I´M IN: Bosnia and Herzegovina: Sarajevo
HAVING VISITED: Croatia: Zadar, Split, Hvar, Korcula & Dubrovnik
NEXT UP: Austria: Vienna
So, the Adriatic is: warm, waveless and rocky. And Croatia is just about the sunniest place on God´s green Earth. I felt like a vampire half the time there, ducking into shade wherever I could find it, not taking my sunglasses off until after sunset. It buuuuurrrrnns.
So I just sort of bee-bopped my way down the Croatian coast, meeting lots of fun folks along the way. The beach was generally overrun with tourists, with prices to match such a condition, but it sure is beautiful. Lots of marble paved streets (that reflect the sun - ahh!) and churches and castles and walls. I definitely (and inadvertently) saved the best for last with Dubrovnik. It is one of the places like Venice or Gatlinburg, Tennessee (people compare those two cities all the time, right?) that you have to kind of see to believe. The old city is still enclosed by an intact set of city walls. These are billed as the best in the world and I do not disagree. I sprung for a guided tour and took a ton of pictures. One of the oddest things about Croatia (apart from the substantial national interest in handball) is that there is almost zero evidence that there was a war there somewhat recently. There are old things and there are new things, but everything looks fine. Turns out there was a ton of damage, especially in Dubrovnik (under siege for seven months) it is just all fixed now thanks to influxes of cash from UNESCO and hordes of tourists - amazing.
Especially so when compared with the state of affairs here in Bosnia. Bullet holes in buildings abound and there are LOTS of bombed out, crumbling buildings. There are a lot of other references to the war, too, including a museum showcasing a tunnel that supplied goods, electricity and arms to the city (under siege for four years). And then at breakfast the other morning I heard a large explosion from the hills. My worried face brought the waiter who mimed someone stepping on a land mine. No problem, he said. Funner times were had at the FK Sarajevo soccer game (my first ever professional soccer match) where the good guys won and I learned some new soccer chants.
Next up is Vienna where I plan to bliss myself out on coffee while awaiting (hopefully hopefully) my visa to visit India. Fingers crossed!
