View Workout (Matthew Simonson)

Return to Log

Morning Mosey

May 26, 2019 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Run

Comments:
After an epic 11 hour slumber I jumped out of bed, put on my shoes, and set out to explore Stolac by daylight. Crossed the river on a little stone bridge a few hundred meters above the falls and headed up a steep hill with old stone houses and a decent view of the valley. Wandering around town I found a grenade mark in the sidewalk, almost too faint to see. They pain them red in Sarajevo as a memorial to those who died but elsewhere they’re just part of the urban landscape and you wouldn’t notice them unless you knew the distinctive pattern to look for, a bit like the splattering that a water balloon makes when it hits the pavement. Also found the towns one school building which houses Herzegovina’s infamous “two schools under one roof policy.” Catholic (Croat) kids and Muslim kids attend separate classes with separate teachers, curricula, and administration merely sharing the same facilities. In Mostar there’s even a fence down the middle of the playground at one school to keep them apart. Here in Stolac, one side of the building is still pockmarked by shells and shrapnel from a war that ended well before any of these kids were born. At one entrance there’s a quote from Hellen Keller (in English) about the highest form of education being tolerance. I wonder if anyone takes it to heart. Outside flies the Bosnian flag along side the possibly-unconstitutional flag of Herzog-Bosna, the wartime Croat breakaway republic.

On the whole felt light and speedy, with no complaints from my lingering injury. Came back feeling refreshed and ready to start my day.