Beautiful Croatia

Croatia occupies the eastern shore of the Adriatic sea just across the water from Italy. For thousands of years it has been the premiere destination for relaxation surrounded by beautiful scenary. The Roman emperor Diocletian built his palace there almost two millenia ago and the rest of Europe has flocked to its beaches for centuries. Torn apart by war in the 90’s, the country has restabilized and is just beginning to experience a rebirth of its tourism industry. The only problem with Croatia is that I won’t be anywhere fucking near the place.

Getting to the southernmost portion of the country, Dubrovnik, is very difficult and/or expensive. I’m not going to blow hundreds of dollars or 24 hours in the process, so I’m opting on a different route to Brian’s place at Prague. Instead of Croatia I’ll be spending a few nights in lovely Belgrade.

“But didn’t we bomb the shit out of those people just a few years ago?” you ask. Why, yes, we did. Slobodan Milosevic was gruesomely terminating an ethnic minority and Clinton decided that it was time to introduce him to a Tomahawk missile. That and a several hundred thousand tons of smart bombs. Thanks to the US’s efforts as part of a UN mission, we leveled the city.

Sadly, Serbia is one of those places that consistently shows up on lonelyplanet.com with warnings such as “Do not ever walk in the grass off the paved roads. Land mines have not been removed.” But, on the plus side, I hear it is one hell of a party city. As my buddy Grant would say, it’s the dog’s bollocks.

With this change of plans there is a much-appreciated benefit: I’ll get to spend more time in Bratislava and perhaps Ljubljana. My chances of seeing Krakow have also greatly increased. I’ll be making this trip by night train tomorrow (which I hope will be better than the night bus to Sofia!) It’s time to cut the moorings, and set sail again. Anchors aweigh, my boy.