razglednice jednog arhitekte

According to modern age “survival guides” a person should not compare itself to anyone else. One should only be focused on beating him or herself in order to win. I believe in this statement to a certain point. People are different, as Albert Einstein said “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Since we are already in the field of physics, let us remind ourselves another theory. In physics, motion is a change in position of an object with respect to time and its reference point. It is observed by attaching a frame of reference. So in order to see a certain change, there has to be some kind of comparison. The same is with people, it doesn’t necessarily have to mean that one is better than another, the beauty is in variety.

Similar could be said about cities. Identities of cities and urban forms have been impacting human identities ever since they appeared. And the best way to see the variety is to compare two opposites. Previous post was about the city of Edmonton, Canadian city in the heart of Alberta, and todays will be about Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia, country shaped like a heart.

The Latin bridge, site of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand

Sarajevo brewery

The Cathedral Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos - Serb Orthodox Cathedral

View of the Sacred Heart Cathedral built in Neo-Gothic style by famous architect Josip Vancaš

One of the entrances to Gazi Husrev-Beg's Bezistan

The National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has been closed for the past couple of years due to financial difficulties

Famous Holiday Inn hotel in Sarajevo

Stained glass in the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina with famous quotes from WWII

"Art makes you free"

Café sign in the shape of legendary politician signature

Moving to Canada was one of the biggest changes in my life. At the same time I could not agree that it was the hardest decision I’ve made so far. I needed a change and the opportunity was too good not to be taken.

But what did I actually know about this country? And no matter how much you try to explore and prepare yourself, there is no way you can avoid a certain phenomenon called “culture shock”. And before I move on about the surprises and differences, there is a video I recently saw on youtube channel, and I really liked what this lady was saying, so you might be interested in seeing it.

They say Canada is half-breed of Europe and America. With my South-European background and humble European traveling experience, I haven’t seen much of Europe in Canada. Maybe the reason for that is in the fact that I am currently living in Alberta, and for some European experience I should move a little bit more western, to BC maybe? So in order not to make any mistakes and accidental insults, I should limit my comments to the city of Edmonton and impressions I got here. A vast expanse of space is the first thing I noticed here. Huge highways, huge cars, not just cars, pickup trucks… Coming from a land where 80% of the population had Fiat 500 as their first vehicle it was a massive change for me. In the province rich with oil it is more than normal that most people will be oriented to having one or more vehicles. So everything is adjusted to this way of life. There are many drive thru fast food restaurants and cafés, but a few of them have outside gardens. Somehow, the excuse of cold and winter doesn’t seem good enough for me to cover this coincidence. There are a lot of running tracks and bicycle lanes, but I would like to see more of them incorporated in the urban fabric. Public transportation for some reason seems very chaotic to me? Maybe the catch is in the “orthogonal state of mind”, but I just don’t seem to be able to figure out the public transportation network. LRT line (yes, there is just one, so no chance of losing yourself there) should definitely be expanded. Maybe I just still haven’t discovered some super cool and effective smartphone app for getting around in public transportation? The good thing is if you get lost, you can always ask a complete stranger on the street. Yes, Canadians are very friendly and helpful people. And beautiful skies, sunsets and sunrises are some of the most beautiful ones I have ever seen in my life. If you add to it the fact that it is completely normal thing to see squirrels, deer and white rabbits in the middle of the city, than even if Alice in Wonderland is not your favourite fairy tale, you have to admit there is something special about this place.