Our Cherry Harvest
It’s now time to harvest the sour cherries and that’s what I have done. We didn’t get a bumper harvest. Tamara has decided to make jam from what we have.
David writes,
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This Week's Vlog.
Whats Been Happening with Akiva.
I’ll take a slight step back.
Last week saw us “adopt” an orphan kitten that arrived, somehow, in front of our garage.
We named him Akiva.
As of today we can tell you that our vets estimate his age at 28 or so days.
He’s entirely defenceless, was calming down nicely, until he contracted sneezing and conjestion. That’s not great for a kitten who most probably didn’t assume an autoimmune system from his mother. It can be life threatening.
Our Vets are wonderful.
After an exceedingly worrying night watching Akiva in distress, and almost every 5 minutes looking online as to what we could do to alleviate distress, this mornings Vet visit resulted in Akiva getting some medication.
Now.
At his age he shouldn’t be exposed to medication but the situation has determined otherwise.
As I write this some 7 hours later, he seems to be getting a lot better. Fingers are crossed.
Whoever the human was that dumped him like this, well, I am still relying on Karma to do the right thing.
We’ll be documenting his life with us, so, it looks like cute kitten pics in the future.
Getting Introduced to Mate.
If you follow the newsletter, you’ll know that I interviewed Denise, an Argentinian, who has moved with her Banja Luka born husband to the city of his birth.
You really should listen to the podcast.
South America meets Southern Europe.
I digress.
Tamara and I have met twice with Denise. We get on extremely well, and, have the same interests in wanting to show the best side of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We do this in English and Denise in Spanish.
Lots of Collaborations coming up.
Plans coming together.
Denise always has a Mate with her. It's an integral part of Argentinian culture. The Mare is that “Cup” she has in her hand in the pic above.
I'll be getting one soon and will tell you all about it.
In the meantime use the link below to find out more.
I love mixing cultures up in an Ethno-fusion kind of way. Makes for a better world in the end.
At least I think so.
Cherry Harvest.
We have three cherry trees here. A sour one, a sweet one and the one actuality situated between, is a bit of both. Weird but true.
It’s now time to harvest the sour cherries and that’s what I have done. Although the branches ALWAYS seem to whip my face and mess with my glasses (irritating to say the least), I do find the entire activity relaxing.
We didn’t get a bumper harvest or anything like that, and the plan was that they would be used to make Cakes, but Tamara has decided to make jam.
So that’s whats going to happen.
There are some clips in this weeks Vlog but last year was a similar experience.
In Brief.
We have freshened up our Blog Design. Thoughts, Comments, Suggestions?
This weekend I’ll be visiting the international white water rafting event near Banja Luka. More in next weeks newsletter.
If you would like copy of our FREE Banja Luka guide, CLICK HERE.
I am passionate about electric vehicles and really hope I’ll be able to have one some day soon. If you want to find out more follow the Fully Charged Show for latest developments.
Talking of electric vehicles. Laktaši has a charge point.
Minority Communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
A Polish story from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
One of the things I found out early on when living in this part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was that there were so may minority nationalities.
Not far from where we live, there used to be villages of Volksdeutsche (Read Here).
In nearby Laktaši, Italians. The Italian church is still there today.
Surrounding Prnjavor (a 40 minute drive away), it is said that up to 16 different minority nationality groups are there.
I found this story about the Polish people of Prnjavor and wanted to share it with you.
A Hidden Gem You Should Visit.
How to find the amazing Švrakava Waterfalls .
We have often driven southbound, along the east bank of the River Vrbas, either on our way to Ljubačke Doline or taking a short cut across the mountains to Sarajevo, via Kneževo.
There is a brown "place of interest sign" that I have always looked at, pointing left to the Švrakava Waterfalls.
It wasn't until recently, that Tamara said "we should go and see it".
Using Google Maps didn't give much assistance, although the waterfalls are marked, and, we had to ask people along the way where to go.
The route IS NOT clearly marked at all. To be honest, the single track road, partly asphalt the remainder gravel, took us through great countryside and remote hamlets.
On arrival at the waterfalls, there is a small wooden rest place, with covered seating and the location seems to be a great place for a remote BBQ. Despite being really off the beaten track, there were signs linking Švrakava to the "Via Dinarica" route, something I found very interesting.
The waterfalls are small.
To get up close to the cascade needs a bit of negotiation of the surrounding rocks. They are a bit slippery with moss etc. Not too difficult, but for a 68 year old, who is not as sure footed as he used to be, as well as holding a drone remote controller, I decided to play it safe.
I get the impression that not many foreigner tourists visit. It is after all, as I have said before, "off the beaten track". Checking trip advisor, there were only a few reviews, and they were from locals.
So. If you are someone that wants off the regular tourist trail, and seeks something unusual and "slow", a trip to the Švrakava Waterfalls could be for you.
If you want more details drop me a mail at info@livinginbosniaandherzegovina.com
Cold Frying Potatoes.
I found this recently when watching my YouTube subscriptions.
Refika has this amazing food channel and although I adore learning about Turkish cuisine, she does do recipes that are known within Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Yes, this isn’t necessarily Bosnian or Balkan, (but part of Turkey is technically in the Balkan Peninsula).
I just wanted to share.
And Finally.
That's our update from our village here in the north of Bosnia and Herzegovina for this week.
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A great micro project about the history and the German farmers.