica – we all have been inspired to think about a war that infested the whole region just 20 years ago, whose traces are still today visible in the streets of Sarajevo and about which we unfortunately don’t know enough in Germany. All the more important was this day for all of us to understand the past and therefore also present problems. After reviewing the heavy impressions, the next challenge was already waiting for our group. Our plan was to let the participants walk through the city center of Sarajevo with the help of a scavenger hunt, so that they can discover the city on their own. Among the tasks were to count the bloody roses of Sarajevo and minarets, to buy traditional sweets and to take a picture with the statue of Nikola Tesla. This long and impressive day ended with a ride on the cable car up to the Trebević. While the city under our feet became smaller and smaller, our anticipation of evaluating the results of the whole day grew. With an outstanding view over Sarajevo and its valleys we exchanged feelings and impressions, shared our sweets, laughed about funny stories and encounters during the scavenger hunt and (with lot of fun) let the day end.

The explorations through Mostar and Sarajevo led us above all through the bigger cities of the Bosnia and Hercegovina – that should change on the penultimate day. From Sarajevo we drove 35 km to the central market place of Fojnica to celebrate the Thanksgiving with the locals. We were already awaited by a multitude of tables, which were covered with a huge variety of bread, biscuits, honey and other regional products. In the middle of this spectacle, a small table was reserved for our group where our biscuits were offered. But, however, we quickly had to realize that our stand couldn’t keep up with the other options, neither with its decoration nor with its offer. Nevertheless, this didn’t make us feel discontented at all, the mood on the overcrowded market was too exubarent and cheerful for bad temper. Once again our participants felt during this excursion the Bosnian cordiality by the direct contact with the local people. At the other booths we could try the offered delicacies or marvel at a traditional dance of the Muslim and Catholic locals. With a full stomach and a great mood, we climbed up the mountain to the Franciscan monastery. During our visit in the museum we were particularly fascinated by the old books and the variety of ancient exhibits. Somewhat unusual for our German group was probably the the typical Bosnian farewell with Rakija in the souvenir shop! Before we went back to Sarajevo, we visited the small village Deževice with its church and an inconspicuous cave in which the sanctuary of St. James is located.

On the last day before the departure, everyone had the opportunity to organize the day as they liked. One part visited the “War Childhood Museum“, while the others either went to the old town hall or just walked through the Baščaršija to buy some last souvenirs. The crowning touch of an exciting week was the view at evening from the “Žuta tabija“ over the illuminated roofs of Sarajevo. Later, we raised our glasses of beer in the City Pub to a very successful week. With the hopefully best impressions and a both new and unprejudiced idea of Bosnia in their mind, all participants left us by plane back to Germany.

This youth exchange between Sarajevo and Limburg took place from 6th to 13thof October 2018.

Minja Todorović