Postcard from . . . Sarajevo: city break meets ski holiday

People who think skiing in Sarajevo sounds a bit far-fetched have short memories. I like to remind them of the 1984 Winter Olympics, when American Bill Johnson beat off the Europeans — Franz Klammer and Pirmin Zurbriggen among them — to claim downhill gold, and Torvill and Dean skated to those glorious perfect scores. Of course, the city’s brief post-Olympic glow was quickly eclipsed by the years of war that followed.

In November 2020 it will be 25 years since the Dayton Accords brought an uneasy peace to Bosnia. As I’m walking through Sarajevo’s 16th-century Ottoman quarter, Bascarsija, with Armina Pijalovic, my guide from Funky Tours, she refers occasionally to the 1992-95 siege as the “hard times”. Her choice of words is curiously understated, I think, as we step over another Sarajevo Rose, a splatter of red resin on the pavement that symbolises those who were killed by Serbian snipers and grenades.

Like many people I’ve met in Bosnia over recent years, Armina wants the city to shake off its image as a tragic place of war, promoting instead its cultural mishmash, food and sheer sense of fun. It is also one of the few places that can offer a combination of city break and ski holiday. Jahorina, scene of the 1984 women’s Alpine skiing races, is a 45-minute drive away — you can stay in the city (as I did) and drive out to ski, or vice versa, or split a long weekend by staying in both city and ski area. My visit coincides with the season’s opening weekend, and Bryan Ferry has come to perform the gala-night gig in a large marquee, deftly running though his greatest hits in a smoky haze.

It is early in the season, so many of the runs are yet to open, but I can get a sense of the place. There are 45km of pistes, rising to the highest point, Ogorjelica, which is above the tree line at 1,916m. This winter brings a new gondola, and there are seven other lifts, a mix of chairlifts and drags. The wooded blue runs feel more like red runs, which is one of the reasons why a new beginners’ area was created for this ski season.

The next day, strong winds mean only one draglift is open, along with one functioning slope. Despite the limitations, with just 10 other people around, it’s an enjoyable experience, even if I am ambushed by a pack of dogs near the bottom of the slope. Luckily, I can ski faster than they can run.

If all this sounds a bit too chaotic, it paints an unfair picture. The restaurants and hire shops are on a par with what you would find in a small French resort, with hefty meat dishes taking the place of molten cheese. At the foot of the slopes, Hotel Termag stands out — a sophisticated place with a spa, a stylish bar and a restaurant that serves portions large enough to feed a small army.

In the six years that British tour operator Graeme Higgs has been running ski holidays to Bosnia with Ski Sarajevo, he has seen big improvements in the infrastructure in Jahorina as well as nearby Bjelasnica (where the men’s Alpine skiing events took place in 1984) and Ravna Planina. “And we’re trying to connect all three resorts on one lift pass,” he says.

The direct flights launched last year from London and Rome to Sarajevo with Fly Bosnia should also help boost the ski market here. But it is the combination of a decent — if small — ski area and Sarajevo itself that’s the key draw. Looking more polished every time I visit, the city is compelling, its Ottoman and Habsburg legacies mingling with its Slavic character — boisterous, warm and inviting.

After being on the slopes, I get my fill of Slavic soul food — burek and pita (coils of filo pastry filled with meat, cheese or spinach) and cevapi (grilled rissoles) — as well as Sarajevsko beer brewed with spring water.

I spend the final evening at Kino Bosna, a huge bar in an old cinema. I feel as if I’m in an Emir Kusturica film, as an accordionist leads a good-natured raucous singalong to Yugoslav pop hits from the 1960s and 70s. There may still be problems with corruption and the economy, but I’d like to think the “hard times” are gone.

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