​It was a little intimidating, not knowing what we would find in the rest of the city. However, once we got into the city center it is was much more accessible. The Miljaka River runs through the city with frequent bridges crossing it. The Latin bridge being the most famous as it was where Arch Duke Ferdinand was assassinated starting WWI.

​We got off the train and headed to find a taxi. The taxi stand was deserted so Bill ended up calling the number on the sign there and voila – a taxi materialized. It is so cheap to take taxis here that we will probably use them more than the tram. We took another cab downtown and got our laundry done – and I mean done..by someone else. It was wonderful – I hate doing laundry and especially when we travel. To come back 3 hours later to neatly folded clean clothes was a real treat.

​While wandering I turned a corner and nearly tripped over a seated figure. After excusing myself I realized it was a statue – very lifelike – of Tesla. Not sure what its significance is to Sarajevo but it was cool.

Sarajevo is just as inexpensive as Mostar was. Food, drinks and souvenirs are all low priced.
The weather turned foul after we got back to the hotel to drop the laundry off so we decided to head to a museum. ​

​Bill wanted to go to the Museum of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide. It was an extensive museum about the siege and the war, concentration camps, atrocities and genocide. I don’t know how humanity survives itself. This war was no different in its brutality and loss of innocent lives, especially children, the WWII. It explained more of who did what and what the conflict was really about. 

​The men responsible for the war crimes got off easy as far as I’m concerned. Evil is evil, and this was evil. Again, I feel so fortunate that I and those I hold dear in our country have never experienced anything like this. Because this conflict was recent enough that there are many people here who lived through it, the memory of it is still very fresh for them. It puts things in a whole different perspective.

​Following this uplifting Christmas eve adventure we decided to have a break and ended up having dinner in a place called Grandma’s Kitchen. I’m here to tell you – grandma could cook. The food is surprisingly good in the tourist areas and the Turkish quarter, while full of tourist shops, also seems to be just another part of the city where locals come to eat and drink.

I look forward to tomorrow when we will meet up with a guide we have hired for the next 2 days. We don’t usually do that but there is so much here that we will miss understanding without a local person, we decided to do it. And he is very reasonable. 

​We walked the whole top of the wall. The views were amazing and the history of Dubrovnik is all there if you pay attention. This city has been occupied by various forces practically since its inception. The Ottomans, Napoleon, the Nazis – just to name a few. So the local view of the war was that is was a war of independence. The destruction of the city was evident in the different colors of the roof tiles and wall stucco. I can’t imagine being caught in such a brutal conflict.

​Bill wrote about our time with Mateo, the cab driver. He was eager to tell us about his experiences in the war and explain how many lives were lost, property destroyed and lives altered forever. This whole region is still enmeshed with the memories of those times. They are a hardy people and these villages are carved out of stone hillsides.

​We sometimes pick a place we like and go back for coffee, a drink or a meal. ‘Our’ place was a little place where the bar tender played a radio station with popular Croatian music. The patrons and he sang along with great gusto. On our return visit he remembered us and supplied me with my tea, honey and lemon with little prompting.  That seemed typical of how accommodating and friendly these people are.

​As a ceramic artist, I am drawn to textures and patterns. The patterns of the rooftops, paving stones and stonework in general was quite lovely. It makes the ordinary buildings into something much more visually interesting.    I also have a thing about photographing laundry. It is the one activity we all partake in, and shows that there are regular people living regular lives everywhere we go.

Durbovnik really is a lovely little city and if we were to go back, it would be fun to venture outside the old town. As we drove away on the bus the entire city seemed to be very clean, well cared for with little evidence of the war having been rebuilt. The ‘New’ town, outside the city walls, is quite picturesque in itself. I felt very safe there, and wouldn’t hesitate to go there as a woman alone.

Mostar:

​Mostar is about as different from Dubrovnik as Key West is from Detroit. Entering Mostar, and Bosnia itself, reveals a country that is still recovering from a devastating war. Dubrovnik has always been a tourist destination because of its beauty, old world quaintness and beaches. Mostar does not have that same drawing card and so hasn’t attracted the kind of money it takes to rebuild to the extent that Dubrovnik has.

​ The people here seem to live simple lives, in simple accommodations surrounded by reminders of how it was not long ago. Buildings have been left in ruins, riddled with bullet and mortar holes. It gave me a much more upfront and personal understanding of what it must have been like to live through a war in your own city. I feel so lucky that I have never had to experience personally anything like this level of uncertainty and violence.

​Given all that, the old city and the Stari Most bridge are quite charming and seems to be where a lot of the reconstruction effort has been made. They want tourists and visitors to come to their city. The food was wonderful, and so much less expensive than Dubrovnik. People are friendly and I had a nice chat with a young woman at a stall in the market about her city and her life here. Everyone takes Euros, unlike Dubrovnik and signs are in English.

Bill has already written about Mustafa. He invited us into his little coffee shop and had no issues with telling us how wonderful Yugoslavia used to be, and how sad he is that it no longer is the paradise he remembers. He defined civilization as a collective respect and tolerance for beliefs other than your own. ​

​This is how he remembers his country before the war. I like his definition of civilization. He spoke of people being sheep, and of lacking the ability to think for themselves and stand up to governments who want to dictate what is best for the people. He went on for some time about how important it is for us to put down our phones and have real conversations, to stop and take the time to drink coffee and talk to each other.

​ He was not a fan of big companies that influence the government going so far as to tell us what is good to eat. He described it as ‘another brick in the wall’ – Pink Floyd. Who would have thought a Bosnian would reference Pink Floyd. He was a JFK fan and said he was the last president to promote understanding between people – not sure that is entirely true but was an interesting perspective.

​We visited a mosque that is open to the public. It was really interesting as I have never been in a mosque. This one was very simple and very old. I thought it also really interesting that there is a fountain outside very mosque to hand washing. There are a lot of similarities apparently with Jewish customs. The practice of Islam here seems to be, for the most part, a very peaceful practice. Since religious tolerance is the hallmark of this area, it was awesome to hear the call to prayer from the mosques followed by the ringing of the church bells.

​We also went in a Turkish bathhouse museum. Turkish bathhouses were a big deal in the Ottoman days and a whole ritual surrounded going to the baths. There were special urns used to carry the water, food containers, soaps, towels and scrubbing sponges.

The people here have lived through so much, and have come so far with few resources. I have a tremendous amount of respect for that and for their openness and hospitality. I look forward to Sarajevo and more of Bosnia.