My friend, the smog

As some of you may know, I am a little bit sensitive to smog (particulate matter).

What’s a little bit … I’m a damn accurate meter, and I can say right away if a city exceeds its limits. How do I do that? Very simple: my tonsils swell to twice their usual size and I often get a nice tonsillitis (depending on how long I stay there).

Yes, and guess what: Sarajevo has a really big smog problem. The city wins the European ranking of the most polluted city (2015). The values ​​are worse than in North Korea – Sarajevo lands 314th place worldwide (Although recent publications of WHO [2018] show that it’s getting better). Unbelievable.

Unfortunately, bad air quality is an expression of political failure. All political posts in Sarajevo are held by 3 people to take account of ethnic differences. Unfortunately, that causes the politicians to block each other. (In this German article you can find some additional information about living conditions.)

So within 24 hours, I realized that I have to be a bit careful here. Therefore, my Sarajevo visit is a bit slowed down.

Unfortunately, unfortunately, I had to sit most of the time in cafes, watch people and taste myself through the local kitchen. And unfortunately, unfortunately, I had to buy a scarf. Three actually. Hm. Such a bad luck. 😛

xoxo anita