We had to make a special stop on our way home from the Dalmatian Coast during our fall break. Both Nadia and I were raised in strong Catholic families and both of our mothers would have loved to have visited Medjugorje. Medjugorje is a small town in Bosnia & Herzegovina where 19 years ago, 7 teenagers had visions of the Virgin Mary. The apparitions have not been officially sanctioned by the Catholic Church like Fatima in Portugal or in Lourdes, France. The site is still a huge pilgrimage site and I was surprised at the number of tourists visiting the site on a rainy Tuesday in October. I was also surprised at the devotion of millions of people who truly believe in the apparitions. Many of the tourist there on the day we visited were Italians, which makes sense. It is relatively close and Italy is the home of the Pope.
Oliver and Owen Pose at the Outdoor Mass Complex
It would have been nice to have our mothers with us to visit the site. Sadly, both of them passed away, but we thought of them while we were there and got some holy water from the church for Nadia’s Aunt Silivia. We introduced Owen and Oliver to the concept of a Rosary and explained to them a bit about the Virgin Mary. I am no longer a believer, but I feel it is important that my children understand different religious beliefs because so many people in the world are still strongly religious.
Three of the seven still have visions or revelations and annually announce new messages from Mary. I am quite skeptical myself, as I don’t believe in anything supernatural. I am open to changing this view, but I didn’t feel or sense anything different when I was there. For me, I was happy for the village in regards to the help to the economy that the apparitions have brought, as well as the pilgrims, who come back from Medjugorje feeling refreshed and more spiritual.
I wouldn’t go back again but it was a very interesting stop. We did buy a couple of bottles of wine from the region, which are supposed to be very good.
The Beautiful River Neretva Winding Through Mostar
We stopped on the back to Belgrade during fall break in the town of Mostar. We wanted to stop for lunch and see the famous Stari Most. I also wanted to see how the reconstruction of the city was going. It suffered great damage during the war of Yugoslav Seccession. First the JNA or Yugoslav Army bombed and occupied the city and later, the Bosnian Croats and Bosniak armies fought a vicious war. There were many building destroyed, including the landmark Ottoman era bridge. The city is still divided today into a Croatian side and a Bosniak side. The Bosnian Serbs in the city were forced out during the war and have not returned.
Many countries have supported a reconstruction of the city. They did a great job with an accurate remaking of the bridge as well as the market area that surrounds it. It is a big tourist attraction and I can see why. The historic market area around the bridge has an exotic feel to it. Nadia found a lot things in the market. Driving out of the city however, I still saw many buildings that have not been repaired and there is a long way to go to get rid of any evidence of the conflict.
Oliver Loved His Islamic Hat
Herzegovina is a rugged, beautiful countryside that reminded me of the basin and range area of Nevada in the USA. The call to prayer and mosques, give it an exotic feel. It is too bad it is still a divided city, even after 15 years since the war. I definitely want to go back and spend a bit more time there as well as explore the national park north of the city between Mostar and Sarajevo. It was a stunning drive going through the deep river canyons. The rivers in Bosnia are a bright green color. It must be from the tannins of the plant life around the rivers or the geology of the rocks that causes the green color.
I didn’t know much about the battles and conflict here on the Dalmation coast during the wars of Yugoslavian Seccession in the 1990’s. Some Serbian friends told me they don’t go here because of what happened. I wanted to learn more about it so I picked up the book, War in Dubrovnik, which was a collection of pieces written from that time. Obviously it is very pro-Croatian and I was disappointed in the book. I was hoping for more analysis of why violence broke out, but mostly what I got were essays lamenting the destruction of heritage of Ragusa. There was an excellent chronology of events as well as one piece by Hrvoje Kačić called, “Dubrovnik and the Calamities of War,” which was the best critical in-depth analysis answering my question of why would the JNA attack Dubrovnik.
Owen and Ollie Overlook Dubrovnik from Strategic Heights
Kačić brought up an interesting contrast between the USSR (Soviet Union) and the SFRY (Yugoslavia). I never thought of them as empires, but they were. They controlled a collection of formerly independent nations. Kacic asks why there so much war with the breakup of Yugoslavia and not of the Soviet Union. He hypothesizes that it was because the communist party of the USSR died in capital Moscow first, before countries started pulling out of the USSR. They also had two excellent leaders in Gorborchav and Yeltsin, who avoided civil war. In Yugoslavia however, the main communist party stayed together in the capital Belgrade while countries were seceeding. The party morphed from Yugoslavia to Serboslavia and had a strong military intact and ready to maintain the status quo. The leaders also were not interested in avoiding war like Gorborchav, and Milosevic, and three others mentioned by Kacic, (Jović, Kadijević, and Adžić) did not avoid conflict.
Getting back to my question, why Dubrovnik? The climate at the time was unstable because of the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and a crash of the economy that went with it. There was also the fact previously mentioned, with the core communist party still functioning and controlling the army. There was not a large population of Serbs living in Dubrovnik. The Croatians in the essays in the book, mentioned the “two wings” being clipped. This refers to the shape of Croatia, which is like a boomerang or bird. The southern wing is the Dalmatian coast with Dubrovnik and the northern wing is the area Vukovar. Vukovar was undergoing heavy fighting and there was a large Serbian population in the city. One of the reasons posited by Kacic is the JNA (Jugoslav National Army) wanted to improve their morale and hurt the Croatians. They were not making progress in Vukovar like they had planned. Other possible reasons could be that Dubrovnik brings in a lot of tourist currency and it would expand the coast of Serbia. The satellite country of Montenegro is about 50 kilometers south of here. The author also met with a JNA general who offered the idea of Dubrovnik returning to its independent city-state status like Monaco.
JNA Artillery Bunker
I thought that the JNA only bombed the old city from the nearby mountains, but they also attacked all along the coast by ship. The apartment in Lapad, that I am writing this piece from was also attacked, and the Tirena Hotel, which is just down the road, was destroyed. I can imagine the trauma on the civilian population living here. They were unarmed and caught in the middle of a battle. They suffered the electricity and water being cut off for months. The Croatians did manage to form a defense and got weapons and soldiers here to protect the city. There was also much support from international aid agencies that got food, water, and medical supplies in and refugees out during the siege.
The first attack occured in October of 1991 and for almost the next year, regular bombings and firefights occured until finally in August of 1992, Cyrus Vance from the UN, negotiated with both sides to get a withdrawal of the JNA to Montenegro. Despite the withdrawal, sporadic attacks occured all the way up until the Dayton Accords of 1995.
Owen, Oliver and I climbed up to the former JNA artillery positions. We enjoyed the hike and the breathtaking views. We also saw two snakes and the boys loved the adventure of the climb.
Sadly, 92 civilians died as well as 129 Croatian soldiers. There is no mention of how many JNA soldiers died. Over 33, 000 people had to flee their homes, and over 7,000 buildings were damaged. Over 500 people were also injured and over 2,000 unexploded mines were removed. In our time spent in the Old City this week, we didn’t notice any war damage in the historic fortress and city within the walls. There was also a lot of looting of private homes in the occupied areas.
Today, the city and coast are controlled by Croatia. In speaking with the ticket guy in the old city, over 1,000 tourists paid 70 Kuna to walk around the walls of the old city. In the summer, between 6 and 7,000 walk around the walls. With the many cruise ships and tourists staying in the area, the city must be a cash cow for the nation’s coffers. I hope the tax revenue is going for helping the lives of the less fortunate citizens of the country.
Dalmatian Coast Views
I want to learn more about the wars of seccession in Yugoslavia and I’ll be reading more accounts and speaking with people and writing about my understanding of the conflict and its impact today on the Balkans.
I spent two summers in Mallorca, one of the Spanish Balearic islands. Dubrovnik felt much like Palma de Mallorca, the capital city. They are similar in that both are on the Mediterranean Sea, both are tourist destinations, and both have a long history of trade and conquest.
I really like many aspects of the Mediterranean lifestyle, or in this case, the Adriatic lifestyle. The climate is great with hot summers, and cool wet winters. We loved the weather in Perth, Western Australia for our two years living there, another place with a “Mediterranean” climate. One can be active all winter as it never gets so cold to force people indoors. On our last full day we had the classic bright sunny Mediterranean day. The brilliant light brought back memories for us of Perth. We also enjoyed much delicious seafood and we love the gardens filled with orange trees, pomegranates, etc. Some of our expatriate friends have purchased homes or boats and devote many holidays to the Croatian coast. There is a lot to explore here and I would like to see some of the islands and smaller towns on the “Dalmatian Riviera.”
Dubrovnik, which means “grove of Oaks,” is a city of around 100,000 people. Its claim to fame is their walled city. The city is a small part of the metro area, but it is the draw for the cruise ships and tourists coming to visit. There were two huge ships in the port yesterday, which we can see from our rented apartment. I as write this, another ship is coming into the harbor. Dubrovnik, for hundreds of years, was known as “Ragusa” and was an independent city-state, like Venice or Athens. The people of Dubrovnik today, still make a living off the Ragusans accomplishments. The old city is beautiful, with high walls jutting dramatically into the sea, stone streets worn smooth by centuries of traffic, and the amazing architecture of porticos, arches, towers, cathedrals, steps, etc.
Yesterday we walked around and enjoyed the day. It was a bit crowded; I can imagine the place in the summer. The kids enjoyed the umbrellas, as it poured early and rained on and off all morning. The kids were photographed by the many Asian tour groups. A small group of Japanese ladies even posed with them. I can imagine if we lived in Asia, they would be absolute superstars.
Ragusa was founded by Greeks escaping from a nearby city. They were technically independent, although they did have to pay tribute to the Ottomans to maintain their “independence.” Throughout the centuries, I am sure they made deals with the Hungarians, Venetians, and other empires of the Mediterranean. Being on the sea, they were great traders and they built up quite an economy and culture. It was interesting that the Ragusan culture in some ways was quite liberal, with probably the first ban on slave trading in the world. The society however, was quite strict in other ways, and did not allow freedom of worship with only Catholic churches being allowed. Eventually, this caused their downfall, as Peter the Great, the Russian Tsar, did not give the city protection of their independent status in one of the many treaties of the 19th century. His grandmother Catherine, had been snubbed by Ragusa when she asked for them to establish an Orthodox Cathedral so I guess he got back at them.
Ocean and I Enjoy the Adriatic (It's warmer than Lake Superior!)
When Yugoslavia took possession of the city, they changed it to a Slavic name. I read they thought it sounded too Italian. Today, almost all of the inhabitants are Slavic Croatians, and the Greek ethnic heritage has disappeared.
It is noticeable the animosity of the Croatians towards the Serbs. We live in Belgrade and so we got some reactions to this. As you may know, the Jugolsav National Army (JNA) attacked the city about 20 years ago. Some of the old city and hotels were destroyed. When I mentioned that I am learning Serbian or offered Serbian currency to pay for a bill, it was like I mentioned the Nazis. They didn’t want to have anything to do with anything Serbian. We also got some dirty looks driving around Sarajevo, another victim of JNA attacks. People would see the Belgrade license plate and then look up to us with a sour look. Our plates our diplomatic however, and being blond and short, we obviously do not look Serbian. I bought a couple of books about the siege in Sarajevo and one book on the war in Dubrovnik. I want to learn more about the breakup of Yugoslavia and the violence that occurred because of it.
Our apartment is located on the Lapad peninsula, a few minutes’ drive outside the old city. The neighborhood of Lapad is very California-esque, with many date palms and there is a nice promenade bustling with cafes filled with mostly locals. I went for a run in the morning. It is amazing the difference in temperature from Belgrade. It was almost balmy, despite the clouds and intermittent showers. After spending the morning shopping and looking around the old city, we went swimming at a nearby beach. The water was wonderful and being mid-October and temperatures in the 70’s, we were alone on the rocky beach. The kids loved climbing on the rocks and we collected quite a few colorful and unusual rocks. It was the first time the kids swam in saltwater since Venezuela. It was Ocean’s first visit to an ocean. It was the highlight of my day.
We came back from the beach and Nadia cooked a delicious pork roast with rice, green beans, and salad. I played “crazy eights” with the kids and after dinner, while I cleaned up, Nadia watched “Rat Race” with the kids in bed. As we were going to sleep, Owen was saying how much he loved family vacations and was not looking forward to Wednesday. These are memories and family bonds were are establishing on these holiday trips. I would tend to agree with Owen. It is wonderful to spend so much time with my wife and children. I hope they remember this trip!
Last morning in Lapad – We had two super days filled with family fun. We managed to go swimming each day and the kids enjoyed throwing rocks and swimming in the turquoise waters. It was our “last day of summer” for a while as we are heading into a cold, continental European winter, and then next summer we will be in Bolivia, the southern hemisphere winter.
The Famous "Stradun" (Walking Street)
It was interesting to compare and contrast the Croatians and Serbians. This was our first time in Croatia and I am only comparing Dubrovnik metro area to Serbia. The city infrastructure and buildings are better than Serbia. It does certainly feel more “western” although I can’t put my finger on what exactly it is that is western. The Croats seem a bit colder than the Serbs. It may be because they are jaded on tourists, especially here, but we found them less out-going, less talkative, and heard much less laughter than we do in Belgrade. They look similar but I still think the Serbs are a bit taller. They should be one country because of the language. I know they have a lot of bad history that will take a long time to heal. There is always hope with the next generation and a few more decades with both countries with a democratic, capitalist system will in my opinion, bring them closer together.
Last weekend I had a quick trip to Bucharest, Romania for an educational conference. We had one evening to explore the city and this post is my initial impressions of the capital. It felt bigger than Belgrade, with an unofficial population of over 3 million in the metro area. I enjoyed my visit to the nation’s capitol, as this is now the third time I’ve been to Romania, but my first to Bucharest.
Above is the weird Palace of the People built during the time of the bizarre “Genius of the Carpathians” reign, Nicky Ceausescu. It is the second largest building in the world, after the Pentagon and was constructed at the end of his time in power. He started it in 1984 and it ended after he was executed in 1989. It is quite an imposing building but unfortunately, we couldn’t go in as it was closed. It would be great to have free reign of the place for a few days. It is 12 stories high and several (unknown) floors deep. Much of it is still unused. It would be a great place for a movie.
Leading from the building is the “Victory of Socialism” boulevard, a replica of the Champs de Eleyse.
Sunday we celebrated my daughter Ocean’s third birthday party. We invited Claudiu and Vesna over with Mark and Tudor to share in the celebration. Nadia made a delicious chocolate cake, and appropriately, being in Serbia, she cooked pork. An absolutely spectacular meal and a great day. Ocean wanted a scooter, and we also got her some play dough toys. Her nanny Ivana, bought her a Barbie make up kit.
Above is the video. Congratulations Ocean, my Angel Princess!!! Below, I think Ollie is a bit jealous with all of the attention Ocean is getting.
Yesterday was the opening outdoor practice for the Atacante Soccer Klub. Owen and Oliver are both members of the team. The team practices twice a week in the ISB Bubble Gymnasium, and on weekends at various places around the city, mostly at the FK Bulbulderac Field above. This year Owen will be playing in a “real” league for players born in 2002. They will have special uniforms and play weekly starting next week. I am a bit concerned that Owen will be one of the youngest players, as he was born in December of 2002. After reading Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers”, studies show that older players do much better and develop leadership habits on the field when they are older than most of their peers. I’ll see how it goes and how much playing time he gets.
Oliver is enjoying the club also, but he is not quite ready to fully concentrate on the game. He spends a lot of time playing power rangers or looking for bugs instead of soccer during the practices. Oliver is a strong and tough athlete and will be an excellent soccer player.
Yesterday I went to the Davis Cup Tennis Semifinal Matches between Serbia and the Czech Republic. It was a capacity crowd in the Belgrade Arena for the two reverse singles matches. In the first game, world #2 Novak Djokovic looked impressive in a 4-set victory of world #7 Tomas Berdych. That set the stage for the final fifth match between world #37 Janko Tipsarevic and world #35, Radek Stepanek. Janko came through for the home crowd with a straight sets victory! He not only one yesterday, but beat Berdych on Friday in an upset. His two wins, combined with Djokovic’s win, propelled Serbia to their first Davis Cup final. In early December, they host France, who defeated Argentina in the other semifinal.
Novak's Perfect Form and Concentration
I got free tickets from a friend, (thanks Victor and Sandra) and so I invited my friend Claudiu and his father-in-law. We enjoyed the 6 hours of tennis. The weather was cool and rainy outside, but it was a great atmosphere inside the arena. The crowd was into the match and we saw some excellent tennis. It amazed me at how difficult it is to win a point in professional tennis. The shot needs to be perfect, otherwise the opponent will return it.
Serbia should be the favorite being the host and have the highest ranked player. Serbia has never won a Davis Cup, only 12 nations have in the history of the tourney.
I am almost finished reading this entertaining book. The sub-title is “An (Unlikely) Theory of Globalization” and Foer looks at the two competing forces of globalization and tribalism. I am very interested in the tribalism aspect of soccer, especially when he begins the book here in Belgrade and looks at Red Star, my favorite team in the Serbian professional league.
Red Star Fans in the Background of last year's "Eternal Derby" Game
In every country I lived, I always pick a soccer team to support. In Colombia, it was Junior of Barranquilla, in Bolivia is is Oriente Petrolero of Santa Cruz, in Australia it was the now defunct Perth Glory, and in my last post in Venezuela, baseball took the role of soccer and I supported Caribes de Oriente. So it was natural for me to select a team upon arrival in Belgrade. I am not sure what determines the team, as I usually have a choice. Part of it is the tradition and history of the club, another are the uniforms, atmosphere at the stadium, etc.Many Serbs question why I would support Red Star when they are financially unstable and in recent years, have not been very successful. I guess it is that I live in the part of Senjak neighborhood that is rabidly devoted to Red Star and the team was formed by Serbs who were against facism shortly after WWII. The club is associated more with the police and the Serbian Chetniks, than the Communist era of Tito. They are the most popular club in Belgrade, with approximately 1/2 of all Serbs supporting them. I also like the red and white color scheme over the black and white of Partizan, the rival club and the second most popular team in Belgrade.
The book is a bit dated being published is 2004, and I would like the New York Times writer Frank Foer to update each chapter. The most poignant idea Foer presents in the book is the human need to associate with a group or tribe. Humans he states, have a natural urge to associate themselves with a group, and in today’s society, the family or tribe is not relevant. Soccer clubs in many instances, fill that role and it explains the rabid enthusiasm of fans at times, even when they are not really big soccer players and do not show this allegiance in other parts of their lives. I see the appeal of this and it might be the reason I always support a local club when posted overseas. It is something that is definitely missing for most Americans. My family is spread out over the world, the USA is very large and diverse and although it somewhat gives me an affiliation, a “tribe” based on the constitution and the ideal of the freedom of the individual, it doesn’t make me feel part of an intimate group.
Ultra Boys Graffiti In our Neighborhood of Senjak
Serbians, being part of a small ethnic group, naturally have that feeling. And with Red Star and other clubs, they also feel the comfort of the “tribe.” Foer goes into the uglier side of tribalism in the Red Star chapter. The Red Star fans are called Delije, which is a moniker given to them by the infamous Serbian soldier, Zeljko Raznatovic, “Arkan.” Historically, they called themselves Gypsies. The book details some of the fan clubs within the Delije, which can be translated as “heroes” or “warriors.” Above is a photo of one of the many fan club murals popular here in Senjak, the Ultra Boys. Around Red Star Stadium there are some interesting murals which I should do a blog post about someday. Anyway, the Red Star fans played a big part in the wars against Croatia and eventually the revolution against Milosevic, according to this book.
The book has chapters on Celtic-Ranger, Barcelona-Real Madrid, Brazilian professional soccer, etc. and they read as separate essays. I would recommend the book to any soccer fan and people interested in history and politics. On a separate note, nice to see Red Star on top of the table in the Serbian Professional League after five rounds. They defeated Javor yesterday, 1-0.
Last Sunday we went for lunch at the Devetka Restaurant located in the Kosutnjak Park. It was a beautiful day in a nice setting, although the food wasn’t the best and I wouldn’t recommend it to friends, it was a nice meal in that we had a relaxing time together. I snapped a few photos and liked this one the best.
Cold weather this weekend and it feels like autumn and winter are on their way.
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