was Catholic, the wife, Muslim, and
their son, a Political Science major at a
nearby college, had no religious affiliation.
The conversation was very open and
informative. Our local Bosnian guide
for the three days we spent in Sarajevo
also indicated that her diverse group of
friends, Croats, Serbs, and Muslims all got
along well. Our guide had lost not only
her parents in the war, but also an aunt,
and was brought up by her grandmother.
I was impressed to see such positive
recovery from tragedy.
Our tour of the “Tunnel of Hope” by
the airport, where people were ferried out
and supplies brought in during wartime,
further educated us about the struggles
and loss of lives experienced during these
tumultuous years. More than 10,0000
people were killed in the war and current
investigative efforts have brought to light
the genocide involved.
Before arriving in Sarajevo, I had been
impressed by the cleanliness of Croatia,
Montenegro and Bosnia, but here, graffiti
was prevalent on many buildings, and
many were in disrepair. The people seem
to have recovered, but the economy still
needs to improve. The political situation,
96
with Presidents from each of the three
main ethnic groups (Bosnian, Serbian
and Croatian) alternating their terms,
and rumored corruption, does not seem
to be improving.
From Sarajevo we traveled back
into Croatia, this time into the interior
countryside of farms and quaint villages.
We were able to experience life on a
local farm in Karanac where we spent the
night after going to neighboring farms
for home-hosted dinners. Our “day in
the life of” had us making cheese, work-
ing on making pottery, and enjoying an
incredibly fresh and delicious farm
breakfast.
I came away realizing how peaceful,
how supportive, and how much hard
work life in a farming community could
be. Like everything else, there were
definite pros and cons. Everyone knew
their neighbors and helped one another
out; and most lived, worked and stayed
in their local community. Our dinner
hosts, for instance, had never been on a
commercial airplane, and in all their lives
had probably traveled less than 150 miles
from home. There was not a lot of wealth;
however, the farms were well kept, and
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016
the hard work needed to take care of the
crops, animals and land, kept everyone
thoroughly occupied.
From the Croatian countryside, we
headed northward to one of its largest
cities, Zagreb. The contrast was striking
coming from a quiet small farming
town to a large bustling city with traffic,
trams, apartment houses, and highways.
However, Zagreb still had its charm with
the historic hilltop “Upper” town reached
by funicular or multiple stairways,
many beautiful churches including the
Cathedral of St. Stephen in all its neo-
Gothic splendor, interesting museums,
and the colorful Dolac Market where
hand-made goods, flowers, and plentiful
fresh produce were on display.
Exploring the countryside outside
Zagreb, we visited Kumrovec. The birth-
place of Marshal Tito, president of the
former Yugoslavia, now housed an open-
air museum focusing on traditional ways
of life a century ago.
Our overland trip by private bus to the
coast of Croatia included a stop to explore
and hike through the magnificent Plitvice
Lakes, a 114 square mile national park
with 16 turquoise lakes linked by water-
gmhtoday.com