Bosnia & Herzegovina

I'm a few countries behind (what's new!), but we've done all of our work for the day, so I figured it was time for me to catch up. 

The 41st country for us on our journey around the world was Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Bosnia and Herzegovina was once part of Yugoslavia, along with Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Kosovo (which isn't a UN recognized country, so we won't be doing it this year). 

The break up happened in the 80's and early 90's, so most of us remember Bosnia and Herzegovina as a war torn country. Whole villages were devastated, and cities were destroyed. 

The effects of that war can still be found today. There are still more than 200,000 landmines scattered throughout the country. Land-mine sniffing dogs help to clear the land, and in fact the most famous of these is 'Betsy the land mine sniffer dog' who has cleared more then 2.5 million square miles. 

Much like what is happening in Syria today, many landmarks and old structures were destroyed during the war, though they are slowly being rebuilt. Among these is the Stari Most Bridge (in English: Old Bridge), which at the time of its destruction had stood for 427 years. The new bridge reopened in 2004, and the traditional annual diving competition from the bridge resumed. 

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a mix of cultures, and languages. There are the Bosnian Serbs, the Bosniak Muslim, and Bosnian Croats. The language is also a mix between Bosnian, Croation, and Serbian. 

The country shines less in its cities, and more in the countryside. It is home to one of the last primeval forests in Europe. Perucica dates back more than 20,000 years with some trees over 300 years old. It's said that there are some parts of the forest that haven't been walked through since the Roman Empire. 

Also stealing the show, the emerald green waters of the rivers and lakes. 

But many visitors check out the vineyards scattered along the quiet country. 

The boys made their postcards. 

Calib included some of the old gravestones (that nobody is quite sure what they say), and his people are saying 'hello' in Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian. 

Peyton made Betsy the land mine sniffing dog, and his little stick guy is diving off the Stari Most bridge. 

Hayden made a crane to signal the rebuilding of the country.

For dinner we had Cevapi  (A sausage of ground beef and lamb stuffed in a pita), Prebranac (Balkan Baked Beans), and Tufahije (Bosnian stuffed apples), 

We thought the pita's looked a little empty, so Asa whipped up some tzatziki (because that's the type of things he does), and some tomato and red onion mixture. 

We also had some (fake) 'wine' in a nod to the vineyards. (Also because I forgot it some other night, and Peyton has been bugging me about it ever since.) 

This meal earned five spoons up.

 Everyone ate everything on their plates, and asked for more. It's a total 'make again' meal. 

The pita's were delicious, especially topped with the tomatoes and the tzatiki. The apples were quite possibly my favorite desert (although, be warned, Asa said they were pretty labor intensive), and as far as lima beans go, they were a hit. 

Apparently I missed the table picture, but since we were on to country #41, we had another set of ten and had to vote on collections before clearing them all out and starting on our next ten. I always have a hard time deciding on collections, by the time we get to 10 countries, everyone has done an excellent job on picking their best ones. 

41 down, 152 to go! 

Next Up: Equatorial Guinea