Hvratska

Over the weekend Ashlin (fulbright playwright) and I headed through southern Hungary (I wanted to check out region for my work) and down to Croatia. We spent most of the time in Dubrovnik on the Adriatic Sea. Here are some photos of our pretty amazing trip. I think Ashlin has some pictures of me on his camera, so once I get those, I will perhaps put those up (as long as my hair is in place and I look svelte as always).

We travelled through Hungary via train, exiting the country for the first time with our official visas. I hadnt really thought much about my visa or passport until the Hungarian passport checker asked for them. We handed them over, the checker thumbed through them, glanced at me, thumbed through the passport again and then stopped on the Official Diplomatic Visa page, with a confused glare on his face. At this point the passport checker called the other passport checkers to check us and the passports out. Apparently the visas that the Fulbrights are given are Official, similar to what someone at the embassy might have. Now I dont know if the passport checkers dont run into these types of visas much, or were more thrown off that we look more like slightly grungy, somewhat unshowered, ski cap wearing seattle rockers circa 1990s than blue pants-suited, highly pressed and creased Embassy Officials. After some discussion between the checkers, mostly inaudible except for "Official......Visa D", they wrote down our passport numbers on a scrap of paper--that could have easily been the guys grocery list--who knows. They wished us safe travels and we were on our way--Croatia bound.





The Croatian Flag. (the supposed homeland of my biological grandparents, although I have to say i dont look a thing like Croatians--- tall, dark haired, strong bone structures (Think Toni Kukoc, Croatian NBA player--not my blondish-reddish-brownish hair and skin, blue eyes, and cherubic face). Although I must have picked up my
deft athleticism and basketball acumen from my ancestral Croats.




A lighthouse we passed on the ferry boat between Split and Dubrovnik.

The town of Dubrovnik in the foreground and the island of Lokram in the back. Dubrovnik was bombed pretty heavily by the Serbs (in the attempted conquest for a Greater Serbia) under Milosovic in the early 1990s. The buildings in the old town were damaged by shelling from both the land and the sea and many young men died in the conflict in the city. After the war, much international money flowed into Dubrovnik to rebuild this World UNESCO heritage sight. The city is now being attacked by another, albeit more peaceful, invader----hordes and hordes of cruise ships park in the port and the tourists from all over the world descend upon the city.


photo from http://www.interware.it/sercotec/dubrov1.jpg

According to the UN Security Council ".....For this reason, the Battle of Dubrovnik is significant for law of armed conflict since the military actions of the JNA (Yugoslavian National Army), especially in the early stages of the battle, appear to have caused inordinately extensive damages not only to civilian but also to the cultural, historical and religious property in proportion to what would reasonably have been expected given the number, location and nature of valid military objectives within the District of Dubrovnik." For more information on the Battle of Dubrovnik in 1991-1992 go to
http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/comexpert/ANX/XI-A.htm


On a lighter note, after walking along the entire distance of the city's walls, hot and sweaty, Ashlin and I found this swimming hole and contemplated swimming in our skivvies from this rock. Unfortunately, we saw a restaurant overhead, so instead of providing the restaurant patrons much entertainment during lunch, we went back to our guest house, put on our bathing suits and swam at a proper swimming place.


I misjudged the rocks coming in from the swim, sliced the shin up a bit--which stung like a mother in the extremely salty adriatic, oh well, at least salt cleans out the wounds, right?