Fish soup and Coke
Posted by lazlow | Filed under Travels
“Fish soup and Coke?” the Croatian woman at the restuarant by the bus station said incrediously in broken English when I ordered sides for my omelet. Heading across the border into Bosnia -best to load up with some toxic energy to peel the layer of cheap Croatian beer off my eyeballs. Staring at the scene on the street one would think they were in an alpine climate for all the plumes of white exhaling with each breath of the locals. Smoking is a defense mechanism here, and a yellow shingled smile often greets the request for an Ozujsko, the favored beer of old men playing cards by a half painted fishing boat. While the air is thick with cigarette and pipe smoke and fumes from Yugos, the water is the clearest in the Mediterranean. If you snorkle off any rocky outcropping, you can see 50 feet down like it’s glass, through schools of fish.
On the island of Vis, a local takes us up into the hills, to an abandoned airstrip used by British bombers making runs to turn German cities into fireballs. The runway is all vineyards now, only the red and white striped pylons remain. Dinner on a farm nearby with a Croatian family and some of their homemade wine brings stories of the British airmen who, hobbled by anti-aircraft guns and their gunner dead, ditched at sea and were rescued by local fishermen. One of the downed airmen, an 87 year old, returned recently, rented a plane, and buzzed the old vineyard covered landing strip one last time, waving at the leathery farmers below.
There is no love for the Italians. Besides most recently invading and making a drunken nuicance in the summer season, in too recent memory they joined with Germany and invaded local islands and coastal towns with flamethrowers and burned houses to the ground. Hike in the forest along the coast 50 km south of Dubrovnik and you’ll find trenches connecting crude cement bunkers with small windows for machine gun nests on three sides, something I’d only witnessed in a video game until now.
Speaking of video games, in the window – a croatian magazine with John Marston on the cover and a big Red Dead Redemption logo and cryptic Croatian titles – it lured me into a little shop in a sleepy port town. They have more copies coming soon he said. To celebrate, I pick up a few liters of Croatian beer(they sell in 1 and 2 liter bottles, like gasoline) and stumble down the rocky wharf road by old fishing boats, hoping I can get some fish soup and a coke come morning.
Lazlow.com is the home of Radio Lazlow Inc, The Lazlow Show, and Lazlow's Technofile, We are most known for our work on the Grand Theft Auto games.
June 2, 2010 at 5:06 pm
Very well written. You paint a good picture of traveling abroad.
June 2, 2010 at 5:39 pm
For a moment there, I thought i was reading a traveler magazine article. Can’t wait for the lazlow show to pick up again
I miss it.
June 2, 2010 at 6:50 pm
Wow, what an awsome adventure to have.
June 2, 2010 at 10:07 pm
Dude
Just hurry up and do the next show before I lasso your ass and drag you through ranch.
June 2, 2010 at 11:27 pm
Yeah!!! Any “hint” on when the next show is going to happen? The DVD Boxset is sitting on repeat at the office… need more… MORE… MMMOOOOORRRREEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 3, 2010 at 12:13 am
I would love to see Wayne’s version. Is he still unemployed? I’ve already come up with a title “Leftover chinese and milk” Yes? No? Missing the show Laz, Hurry back!
(Red Dead Redemption was ace, Although I’m having a hard time killing a grizzly with the knife. o.O Give those boys & girls at Rockstar a pat on the back for me.)
June 3, 2010 at 11:56 am
How’s the weed in Croatia?
June 3, 2010 at 12:31 pm
NICE POST LAZLOW, since RDR is out now, please set a date for episode 44, you hav a huge fanbase that cant wait for you guys to come back and do the show again, my boxset is currently on loop and i remember bits from almost every episode now so again please make a return show for us, deed is greatly appreciated!!
p.s congrats on RDR, kickass game!
June 3, 2010 at 1:45 pm
Wow, sounds like an awesome experience. You should do a travelling radio show with Reed and Wayne. Talk about your experiences of the day/week for each show as you travel from place to place.
June 3, 2010 at 10:33 pm
need another episode, practically memorized episode 42, heard it so much
June 4, 2010 at 1:19 am
very nice! a lot of awesome imagery there. hope you’ll be back soon, though
(since like 10 people before have said it, I really don’t have to explain what for, right?)
June 4, 2010 at 11:25 am
Hey lazlow, you doing the radio for GTA V? Should bring back kchat with Amy Sheckenhausen (or should I say Leyna Weber) – fuck that was awesome!
June 4, 2010 at 6:12 pm
Hi there! Im from Slovenia (it borders Croatia), you should come to Slovenia one day, we have an alpine region, and close to the alps we have the sea (but not as much sea as Croatia has:)).
I have been a fan ever since I heard chatterbox radio in GTA3. You brought the whole New York, USA wibe to the radio and the game. It was hilarious.
Im currently studying computer science, but am also interested in social sciences and journalism. But you cant be in two schools at once:)
By the way Tito’s parents were Croatian and Slovene (Tito was the president of Communist Yugoslavia).
Looking forward to the next GTA and to the next Lazlow Show.
Keep your fingers crossed for me, if I pass my exam, I will be entering my 3rd year of college.
Also shout out to all the fans of Lazlow, and Lazlow you are awesome, you are a tech journalist , I think that is the best job in the world to have. You get to work with Rockstar games, travel the world, etc….
After I graduate Im planing on working somewhere in the IT industry, maybe even game development, who knows.
Anyways, greetings from Slovenia, oh and the USA soccer team is in the same group as Slovenia in the FIFA 2010 World Cup, so you can root for USA, and I will be rooting for SLO:)
And Croatia didnt make it this year to the world cup….
Cheers, bye
June 5, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Lazlow we need more show.
June 6, 2010 at 5:01 am
Damnit, Lazlow! you know we want Ep. 44! stop trying to apply for a vacation magazine, get Wayne and Reed and do this thing already!
June 8, 2010 at 7:33 am
Just finished RDR. FUCKING AMAZING! Rockstar and yourself did a brilliant job of crafting it all together!
June 10, 2010 at 11:31 am
reminds me a bit of a Hudson River School piece..the colors and reflection so soft and warm. Lovely.
June 12, 2010 at 2:57 pm
Hey!
I never thought i would see another Lazlow fan from Slovenia on these comments. I thought that my neighbor and I were the only fans from this country. Mihajlo why the hell are you gushing over Lazlow like a little boy. Considering Laz is more than competent with a computer he can check out anything about Slovenia on the net and I’m sure he is really interested in your education. Umiri se stari!
Laz we are all waiting for another episode of the hilarious train wreck that is the Lazlow show and good work on RDR and GTA. And Reed’s new podcast is horrendous.
Peace & Chicken Grease!
June 14, 2010 at 10:41 pm
Hey fucker, do another show, and I’ll send you a vid of me fucking my 300 IB girlfriend.
YOU ROCK!!!!
June 30, 2010 at 2:23 pm
Thought your website really got your point acrosss. Found it while going through yahoo so wanted to tell you good job and you have a bookmark from me.
July 7, 2010 at 3:38 am
You should quit drinking.
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