Day 11 - Thursday, August 13, 2009 by Craig Lundell

On Thursday, we docked in Vukovar, Croatia. Vukovar is located in the northeast portion of Croatia known as Slavonia. This region is nearly all flat and before 1918, it was one of the most fertile areas in all of Europe, commonly known as “the granary” of Croatia. After World War II and even under Soviet domination, it was a peaceful landscape of wheat fields and vineyards. All that changed after Croatia declared independence in 1991. What followed for the next four years is known as the Balkan Wars. At first the Serbs occupied Slavonia. Then in 1995, the Croatians reconquered the area, forcing Yugoslav soldiers and Serbs to leave. As a disputed territory, Slavonia was overseen by the U.N. until 1998. Vukovar is a city with a very long history – all the way back to 200 B.C.

Thanks to its position on the Danube, Vukovar during the 18th and 19th centuries developed into a mojor handicraft, trading and transport center, well known for its elegant buildings and numerous museums and art galleries. After Croatia’s independence in 1991, Vukovar became the main administrative center of Slavonia. It also has the dubious distinction of being the city in which the war began. Serbian troops laid siege for three months, shelling many of the buildings and killing thousands. The town was essentially destroyed during the war between Croatia and Serbia but has been largely rebuilt. We could still see a number of buildings that were destroyed during the war.

We boarded buses to travel to Osijek, the largest city in eastern Croatia. Located on the Drava River, this is the cultural center of Slavonia. As we drove through the countryside, we saw a number of uncultivated fields with warning signs around the edges indicating that the area still contained a lot of land mines. In Osijek, we visited the oldest section of Osijek, Tvrda, modeled after the fortified towns of Holland. After visiting the old town, we went to a small airport terminal where we were entertained by some local folk singers.
We then traveled to a small village just outside Osijek, where we enjoyed a home hosted lunch