A Quiet Sunday

Let me start by saying I’ve made a few errors in my previous posts and I want to fix them by saying the ice rink here is not in a bubble but beside one . The rink is in a barn type structure and by no means am I calling this a farm or anything . It’s just an expression some hockey players use to express their love for their old rinks . She’s a nice barn . Also I mentioned the Olympic rink and I totally misspelled the local name and it’s actually called Zetra . Hope I didn’t make anyone lose any sleep over this

Yesterday I didn’t sleep well . Might be jet lag catching up to me or the 7 beers and a rakia . I think it’s jet lag because I can handle 6 or 7 beers 😝 it was snowing outside and looked beautiful but I wasn’t feeling exactly in the outgoing mood so I hung in and mapped out my days ahead instead . 

Once I had my shit together I decided I wanted to go get a diner on the way to the rink which I’ve been hanging out at daily . There was a kids tournament and I wanted to go scout the kids and see what the future holds here . Only problem is I did not bring winter boots and honestly through all my years of travelling I don’t ever remember dragging a pair of boots along with me . There is a doner shop just around the corner but it has some odd reviews from people with one review saying they are racist and the food is raw and all this utter nonsense . When I see reviews from people who have one review I usually can tell that they are not real . Went over got a doner and it was cheap and it was absolutely delicious .

If the snow on the ground wasn’t so slushy I would probably carry on but the snow was melting and my shoes were wet and my socks were wet and I wasn’t even at the rink yet . I know my shoes are gonna stink and I’m already reserving them for work shoes for next summer since they are taking a beating . So I’ve decided I will need to go buy boots . Basically I got to the rink after slipping a few times but not falling and thankfully not tweaking my back while doing the slippery slide dance and the comfort level I experienced was in the negative digits so I spoke to some of the guys and they suggested Deichman which is a German shoe company in a mall that’s down the road from my hotel . That’s the plan for today but I’m still telling you about yesterday which honestly was not full of excitement . 

The kids here play sideways instead of full ice and I’m guessing the ones closest to the front of building were the top level skaters in which I spotted three kids that really stood out . One kid had a clapper and his surname was London another kid wore #9 but can’t remember their name and the best of the bunch was a kid named Gogo. That kid could skate and had good hands …. There are two clubs here and one club is clearly much better than the other . I’m sure the kids had a good time but it would be nice to see things level out for them in the future but I do understand it’s not the clubs fault if one has better structure then the other . I’m sure it’s all good for everyone involved but I enjoy a fair game .

I hung around with Nermin after the game telling stories and joking around . He is such a hard worker and I’m in absolute awe with what he does here . He’s a one man army and I’m not even exaggerating. He is one of 4 guys here that did everything to make this happen , they built the rink with their own hands ! No sponsorship , no funding , nothing . Just determination and hard work . I know some federations that could learn a lesson from these guys here and I wish they would to be honest . I’m always hearing federations crying they don’t have a rink and they need someone to fund and someone to do this and that when in all reality they need to get off their ass’ and do it themselves . If they really want to they can .

After the last ice time which was a private pleasure skate I got a ride back to the hotel from Nermin and quickly called it a night . I have to wake up get boots and do a walking tour tomorrow before I have my evening practise . I’m really enjoying myself in Sarajevo and I’m probably gonna miss it here . Ciao ✋