While you’re busy searching for him, I’m headed to the western Balkans. I’ll be staying throughout the country of Croatia, with a few day trips out of the country.
Borders, I have known a few.
I’ll cross some more this trip. Croatia is in the Schengen Area (as I learned last year, basically meaning open borders between countries) as is Slovenia, but Bosnia & Herzegovina (that’s one country, not two), and Montenegro are not. Guides I read said some border crossings are terrible, some are basically un-manned, and it can depend day to day. As I was deciding where to go, I also had to think about the order of how to get there – some countries are less friendly, and there is a lot of discourse in the area, so some border crossings won’t let you through, depending on how your passport has been stamped.
Where am I not going.
I considered, but didn’t add, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Albania and Serbia. All could have been logistically added, but some are less stable than others (physically and politically). The more I learned, the less I supported the politics of some of those areas as well, so was reluctant to support their tourism economy (and didn’t really want to end up in a Serbian gulag).
Money
Euros! For the most part I’ll be able to use Euros on this trip, which is great because I still have a bunch left over from last year. Croatia adopted the Euro effective Jan 1, 2023. Slovenia has been using it since 2007, and Montenegro since 2002. (Montenegro had been using the German “Mark” prior to that. I assume I’ll learn more about that later.) Bosnia&Herzegovina (We’re going to say B&H from now on) uses the Bosnian Convertible Mark. And you can’t buy them outside of the country, so I’ll be going in with a credit card, sad puppy dog eyes, and the hope that one or the other will still score me some snacks.
Languages
I’ll be in Croatia the majority of the time. Their main language is, of course, Croatian. They also have a lot of minority languages that are often recognized legally, including Serbian, Czech, Italian, Hungarian, Slovak, and Romani. I don’t speak any of those languages, though I do often say scuză (Romanian, generally meaning “excuse me”) – I learned it last year, and it’s so efficient to say. It’s similar to the Minnesotan “ope,” but exotic and in the States, has the added benefit of making me seem foreign, and thus I can successfully avoid small talk.
Croatian is a loud language. It sounds a bit angry, like German, but with the energy and wine consumption of Italian. I learned a handful of words and phrases, and trust that when I find myself drunk on wine and olive oil, I’ll become even more fluent.
History
Croatia declared independence on June 25, 1991. The simplistic version (which is the only version I understand) is, before then, it was a part of Yugoslavia.
Yugoslavia (technically, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) was a country that existed from 1918 to 1992.
Yugoslavia was a combination of 6 separate republics – Bosnia&Herzegovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia and Serbia. Serbia also had two autonomous areas – Kosovo and Vojvodina.
Serbia and Montenegro were combined as a state until 2006.
Kosovo declared independence (for the second time) in 2008, which is still disputed (mainly by Serbia.) The first time they declared independence was in 1990; their independence was recognized and supported by Albania…but Yugoslavia never really stopped their control/occupation, especially militarily, and it wasn’t recognized by any other countries. In 1999, NATO got involved, with demands of Yugoslavia to stop the violence/control and ethnic cleansing that they were still perpetuating. It got ugly, and NATO bombed targets in both Yugoslavia and Kosova. The war “ended” with Milošević (Yugoslavia’s leader) agreeing to allow UN peacekeepers into Kosovo and withdrawing all security forces.
The UN then tried to broker a new, negotiated country. The EU and the US supported the plan (the creation of which was led by the Finnish). Serbia and Russia rejected the plan, and China is also opposed to Kosovo’s independence, in case you weren’t sure who was on what side of this “dispute.” Russia basically said they’d never support it – and they have UN veto power. Because of Russia’s stance, the UN plan officially fell apart in 2007, which is why in 2008 Kosovo said “screw you.” and just declared their own independence, without waiting for the UN to get their crap together.
In 2010, the International Court of Justice ruled that the declaration for independence was legal – but Serbia/Russia (and a minority of others) still refuse to recognize it. The wars, and the lack of status, is in part why we’ve seen to many refugees and families relocate. (Mom and Grandma actually have a very nice Kosovo-ian family that live across from them; the children have a particular love for the candy mom gives them, and the husband has been enlisted to change a light bulb or two.)
While all of that was happening, from 1993-2017, tribunals were happening for political and military leaders of the former Yugoslavia for war crimes.
This history is still fresh, and raw, and visitors are cautioned not to bring it up – so I’m not actually sure how much recent history I’ll learn on this trip. (There is a lot of really old history that I’ll still get to learn, I’m sure.)
Though I’m not sure how accurate this is, I’m thinking of the region like the former USSR. Serbia is Russia. Kosovo is…I don’t know. I think Crimea, sort of? It seems like the rest of the countries are in alignment, because they don’t want to become Ukraine.
In 2022, Kosovo submitted an application to be a part of the EU. Albania, B&H, Montenegro, and Serbia also have submitted applications at various stages in the process. Croatia and Slovenia have already been admitted. (Croatia, Slovenia and Montenegro are also part of NATO.)
What’s the plan?
I don’t know what the EU’s plan is, just mine. I gave myself a little more freedom in my schedule (as color coded in a google doc) to give myself a bit more downtime in each of the 3 main cities I’m staying in. I also decided to stay in apartments instead of hotels this time, so I could get a little more comfortable (and do laundry.)
Souvenirs
Speaking of laundry – I only brought a carry-on suitcase (and I’ll be gone about three weeks). That means no one gets any gifts this trip, myself included. Hopefully you can just cherish my happiness, and that is gift enough? Or I can try and grab an extra bag of peanuts on the flight back, if that helps.
Are you there yet?
I’m traveling through Germany to get there – absolutely not the most direct route, but I can see one of my friends I met last year. I was able to book my transatlantic flights in advance, and then my European flights to and from Croatia on other airlines. I’ll get in sometime Monday evening, local time (It is a 7 hour time difference).
P.S.
Happy Mother’s Day everyone!
