Since the election, I have begun rewatching Ken Burn’s Civil War series. Yes, I am plunging the depths of my despair these days. This is because I have been exposed to the aftereffects of modern civil war, with our Croatian holiday. In the runup to this vacation, Anne and I questioned each of our dads, whether they had ever visited this country before. Both had done extensive international travel, but when they were traveling, the Balkans were a no-go zone. YouTube influencers cautioned us not to broach the subject of this conflict with the locals. Arriving with boots on the ground this idea was especially reinforced. The British travel company that we had signed up with for our bicycle tour, had subcontracted the actual bike tour guide work to a Serbian company. Both of our guides, Bela and Božo (pronounced Bo-jo), were Serbian nationals and Božo was old enough to have served in the war. The one exception to this silence was the Memorial Room of Dubrovnik Defenders, a place of remembrance that we visited. Most of the photos in this post were taken at this site.

Since we were in-country there have been new world developments. Both Serbia and Croatia announced that they were each reintroducing their draft. Also, Croatia announced that it is purchasing 36 modern German Leopard tanks, while selling their older Russian tanks to Ukraine. Ukranian President Zelensky visited Dubrovnik for a conference while we were there. Security arrangements for his visit disrupted the city. On that day we left the bike tour and moved closer to old town. Our Uber driver “treated” us to an angry diatribe denouncing the comedian Zelensky. The drumbeat of war is getting louder in the Balkans and Putin’s shadow longer. In our post-election blues, while we sit here dejectedly navel gazing, remember that the world moves on, and we must too.