Sunday April 28, 2019

Where to begin - we've had a very busy two weeks packed with family and fun.  I'll start with the week we missed posting last Sunday.

We are getting a new refugee project underway with our good partners Merhamet.  We dropped by their Sarajevo office to have the agreements signed.  They took several photos and their president dropped in to say hello.  Now we are in the news again:

https://www.merhamet.ba/2019/04/15/donacija-merhametovog-americkog-partnera-lds-charities-vrijedna-vise-od-20-000-km/

My sister Barbara and brother-in-law Dennis arrived on Wednesday April 17.  We allowed them time to unpack a few things and use the rest room before we started showing off Sarajevo.  We had to keep them awake until bedtime to help with the jet lag adjustment.  We drove downtown to see our chapel, the eternal flame, the Latin Bridge and a few other things before eating at our favorite restaurant.

Barbara and Dennis by the Eternal Flame

Thursday was Zone Conference for us.  We let Barbara and Dennis catch up on sleep until early afternoon.  John picked them up after lunch and they joined us for the last hour of ZC.  President Melonakos asked them to bear their testimony (we didn't know that was happening) and they did great.

Barbara and Dennis at Bosnia Zone Conference

Bosnia Zone Conference April 18, 2019

After ZC we walked through Old Town and ate at the best ćevapi place in Sarajevo.  Ćevapi is the Bosnian national food according to the missionaries and always a favorite for the young ones.

Ćevapi at Željo

Friday we did several museums and other sights around town.  Then dinner at our other favorite restaurant.  Saturday was a clear, sunny day to ride the gondola to the top of the mountain and walk the bobsled track from the 1984 Winter Olympics.  A stop at the War Childhood Museum and a late lunch at the best burger joint in Sarajevo.  Dennis was happy that they bring ketchup to the table without having to ask for it.

On Trebević Mountain with Sarajevo in the background

Easter Sunday was a very strange experience for us at church.  It seems that the local members spend time with their families on Easter and do not come to church.  This year one local member came to Sacrament meeting and she is very fluent in English, so it was decided to conduct the meeting in English, with no translation.  We sang the hymns in English; the only Bosnian was the Sacrament prayers.  It was nice to be able to understand everything but it just didn't feel right.  I missed the Bosnian people and hearing the language.

We left for Zagreb right after church on Sunday.  We drove about 1150 miles over the next five days.  Some days were lots of hours in the car; we hope it was worth it for Barbara and Dennis to see how beautiful this part of the world is.

Monday - Zagreb Square and Market.  We were disappointed that the market was not open on Easter Monday, as it is a fun spot to see and wander through.  We did find some souvenirs shops open and enjoyed walking around the city.

Zagreb Cathedral from the market square

Roof tiles of St Mark's church

The colorful roof tiles were done in 1880.  The tiles are laid so that they represent the coat of arms of Zagreb on the right (a white castle on a red background) and the coat of arms of the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia on the left.

We drove to Slovenia in the afternoon.  We stayed at Lake Bohinj, where we had the mission senior conference a year ago.  The lakes and mountains are spectacular.

Lake Bohinj

Tuesday - Lake Bled Castle and drive to Zadar.  It rained all night and Tuesday was a wet, cloudy day.  We toured the castle but the photos aren't very clear.

There is a church on an island in the middle of Lake Bled

Dennis and Barbara at the castle

John and Karen at the castle

Pletna boats to take you to the island

I didn't take time to read the complete history but apparently these boats are like the gondolas in Venice - they remain in the families for generations.  The special design is passed down from father to son.  The Pletna boats are still hand built according to the centuries old design.  There is no keel so the oarsmen have to work hard to steer the flat-bottomed boat.

We decided we'd had enough rain and started the drive to Zadar.  I think it was our longest day of driving.  Zadar is one of my favorite spots on the Croatian coast.  We had requested sea-view rooms at the front of the hotel.

View of the Adriatic from our hotel deck

Wednesday - We rode the bus into Zadar Old Town for a walk around Old Town, then back to the hotel and the drive to Dubrovnik.  This was our first time in Dubrovnik and what a treat!  Rick Steves describes it as a fairy tale that shouldn't be missed.  Its nickname is Pearl of the Adriatic.  The city was devastated during the recent war, but Dubrovnik was repaired with amazing speed.  The only physical reminders of the war are lots of bright-orange roof tiles.

Roof tiles in Dubrovnik

Our apartment was a bit difficult to find but it turned out to be a hidden gem.  The view of the sea and Old Town was spectacular.  We spent the warm evenings on the deck admiring the view.

View of Old Town fortress from our apartment deck

The only negative is that the apartment was located on a hill and the climb up was about 500 steps.  The landlord said 350 but John counted as he climbed and swears it was 500.  Perhaps he became delirious halfway up and lost count.  All I know is it wore me out and I was forced to take Aleve at night.

First set of steps from the street

Next section

Next

And next

Getting closer

Home is at the top

On the fortress wall

Looking back at where we just walked

Perfect spot for John

Barbara looks kind of happy to be locked in

Our apartment is up there somewhere

It took about two hours to walk the entire wall.  It was a hot day and jumping into the water sounded very appealing but we settled for gelato instead.  We made sure we did all we wanted to do in Old Town before climbing the stairs to the apartment again in the evening.

Friday - we were sad to leave the fairy tale of Dubrovnik but headed for Mostar Friday morning.  The drive seemed a little boring after all the beautiful scenery driving down the coast from Slovenia.  It was another warm day but Mostar wasn't too crowded so it was bearable.  We had lunch by the river and enjoyed wandering through the market looking for souvenirs.

Stari Most (old bridge)

We arrived back in Sarajevo around 5:00 pm very weary but happy with the week.  We are so blessed to be healthy and to have the means to visit many wonderful places in the world.  More bus station wisdom: "Bitno je putovanje, ne odredište."  The journey, not the arrival matters.

Barbara and Dennis left early Saturday morning for Thessaloniki Greece to visit where they served a mission 10 years ago.  We hate to see them go; it's been great spending time with family for a few days.  We only wish more of you had come to visit us here.

Our testimony grows each day as we serve.  We know the gospel has been restored in these latter days.  Our Heavenly Father is aware of each of His children and wants us to be happy.