We definitely aren’t in Kansas anymore, Toto.

Croatia and Bosnia

Zagreb really grew on me. At first glance I wasn’t too impressed. But the longer we got to know each other, the more we started to appreciate what the other had to offer. Actually, I am not sure what I have to offer to Zagreb, but making the feeling-out process a mutual experience just seems appropriate. I think the original problem I had, in liking what I saw, was that every other building in the city is under construction. I can’t believe that there is any more scaffolding anywhere in Europe, based on the amount we saw up in Zagreb. Apparently a rather large earthquake had taken its toll recently. And stone doesn’t tend to bend. So you had to see the city through the scaffolding, kind of like reading between the lines. There was beauty in there somewhere.

Even the Cathedral in Zagreb was getting a facelift.

But Zagreb still had a kick-ass town square and a cool train station and plenty of green space and quirky churches and car-less cobblestone streets. There was an old tower that they still fire the cannon from every day precisely at noon just as it fired at the Turks on the river centuries ago. There was a very cool roof on a very cool church (St. Mark’s) just like the roof on St. Stephen’s in Vienna. There was a cool model of the city that lit up at night. There were statues everywhere, some whimsical, and some not, including a pretty poignant one honoring holocaust victims at the train station. There was cool architecture. There was a metropolitan selection of restaurants and museums and well, Zagreb had a little of everything. It wasn’t grandiose like Vienna, or super cute like Ljubljana. But it is a proud city, and it deserves to be proud.

Town Square

Typical Old Town Street

One of many parks

Super cool model of the city.

The roof on St. Marks Church looks like pixel art. 

Three of us went to the ”Museum of Broken Relationships” which apparently has become quite famous due to its traveling exhibition all over the world. People write stories about their exes or about lost family members or friends and send the museum some token of no value, other than the sentimental sort, that reminded them of the relationship and that they didn’t want to hold on to any more. Quirky, but entertaining. One memorable one was a piece of wedding cake that got saved and then shoved to the back of the freezer and forgotten for thirty-five years for a marriage that didn't last. It was ironic that the cake lasted and was still preserved in a tiny freezer in the museum.

The other three went to the cravat museum, to learn the history of the necktie. Quirkier still.

Zagreb obviously enjoys being silly. Here is a statue of one guy playing guitar, while two others appear to be dying horrible deaths.

Here is a Pokemon I've never seen before.

And here is St. George, almost as sad as the dragon he just slayed. Maybe he is just tired of having to do this in every town in Europe.

The fire hydrants in town all look like they wear little blue sweaters.

From Zagreb, we continued south through the border crossing into Bosnia-Herzegovina. An instantaneous change was evident in the economy of the two countries. B-H (not you, Jimbo) is not in the E.U. It appears to be struggling some in the development arena. Apparently still struggling from the war in the 90s with Serbia. But it is a really, incredibly beautiful country. Green as can be, with mountains and waterfalls and forests and rushing rivers. 

A cool why-not-stop along the way to check out the Vrbas river.

An even cooler angle.

Our first stop, that was for more than just a quick photo, was in Jajce, a small town with a big heart. It is built around a waterfall and can’t help being ridiculously photogenic from most any angle. We took a lot of pictures, and left before they could figure out that they should charge for admission.

A private photoshoot was happening, so we couldn't go down to get up close to the waterfall.

Jajce from above

The fortress above from where the previous pic was taken.

Not sure if the waterfall video above is going to work or not. If not, just picture the water moving from the top to the bottom, due to a little thing called gravity. It's pretty cool. You should totally look it up some time. :)

A really long drive later (the roads are not superhighways) we made it to Sarajevo. Bosnians use the Cyrillic alphabet, so the name reads more like “CapajeBo”. So I have been calling it “kappa-GEE-bo” ever since I discovered this. It took Carol a full three days to finally figure out what I was talking about. Everyone else in the van was on board, as I'd explained myself thoroughly. Carol tends to treat my voice like those of adults in a Peanuts special. "Wah-wah-wah-wah". 

Sorry about the quality. Had to swipe this off the net, to show what I'm talking about.

In town, the roads remind me of the Italian coast or of Ireland. Not well paved. Not at all wide. Not Luka-friendly. But the locals still speed and run lights and basically act as if their lives, much less those of the rest of us on the road, are of no consequence whatsoever. But Michelle powered through like a champ. And the owners of our rental apartment were kind enough to show us the way to a parking spot big enough for the girth-challenged vehicles among us. I can’t wait to do the whole undocking procedure tomorrow morning when we leave, not to mention the struggle getting out of town on these ridiculous side streets.

Driving into Sarajevo, we could already tell it would be special.

Kappageebo is pretty awesome, mostly because of its history. The residents have lived through some pretty horrible recent history; apparently the longest ongoing siege in modern warfare history. Learning the details from a war veteran, five years younger than myself, who lived through it all, was chilling. But the tour was compelling and well worth it. For those who don’t know, the Bosnians built a secret 800m long tunnel under the airport in order to be able to ship people and supplies for the war effort. We visited the section of the tunnel that has been turned into a museum. That was jaw-dropping. We visited the Jewish cemetery that had been turned into a sniper’s sanctuary where the shooting began, and the square near sniper alley where the dying began. It all started with two ladies, who were recent med-school graduates, who were peacefully protesting with hundreds of others on the square before being picked off by the snipers on the hill. Serbian radical nationalists had started their quest for “ethnic cleansing” and the war went on for over four years before a cease-fire finally prevailed in the mid-90s. 

Bullet holes remain in the walls in so many buildings. The red painted ones indicated that a person was killed by bullets in that location.

Photos at the tunnel museum taken in 1994

The tunnel.

Bullet holes in a tombstone in the Jewish cemetary where a firefight took place between Serbian nationalist snipers and the Bosnian police.

Sarajevo is actually well known for three reasons. The war in the 1990s being one of them. It was also the place where Arch-duke Ferdinand from Austria was murdered to set off World War I. We crossed the bridge where it happened. And finally, it is famous for hosting the 1984 Winter Olympics. Cool story: the day before the opening ceremonies, there was absolutely no snow in the mountains. The Olympic Games were going to have to be either postponed or cancelled altogether. But then a miracle blizzard brought almost two meters of snow in one night, on the eve of the first day, and all was well. We visited the now-dilapidated bobsled track that served as a staging point for Serbian mortar shell attacks just four years after the games.

The "Latin Bridge" where the arch-duke met his maker.

A replica of the car he was in when it happened, complete with tourists who were getting their photo taken by a photographer. I wasn't going to wait for them to be done. So they got to be in my photo too.

The bobsled track is in complete disrepair. But the graffiti is top quality.

Another shot without old people getting in the way.

One more for good measure, going up the track instead of down.

Sarajevo is about half Muslim and half Christian. Mosques and churches are everywhere. It definitely feels like Istanbul in half of the old town and like Western Europe in the other half. The two ethnic groups co-existed peacefully for centuries, and also with a large Jewish community, all the way up until they didn’t. Now, wounds are mending slowly. The entire country is still divided politically and culturally. But most recognize that peace is very much preferable to genocide, and both sides are proud to call their beloved city the European Jerusalem. These days, the tensions in actual Jerusalem are far higher than in Sarajevo. So good for the Bosnians. May their next fifteen minutes of fame be of the Olympic type, and not the Arch-Duke or Sniper-Alley type.

The bazaar is fabulous. All the shops are still open after 10 p.m.

The bazaar continues inside giant hallways as well.

But everywhere you look, there are reminders of recent events, so nobody takes the current peace for granted.

As for the six of us, we got a great history lesson, and we got to experience some wonderful culture as well. We sampled much Bosnian cuisine, including Bosnian coffee, and “cjef” which means “chill” or relax and enjoy the good life with your daily two-hour coffee break. The bazaar was great. The mountains in every direction were gorgeous. We enjoyed Sarajevo far more than we expected to enjoy it. Nothing but good vibes. Thanks for the memories Kappageebo! On to Montenegro…

Carol and I experiencing "cjef" minus the hookah. Though I do kinda look stoned in this selfie.