Here?s a pretty vague question, but I?ll give it a shot. A couple of years back there was an article in National Geographic, I think, concerning a town in Eastern Europe. It had sustained damage from then-recent insurrections but had been quickly repaired. I remember a photo featuring red tiled roofs. The article mentioned that this area at one time had been a tourist spot but that because of the fighting the tourism trade was almost nil. The only other thing I recall is that the town was near some very deep, very pristine lakes. I don't even remember the country. Any help as to where this might have been or is this too little info to go on?

Check out Dubrovnik in the Croatia forum.

Yes, I too thought of Dubrovnik, but the dates are wrong. One summer ten years or so ago the Serbs shelled the city from both the mountains above it and the sea beyond it, and when I first went about 1996 some buildings were still closed, and nearly every building of the old town had a handful of bright red tiles to show where their shell had come through. I was back in April this year, and from the high city walls you can still see the newish tiles, but I think no buildings are still empty, and the city is far from empty. You hear most languages of Europe as you stroll, and in summer you must book ahead to secure a room. It is well worth the trouble, a complete and wealthy gothic and baroque city, at about Italian prices, including reasonable pensions and two star hotels.

A special feature there is the InterUniversity Centre, where for a tuition fee of about 80 US dollars a week you have five mornings of talks and discussions of current affairs in the Balkans and of medical specialities. So what ? Well, the people talking are professors and journalists from the universities of all former Yugoslavia, and they work wholly in English. So we tourists can hear from them direct how, in detail, they are working on the restoration of peace and prosperity. Detail is on http:// www.iuc.hr/, then Upcoming, and the season runs to October and starts again next spring.

I thought the reference might be to Bosnia, but the National Geographic archive on-line shows no relevant report.

I keep on disc a collection of notes on tourism in Serbia. I searched under Lake and found three references for you. The only deep lake listed is at Smederova, 60 kilometers east of Belgrade. There are lakes up in the Fruska Gora region of forests and monasteries near beautiful Novi Sad. And a man-made lake, Vlasina lake, well up in the border territory with Bulgaria. I can copy the 70-page note to any enquirer by e-mail.

Sorry: not much help. I hope you find your town. Welcome to Europe.

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Thank you both...Novi Sad sounds very familiar. I will post a thread asking for other's travel experiences there. Thanks again.

You will find precious little bomb damage in beautiful Novi Sad, I am glad to say. When we bombed the railway bridge a couple of feet of rail went straight up in the air and came down with other debris on the modern part of the City-Provincial museum. This had a glass front, which collapsed totally. You may see the piece of rail in a case in the front hall of the museum. The line is re-established, and carries comfortable trains this year to Thessaloniki, and next year to Athens.

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