Croatia

We had only one day in this country,  but that was enough to see the devastation that war can bring.  The conflict between Croatia and its neighbor Serbia across the Danube in 1991 is obvious.  Whole sections of towns still are vacant, destroyed by grenades or bombing.

City water tower destroyed during the war 

Like Serbia, the population is shrinking as young people try to find work outside of the country where there are jobs and a more stable economy.  The birth rate is less than one child per family.  But there are signs of hope here. We met 43 year old Anita when she was our hostess for our home - hosted lunch.  She is a lab technician and her husband travels around the area working on a mine - sweeping team.

   We also visited a middle school where students sang and performed skits for us.

Anita ' kitchen