Jahorina

Well, it's officially spring here, minus the fact nature played an April's Fool joke on us by leaving us a dusting of snow this morning. Before I switch seasons in my blog though, I need to share my first winter mountain-going experience. As surprising as it was for my Bosnian friends, I have always lived at least a 4-hour drive from any mountains. Therefore, I was quite excited to go to Jahorina in January.

Megan, Alisa, her friend, and I all piled into the crowded Holiday Market Bus one Sunday. We had to stand up in the isle, but the ride was rather short: roughly half an hour. Like my other bus-rides here, my eyes were glued to the windows as we wound our way up the mountain. The depth of the snow grew more extreme as we drove, and I was amazed at this bus's ability to navigate the snow-covered mountain road.

Alisa and her friend sledding

By the time we reached the resort, I felt like I was in Narnia. We took a short walk further up the mountain before meeting Mattia, who had taken an earlier bus so that he would have more time to ski. Evergreens lined the path as we trudged through the snow. It was so beautiful. When we found Mattia, we all grabbed some mulled wine and food in a nearby restaurant. After filling our tummies with hot food, we ventured back out into the cold to enjoy the snow.

Us girls weren't brave enough to go skiing, so we rented sleds instead. It was so much fun to act like a kid again. But between the teenage boys who blocked the entire hill while they waited to jump over their friends as they sledded down the hill and the fact that our sleds weren't made for steering, I managed to learn a new Bosnian word: Pazi! (Watch out!) Hehe.

down the ski lift

We didn't let our wariness of skiing keep us from riding the skilift though. We wanted to see the bird's eye view of the mountain, but as soon as we made it halfway up the lift, we realized it may have not been the best idea. We hit a very dense fog, the temperature dropped at least 10 degrees, and it became incredibly windy. As Megan pointed out, it felt like we were in Chicago! ...except I wasn't dressed for that weather... Everything was covered in at least a centimeter of frost, and our hair had turned white due to the cold! I imagine that the skiers going up the lift we were wondering what these four crazy women were doing riding it up and back in the cold, wind, and fog. Oh well. It was still worth it.

We spent the remainder of our time there alternating between sledding and enjoying a hot beverage inside. I enjoyed every minute of it! I was really hoping to go back to the mountains again before the snow melted, but my schedule didn't allow it. I guess that means I'll have to come back to Sarajevo in the future. :) Three years ago, I had never set foot on a mountain, and now I almost can't imagine a life away from them. Even while walking to the tram to go to work in the morning, I bask in the glory of their magestic peaks.