Not Wisconsin

[reposted from my website]

The fun part about staying for five weeks in a place is getting to feel almost like a local. We were well known at the bakery around the corner where we bought fresh bread for our supper each night. (Our main meal we ate at noon with staff and students in the cafeteria.) We were recognized at our favorite pizza place and my husband was a regular at the coffee shop on the corner. Today I will share a few more pictures of life around town.

Beneath this square in the center of town is a modern shopping center where city government functioned during the Serbian bombardment in the 1990s war of independence. (The Cathedral is off to the left.)

A tourist brochure described the "caffeine culture" of Osijek. Coffee shops were everywhere and despite the brisk October weather, many people sat outside in the sunshine. This shop is on the same square as the previous picture.

The Saturday morning that I took off on a photo safari, I stopped for hot chocolate, thickened with cornstarch and topped with whipped cream, at a coffee shop across the street from this musician playing folk music.

Bike paths were everywhere and even old ladies like me used them for transportation. (You can sit up on these bikes instead of leaning on your hands!) One Sunday afternoon Deborah, one of my library colleagues,invited me to bike downtown with her for an evangelistic street meeting. Great exercise, good fellowship and gorgeous day.

Bike paths follow both sides of the Drava River. This graceful bike and pedestrian bridge connects them.

A mile (?) upstream a free ferry provides the crossing. Much cheaper than a bridge because it uses no fuel. It's attached to a cable. When untied and steered toward the center, the current against the keel provides the momentum to glide across.

Another Sunday afternoon one of the faculty invited us to the town of Valpovo
where an eighteenth century palace was built onto a medieval Ottoman castle. Wonderful walk in the grounds.

My husband and I completed forty years of marriage in May. We decided to delay celebration until we were in Croatia. Tomorrow I'll show you pictures of the fabulous Dalmatian Coast and the ancient town of Split--not the best name for a wedding anniversary, so be sure you pronounce it "Spleet" as the Croatians do. :-)