Rijeka, Croatia

Rijeka reminded me immediately of Long Beach. You’ve heard things about long beach, thought you’re not sure they’re good things, and then you get there and realize they aren’t. It was a pretty classic port town with lots of loading docks and lots of graffiti. There was a nice walking only section of the town that felt removed from the rest, but for the most part it was quite ugly. It wasn’t war torn, the war never actually reached Rijeka, but it was quite unimpressive. I met with Professor Boris Banovac of Rijeka University. He collaborated with Prof. Katunaric on research, but his tone and message was different.

Professor Banovac focused on the regional issues within Croatia. Not every area in Croatia shares the same sentiment. It is an obvious observation, but one that must be made. In the end though, when pressed, he expressed very general Croatian viewpoint. He told me that Bosnia is the geographical problem and that the Serbs are the instigation. This was the theme of my research in Croatia. The Croats like to view themselves as Western and a part of Europe, a thought that has been reinforced by the quick acceptance of Croatia by the European Union, and at first glance they are. But along with this mindset was a dangerous superiority complex. Especially over Serbs and Bosnian Muslims who are “behind” the Croats. Professor Banovac outlined this schema unintentionally: “You are going to Serbia and Bosnia as well? Let me tell you this: Croatia is way ahead of them… Serbia is maybe 10 to 15 years behind Croatia, and then Bosnia is another 10-15 years behind the Serbs. And if you get to Kosovo and Albania, they are another 10-15 years behind Bosnia.” Different is the way I would describe it. Not 10-15 years behind. But to much of Croatia, different means backwards and behind the times.

The next day I went to Trsat, the castle on the hill. It offered a nice view, which at the time I thought was spectacular. In retrospect it ranks pretty low on my experiences list.