The toboggan run from the 1984 Olympics.
Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is famous for three major world events. 1.) The assassination of Austrian Archduke Ferdinand, the event which sparked World War I. 2.) Sarajevo Olympics of 1984 3.) The Siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War, 1992 – 1995.
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The Stari Most (English: Old Bridge). Notice the Christian cross on the hillside in the upper right and Muslim mosques below.
Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina is all about its famous old bridge, Stari Most. This bridge served as a link between the two sections of the city of Mostar, Catholic and Muslim, for over 425 years. It was destroyed by the Serbs and Croats fighting the Siege of Mostar during the Bosnian War in 1993.
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Split Harbor at Dusk
The main attraction in Split is Diocletian’s Palace, built in the 4th century by the Romans. Today it is simply part of the old city with fancy shops and many restaurants primarily for tourists. Split had the busiest harbor we have seen since Gibraltar. There was a constant flow of cruise ships, ferries and yachts.
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Zadar Fisherman
This old Croatian fisherman was fishing and collecting muscles under the main pedestrian bridge into the Zadar shopping area. As commuters and tourists hurried across the bridge to work or shop, this guy had been hard at work for hours.
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Plitvice Lakes National Park Through the Trees
Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia is an all too popular spot for beautiful blue green lakes and numerous waterfalls. Summers visits must be brutal with the huge crowds. There is not a lot of room for tourists to spread out since 90% of the park is viewed on boardwalks the size of a normal sidewalk.
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Raveinj Morning Boat
Rovinj is a small active fishing town on the far western edge of Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. Tourism is the primary source of income for the 14,000 or or so residents. Most residents seem to have rental apartments for tourists. Our rental apartment had a large balcony facing the old town Rovinj peninsula with its prominent Basilica of St. Euphemia church. We viewed this peninsula in its ever changing light over seven days.
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Zagreb Old and New
Zagreb, Croatia is a pleasant city, numerous parks with lots of flowers and fountains, great restaurants with large pedestrian malls serviced by modern trolleys. The further we get from Bucharest, the better Eastern Europe appears.
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Belgrade Trolley
Belgrade, Serbia is an attractive city. It reminded us a bit of Italy, especially when coming from Bucharest which was more along the lines of post apocalypse. Belgrade trolleys were newer, streets were cleaner and people seemed to pick up after their dogs more. You could get just about anything you wanted on the Belgrade restaurant menus, as long as it was a variety of sausage meat with potatoes. Getting to and from Belgrade is what presented us with issues…
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Brasov Narrow Street
The colorful streets of Brasov were in stark contrast to the reason for our visit to the Transylvanian Mountains of Romania, Dracula’s Castle. It could also be called Romania’s biggest tourist trap and collection of tchotchke shops.
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Memorial Museum for Communism Victims
The luck of the draw. Many, if not most, reading this blog were simply fortunate to have been born in the USA, had access to good education, good medical treatment and above all, a democracy. Not so for those living in Romania during much of my lifetime.
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