4 Navigation Upgrade

Our next venture was to walk the childhood steps of the last ruler of Yugoslavia, Krumovec the birthplace of Josip Broz, Tito as his friends called him. Marsal Tito (1892-1980) went from peasant to national ruler. He wielded power over the Republic of Yugoslavia and returned a long period of prosperity and peace in the region’s long troubled past. Three decades after his death, Tito remains beloved by many of his former subjects even though his deeds of torture and execution are well documented. Though a true socialist would distribute wealth among the people, Tito seemed immune to the idea as he owned over 40 high-value estates throughout the land.

Steves comments that Zagreb streets are poorly labeled … understatement. After a few doubtful turns through the crowded downtown area we thought it wise to ask for directions so we over so that Dave could search for a map. It was a perfect place to jump the curb so I pulled a hard right and rammed Opel up a curb just to see if I could and to say that I did. Open did just fine. No map was found so we pulled into a small mini-mart gas station … indeed the very same mini-mart/garage we had just escaped four turns ago. Seeing no parking near the market, I pulled next to a fuel pump. Dave popped inside to upgrade our navigation system with a better map then out of nowhere two beautiful girls surrounded Opel to wash her windshield. I pictured Tijuana where young locals surround your car, pour water on the window and beg for money. My image was wrong. These girls were exercising service … it was their gift to us. We struck up a conversation. The older one, 20, wanted to be an actress in Hollywood. She recently competed in a talent search contest but wasn’t selected. Wisely, she entered college and had just completed her first year, a journalism major; “I study 3 years then 2 years.” College was expensive she commented, about $1,100 per year. The other girl just graduated from high school. She was lucky. Croatia had just announced a special “every qualifying high school graduate receives a free year of college” program as an incentive to draw more students into college. Only 7% of Croatian citizens are college graduates. She would study economics, “4 years then 1 year.” Both girls seemed happy, filled with hope for their future.