Bridge over troubled water

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Hello!

It's been a long time between drinks, but here is an update... We have now left Croatia for Bosnia. We spent the past five days staying in Dubrovnik (you may remember it from such wars as the Croatian war, when it was bombed within an inch of its life). Due to a Herculean restoration effort, the city is back looking as it did before the conflict. When you visit the old city, the only ways you can tell that anything is amis are the difference in colours between the roofing tiles, and the telltale plaque which shows which buildings were damaged by "attrocities committed by the Bosnian and Montenegrin aggressors".

On a related note, we had the strange experience of being present in Croatia during their national thanksgiving (nationhood) day last week. There is something disquieting about being surrounded by posters, tshirts, commemmorative coffee mugs etc. etc. glorifying the actions of an indicted war criminal (Ante Gotovina). We had dinner last night with the people we were staying with in Dubrovnik (who had been there throughout the siege), and it became readily apparent that (thankfully) opinions are somewhat mixed towards him.

The redevelopment of Dubrovnik is a nice point for comparison with Mostar, which is where we currently are. While there has been some redevelopment (most notably the bridge linking the Muslim and Christian halves of the town, which you may remember seeing being destroyed and, ten years later, reopened, via the miracle of global television), the town is far from rebuilt. Almost every building in the part of town where we are staying is riddled with bullet holes, and every fifth building is a bare shell (replete with signs proscribing entry, for fear of detonating unexploded ordinance). The rebuilding work continues, though. The town buses appear to have been donated by the Japanese government (and are decorated in such a way that makes this clear), and we ran into a bunch of Canadian military observers (not sure if 'Peacekeeper' is the technically correct term) while we were walking around the old town. THe poverty is much more evident here than it is in Croatia (more beggars, for e.g.), and it is very clear that this town has suffered more than any we saw in Croatia as a result of the war.

Anyway... that aside, Mostar is a very beautiful place to visit. It is, as Fitzy would say, a city of two halves - one Muslim, one Christian, with bridges linking the two (and the division appears to be blurring, with mosques alongside churches). We ate dinner tonight overlooking the river, accompanied by the sound of the muezzin issuing the call to prayer from the mineret over the other side of the river.

People are also starting to come back here. I suspect that given five years or so (and the introduction of the euro) this place will become a fully fledged tourist trap. Come now while it isn't quite one yet.

As for Dubrovnik.... well, be under no illusions. It is a tourist trap. We didn't like it nearly as much as we liked Split (although the family we were staying with more than made up for it, with home cooked meals, accounts of what life is really like in Croatia now, and what it was like during the war). The old city is very pretty, but given that you can hardly move for tourists, it is a little difficult to fully appreciate. Ditto the beaches. But... I guess you have to expect that on the Adriatic coast at this time of year!

Anyway, enough whinging from me. Bec has written an account of our culinary experiences to date, which I will paste below...

So far we have been rather quiet on the food review front - which is rather unlike Malcolm and I, who as most of you know, are partial to beer, sausage, meat, salad, pizza, pies and gelato (in fact, anything that the Atkins Diet would recommend you eat for breakfast with lashings of whipped cream). In our experience thus far, Eastern Europe has much to offer from this menu.

For example, at our first stop, in the Czech Republic, we were introduced to cheap, plentiful Czech Beer. Whilst the brand names elude me for the moment, we were both captivated by the dark and wheat beers which were flavoursome but didnt pack a large alcoholic punch in the same way that a trappist beer does. I found that the dark beer was the perfect accompaniment to any meal - lunch, dinner or dessert - I haven't ventured to try a breakfast beer yet but the day that a local offers me one, I will be there with bells on. In fact, I can see it going extremely well with a Croatian favourite - the chocolate crepe. Oh, and with a gelato on the side. Gelato also goes with everything.

In Hungary we were introduced to a variety of sausages, some good, some bad. In fact, we were both amazed and rather shocked at the fat content of the average hungarian sausage. Upon cooking one Malcolm was heard to exclaim - well, we dont need fat for the rest of the week. The fry pan had filled and refilled with fat a few times over before the sausage was ready. Perhaps we should have boiled the sausage first, Raffe Smith styles.

Croatia really is the best place in the world to buy tomatoes. Malcolm and I have both been blown away by the taste, texture, sweetness and versatility of the Croatian tomato. They go with everything in the same way as a Czech Beer goes with everything. The soil and sunshine here might have something to do with their success - the soil looks very rich in nutrients and the sun is out most days. They also get a good amount of rain which means that watermelons are also cheap and plentiful. Not to mention grapes, olives, most stone fruits. In each town you will see signs for 'Rakiya' which is homebrew but much, much nicer. This is because they have to do something with the left over fruit, lest it go to waste at the bottom of the garden. A second explanation, and one much favoured by locals, is that they can't live without the stuff. In wine there is truth, and life, or so it seems.

A final element to mention in any good food blog is the success that a country has in adopting and adapting cuisine from other countries. Due to its proximity to Italy, Croatia is the master at anything italian, whether it be gelato, pizza, or lasagne. The pasta here melts in your mouth, as does the tomato sauce. A less well known fact is that Croatian butchers make a rather delicious turkish meat delicacy which looks like kebab meat rolled into a sausage. This, when combined with red onion or red tomato for the less courageous, is (as my stepfather would say) heaven on a stick. If only they would put the darned stuff on a stick, it would be a great takeaway treat.

Speaking of take away, we have been exposed to something worse than the pie - burek or borek. It is muslim food and darn is it good. It is basically pastry with cheese or meat (depending on your taste and the time of day) and when you put it in a paper bag you can see through the paper within seconds. That is quality take out grub! The bread and donuts here have also become a staple lunch treat, as you can go to the small markets in town and ask for pretty much anything in a bread roll. In one town in Bosnia I witnessed a french couple purchase an entire 7 euro packet of pastrami and ask for it to be put into one roll. How is that for good quality nosh!

So far, food in Eastern Europe has been a real treat. As we enter into the second month of our food tour extravaganza (or backpacking holiday, as Mal likes to call it) we will continue to keep you updated on the smells and saliva inducing treats on the street. For now, it is late and time for a final gelato before bed.

xxx Mal and Bec

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