Blogs from Banja Luka, North, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Europe

Correction July 16: in my flawless map reading abilities (or maybe it's the definitely-not-flawless internet), I misread Google Maps. Baščaršija does not mean old town, but is rather the name of the square in the center of Sarajevo's old town. That being said, we were near the old towns in both Sarajevo and Mostar. **** Today was certainly a busy day. It was actually the busiest day we have scheduled this trip; most days in Belgrade have 2 meetings at most. Apparently several have nothing planned since we're kicking the work into full gear then. We started with a trip to the Parliament of Republika Srpska, where we had the chance to take a tour of their conference rooms, press rooms, and rooftop deck. One thing I noticed was their defensiveness; they knew we just came ... read more

All safe and well in Banja Luka yes but man it was one helluva ride to get here (but not on a bicycle). That action is still to come. No, I bought my bus ticket as planned although I had wanted to leave on the Wednesday if it was possible. No, no bus on Wednesday. OK Thursday it is which means I can still go to see the Marionette Theatre in Duesseldorf perform Never Ending Story. Yay. I know I'm a big kid at heart. I love puppet shows, children's books and children's toys. My auntie thinks I'm weird. Not sure if she really appreciated being dragged along on Wednesday night to see the performance (actually I know she didn't) but for me it was worth it. It was a wonderful way to cap off what ... read more

Disaster at the crossing Northern Bosnia was the beginning of the end. In retrospect, if it had to happen – this was the place for it. It started ominously enough. As I attempted to cross the border from Croatia, there was a problem – just a little one. The loosely-uniformed border agent at Bosanska Gradiska (who wore a tired old uniform that didn’t entirely match his partner’s and more closely resembled a costume from Kevin Costner’s best-forgotten “Postman” cinematic catastrophe) informed me that I’d need a “green card.” So typically American, I tried to explain that I wasn’t intending to work in Bosnia. In Bosnia and several other countries, the term “green card” refers to an automotive insurance card for non-EU countries. Green cards cover insurance claims in countries not covered by my EU insurance policy. ... read more

As we left Vienna it drizzled rain and during the train trip to Zagreb, through Slovenia, there were spotted showers. We had to change trains a Zudani Most - an interesting little out of the way place where not much happens. We overnighted in Zagreb - the architecture there has a very strong Austrian influence from its time under their rule. We got a bit wet walking to the train in the morning and again we travelled through rain showers on our way to Banja Luka in Bosnia Hercegovnia. Even though it was raining the scenery was spectacular, green lush, deep valleys, high mountains and little villages. We had lengthy stops at border crossings and Sam must have looked very suspicious as her luggage was subject to a thorough search - much to the disgust of ... read more

A previous edition of this review of life in the Mental Factory mentioned the endless supply of barbecues and other festivities that occur at the drop of a hat out here. Indeed such events are so frequent that it could be presumed that hat dropping is a sport as common to the soldiery as littering is to the locals and that berets lie as thick on the ground as autumn leaves. However on the rare occasion that the thirsty tippler faces an evening without outdoor entertainment he can take solace at least that from seven until half ten each evening an array of bars lie open for a quiet half (followed by a noisy half dozen). There are also welfare facilities, such as the excellent Brithouse, where all Commonwealth Forces on camp can go for a ... read more