Day 8 - Monday, May 5 - Osijek and Vulovar Croatia
Our tour today started at 1:30 p.m. We were sailing most of the morning and didn't arrive at Vukovar, Croatia until noon.
Much of this town and the other town we visited, Osijek, was rebuilt about 1991 after the war with Serbia finally came to an end. Much of the country was destroyed by Serbia.
Our first stop on this bus tour was to a Roman Catholic Church, Church of the Glorious Name of Mary. As we drove through the streets to get to the church there were many buildings that had not yet been rebuilt while others look very nice since they were rebuilt after 1991.
The majority of the population in Croatia is Roman Catholic. The church on the outside, was plain but the inside, once again just like yesterday, was beautiful. Certainly not as ornate as yesterday in Serbia but nonetheless beautiful. We were treated to a short 15 minute concert by a woman who had a beautiful voice. She sings with an acapella group and travels around the world. We were told that the group had won many awards.
Our next stop on the bus was a fortress, that the Ottomans built in the 14th century. It's not a UNESCO world heritage site as it is missing some of its original gates and therefore is not a complete fortress. During this walk we were able to see some of the college campus next to the fortress. Again these buildings were in very nice shape while others still had bullet holes in it from the war of 1991.
Our last stop was at a home of a couple and their daughter. We were a group of 10 and spent about an hour with the couple. They served tea and coffee and an apple cake. We were able to ask any questions we wanted and they fully answered every one of them. Nothing was off limits. We talked about the war and how the Serbians took over their house and they had to leave their home. They were exiled from their homes for 8 years during the course of the war. She, her sister and her mother, who had been a principal at the local elementary school were sent to Salzburg Austria for 7 months to teach. This was done at the behest of the Croatian government so that they would be safe. None of the Croatian men were allowed to leave as they were required to stay in the event the military needed them.
When they were able to return to their house, it had been destroyed over 70% and they spent much time getting it rebuilt with the financial help of the new Croatian government. We also talked about health care and taxes (40%) of their salary as well as the population's abilitiy to speak English. English is a second language in the schools and they start to learn English in kindergarten.
It was certainly eye-opening to spend an hour with a local family with no questions off limits and to hear their story.
We returned to the ship at about 6:00 p.m. and dinner followed.
Tonight we leave Croatia and sail through the night and enter Hungary around noon tomorrow.
What beautiful photos! So glad that you were able to spend time with the local people. I know that English is taught in schools in Europe.
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