Hi again!
I am actually home now but I am going to go back in time and talk about our time in Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia.... We headed south from Ljubuski after - as I have said - the most amazing time meeting Marija's family and getting to know her home.
BorderFAIL:The bus ride was obscenely beautiful... sun sets and Adriatic islands and mountains and ragged coast lines. I mean, come on. We crossed into Croatia very quickly - I knew Ljubuski was on the border but it really is RIGHT there. You can see the wealth increase pretty immediately. Nicer roads, houses, more development. When the bus stopped we wandered off for our mandatory ice cream (at least two a day in that heat, let's be real). We weren't sure what currency to pay in... but Sofia has been in Croatia before the Sarajevo conference so she was going to treat me to ice cream but then... the prices are in Bosnian KM? Well maybe it's because we're near the border....right? even though you'd expect the Croatian side not to be so open to Bosnian currency. So we had to ask the cashier what country we were in. Turns out we had crossed back into Bosnia - the 20 kilometers of Bosnian coastline that breaks up the Croatian coast. Definitely the first time I had neglected to be aware of what country I was in.
Dubrovnik
Ridiculously beautiful, quite touristy. The Old Town is quite a large and well preserved fortress complete with churches and opticians and homes and plenty of souvenir shops. My Grandpa Hugh and Grandma Jackie visited Dubrovnik several years ago on a trip down the Croatian coast and showed is some insanely beautiful photos so I was really excited to see it in person. The beaches were divine and the company of my four amazing friends made the time relaxing and super fun. On the other hand it was pretty expensive and a bit of a jolt after being in Bosnia, Europe's poorest economy. Especially since Dubrovnik is probably the most affluent place in Croatia and you can really see that dripping off hte tourists.
We found an incredible beach the first day where we could jump off a little cliff and swim into a cave. A pretty sizable cave... with a place to go "ashore" at the very back. It was nicely spooky. Oceans, I realize agian and again, have a vital place in my heart. Hearing waves, letting the water toss me around, laying on the beach - there's nothing like it for me.
The next day Sofia, Ida and I woke up earlier than the rest and went on a hike up one of the hills - yes, Dubrovnik is QUITE hilly. Which, in that heat is something you take notice of. So the early morning was certainly the only time I was going to want to hike around... Afterwards we went to a War Photography museum that was showing exhibits about the wars in Yugoslavia including an entire exhibit on the Srebrenica massacre. It is 17 years ago today that the Srebrenica massacre was taking place.
Lokrum Island!!
*Side note: I noticed that the New York Times ran a photo on July 10, 2012 of victims being buried to commemorate the 17th anniversary. The caption refered to the people as "Muslims" who were killed. While it is true that the victims of Srebrenica were targeted because of the affiliation with Islam, they were not all Muslims. They were all Bosniaks, the ethnicity associated with the Muslim religion in Bosnia... but they were by no means not all of the same religious persuasion. It is provocative to some that all of the burials at the Srebrenica memorial site are Muslim. In a certain light, this move presents the narrative of the history of the tragedy in the terms dictated by the perpetrators: "Serbs deserve this land, Muslims should be killed". That narrative flattens the diverse identities and experiences of Bosnians - for one neglecting the fact that ethnicity has hardly been a purely segregated essense in Bosnia over the past several hundred years. It's virtually impossible to find a Bosnian whose enture family belongs to one ethnicity.
Back to Dubrovnik... I know Srebrenica talk is a far cry from the picturesque Croatian beaches... but really this contrast best shows the head space I was in when we were there. It was eery to watch people wander around this beautiful, and yes, historical area that is so very close to Bosnia but doesn't carry the legacy of war and trauma with it in nearly the same way. It almost felt unfair. And of course Croatian people were impacted by the conflict in BiH - both as neighbors and through close ties with loved ones... but I could palapably feel that in Croatia the war isn't something that needs to be perpetually addressed and balanced as in Bosnia just some kilometers away.
The next day we found ourselves a boat to a practically deserted island and swam swam swam. It was so good to relaaax. Lokrum Island, it was.
Okay more later...
I am actually home now but I am going to go back in time and talk about our time in Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia.... We headed south from Ljubuski after - as I have said - the most amazing time meeting Marija's family and getting to know her home.
BorderFAIL:The bus ride was obscenely beautiful... sun sets and Adriatic islands and mountains and ragged coast lines. I mean, come on. We crossed into Croatia very quickly - I knew Ljubuski was on the border but it really is RIGHT there. You can see the wealth increase pretty immediately. Nicer roads, houses, more development. When the bus stopped we wandered off for our mandatory ice cream (at least two a day in that heat, let's be real). We weren't sure what currency to pay in... but Sofia has been in Croatia before the Sarajevo conference so she was going to treat me to ice cream but then... the prices are in Bosnian KM? Well maybe it's because we're near the border....right? even though you'd expect the Croatian side not to be so open to Bosnian currency. So we had to ask the cashier what country we were in. Turns out we had crossed back into Bosnia - the 20 kilometers of Bosnian coastline that breaks up the Croatian coast. Definitely the first time I had neglected to be aware of what country I was in.
Dubrovnik
Ridiculously beautiful, quite touristy. The Old Town is quite a large and well preserved fortress complete with churches and opticians and homes and plenty of souvenir shops. My Grandpa Hugh and Grandma Jackie visited Dubrovnik several years ago on a trip down the Croatian coast and showed is some insanely beautiful photos so I was really excited to see it in person. The beaches were divine and the company of my four amazing friends made the time relaxing and super fun. On the other hand it was pretty expensive and a bit of a jolt after being in Bosnia, Europe's poorest economy. Especially since Dubrovnik is probably the most affluent place in Croatia and you can really see that dripping off hte tourists.
The view from our hostel in Dubrovnik!!! Almost all of the buildings in Dubrovnik (and alot of Croatia) have that kind of roof... looks really pretty with the crystal blue waters, green and gold/white coast...)
We found an incredible beach the first day where we could jump off a little cliff and swim into a cave. A pretty sizable cave... with a place to go "ashore" at the very back. It was nicely spooky. Oceans, I realize agian and again, have a vital place in my heart. Hearing waves, letting the water toss me around, laying on the beach - there's nothing like it for me.
That is me and my friend Aisha at the beach we found that I was just talking about. So pretty!
The next day Sofia, Ida and I woke up earlier than the rest and went on a hike up one of the hills - yes, Dubrovnik is QUITE hilly. Which, in that heat is something you take notice of. So the early morning was certainly the only time I was going to want to hike around... Afterwards we went to a War Photography museum that was showing exhibits about the wars in Yugoslavia including an entire exhibit on the Srebrenica massacre. It is 17 years ago today that the Srebrenica massacre was taking place.
Lokrum Island!!
*Side note: I noticed that the New York Times ran a photo on July 10, 2012 of victims being buried to commemorate the 17th anniversary. The caption refered to the people as "Muslims" who were killed. While it is true that the victims of Srebrenica were targeted because of the affiliation with Islam, they were not all Muslims. They were all Bosniaks, the ethnicity associated with the Muslim religion in Bosnia... but they were by no means not all of the same religious persuasion. It is provocative to some that all of the burials at the Srebrenica memorial site are Muslim. In a certain light, this move presents the narrative of the history of the tragedy in the terms dictated by the perpetrators: "Serbs deserve this land, Muslims should be killed". That narrative flattens the diverse identities and experiences of Bosnians - for one neglecting the fact that ethnicity has hardly been a purely segregated essense in Bosnia over the past several hundred years. It's virtually impossible to find a Bosnian whose enture family belongs to one ethnicity.
Back to Dubrovnik... I know Srebrenica talk is a far cry from the picturesque Croatian beaches... but really this contrast best shows the head space I was in when we were there. It was eery to watch people wander around this beautiful, and yes, historical area that is so very close to Bosnia but doesn't carry the legacy of war and trauma with it in nearly the same way. It almost felt unfair. And of course Croatian people were impacted by the conflict in BiH - both as neighbors and through close ties with loved ones... but I could palapably feel that in Croatia the war isn't something that needs to be perpetually addressed and balanced as in Bosnia just some kilometers away.
The next day we found ourselves a boat to a practically deserted island and swam swam swam. It was so good to relaaax. Lokrum Island, it was.
Okay more later...
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