Why would a country like this ever have a war? From the moment you enter Croatia on the railroad you see the perfect country. The farms, of wheat and hay and corn, are perfect, in perfect rows, harvested by perfectly modern equipment-harvesters and tractors and such. Zagreb seems to be a city without slums. The suburbs are immaculate with modest-sized homes all made of some kind of reddish wood. None are garishly large. The city is clean, the trams are efficient and air conditioned, mostly. Everyone has the same religion, Roman Catholicism, and the city shuts down on Sunday like perfect little catholics would.
The only hint of discontent is the grafitti. I've never seen so much grafitti. Every wall seems to have some. And the railroad cars in the Zagreb rail yard are all covered in that ugly pseudo-gothic lettering that once infected every New York City subway car. I also saw a short cartoon on the TV in the hostel this morning that parodied students living off the sweat of the working class. One disheveled 'student' had a joint in his mouth, the universal signal of the wastrel. Apparently there is some disagreement within the country about the merits of subsidizing college educations. I'm glad we never have that debate in the States. (irony alert)
I didn't accomplish much today--too hot. I spent hours searching for the local swimming hole, a beach that they set up near the Nava River. Really it was just a Lake Merritt writ small. But it made for a nice, cooling experience once I found it. I got lost--as usual--despite good directions from the hostel manager. All I seemed to do all day was walk and drink apple/orange juice. Walk a few kilometers, then stop and buy a fruit juice. Repeat endlessly. But at least I found the lake and had a dip.
I'm hoping to grab a train to Slip on the Adriatic tomorrow.
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