Birth Control Pills Cause Brain Damage: The road to Sarajevo

We left Belgrade at 10:30am Wednesday- 2 mini vans- 14 people including Gordana our G Adventures guide. The first part of the trip to the border was a rather dull ride through areas of farming- mostly corn, and small, non descript villages. The land was relatively flat with the odd curve or traffic light to break the boredom.
Once we passed the border into Bosnia- Herzegovina things changed fairly rapidly. The road hugged the border and an adjacent river for about 30km before it began to climb and wind through a couple of mountain chains-the Sodolac and Romanija mountains. It didn't take long to convince me that there wan't a flat or straight piece of road in the entire country.
Occasional stops for gas and pee breaks brought us into small villages where we could see the effects of the ( now 30 year old) war. Many buildings bore the scars of various attacks by mortar and bullets. Some still stood as burned out shellsof their former selves, untouched and abandoned by their former occupants. Who knew if they had died in their homes or if they fled the conflict, never to return.
We arrived in Sarajevo around 5:30pm, tired but eager to explore.
After checking into our hotel, the Hecco 2, located on a hill 3/4 of a km above the old town, we met the rest of our group at the main fountain of the old town and crossed the river to spend the evening eating and enjoying the local beer in a tavern adjacent to the local brewery. After that the younger members of our group wandered into town, while us "older folk" hiked back up the hill to rest up for what would be a long day on Thursday