We hit the two week til take-off mark a couple days ago which means its time to obsessively check my weather app and cross my fingers that our flight times don't change! I'm a stereotypical type A planner so I've been working on a packing list and researching specific times and dates for things we'd like to do while we're there, but I've also tried to make time for reading before we leave. A couple of months ago, I looked into books about Croatia and tried to avoid the basic travel guides in favor of books that give me historical picture of the country and culture. I ended up with four books on my list - three historical narratives portraying the war that started in the year that I was born and one that gives a thorough history of the country prior to World War II (doubtful that I'll make it through the entire 1000 page monster before we leave!). I actually found my copy of Black Lamb and Grey Falcon at a used bookstore in Ottawa last weekend! Here are the titles and authors for anyone interested:
- Girl at War, Sara Novic
- Goodbye Sarajevo, Atka Reid & Hana Schofield
- The Cellist of Sarajevo, Steven Galloway
- Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, Rebecca West
Spencer and I have traveled mainly in the US and Canada with and so we're just beginning to take international trips (hello real jobs with paychecks!). One of the things I want to avoid as we experience new places is travel consumerism. I've really noticed it over the past four years as travel has become so popular among people my own age and younger. "Experiences over things" has become a mantra that really resonates with me, but some of the travel trends I've seen seem to think travel exists in a cultural vacuum. I'm trying to strike a balance between enjoying travel as a vacation while also acknowledging the history, country, and people I'm experiencing. It's a small thing since we're only there for a couple of weeks, but I think it really adds value our time spent there. If anyone has visited before, feel free to share recommendations!
No comments:
Post a Comment