FK Sarajevo
FK Sarajevo
My hotel room at the Marriott Residence Inn is quite comfortable even though I wish there was a bar and restaurant here but at least they do breakfast which is included with the room . Of course I needed a coffee to fuel my first morning in Sarajevo so I headed to breakfast and enjoyed some grub and coffee after I wrote my post which has yet to be posted unfortunately ( hurry up Stro ) .
The big plan for the day is to take in the football ⚽️ culture here as I do love watching most live sports . It’s a good way to meet people and a great reason to have a few beers . First things first though , I want to wander a bit and see some street art so after I washed up I hit the streets .
While I was driving around in taxis on my first day I noticed there is ALOT of graffiti everywhere so this should be fun . It was roughly 11 am when I hit the streets and it was Saturday morning but things were quiet . The piece I posted above was the first one I came across that caught my eye and it really does justice for the people I have met so far aside from that one taxi driver who scammed me :( anyways let’s forget that happened ! My wanders were aimed to have me arrive at the ice rink where Nermin was working . It’s also beside the old Olympic arena so that’s the plan for the morning to go wandering .
Most of you probably don’t care much about the art aspect of my travels but today it ties in and if you’re ever in Sarajevo I highly suggest wandering around to see all the fantastic pieces randomly placed basically everywhere you look . It’s fantastic ! The streets here are safe and people are nice . At this time of year there is not much of a tourist presence which makes it even better for me as I don’t exactly love the tourist trap atmosphere that comes with the high season . This way I can keep under the radar . I wore a long sleeve shirt with a jacket and was basically sweating at points of my wander which tells you it’s quite mild here for a December morning but don’t be deceived as it’s a mountainous region and things change fast .
When I arrived at the rink my aim was to go see where the 1984 Winter Olympics took place , particularly where the ice hockey events occurred. It is called Zintra (hope I spelled that right) this is the local nickname but officially it was called Dvorana J.A. Samaranch . Juan Antonio Samaranch was the president of the I.O.C. . The complex is a 5 minute walk from the rink and across the road was this giant parking lot that had the most amazing graffiti pieces so I went over and started to take photos . A couple fellas showed up and were about to start painting a piece and I went over to ask them about the art there . They called it the wall of fame for local artists and it is totally legal to paint here and nobody is offended if their art is covered by another artist . It’s only offensive if you paint over someone else’s art where it’s not legal to do this . I also asked if they would paint over older pieces there and they said most artist will respect certain pieces so they remain . I didn’t stick around to see them painting but saw them as the day progressed and I passed by a few times .
Got into the complex and stood in lobby in awe when I was approached by this beast of a man who didn’t understand any English but pointed me to the bowling alley so I went in . There was a competition occurring there , might have been a bowling league . The bartender approached me and I asked about the rink so he pointed me in the direction of the old rink . Up those stairs and on first floor I went and the memories from watching as a child started to be refreshed walking up those stairs I remember the broadcast on TSN with that entrance where they would show Canadian fans walking through the gates then I walked into what was the arena and saw all the green seats that were still there , the scoreboard was no longer on the wall but sitting on the ground and the ice was long gone . It was quiet and nobody was there . It has been left there without any use and was a bit haunting but not in a bad way . I took photos and wandered around for about twenty minutes making a few videos for the BLHHOF.com website then made my way back to the bowling alley for a beer .
When I got back to the bowling alley I asked for a beer and the bartender asked if I like rakia. Ummm yes please ! It was a peach flavoured one with kick . So I sat and watched the bowling competition amongst the smokers and the bowlers stretching for their next match . These guys have passion for the game , I mean who would think you’d ever witness guys doing wind sprints warming up to bowl . These guys were serious and I could respect that .
Went back to the rink with a good buzz and made a few more videos and waited for Nermin to clean the ice before going to grab a bite to eat with him and his wife . They took me to a local spot to have Cevapi and OMG it was so so good . That plate seen above disappeared in mere moments . It was so delicious ! After the meal we had to get our ticket for the FK Sarajevo match .
Nermin used to be an ultra and probably doesn’t want to be involved with the hardcore stuff anymore . I could sense he had this love for the club that he couldn’t express anymore . We spoke about all the fun and trouble making that went on in his youth days . It was quite evident that he had to distance himself as he grew more mature in life and I respect that as he is now a very influential person in the hockey community . We grabbed tickets at the ticket booth then went to the bar where the ultras hung out and grabbed a beer after I took a piss in this toilet which was a hole in the ground 😂 the bar was covered in photos of past teams and was quite nostalgic . It’s just down the hill from the stadium so we made our way over for kickoff . Nermin asked if i wanted pumpkin seeds and I declined , when we got in the stadium the ground was littered with pumpkin seeds which must’ve been there for years upon end . Jokingly I mentioned they should invite Japan to play there and let the fans clean up as I had witnessed in Qatar .
As mentioned earlier the weather takes a turn and it was cold and damp . It didn’t rain but felt like it should . Unfortunately Nermin had to leave at half time to go clean the ice but I stayed . It was 0-0 at half but the second half was worth the wait as the home side pulled ahead with a goal and the ultras went wild with fireworks and flares . It was like a war zone ! Crazy ! They had to delay the game because you couldn’t see the pitch from the smoke . Then they scored again and I thought I’m freezing my ass off , it’s the 80th minute and I need a beer , they don’t serve beer at sporting events here . So I went down to the same bar and grabbed a beer and sat down beside this older gentleman and watched the remainder of the game on their screen . The older fella couldn’t speak a lick of English but was happy I was there and before he left he bought me a beer said good bye and left . That’s the charm of the Balkans where people turn out to be much nicer then they appear . I was so happy and had a nice buzz so it’s time to head back to the rink and hang out some more with Nermin .
Nermin put the Villa match on for me and I grabbed some beers from the bowling alley and the GM of the national team Adnan Mrkva showed up and we discussed the state of hockey in Bosnia & Herzegovina. I was a bit buzzed so I kinda wish I wasn’t but it didn’t stop me from cracking another and he invited me to come by the next day for the youth tournament which I’m planning on attending later today .
After Nermin closed the rink he drove me back to my hotel . Before I end this post I wanted to mention that Nermin informed me of the fact that the Olympic rink was actually burned during the war here and showed me videos of it burning . I didn’t know about this when I went there and it actually would have been a more creepy vibe if I did know this . Now I think I must go back to see if I can find any evidence of this remaining as it is intriguing to know about this ! Anyways I should sign off and head out into the world to make some new experiences.
