It’s ok. It’s Bosnia (c): insight into Bosnia and Herzegovina

We’re all people, and we all have stereotypes about other people. Personally I consider French people to be arrogant, Georgian people – hospitable, Slovenians – very easy to deal with.

Before I started to travel I knew hardly anything about Bosnia: only that its capital is Sarajevo, and it’s Europe. Sorry, Nevena and Nikola, but at least I knew there is no war anymore. However, when I met several Bosnians during the training courses, I shaped one more opinion: everyone in Bosnia speaks English perfectly well. If only I knew how wrong I was))

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a very special, at times paradoxical country. They have 3 presidents(!) and every 4 years they choose a Serb, Croat and Bosniak to represent (not to rule) the country. The country itself is divided into Republica Srpska and Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and employs 180 000 people in public administration and governmental sector. They have only 3 neighbor countries, but own a coastline of 21 kilometers squeezed between Croatia and…Croatia. They have 3 official languages: Serbian, Croatian (very often it’s simply called Serbo-Croatian because of very slight differences) and Bosnian: I wonder if even Bosnians can tell the difference; and write both in Latin and Cyrillic alphabets.

And yes, there is no war. Bosnians repeat it all the time to foreigners: come on, guys, it finished in 1995, it’s almost 20 years ago for now.

My Bosnian adventure started with crossing the border and trying to buy coffee at Jajce bus station. Trying my best and Croatian ‘kavu s mlijekom, molim Vas’, I got my coffee, Orbit and even a change from 2 euros! Basically, with good negotiating skills you can get a coffee, a chewing gum, WC and a tram ticket for 2 euros only (compare to the Hague: 3 euros for a 5-minute tram trip).

Nikola and Nevena became my guides into Bosnian culture and mentality.

 First of all, you can hardly find a person who speaks English. Looking for a tram stop, I tried to figure out whether tram 1 was going that way. Nothing. No answer. ‘Tramvaj broj jedan, ovdje?’ (usually I use Croarian in the bakery or for a small talk only). Then a small boy aged 9 or 10 told me: ‘Yes’. Happy to see someone I could communicate, I went on: ‘How much does a ticket cost?’ He pretended to be numb and ignored me)) It’s ok, it’s Bosnia.

The education is free. Nikola explained it to me: ‘Yes, it’s free, but there is an entrance fee of 50 euros, and then you pay 20 more plus 10 more, plus…’ And everyone smokes. You see a group of teenagers at the bus station smoking, you see students smoking in the canteen, you see an officer smoking in the ministry! How come? It’s ok, it’s Bosnia.

Ukraine is known for its bribery. It’s true that deputies buy mandates in the government, students buy their grades at university, everyone pays doctors and policemen. But even I, a born Ukrainian, got my portion of amusement here in Bosnia.

- Do we have to buy tickets for the train to get from Sarajevo to Banja Luka?

- Sure, no. You’ll see.

The thing is that train tickets are checked twice: on the territory of Federation and Republica Srpska, thus, you have to take care about both conductors. This is how it’s done. One coming to our compartment: ‘Tickets!’

Us: no tickets, we are students, can you take 6 marks (3 euros) for both?

He: I don’t know if I can (already stretching his hand to take money). Mission completed. Instead of 16 euros each, we spent 8 euros both for 187 km. It’s ok, it’s Bosnia.

Bosnians feel really ironical about their country and themselves. Nevertheless, this Balkan country is not only about bureaucracy, low (compared to Europe) prices, bribery and unjust political system.

They have an amazing capital Sarajevo, rich in history and cultural heritage. On the territory with 150-meter radius you can find a mosque, Catholic and Orthodox churches and Jewish synagogue. They naturally combine Turkish and European cultures: you see Adidas and Mango shops neighboring cheap Turkish jewelry markets, next to Bosnian čevabdžinica there is a rahat-lukum shop, women with covered head feel free at university next to fully made-up chicks on high-heeled shoes.

While staying in Banja Luka together with Nevena we managed to see an impressive youth initiative – ‘Rock symphony’ concert organized by a music academy. Young performers: solo, guitars, violins, a choir, a pianist and a drummer were playing ‘Show must go on’, ‘Skyfall’, ‘The one I used to know’ in a way I was mesmerized (you should believe me, I saw Madonna and Marilyn Manson concerts live). The professor was conducting the orchestra, and a crowd of people who didn’t manage to get tickets, was standing in doors. A truly amazing performance that proves wherever there is a great idea, it can me implemented.

 I’m a coffee maniac, and in this aspect I feel really related to Bosnia. Bosnians can easily drink coffee for an hour adding ‘gossip spice’ to it. Generally, Bosnian coffee is cooked in džezva, served with sugar cubes, rahat lukum and a glass of water with cinnamon and clove, with the main ingredient – gossips. This is another thing they can’t live without.

 And the last thing. If you don’t want to insult Bosnians, remember: burek exists only with meat. No potatoes (it’s krumpiruša), no cheese (it’s sirnica), no zucchini but meat. And in case you start feeling tired of bureks and čivapi (another amazing national meat dish), drop to a good restaurant and you’ll be amazed how a good meal with a glass of good wine in one of the best restaurants of Banja Luka found in a real fortress can cost 11 euros per person.

Indeed, Bosnia and Herzegovina is an amazing country!

Kisses and hugs, Juliya.

The first month in Zagreb

         So here I am back again, my last post I finish with sentence that Zagreb is a city full of suprises and now I know I wasn’t wrong  because the things I discovered since I m here are more than suprising.

Sljeme and Menza are the two names you should learn if you gonna read my post, because they will gonna be used often not only in this, but also in following posts for that I am sure.

No these are not girl names or names of my favorite beers :D
         Sljeme is picturesque mountain on which southern side is lying city of Zagreb and which is outdoor sport paradise in a city outskirt.  Actually, this mountains  real name is Medvenica, but locals call it Sljeme which is name of Medvenice highest peak.
           For me Sljeme is special because  it is a place where I can escape the rush of the city and enjoy the serenity of nature besides it only takes 15 minutes of biking to get there.

         Menza is the other name to remember why it is special, because it is a student canteen where you can eat a lot of decent food for fantastic money and meet a bunch of nice people.

6 kunas lunch - They say that picture say more then thousand words.

While beeing in Zagreb I been going around quite a lot on one of these trips I noticed a sign which said LIDL 3 km. For most people it is just another cheap groccery shop, but not for me, Lidl for me is synonym for my favorite icecream with which I have years long history.

This strawberyy Icecream became my favorite when I was 12 years old and then by some reason they stop to sell it in Latvian shops I was sad in the beginning but years pass and I got over it.

It was 7 years later, I went on a Eurotrip and it was one of these days when outside is so hot that all you want to do, is to try one icream after another,  I discovered that Lidl sells I cream which has the exact same taste as childhood strawberry icecream, needles to say that I was high. 

After that  day since everytime I went to a Country where they have Lidl it was obligation for me to buy and merclessly kill atleast one box of this icecram per visit.

Yes it is one liter box, and yes sometimes I regret my greediness after finishing this box on my own, but the craving for this icecream were so imense that there was no other way how to feed my hunger.

Sounds crazy? It is :D

So Zagreb give me one more suprise Lidl with my favorite icecream and for three days in a row I went to buy 1  ice cream and eat it on my own to feel the pleasure and the pain which follwed.

The strangest thing happen one week later, I was going near by Lidl shop and I stop to buy my favorite icream, after a while of pondering I realise that I don't want it anymore.

With abundance of icecream there were no craving and no need to buy another one. The magic with icecream was gone, but I got to repeat a great learning point about how absurd our brain tend to work.

Discovering Zagreb and Romania in the same time !

My dear friend, Ilinca, born in Romania is now living in Zagreb since 20 years ago. She is married and she has two beautiful children, is performing ballet since to a very young age. Because of my birthday I received from her a ticket for ballet premiere at The National Theatre Zagreb. 

I didn't know nothing about The National Theatre Zagreb just only where is placed and ... that's all.

Waiting for the three plays to begin ( The female manuscript, Dracula, Budoir - One crazy night)  to begin, sitting on our places, meanwhile watching the beauty of the architecture and all those building details, I hear Ilinca saying: Did you know that The National Theatre Zagreb was built by a Romanian architect the same that built the National Theatre from your city Iasi? No, I answered, continuing to staring to the architecture and telling to myself: Romanians are really talented and smart.

The National Theatre ZAGREB - Inside view 

 The National Theatre IAȘI












The National Theatre ZAGREB

Already they turned off the lights, the music began and I heard Ilinca whispering: The music and choreography are made by the Romanians. Oh, and look, that guy who is playing Dracula is from Romania too. 

I ask her amazed: How many Romanians are performing ballet here? Mmm... We are 11, she said.

I couldn't say one word. I was deeply impressed.

After the beautiful show she said: Let's go backstage to meet them! 

Trying to follow her, and hearing how is speaking romanian, meet them and speak with them it was an indescribable feeling in words. Ilinca said: You will come to others concerts here ! 

Now, for sure you will say that I am proud of my country because of this. And is normal. I really am! :)

And I'm not proud only for this... since I was in high school ( and starting to be conscious by the beauty and capacity of my country) I felt that every Romanian has a very deep talent, something special, something good and now I see that they have something common: the power to fight for their passion and to do it better every day, even if sometimes is hard, difficult and you want to give up. For sure we are fighters. 

Greetings from Croatia, 

Carmen 

One month, thirteen days, and a few hours (Jorge's thoughts)

One month, thirteen days, and a few hours… it is more than enough time to notice about a lot of things. 

Zagreb it is a good place to live, it is rather quiet but at the same time there are people all around. Locals are very polite people and they are always willing to help you if you need them. It is amazing the fact that almost everybody it is able to speak a good English (of course better than mine) I really like how polite people are and they never say “no” if you ask them something.

Living abroad with people from other different countries it is not always easy but I am definitely dealing with this pretty well. It is not so easy to spend the most of the time with the same people around (We live together, eat together, stay in the office together and go to Croatian lessons together) but are not trying to kill each other (not yet at least).

The hardest challenge until now it is the language, I am not so good in foreign languages as my flat mates ok but Croatian seems to be specially hard for me, of course I am trying my best but still is not enough at all. Sometimes I think that would be much better for improve my Croatian if anybody here could speak in English… but it is ok, I am not claiming about this…

No homesick at this point, just missing sometimes my real good friends and family, but there is no drama here, until now it is something I can control it. I am missing some Andalucian food, because it was almost a holly habit to have a toast with jam in the morning… but I will survive (Even more now that I know some good food is coming from my city!)

We are about to visit Graz and it will be the first time I leave Croatia in all this time. I really want to travel so this is going to be the beginning of all my trips.

The goal is still the same, try to learn as much as possible, stay fine, try to have some fun and meet a lot of different people.

One month, thirteen days, a few hours and a few minutes… I still have time to reach my goal.

Vidimo se!

Five emotions of September

Being blissfully happy.

Croatian food, or better to say food in Croatia evokes a storm of emotions in such a gastromaniac as me: classic burek s mesom and burek sa sirom, grilled(!) corn, ‘street food festival’ 40-sm beef hot-dog I could hardly hold with both hands, amazing cream cheese brownie a-la mode served with ice-cream in ‘The cookie factory’ and all kinds of sladoled from local slastičarnica with chocolate chili ice-cream on top of the chart.

I can’t imagine going abroad without trying something special, and consider every trip to be a good trip as long as it meets 2 criteria: 1. trying good food; 2. feeling happy for at least a few seconds. And there are moments that combine both: for example, accidentally meeting 3 Kazach people in Zagreb tram and having dinner with them in one of the best restaurants in Zagreb – ‘Mano’ with amazing seafood, perfect Croatian white wine (previously I was sure it doesn’t exist in nature) and long talks in Russian. Indeed, I need very little to feel happy.

Being curious.

When people hear I can’t ride a bike, the first thing I hear in response is ‘How come?’ Yep, shit happens. But I ride a horse, and wouldn’t mind getting one to go to the office)) Anyway, before coming to Croatia I decided this year to be the year of new skills, and one of them – riding a bike. Why not? It’s not learning a new language (although also planned), or getting my second Master’s degree, but small things also count, right?

I needed one hour with Andris as a coach to learn how to saddle a bike, ride straight, try to turn, almost hit 2 people, 1 sign, a police car and kill myself)) Today empty Dolac market in the evening is my favorite cycling pitch which seems to be safe both for me and people.

Feeling WTH?

No one likes police: policemen, who stop you on the road, fine you for drinking alcohol in public places or tell you the rules you’ve never heard about. While staying on the territory of Croatia for 3 weeks I managed to commit a felony – for non-registration in the police station within 48 hours upon my arrival.

If only Croatian embassy in Ukraine published relevant info on official website or border control informed me about this bonus-option… no one would be obliged to pay 65 euros. But of course, we decided to go Ukrainian way meaning to prepare a pile of documents, write an appeal and hope for the best. In the next 6 months (yes, thanks goodness, bureaucracy in Croatia works with the same speed as everywhere) we’ll probably get an answer. To be continued…

Inspired? No, superinspired.

When preparing our first Syncloud event ‘Get Inspired’, me and Cosmina were interviewing different interesting people to learn their inspirational stories and share them with others: a girl who made an Atlantic circle being 23, a member of Yugoslavian expedition who 35 years ago conquered Everest by climbing a new route, Vida – amazing mother and woman who shared her secret how to combine both. All of them told us that they are getting inspired by other people and their life stories. This is also true about me. One of the endless source of inspiration for me – 2 Ukrainian girls who crossed 40,000 km and 14 countries hitchhiking, with almost no money in their pockets but passionate wish to achieve their goal.

Of course, I’m far from being Morozova (80 level), but my first European hitchhiking trip just happened last weekends. Imagine a Bosnian guy coming to a Ukrainian girl in Croatia to make a trip to Slovenia and visit our common friend.

And then a few more episodes: us in the middle of nowhere waiting for a car to return to Croatia but seeing only tractors with corn passing by, going to Kidričevo-middle-of-nowhere to couchsurf, crossing border on foot, sitting in one car with a priest and his wife who spoke perfect German and were eager to share their life story, and a major componenet – getting stuck somewhere where I expected to be eaten by mosquitoes and starve to death. But actually I enjoyed it. Try to go for a weekend abroad for 20 euros (including 3-course meal in a restaurant). Not bad, not bad, right?

  And a little bit of nostalgia, of course.

Everything is perfect: the job of my dream I enjoy every moment, short weekend trips to countries I have never been before, lots of new and new people both locals and foreigners who use our couchsurfing hospitality; new things, new food, enough time for concerts, sport, dancing whatever.

But then this strange feeling of nostalgia inevitably comes. And it’s not about missing Ukraine or family (I’m used to seeing my family once in 3 months at least), but best friends. Those 2 people I used to spend much time with, and sometimes not even people but thinking alike, understanding each other from the first 2 words, doing the same things and sharing a lot.

But life is about finding and losing. And I hope I’ll meet, or even better – find my 2 dear people soon in Europe: Croatia, or Slovenia, or Hungary, the place doesn’t matter. And there will be a huge-huge reunion.

Kisses and hugs, Juliya.

Vida Ungar shares her experience of how to be a good mother and not to lose yourself

- Having come to Zagreb only 1 month ago, we didn’t know many people here, and when asking for people whose stories can inspire others, we heard your name: amazing woman and amazing mother who knows how to keep balance between the two.

- I don’t know how to bring up children but I know what I do with mine. One of the first things I did when I got pregnant was reading books about motherhood and I really didn’t like advice I read there: a child should sleep here, you should breastfeed like this, everything was like…you have to organize and reorganize your life for them, but it doesn’t sound right.

And then I read a book and there was a great idea: once you have kids, it’s a good idea to involve children into your life, not to disconnect them from your life. I don’t have to stop having my life once I become a mom, I should bring kids into my life and basically, that’s the only thing I do all the time. Of course, my life changed and kids bring many new things in my life, like I see everything new way through the eyes of my kids, but I don’t feel disconnected.

- Tell us the story of taking your 2-months daughter for kayaking.

Me and my man like sea, and once we decided that we need a vessel: some ship, a boat or something. This is how we came up with an idea to buy kayak. And when Inka was born (and she was born in June), the summer started and it was absolutely perfect. We put her in front of my legs, she had a perfect cradle there, I put the blanket over her, because of the sun and the sea and she would sleep there immediately. We traveled that summer a lot.

- What have you learnt from your kids?

My daughter is like a role model for me. She is totally free, she has a free spirit and is not spoilt with the world around her. She doesn’t feel restrictions in the way she thinks or the way she acts.

This summer we went to Kornati for about 10 days in a house; we were looking for Robinson kind of tourism. It had really beautiful nature. She was like Mowgli, like this character from the cartoons. You can see it her body that she is so free, and so open-minded to everything, so curious.  I told my friend that I would like to be like her because she really enjoys life in the best way possible, and she really has no restrictions.

For example, when you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up, she says: ‘Oh, I want to be everything!’ And I think it’s great, the best thing ever.

    - Being so open-minded and discovering the world every minute, does your daughter still believe in Santa Claus?

She totally believes in Santa Claus, and she has a very sophisticated theory. She also believes in Peter Pan.  She doesn’t only believe in him, but she is in love with him and she will get married with him. Once, playing with her brother she said: ‘I will marry Peter Pan’ and her brother told her: ‘No, you can not marry him, he doesn’t exist.’ She was very frustrated and she was fighting with him that this is not true. At last, she said: ‘No, he exists, and he exists in the fantasy world!’

- What do you do now?

I’m happily unemployed, but of course, if I’m unemployed officially, it doesn’t mean I don’t work. I teach Portuguese, I translate books from Portuguese, and I develop and do some outdoor projects, and I’m also writing texts for a new website Nature park Medvednica that we have round here in Zagreb.  It’s very difficult for me to have a normal job because I like some many things and I like so many people. And then I would have to restrict myself to only one thing and I don’t see me like this. I try to be everything)

- What inspires you?

Apart from my kids, people inspire me a lot. People and life stories, especially the ones who don’t follow dogmatic laws and social rules. Now I’m questioning this dogmatic morality very much, and when raising children it’d be very easy to give them ready formulas: you have to behave like this, your goals should be…but it doesn’t feel right somehow. And people who inspire me…those who live with ‘the moral law inside them’ and not by some rules that were given by society, school, family or anything else.

- What is the main principle of your life?

To do things I like with people I like.

Dado about Everest, Outward Bound and inspiration

We heard a lot about you as a member of Everest expedition, director of ‘Outward Bound’ and enterpreneur. Still, what do you consider your biggest achievement in life?

Actually, Everest is the biggest achievement. Let me say that it happened in a very limited time – two and a half years, and it was very intensive. Really intensive. After all that I said to myself: now I can do anything in my life, I am full of energy and inspiration. It was incredible and fantastic experience.

What was special about it?

You have to know that there are different kinds of climbing, and this expedition took place 35 years ago. What happened is that this climb was called ‘the first ascent’ which means it is not an ordinary route to the top of the world which the majority of people use. Thousands of people go to Everest every year, but this time it was a new route: we were alone and nobody knew how to do it.

Sure, we were preparing for 2 and a half years, but the ascent was from the beginning completely new, which meant 25 climbers were working together to achive this goal. Of course, it was rather complicated and dangerous. One of the members actually died. But that is in brief.

How old were you when the expedition started?

I was 29 years old, but we started two year before, so I was 27. There was a call for all mountaineering clubs and organisations, and everybody was invited to participate, but the rules and requirements were strict, and you needed the minimum score to enter it. Exactly like in Olympic Games: if someone wants to run or jump, he must have a certain level of experience and skills.

So, we were invited and started to train every day. Like in Olympics. After the final selection only 25 people left. The goal was to climb a completely new route on the map of the world, and we did it. The expedition lasted 108 days. The climbing was 45 days, compare with Olympics that last 14 days. The attempt and personal strenght were enormous. We used 13 km of rope and pulled up 6 tones of equipment for 25 people. I just want to point out that it was really a big effort.

During your expedition to Everest, were there any moments when you told yourself it was time to quit?

Never. When you have a good goal, motivation, team – the best in the world at that time, personal strength and spirit, you can do it. We were well-prepared for it. Actually, what happened during this long journey is that I got sick, many expedition members had breathing problems, and it was cold. I wasn’t physically prepared to go to the summit. But in this kind of expeditions it’s important that just one member reaches the summit, and then the goal of the team is reached. I want to compare it with football: when one player scores the final goal, it’s done. From 25 members, 4 people from our country reached the summit.

And afterwards you ran your own travel agency. How did you start your own business?

Ten years ago I started to run a travel agency. It was really a difficult task. Starting a business without money is stupid. And difficult, nervous, full of doubs. I didn’t have any financial education, I am an IT engineer. It was also some kind of Everest in a completely different enviroment and conditions, but I succeded to survive.

And how did you come up with the idea of Outward Bound?

I read about Outward Bound system in UK but didn’t think about it. Once, a friend of mine who moved to the USA many years ago, called me and asked: Would you like to join Outward Bound? I agreed immediately.

 At the beginning of its existence OB offered a special course for military purposes and police, and more often, like in US, war veterans came in OB to recover and become socialised after hard experience.

In Croatia we mostly work with young people who come here to learn leadership, gain personal strenght and get experience to cope with life difficulties.  

You have such a great experience behind your shoulders and serve as a source of inspiration for young people, but do you have someone or something to inspire you?

Yes, of course. I have a lot of ideas, maybe too many sometimes) I started to test facebook, LinkedIn and other networks to see how people will react to my ideas, and it was really great. They said: ‘Wow! That’s a good idea, call me again.’ And it opened new opportunities and added motivation to what I’m doing and plan to do.