Unfinished Business

May 18, 2005-Evaluating

You knew I wasn’t finished didn’t you? We woke at 5:30AM, which wasn’t too bad since we went to bed at 9PM the night before. We left Judi Cope’s in Washington, DC and had at least six hours to discuss the trip on the drive home.

A few things that were mentioned were the lack of security at the airport in Croatia. Frankfort had more stringent precautions. David thought it might be for flights going to the U.S. The funny thing was that as they x-rayed our carry-on they didn’t recognize an item. I explained what it was and they took my word without opening the luggage. Judi, on the other hand, had all items in her hand baggage unzipped, searched, and scrutinized. I guess she looks suspicious. We talked about how hard it was to get ahead in Slovenia and Croatia. Most people live on the land or in apartments that have been in the family for generations. If they own a house they keep adding to it as families get larger.

It’s almost impossible for a Serb or Croat to identify the other at a glance. The physical differences are subtle if detectible at all. Our guide mentioned that there were differences between Serbian Orthodox and Roman Catholicism. She listed a few that didn’t seem to be a reason to go to war: more or less use of candles and incense by one group, leather rosaries versus beads, Julian or Gregorian calendars.

As we stopped along the interstate we knew that we weren’t in Slovenia or Croatia anymore. We were struck by how dirty our restaurants and toilets are by comparison.

Now to the debate as to whether we prefer group to independent travel: In favor of group travel:

There are others to talk to; no responsibility for luggage, flights, meals, glitches thus less personal tension; better class hotels; time saved by not getting lost; home hosted dinner with local family; luggage handling; no fear of being ripped-off by cab drivers; pre-screened rest stops; orientation to the place we’re staying (where ATMs & post offices are)

Against group travel:

Feeling of being herded; only around seniors; moved too fast or too slow when seeing sites-couldn’t set own pace; not being able to interact with locals on a daily basis; no satisfaction of fending for ourselves; no chance to find Laundromat; higher food cost when dining away from the group since most wanted a fancier meal than we did; a feeling that we’re just not seeing it all.
All in all it was a fun trip but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen most of the world first. There are a lot more interesting places to go and most of the people on the tour had been to those places.

I’m nesting in now. I’ve done three loads of laundry and have read the mail. Thanks for listening.
Toby