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These are recent stories - the rest are in my latest book, "Walking Through Adversity."
Stories about European Trips (2)
Rob bryant2006-01-09 11:30:04
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of the Balkans, I had to fly 2 hours to Zurich, then 1-1/2 hour back in the same direction to Bosnia. The countries hate each other so much, you can't fly from one to the other. I was only 180KMs from Prishtina to Sarajevo, yet had to fly 4 hours back and forth. Bosnia is directly North of the beautiful Adriatic Sea. As we drove through Sarejevo, I saw the famous CNN Tower that was seen by the whole world during the war being blown to bits on live TV. I saw the 1982 Olympic Buildings I remember seeing live almost 20 years before. Even though the US and UN have put Billions into the country, the trains are still not running. The money has found it's way into the pockets of already very wealthy political leaders. I saw huge holes in buildings that people were still living in. I stared at the mountains that surround Sarejevo where Serb cannons shot the city to bits. There is still city water that cannot be consumed due to bodies that have been swept into the water supply and have ruined the water. As we drove through Sarajevo, I was struck by its beauty, yet terrible destruction from the war. Bosnia is one country with three different distinct governments that absolutely cannot get along. There are Serbs, Muslims, and Bosnians who have three different Presidents, police forces, etc. Then to complicate things, the country is divided by a jagged horseshoe looking border that splits the country in two. One is the Federation, the other is the Republic of Serbska composed of Serbs who speak and write in Russian. The country's currencies are Deutch Marks, Kuna, K-Marks, Lyra and Denari. The famous Dayton Peace Accord (signed in Dayton OH), gave 51% of Bosnia to the Serbs, and 49% to the Muslims and Bosnians. Croatia (the next country to the West) was communist until last year (confused - I am), and many Croatians live in South and West Bosnia and have their own governments and currency. That night I slept with a cool air from mountains blowing in the window. After ...
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See photographs from:
Serbia Montenegro Gallery
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Germany Gallery
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Croatia Gallery
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Bosnia-Herzegovina Gallery
