Day 14 & On the Move!

We had the option of going to a strip show last night!  There was a big poster in our hotel lobby, and our guide has been teasing us about it today.  I don’t think anyone sneaked out, but there are some sleepy heads on the bus today…including me!

I say goodbye to Sarajevo which has been such a learning experience.  The people have deep scars here along with the bullet and bomb damaged buildings.  I’m glad I was here and visited and learned so much.  However, it’s not a place to come for a care-free vacation.

There is not much recognition of the 1984 Winter Olympics which I remember watching.  One guide said Bosnia & Herzegovina invested 1.2 million preparing but made over 10 million.  Evidently, the organizers and the entire country were concerned that year because Sarajevo had no snow.  Not a flake!  However, the night before the opening ceremonies, a deep snow fell.  

Yugoslavia only won one medal that year, a bronze in skiing.  Katarina Witt from East Germany was the star and won gold in figure skating.

Discussing politics again as we travel, there was an election three weeks ago, and the results have not been released.  In the last census, people waited 1 1/2 years for the results.  Serbs complained and then Croats that they had been under-represented.

We pass power and concrete plants.  The leaves are starting to change colors on the hillsides.  Small farmhouses dot the surroundings, but they are beige and yellow instead of just white.  Red tile roofs are still dominant, but I start to see some shingle and metal roofs along with an occasional stone building.

Just to restate some points as people ask questions…

*The Serbs goal was not to enter Sarajevo and occupy it.  Just as in Dubrovnik, they wanted to destroy normal life by depriving residents of food, water, electricity, medicine, etc. and create an atmosphere of fear and deprivation.

*Bosnia & Herzegovina are ready to apply to the EU but it takes about ten years for acceptance.  However, the Republic of Srpska has been trying to break ties with Bosnia & Herzegovina and join Serbia.  If Bosnia & Herzegovina start the process to join the EU, and Srpska gains independence, the application is finished because borders cannot be changed when applying to the EU.

*People thought no one would attack a big city or the former Olympics city versus a more vulnerable rural area.

*The average salary is $500-600/month, and a single person cannot afford an apartment.  That is why Bosnia & Herzegovina has one of the highest age averages of children remaining at home until mid-late twenties.

We leave the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina, and enter the Republic of Srpska.  It is the same currency, and same country but two entities.  The language is the same but Srpska also uses the Cyrillic alphabet.  The economy is based primarily on agriculture which means that they offer little to the overall economy of Bosnia & Herzegovina.  Interestingly, students learn a different version of the Balkans War in the federation vs Srpska, and it’s the same country!

What is going to happen to Srpska?  They want to leave Bosnia Herzegovina and join Serbia.  Many people agree…let them go since they don’t produce and are a burden to Bosnia & Herzegovina.  However, if Bosnia & Herzegovina let them leave, they take with them half of the country’s land mass.  It’s a difficult situation.

Our guide, Damir, has another controversial topic for us…the death of Milosevic.  Most people agree now that he was an evil person who committed many outrageous acts.  However, the Serbs were deceived since they are not bad people, and many never wanted a war to resolve issues.

In 2001, Milosevic lost the election, and in 2002, The Hague Tribunal was formed to charge Milosevic with crimes in Yugoslavia, the Balkan War, and the 1999 ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.  

Milosevic defended himself, and the trial lasted six years.  

Two military generals were also charged…The Butcher of the Balkans…for ordering a massacre of a town’s citizens and imprisoned for life.  One woman was charged who was the only one admitting to crimes and was imprisoned for 14-16 years.

Milosevic, three weeks before the verdict was announced, was found dead in his apartment.  Officially he had a heart attack.  Some said it was suicide but that is probably unlikely.  Many think he was poisoned and killed by his own men because it was clear he would be found guilty.

To this day why and how Milosevic was killed is controversial. 

We re-enter Croatia in the region of Slovonia.  Soon the mountains are gone replaced with wide

fields of green, acres of grapevines, and deep brown soil.  This agricultural area is very flat, and the highest hill is said to be a cabbage!  Crops are potatoes, corn, wheat, and sugar beets is number one.

95% of the population is Catholic, 5% are Orthodox, and a small amount are Muslim or Protestant.  When we reach our destination for the night, we are only a few miles from the Hungarian border, and the percentage of Calvinists increase.

This region is also known for the large number of storks that visit in the spring and summer arriving mid-March until late August when they migrate thousand of miles to winter in South Africa.  They come here for the multitude of waterways…three main rivers… to feast on fish and also the grasshoppers in the fields.  They build large nests of sticks on chimneys and utility poles.  Robyn spots two of their nests, but I wasn’t able to catch a picture.  

Damir tells us the story of two stocks in love which captured the attention and interest of people throughout Croatia and Europe.  A female’s wing was injured by a hunter, and she was unable to make the long flight to South Africa with her mate one year.  A local man took her into his home to keep her safe and warm during the cold winter months.  Named Maluna, she became not only a pet, but a member of the family.

For years, Maluna was placed back on her nest in the spring to await the return of her mate, Clapaton.  It would make news when Clapaton arrived each spring, and a camera was installed to watch the pair.  It was always a joyous occasion for Maluna when Clapaton arrived with lots of beak clapping and wing fluttering.  

In 2021,  Clapaton failed to appear.  No one knows what happened to him, but Maluna is still here living with her family in the winter and waiting on her nest in the spring and summer.

Another story is about the origin of the necktie.  In the European Thirty Year War fought in the 17th century, 300 Croatian soldiers went to fight for France. These soldiers were known and admired by the French king for the knotted neckerchiefs they would wear tied by their sweethearts as a sign of affection and protection.  The king named this fashion statement “la cravets”.

Lunch is at a small family-run inn 

which also rents cabins.  These are so cute!  Ivy covers the door, and inside the loft holds a double bed with a single below.

  

  

There are antiques and carvings inside the restaurant,

and of course, the ubiquitous cats!

Across the street is the Motel California!  Not what you expect to see in Croatia!

We make a quick stop in the charming town of Dakovo to see St. Peter’s Cathedral.  It dominates the skyline, and the paintings inside are fabulous along with the rosary stained glass window!

  



  

There is a fun water feature in the courtyard, and a beautiful wooded and serene park.

After hearing about war, war, war, in Sarajevo, it’s wonderful to see this town square and beautiful cathedral.

Our destination in a small village of 800 residents in Karanac for an overnight stay on a farm, and it is too small to show up on weather.com!  We arrive in time for dinner, but it will be such an unusual experience…even for this country gal…that I’ll include tonight with tomorrow’s post.  There is no internet connection so I hope to post when we arrive in the capital of Croatia, Zagreb, tomorrow night.  Until then, GJ keeps traveling!