Somewhere in Australia in a dusty forgotten box I have a heavy black compass that was one of my great-grandfather’s tools of trade. My great-grandfather was nominally Czech because his family home was in Opava near the current border of the Czech Republic and Poland. But he was born in the late 19th C – […]
Also tagged bosnia, europe, forest, history, wildlifeWalking through the woods, foraging for mushrooms, I suddenly freeze. Is it safe to step here? This is not an idle fear. Parts of Bosnia have yet to be cleared of land mines and while most of the danger areas are known and marked accidents do still happen from time to time. My dubious grasp […]
Also tagged bosnia, europe, land mines, wildfoodIt is only two days after attending a party, uninvited, on the Croatian Bosnian border that I find myself inadvertently gate-crashing another gathering. But this time I am the very first guest to arrive. In fact I arrive before the hosts do. It’s the end of a long hot day in the mountains and I […]
Also tagged bosnia, europeThe evening with its fading light is my favourite time of day and the midsummer gloaming affords a slow lingering glow to bask in long after the brute force of the sun has gone. But tonight my pleasure is tempered by unease. I’m approaching the Croatian border with Bosnia. All land borders are scored into […]
Also tagged croatia, europeMost people in south-eastern Europe don’t like the term ‘the Balkans’ and don’t use it to refer to themselves. And there is no real agreement as to exactly what area the name refers to, even amongst people who do use it, so I’m going to try to avoid it. If there is a single thing […]
Also tagged croatia, europe