Non-French TidbitsKosovska and Ivangrad Yugoslavia

By Jim and Emmy Humberd

All along the roads, near towns or cities, there are many bus stops, but crowds of people are walking along the highway. We made a wrong turn, then stopped to look at the map. A man saw the German license plate, and gave us directions in German. The nearby Yugoslavian police asked-with gestures and looks-if we needed help. When we indicated no, they waved us on our way. Everyone was helpful as could be.

There are still many horse-drawn wagons, and we just passed one pulled by cows, or oxen. The driver smiled and waved! The scenery through Kosovska and Ribarice is excellent and beautiful, and the two-story houses look sturdy, and have tile roofs. There is a long lake, with lengthy fingers, and there are a dozen tunnels and a dozen bridges to get past it.

This part of Yugoslavia looks as near like Switzerland as we are likely to see in this part of the world. The grassy fields extend far into the hills, houses are scattered here and there on the hillsides. Maybe it reminds us more of Norway than Switzerland, but it's quite pleasant. We see cattle and sheep and water buffalo and goats, scattered here and there. The goats always look like they are ready to get into some mischief.

The mountain side is very rocky, and there are trees growing out of cracks and crevices. There are a lot of tin roofs, as well as orange-colored tile. At many places children were tending the goats or cows along the side of the road, and they wave and wave as we pass.

In Ivangrad, the campsite, as others in Yugoslavia, is next to a Government owned and operated hotel. The facilities are in the same building as the hotel, there are restaurants for those who care. The German couple next to us, put their camper on the SS Stefan Batory to Canada a few years ago, and toured the US for several months. That's the ship we sailed on in 1985 when we took our 1978 Dodge camper home to California.

We left the campsite early the next morning, and drove around the town in the rain. Few people had an umbrella - either they didn't expect the rain, didn't care if they got wet, or didn't own an umbrella. The bakery was open and had warm bread for sale. Children were on their way to school. One little boy, late for school, was running as fast as he could. In about a 1/2 mile we saw a school yard filled with kids his age!

Books by Jim and Emmy Humberd:
Invitation to France
Invitation to Germany
Invitation to Italy

French Video Immersion