JUT blogger day

Once again, it’s been a bit lengthy since my last blog post but once agin life has gotten in the way.  Since my last post, I was offered and accepted a full time job at a new hospital in the university of Colorado system.  I was already working on an as needed basis at one of their other hospitals and loving it.  I saw this as a unique and great opportunity to get to set up the rehab department in a brand new place and be part of building this new hospital community.  So there’s been that and there’s also been my dad.  Unfortunately, at the very end of April, he was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. It was very shocking as he was not a smoker and he was at the time, still a very active man playing softball, golf and going to yoga.  There’s been so many ups and downs the last few months with him going through harsh chemo.  It’s a daily worry and stressor for me.   I even was very worried about leaving to go on our trip to Bosnia and Croatia because he was admitted to the hospital a few days before we were leaving.  He had a blood clot in his lung which they treated him for and he went back home so I felt better about leaving.  He was still very much on my mind while on the trip which was why it was so great to have this special Jahorina blogger day to attend.   It gave me a day to relax, get to know other people and learn more about a country I love so much.  So here’s my recap of the day.

had to leave this to go to Jahorina ;-)

Emir didn’t arrive until Wednesday evening so we had a 6 hour drive from the island to Jahorina. We did manage to get there before midnight and breakfast for the bloggers wasn’t scheduled until 9 so all in all it worked out well.





Breakfast was an impressive spread that included many of my favorite Bosnian dishes.  There were introductions, talks from the organizers and they outlined the itinerary for the day.  Then it was time to load up in the van and head out.  In total Bosnian fashion, we jammed all of us in probably an 8 person van including 3 people up front but that's what makes these adventures fun for me.  I love experiencing life the way the people in that country live it.

catching up with Sanja!

First stop was the ski lift that takes you to the top of Jahorina Mountain.  While I have rode this before, it's always an enjoyable time.  The views riding up and down the mountain are fantastic.  When we reached the top we saw there was some construction taking place.  Our host for the day, Mladen, explained how they were creating a lake and also some additional ski routes.  I like seeing how much work has been done on this mountain the last few years.  It's such a beautiful place with an awesome olympic history that I think many people would enjoy visiting so hopefully all these things will attract more visitors.

Next Stop was Ravna Planina.  On the itinerary it said something about zip lining but all I saw when we first got there was a gondola so I assumed something was lost in translation ;-).  And I didn't mind because they said there was a lake and restaurant at the top so I figured it was pretty.  Then Mladen came around asking if we wanted to zip line or ride the gondola or do both.  If you are going to offer me both then of course I will do both.  I love trying new things and I had never zip lined before so I was all for it.  The zip line was fairly short but for my first time, I really enjoyed it.  I was only slightly nervous after watching one of the other bloggers get stuck in the middle.  The person helping us get on the zip line explained how to hold our legs and feet so that wouldn't happen.  I did what he said and I actually flew past the landing platform but it was easy for them to help me to the spot to dismount.

After that, we loaded into the gondolas.  The views on the way up and down were awesome.  Up at the top was a lake and a restaurant with even better views.  Mladen explained how they would like to connect the ski slopes at Jahorina to this one at Ravna Planina for one huge, long ski run.  He also told us that there was night skiing there as well.   Our final activity was sitting down and having lunch together at the restaurant at the base of Ravna Planina.  It was a very nice place and the food was delicious.  It was nice to sit and chat with Mladen and some of the other bloggers, who as the day progressed spoke more and more English ;-).

lake at the top

After lunch we piled in the van to head to Sarajevo.  Mladen had plans for us to walk through the old part of town which Ive been to several times and it would be great for everyone to experience however the weather had other plans.  Instead we were dropped off where the race packet pick up was so we could collect our stuff. 

We had a little time to kill so myself and a few of the other bloggers went to this coffee shop that I had been to last year, so good.  After that, we walked to the new gondola that takes you up to Trebevic Mountain.  It actually originally opened in 1959 and was a source of great pride during the '84 Olympics.  Then during the war of the '90s, Trebevic Mountain was known as sniper alley and obviously the gondola didn't run and was destroyed.  It's taken a long time to get the gondola and Trebevic back up and running however I can totally understand the memories that this area must bring to people.  The re-done gondola is beautiful with the Bosnian flag on the cars which are all the colors of the '84 Olympics.  The view as you ride up, is just spectacular.  You can see so many of the cities special sights and all the surrounding mountains.  This was definitely my favorite part of the day.

walking in Sarajevo

one of the old gondola cars...those things hold a lot of bloggers

The last part of our day took place at Sunnyland.  Sunnyland is an amusement park up on Trebevic Mountain that opened a couple of years ago.  Our family has told us about it but we had yet to get the chance to go.  The highlight of the park is the alpine roller coaster which I rode twice ;-)  I had never been on a coaster where you basically drive it yourself so I did find that to be entertaining.  There was also play structures and courts for kids. 

We then had dinner together in the restaurant there called Oxygen.  It was super nice and the views were fantastic.  At the end of dinner, Emir showed up with his step sister Bjanka and her fiancé Dario.  It was so great to see them so at that point I said goodbye to Mladen and the fellow bloggers. 

view from Sunnyland

I want to thank Sanja and Mladen for hosting us bloggers on that day.  And to Dinko Bažulić for all the AMAZING pictures which are what helped to fill this blog post!  It was a lot of work that went into planning that day for us.  I truly enjoyed meeting the other bloggers and learning of their trail running experiences as they all came from other countries.  I also LOVED exploring the mountains and Sarajevo.  I understand more now of exactly what happened and why in the past, we as a family had not really gone up into those mountains.  The tons of mines, remnants of war and just the horrible memories.  That said, I am so glad to see this area being re-born.  There are new hotels and restaurants.  New places for activities.  It's such a beautiful area for locals and tourists alike to enjoy hiking/outdoor activities in the summer and great skiing in the winter as well as to see all the historical sights from the Olympics, it would be a shame for it to continue unused as it was.  I saw many people up on Trebevic that day which is a great sign that this is what people want and as more people come, I am sure they will continue to build and bring the mountains back to life :-)

sign of a very fulfilling day ;-)