I made it into Zagreb, Croatia yesterday afternoon after a 3 hour train ride from Ljubljana. Just to fill all of you in, I left Germany Easter Sunday; got a ride with a girl driving from Freiburg to Munich, then caught a night bus from Munich to Maribor, Slovenia. I had perhaps one of my best couch surfing experiences ever in Maribor. The guy I stayed with lived out in the hills outside Maribor and had a wine cellar fully stocked with his Dad's wine from his vineyard down the road.
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| Swing Dancers in Ljubljana. My host is the Zoran, on the bottom left. |
One observation I've had so far about southeast Europe is that there is a constant theme of "frontiers". Every country sees themselves as on the eastern frontier of Eruope. Germany thinks that it's carrying the burden of the West because of Eastern Germany and Poland. Slovenia sees itself as the frontier of the European Union - the last country to the southeast where Euros are accepted. Croatia is the eastern frontier of Catholicism and sees itself as absorbing the the eastern Orthodox and Muslim influences next door in Bosnia and Montenegro.
I'm sure the further east I go, the more reasons I'll hear for why that particular country I'm in is on the eastern frontier. Bulgaria is the last country before Turkey; Turkey is the last country before the Middle East!
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| A rare sign of Russian presence in Slovenia. This "Russian Chapel" was built right after WWI as a tribute to Russian prisoners of war who died in an Avalanche building a road for the Austro-Hungarians so that they could get troops to the Italian front. |
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| The road built by Russian POWs during WWI |
Overall, the pull is back to the west, though. It is very obvious, here at least, that these "frontiers" are western oriented. Nobody is complaining of being the westnern-most Orthodox country, or having to suffer to the Protestant influence of Germany. I suppose that at some point, Russia's influence will kick in and I'll see a more eastern oriented frontier, but that hasn't happened yet. Maybe in Serbia?
The plan from here is to leave for Banja Luka, Bosnia-Herzogovina on May 1, then on to Sarajevo and then Mostar. I'll be in Belgrade by May 13 and Bucharest by May 20. The Balkans are a pretty small place, but so dense. A month will not be enough to see much at all. I'm doing my best though.
Haha, interesting observation, but I'm not sure where you're going to find a country that sees itself as Russia's eastern frontier. Whatever their outrage over Kosovo, I'd wager most Serbs would rather be in the EU than part of Putin's economic sphere. Perhaps Turkey? Though I found Constantinople to be pretty cosmopolitan and western-loving, and I'm not sure that country sees itself as the frontier between Christendom and the Caliphate so much as the central power between the West and the (Middle) East.
ReplyDeleteI have nothing as cool and in depth as Average Joe up there to say....But rad pictures! Are you at a swing dance in the first one? Be careful baller.
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