1936 On the Continent

variety of light table wines, white or red. For the connoisseur of dessert wines Dalmatia produces its famous
prošek
or
prosecco
of dried sweet grapes, while of the numerous kinds of brandy the Serbian
Šlivovica
or plum-brandy has passed into international literature. For teetotallers the many fruit-syrups, such as
malina
(raspberry), can be heartily recommended. And for everyone there are the light and agreeable mineral waters “Rogaška Slatina” and “Bukovika,” and the slightly stronger “Radenci.” The more adventurous may try their luck with
boza
,the national maize drink.
Boza
drinkers are born, not made. You either like it, or you don’t. Well sweetened and iced, on a hot summer’s day, it is delicious. Unsweetened and lukewarm, on a cool day, at least to the uninitiated, it is abominable.
    Should you be of a more venturesome disposition and desire to leave the beaten track—and the fact that you have decided to come to Jugoslavia at all suggests that you might—some advice is necessary. If you travel by car Slovenia, and to a certain extent South Serbia, Dalmatia and Montenegro will satisfy your Western tastes in the matter of road surfaces. In other parts it is advisable to make previous enquiries about the road you intend to take, unless you don’t object to a little mud or jolting. If, however, you belong to the train, cum-bus, cum-boat fraternity, and leave Slovenia and Dalmatia, where all is plain sailing, for the less well known interior of Bosnia, Montenegro or South Serbia, you should try to reach a fair-sized town by the evening, as you may find sleeping at country inns not quite to your liking. There is no difficulty in going off the beaten track, as there are plenty of bus routes everywhere, so long as you make preliminary enquiries at the local “Putnik” office, or at the hotel.
The Language Problem
    Your ignorance of the language need not worry you. As a true Anglo-Saxon you probably do not know a single word or phrase of Serbo-Croatian or Slovenian, which belong to the Slavonic group of languages. But you will find everywhere educated people who speak at least one foreign language. German is understood even by the common people in the Western provinces, a reminder that before the War they belonged to Austria. On the coast Italian will help you along. And you will be surprised how often you will hear American spoken by a former emigrant to the U.S.A. But even in the interior, where these aids are not available, you will find the Jugoslav peasant quite equal to the emergency. He is an expert in the international language of pantomime, which he had to practise hard during the War, both under enemy occupation, and on the various allied fronts. In fact, you may find this language so amusing that you may prefer to use it to any other, like the gentleman who revisitedJugoslavia merely in order to practise it again, declaring that it was a better medicine than a hundred volumes of
Punch
!
    You will soon find your venturesomeness in visiting the interior richly rewarded. For in no other way can you get into such close contact with the people of the country themselves. You will see an endless variety of the most gorgeous national costumes, not hung on wax-dolls, as in the otherwise excellent ethnographic museums of Belgrade, Zagreb, Serajevo and Skoplje, but worn by some of the most handsome and finely-built mountaineers, who move in them as proudly as if they owned the earth. Some of these costumes are perfect works of art, richly embroidered in red, gold and black and representing the patient work of many months. If you go on a ramble from any town on a Sunday morning, you are almost sure to see all these costumes worn by peasants dancing the national “kolo” in the churchyard after Mass.
Chivalry
    Another advantage of going off the beaten track is that you can hardly avoid pleasant experiences of friendliness and hospitality. The Jugoslav peasant is predominantly a smallholder who owns his patch of land and supplies most of his needs himself. He therefore has all the independence and simple kindliness of the man who lives close to the soil. A delightful tale is told about his characteristic hospitality. A man sentenced to death was asked whether he had ever been in a similar quandary. “Oh, yes,” he replied unhesitatingly, “once when I had a guest and nothing to offer him.”
    All this makes Jugoslavia a pleasant and inexpensive country in which to travel. Ladies, too, can