On the Move
Journey into Yugoslavia -1963
by lamploughh (12)

What is your name? Leslie Pincott What is your age? 76 Years Gender? male Write about the most memorable journey you ever made or place you ever visited. Journey into Yugoslavia When Helen's mother Mandy, was 10 years old, our family of five(two boys and Mandy) took an adventurous holiday to discover Yugoslavia by car. My interest in the Balkans and the Adriatic Sea area had been heightened during the 1939-1945 world war, when I served as a young naval reserve officer on board a fleet destroyer, HMS "Lookout" in the Mediterranean. In 1944, we were patrolling and bombarding the German armies as they had to make their retreat back through Italy and up through Greece and the then united Yugoslavia. And so we planned a family holiday into Yugoslavia, which was then under the firm control of marshal Tito. After crossing the channel, we put are old Morris Oxford estate car on a train car ferry to Villach in Austria, and we set off over the mountains and through the Loibl pass (with plenty of snow) into Slovenia, staying first at Lubliana and then Lake Bled (where Tito had his weekend residence). Our chosen route led down to the Adriatic sea coast of Rieka and then Vinodolski: the views seaward were great, and, although the water was colder in that northern area than we wished we all refreshed ourselves after a long and winding road journey. Very few English travellers had taken motoring holidays there after the war, we did not know a word of the local languages, and communication was sometimes difficult. However this was made easier by the fact that we had taken a large box of Cadburys chocolate bars to hand out along the way as a mark of goodwill! The country was almost wholly agrarian and the people we met were mainly peasants, whose main asset was a donkey who cultivated the small plots of land. We pushed right down the coast through the lovely old cities of Sibenik, sSlit and Zadar to Dubrovnik: for much of the way, the roads had deteriorated (or never been metalled) into hard and stony/earth tracks, with potholes galore, and the driving was bumpy, slow and tiring. Along the way, we were able to show our children something of the Roman past in wonderful old ports like Split, where the Roman Governor, Diocletian, had ruled ruthlessly and subjected Christians to torture, the lions and death. Right down this coast we looked out on the 'thousand islands' that lie off the coast. Dubrovnik, was the most lovely and interesting coastal city that I have ever visited - full of history and charm: we stayed just outside at a small hotel (fairly basic) on the coast and enjoyed warm swimming on a shallow sandy beach. The Balkan States have been a battleground for over a thousand years, as the Ottoman Empire sought to push their frontiers and Moslem influence northwards. The Serbs have never forgotten their terrible defeat in Kosovo in 1387! - and the struggle between Slav and Turkish peoples and between the Orthodox and Moslem traditions, continues today. Afterwards, we pushed inland over very winding roads into the more rugged area of Bosnia and Herzegovina, calling in at old towns such as Mostar and then Jayce, where Tito's resistance fighters had based their operations. We had some anxious moments when a Yugoslav policeman stopped us outside a bank and demanded to see our passports: he had never seen a British passport before(!) and demanded a fine for some obscure and doubtful reason: my wife adeptly took his number and threatened to report him to Belgrade! He immediately looked worried and went off. Obviously he was seeking money for himself. Then another long slog inland to Sarajevo, where the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was shot by seventeen year old Princep in 1914 - an event that finally led to the First World War. There are two cement foot-holes in the pavement, and we took a photograph of my elder son, Anthony, standing where the Archduke had lain. Finally, we motored back to safer territory over plains and mountains to the northern border and with some relief, into Austria and the train car-ferry once more. In the 1980's my now deceased wife and I took a Swan Hellenic Tour to Ancient Greece, Turkey and the Islands and later down the Danube to Hungary. And just recently, my second wife and I went back to Venice and took a small ship down the Adriatic Coast, to see again the old Roman cities, Dubrovnik and the Thousand Islands, and it was wonderful. Very sadly, in recent years the whole area has been ravished by racial and ethnic conflict as the Serb leader Milosovic has sought to impose the Serb will on mainly Moslem peoples surrounding the southern Balkan area. Happily, on this recent visit down the coast we were most impressed to see how Slovenia and Bosnia, as separate countries, have repaired much of the war damage. Hopefully the same will happen in Kosovo and Albania in the future. Where did you travel this week? Local Travel Where did you go this week? (e.g. school, work, club) How many times did you make this trip? How many miles (round trip)? How did you Travel (walk, car but etc..)? What did you go there for? Club 3 4 car To play sport and meet friends Work 1 7 Tube Business meeting and lunch Where did you travel this year? National & International Travel Where did you go this year? (e.g. school, work, club) How many times did you make this trip? How many miles (round trip)? How did you Travel (walk, car but etc..)? What did you go there for? New Zealand 1 nk air To visit relatives Paris 3 400 eurostar To visit grandchild Cornwall 2 400 car Holiday with family and friends