Vukovar & Osijek, Croatia

A visit to Eastern Europe wouldn’t be complete without sighting a stork. Besides, we thought it would be nice to start out this post with something gentle and upbeat.


The neighborhood cat (in Vukovar, eastern Croatia) is posing in front of some of the remaining war damage from the Serbo-Croatian war begun in 1991 when the Croatians decided to split from Yugoslavia. It’s quite modest compared with other damage we noticed, with roofs and walls blown away. However, 90% of the town of Vukovar, where we docked, was destroyed as well as 30% of the larger town of Osijek, visited during the stopover. War damage is still much in evidence. The road we took between the towns was known as the graveyard of tanks, as 84 tanks were destroyed on it by Croatian resistance fighters during the war. Seeing even the last bits to be tidied up in these towns made us think of how much of Europe must have looked after the world wars.

The tour proceeded to visit a very funny entrepreneur and his family out in the country. He has brandy and wines and savory treats and cakes for the tourists to try at 10:00 in the morning, plus the all-important toilets. There are displays of fishing gear and crafts and lots of things for sale. Nino puts on a zany presentation in which he manages to actually convey serious information about his country to his unwitting audience. Here he is sporting a Buso mask, asking to be photographed, but which he used to launch into an explanation of the two Battles of Mohacs (in nearby Hungary). The 1st battle was won decisively by the Ottomans in 1526, beginning Ottoman occupation of the region. In the 2nd battle in 1687, the forces of the Holy Roman Empire crushed the Ottomans and the Ottoman army subsequently fell apart, paving the way for Hapsburg forces to gain control over substantial territory. Nino tied the Buso mask to a legend that people from Mohacs were hiding in the forest to avoid Ottoman troops occupying the town. They were told to don scary masks and sneak up on the troops making a lot of noise. The troops, obviously, ran away and the people regained the town. An older legend that’s not as much fun maintains that they chased away Winter. Maybe that’s slightly more plausible.

Looking back to another cheery episode of history (although one not involving armies on the march), we’ve learned that columns that look like this are trinity columns (as in Father, Son and Holy Ghost). They were erected in memory of victims of the Black Death.
A much more recent memorial in Osijek is a crucifix made after the most recent war from machine gun parts left behind.

It is hard to disagree with what seems to be a tour company talking point for guides: every country from time to time does good things and does bad things. Unfortunately, that may be true, but it doesn’t offer much solace for the future. (Cue the music for an upbeat conclusion to this posting.)