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Published: August 27th 2007
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Deciding to see the countries of eastern europe along the adriatic sea was as much about adventure as it was about escaping the summertime tourists. we were rewarded for it as soon as we crossed into slovenia from italy. we were treated to open roads with vast expanses of beauty through all three of the countries. slovenia sadly serves as more of a buffer of connecting roads for croatia than a true host to tourists but nevertheless, a beautiful country of well preserved forests and lakes. croatia is the gem of the 3 with so much coastline and beautiful parks to visit. we spent a day exploring the largest national park they had at plitvicka jezera, one of the most pristine and magical places i have seen with my own eyes. river fed pools that sparkle every shade of blue (check the pics) with waterfalls flowing over everchanging formations of travertine rock...a new and original stream is said to be seen every season. fish abound at the waters edge watching you trek further into the river valley. a must see in your lifetime. we spent days on end in small villages camping next to lazy rivers..surviving on whatever we could find
at the closet size markets. our tent held up through a 2 day downpour which essentially stranded us since "malby's" wipers do little more than laugh and tease us at the bottom of our windshield. emo used this time to better herself in the classic mind game of chess and beat me for the first time...she actually bounded out of the tent and into the rain performing the age old dance of "in your face!!" the bosnian border was nearby the national park and used this as our entrance point into rebuilding country. being a history buff, i was eager to know more about the war from 92-95. the details surrounding it at the time were well kept from the national stage and with no clear "good guys and bad guys" at the time, many people around the world tuned it out. speaking to many people along the way that had been impacted by it brought clarity and a greater deal of understanding to this confusing time. the beautiful country sides showed signs of its brutality and the statistics were absolutely numbing. we visited the the larger cities of bihac' and sarajevo which told their own stories of the siege.
we stopped in the town of jajce known for the castle and palace of the last king of bosnia before he was beheaded. we stayed with a great family that had somehow built a home into the castle wall high atop the mountain. our views were incredible. cemeteries were seemingly everywhere in this country with the likeness' of the fallen civilian or battle hero engraved. being this close to the people and places involved, it pulls you in and ones perspective on life changes. you begin to ask yourself how i would react if faced with the same scenario. still today, the war is used as THE reference point for recent history as in "after the war", "during the war". i salute this country and its resiliency in the past decade or so to return life to a normalcy that we as americans so easily take for granted. i don't mean to babble but it had been and education only a visit here could administer. on a happier note...the sarajevo film festival was on and energy was up as folks strolled the streets till late enjoying the long days. we made our way south to enjoy the speck of coastline
bosnia has within its borders and played in the perfect temp water with the locals... it is our only escape from the heat since air conditioning is not a common ammenitie in english cars..go figure. following the coast down, we entered croatia again and the city of dubrovnik with its medieval castle and war seige history of its own during the 92-95 period when it experienced intense shelling. the old town was beautiful and evidently a hot spot for many of europe's hip crowd. the restaurants served great food and the narrow, soft lit, cobble stone streets. we had camped a few feet from the water in the nearby town of Sloan, which i fear will not remain its tiny charming self once word is out on it's perfect water, sweet town folk, and magical sunrises. this is also where we realized "malby" had failed to fill herself up with enough gas to get us started. with the nearest gas station 30km away, we did what anyone would do..begged for help. a local gal casually offered her scooter that emo and i hurdled down the seaside highway at 30mph...we were a sight and that thing was a real champ straining
up the hills. we ended our time in croatia just along the border and rented a small hillside apartment where emo was greeted by a scorpion while washing her clothes in the sink....this time emo had a new dance...reminded me of something from the movie "Fame"..good stuff! Montenegro..here we come!!!
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already perfect!
Your photos show a very different part of the world than we saw from your pics of central and south america! Sorry to hear that Malby let you down. Note to Shane....hard for Emo to "better herself"......she's already perfect! love and miss you both!