Today, we set out for Basnalik, a publicly traded pharmaceutical company located here in Sarajevo. Upon arrival, we are greeted by a couple of our late night party friends and some other members of the Basnalik team. They escort us to a conference room in one of their buildings and we are given a presentation by their Investor Relations officer, which of course makes it even more interesting for me as this is my line of work. The presentation includes a brief history of the company, the effects of the war on it, and how it is attempting to recover, as well as the financial background. The real interesting piece came at the end while we were asking questions, as the presenter truly opened up to us, he spoke very candidly on the country, the government, and his hopes that they will someday recover. It was quite moving to hear him speak so passionately on the topic and it helped us realize the true injustices and trials that these people deal with in their personal and business lives. Another interesting piece of information that came out of our tour was that Sarajevo has 40% unemployment, so workers are almost never fired as the company knows it would be sending those people straight into poverty, so people are kept on, even though they may be unable to perform their duties, till they retire. He mentioned too that many companies will take on as many employees as they can to try to help out the people, which of course is the opposite of how most companies back in the US operate, as they usually try to function with as few employees as possible to decrease their costs and increase net income.
We were given a tour of the rest of the facilities, but were not allowed into the production facilities as they are already working round the clock to try to keep up with demand and they did not want to slow production down with our visit. Following the tour we were directed to their cafeteria area, which was more of a small restaurant, and given another three course meal consisting of soup, salad, a dish of chicken, beef and rice, and dessert. All were very good, and it was nice to have some rice and chicken, as it was becoming old having beef wrapped in bread or pastry at this point.
Following lunch, we hopped back on the bus and headed back to the hotel to regroup and enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening off, free to do as we wish. I met up with a few of my friends and we set out for Old Town to window shop and take in the town atmosphere at a more leisurely pace then the prior day’s rush through as guided tour. It was a very beautiful day, probably low 70’s clear sky, and it felt great to be out of the “business casual” attire and into shorts and a t-shirt. The streets appeared to be much more crowded as we made the half hour walk into town after failing to negotiate a decent price for a taxi cab. As we walked by a few street vendors selling purses, sunglasses, DVDs and CDs, I was half tempted to stop and buy a CD that caught my eye, 1997 Rap Attack, but after realizing that most of the songs were already loaded on my ipod I moved on. We spent the better part of 3 hours walking the streets, enjoying the weather, people and surroundings, stopping a few places to make a couple purchases and for some ice cream, which for 1 Bosnian mark, was quite the steal (about 80 cents American). I chose rockcherry, which was a kind of cherry/chocolate mix; I was quite pleased with my selection. Also, while walking through the streets I may have inadvertently made it into a Bosnian film being shot into the streets, so if you are a follower of low budget Bosnian films, keep your eyes out for my cameo.
We returned to the hotel around 6pm to relax for a bit before meeting up at 7:30 and heading back to Hacienda, the scene of last night’s shenanigans, for some dinner and to meet up with our Sarajevo friends. While waiting at the hotel lobby bar for the rest of the crew to make their way down from their rooms we noticed our tour bus driver sitting at the other end. He would be staying the night here in Sarajevo with us and then driving us to Dubrovnik in the morning. So we, not wanting to endure another 30 min walk to the bar, decided to propose to the driver to bring us into town and in return we would pay for his meal. He accepted and we were on our way to Hacienda for some Mexican food and cervesas. After 3 days of only eating beef or lamb products wrapped in bread or pastries, it was time for some chicken and cheese wrapped in a tortilla and a corona to wash it down.
After a beer or two more and some more bad 80’s remixes (these ones included Billy Jean and Near or Far by Celion Dion aka Most Annoying Singer EVER!) we were on our way again, this time to an underground club called Tabu, which was pretty cool as the entrance was lined with lit torches. The inside was cool with flashing lights and a guy banging the bongos to techno music. Upon review of the bar menu, I decided upon a Long Island and sat back and watched as my friends shared fish bowl drinks and limbo’d to the music. After finishing another round of drinks a few of us decided it might be best to head back to the hotel as tomorrow would be a very early day as we departed for Dubrovnik at 8 am. So we paid our tabs and made our way on foot back to the hotel, as the bus driver had left 20 minutes earlier with one of the other students. As we were walking down the street we noticed a large bus pull up to the light, it was our bus! We all ran out to the bus (after looking both ways of course – mom) and hopped in, saving us from a long walk home.
And so ended our last day in Sarajevo, tomorrow we make our journey down to Dubrovnik, which will sure to be an amazing visit. So until tomorrow, I bid you adieu.
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