A Sampling of Countries

The past week and a half has been like a small sampling platter of little-known countries from Central Europe for us to taste and savor. The first flavor we experienced was seeped in ancient beauty. A busload of students ventured to the village of Český Krumlov in the Czech Republic, where we found Professor Lanier’s description of the town as "a place that never left the 15th century," to be true. Amid the cobblestone streets was a castle and gardens perched upon a hill, a monastery brewing beer, a river meandering through the village, and bears guarding the palace entrance. Danny and I were intrigued by the stores full of marionettes and sweet cinnamon rolls.

The second flavor of the week was brief but luxurious in Ljubljana, Slovenia. On our 15 hour bus transfer from Austria to Croatia we spent the night in this capital city. I was charmed by the mix of old and new architecture, the snow-capped mountains, and new language. In a large group, we ate arguably the best meal on the trip so far, in a traditional Bosnian restaurant. The waitress brought out plate after plate of sumptuous dishes and we gorged ourselves with each course. I didn’t have any preexisting schema to anticipate what Bosnian food tastes like, and I still lack the vocabulary to do it justice, but it was amazing. Meat dishes, salad dishes, breads, it was truly a feast.

The next country we savored was a small village by the Adriatic Sea in Bosnia Herzegovina. We stopped for coffee, treats, and soaked up the sunshine, the first since arriving in Austria. Our journey through Bosnia was on a small two lane highway through curvaceous mountains that brought spectacular views with each twist.

A few more hours of driving and we encountered our final flavor of the summer school course: salty, tropical, and a little gritty; Croatia. We arrived at our hotel and were greeted by the blue clear water and skies of the Adriatic. We are staying in a small ocean village called Mlini, close to the gorgeous, walled city of Dubrovnik.

Our simplistic hotel is the site where less than twenty years prior, the Serbian rebel forces stayed while they bombed the surrounding area. To this day, there are the standing shells of former five star hotels sitting unused and lonely on the coast’s edge. Our lodgings are less accommodating than Danny had anticipated. I laughed at his antics and tried to point out the fact that our room was less than twenty feet from the ocean, but between the overwhelming smell of ant-killer, wiring coming out of the wall, flooding in the bathroom, a nonfunctioning room phone and air conditioner, and finally, a four inch centipede crawling onto the bed, Danny argued our way into a room change.

Since arriving we have indulged in the sand, sun, cold ocean water, boat cruises, island tours, parasailing, kayaking, cave exploring, and visits to Dubrovnik. It has been a delicious change from the cold and dreary days in Austria. Studying has been a near impossibility for all of the law students with the gleam of the sun and water shining in their eyes. Conversely, my biggest challenge and responsibility of the day has been preventing sunburn while I frolic on the beach. We are unquestionably “on vacation” now.

Danny is eager for the ferry ride to Italy, and I am excited to start traveling on our own. There is only one day left of class for Danny, and then a farewell dinner before the law program ends. It has been fantastic meeting and becoming friends with all of the law students from Missouri, Florida, and Atlanta. We share some amazing travel stories and experiences together that we won’t soon forget. We are hoping to take up a few of the offers, and visit our new friends in their respective states.

Until next time (when we will be in Rome!), Do videnja (Good bye in Croatian).