.....and I knew from the forecasts that rain was expected while I am here. It's also expected most of the day tomorrow when I go to Herzegovina. Because of the rain, I did a leisurely breakfast at the hotel and went into town around 9:00. The rain had stopped but it was definitely light jacket weather.
I took a different way down the mountain this morning and ran into an old, old neighborhood that must have been amazing in its day. The old mansions are in disarray now but there was a historical plaque, in English. This building was so amazing I couldn't get a real photograph that did it justice. It was originally built by a doctor then had served as the British Embassy after WWI. After the second world war it had briefly been a US Consulate, then an Olympic museum in 1984 before being set on fire in the last war.
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The house beside it was almost as majestic. It had belonged to an attorney and politician and had a five-story turret.
There is so much history packed into this small city of only 400,000.
I spent about three hours just walking the Old Town then headed out toward the airport on the main street that was known as Sniper's Alley during the war. The architecture here quickly became Communist-era.
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One building had an eternal flame dedicated to Tito and the partisans who had fought the Germans here.
Walking further along, and getting into the Sniper's Alley area, I found this Monument to Murdered Children.
Plaques in the background have the names of over 1,600 children killed during the 1992-95 war--most of the victims killed by sniper fire from the surrounding hills.
It started sprinkling so I didn't go all the way to the Holiday Inn where most of the destruction and fighting took place. Here are a couple of the housing blocks that were under constant fire though.
On some days the snipers would just fire onto one floor--say the third--while other days they might just fire at corner apartments. This went on for 3 1/2 years.
I walked back to the Old Town and realized I'd been walking non-stop for four hours. I headed back to the Brewery and this time I splurged and had a salmon dinner with the works and two mugs of beer. Total cost: $14.00.
I walked around probably another hour before heading to the hotel. It was dark and gloomy so I took a nap. When I woke up, the sun was out so I headed back into town, had a pizza for supper and just took a final look around. I came across this parade--don't know what the sign means. Maybe "Americans go home," I don't really know.
This may have been my last trip to the Old Town. Tomorrow I go on a day-long tour into Herzegovina and getting back kind of late. Tuesday I head to the airport in the morning.
I came across a sticker that should be the mantra for diversity advocates. It certainly levels the playing field:
I took a different way down the mountain this morning and ran into an old, old neighborhood that must have been amazing in its day. The old mansions are in disarray now but there was a historical plaque, in English. This building was so amazing I couldn't get a real photograph that did it justice. It was originally built by a doctor then had served as the British Embassy after WWI. After the second world war it had briefly been a US Consulate, then an Olympic museum in 1984 before being set on fire in the last war.
%2B-%2BCopy.jpg)
The house beside it was almost as majestic. It had belonged to an attorney and politician and had a five-story turret.
There is so much history packed into this small city of only 400,000.
I spent about three hours just walking the Old Town then headed out toward the airport on the main street that was known as Sniper's Alley during the war. The architecture here quickly became Communist-era.
.jpg)
One building had an eternal flame dedicated to Tito and the partisans who had fought the Germans here.
Walking further along, and getting into the Sniper's Alley area, I found this Monument to Murdered Children.
Plaques in the background have the names of over 1,600 children killed during the 1992-95 war--most of the victims killed by sniper fire from the surrounding hills.
It started sprinkling so I didn't go all the way to the Holiday Inn where most of the destruction and fighting took place. Here are a couple of the housing blocks that were under constant fire though.
On some days the snipers would just fire onto one floor--say the third--while other days they might just fire at corner apartments. This went on for 3 1/2 years.
I walked back to the Old Town and realized I'd been walking non-stop for four hours. I headed back to the Brewery and this time I splurged and had a salmon dinner with the works and two mugs of beer. Total cost: $14.00.
I walked around probably another hour before heading to the hotel. It was dark and gloomy so I took a nap. When I woke up, the sun was out so I headed back into town, had a pizza for supper and just took a final look around. I came across this parade--don't know what the sign means. Maybe "Americans go home," I don't really know.
This may have been my last trip to the Old Town. Tomorrow I go on a day-long tour into Herzegovina and getting back kind of late. Tuesday I head to the airport in the morning.
I came across a sticker that should be the mantra for diversity advocates. It certainly levels the playing field:
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