Bucharest, Romania and then home

We left Sarajevo on Wednesday morning enroute Bucharest, Romania. Although we were sad to leave such an interesting city and such wonderful people, we all looked forward to rendezvousing with the rest of the Fellows for the final portion of the program in Bucharest.

We were greeted at the Bucharest airport by GMF staff (Andrea the intern) and transported to our hotel near the city center via bus. Thanks, Andrea, it meant alot to all of us to be greeted by a friendly and familiar face upon arriving in Romania.

Bucharest was clearly a much larger city than Sarajevo, and its structure and architecture was wildly incongruent from one portion to the next. This characteristic was clearly a result of over 40 years of communist rule post World War II. The large communist-era concrete structures stood in sharp contrast to the beautiful 19th century architecture that is evident throughout the city. Many more recent communist structures stand mysteriously incomplete; these empty concrete shells symbolize the waste, carnage, and failed dreams from the reign of deposed communist dictator Nicolai Caicescu.

The city's infrastructure appears in need of significant investment. Road and sidewalk conditions vary widely, with potholes and safety hazards throughout. Telephone poles are sloppily draped in countless wires that provide high speed internet connectivity throughout the city. Some of the locals alleged this shoddy work was a result of inadequate funding and corrupt contractors and officials, but these claims could of course not be verified.

All the locals we met were extremely friendly, and happy to provide directions and assistance, and tell us about the city.


GMF Welcome Dinner in Bucharest - Happy Birthday, Monesha!





After settling in at the hotel, we walked to one of the many fantastic downtown restaurants for our official welcome dinner. In attendance were local GMF staff, and several former MMFs including Parliament Members, advisors to the Romanian President, and other private and civil sector leaders. It was a very warm welcome to Romania, and our hosts were enthusiastic about the program that lied ahead.

I spoke at length with Sava Chiser, a former MMF and current director of a government program to improve rural transportation infrastructure throughout the country. Sava has a tremendous academic and professional background, and shared some great insights on the current state of Romanian politics and civil society.
It was clear in our discussions that Romania remains a country still struggling to recover from the physical and psychological damage of communist rule.

Romanians today are extremely proud of their pre-communist history, and the pain and impacts of communist oppression are still fresh in the minds of older generations.
Democratic governance, free speech, and free press, founding concepts in practice for over 200 years in the United States, have only been in place for roughly 20 years in Romania (revolution against the Communists occurred in 1989). These concepts and processes are still maturing in Romania.

On Thursday we moved out with a full and very aggressive day of meetings, briefings, and tours. Our first stop was the Presidential Palace where we met with Presidential advisors Valeriu Turcan (MMF alum and currently Press Secretary to the President) and Alexandra Gatej (Business Affairs Advisor to the President). Valeriu and Alexandra addressed a broad spectrum of issues including the current economic and political situation, and the challenges of dealing with an aggressive and somewhat non-traditional (in the American sense) press corps.

After the meeting Valeriu treated us to a quick guided tour of the beautiful Presidential Palace.

Our visit to the Romanian Presidential Palace:










We then went to the Romanian Parliament building for a meeting and tour. The Parliament is the second largest building in the world behind the Pentagon, and was originally started under the Caicescu regime. It's design was heavily influenced by Caicescu's personal vision, and it was nearly complete at the time of his overthrow.

During our visit to Parliament we met with Roberta Ahnastase, President of the Chamber of Deputies (equivalent to the Speaker of the House in the United States). She is both the youngest and first female President in the Chamber's history, and got her start in politics through youth leadership activities in her teens. Ms. Ahnastase spoke of the need to proceed with difficult constitutional reforms as Romania continues to mature its Democracy.

After a quick tour of the Parliament building we had a working lunch with Ms. Anca Harasim, President of the Romanian Chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce. Anca spoke of some the challenges she and her constituents in the Chamber of Commerce face doing business in Romania.


Visit to Parliament and meeting with Roberta Ahnastase, President of the Chamber of Deputies (equivalent to our Speaker of the House).







Our last stop for the day was a visit to Realitatea TV studios in downtown Bucharest. Realitatea was founded as in 2001 and is a privately owned 24-hour news station (similar format to CNN). We had a great discussion with staff over some of the fundamental differences between U. S. and Romanian approaches to journalism. While the channel was founded to bring a new standard of professionalism and objectivity to Romanian television news, they pride themselves on holding the Government accountable and driving the country's political and social agenda. All parties agreed that with only 20 years of free press history, the Romanian press corps and legal framework is still maturing.

Visit and discussion at Realitatea - Romanian 24-hour news channel:






On Thursday night we had a working dinner with several representatives from local NGOs, including environmental, media monitoring, and education interests, as well as think tanks and advocacy groups for Romani people (i.e., Gypsies). Romania has significant challenges in all of these areas.

On Friday we met with Political Science students from the University of Bucharest, and answered questions about our career choices and various professional backgrounds. It was great to get some face time with the future leaders of Romania.

The rest of the day was devoted to individual appointments for each of the Fellows. I had the privilege of meeting with Mr. Iulain Fota, the National Security Advisor for the Romanian President. Mr. Fota has an incredible resume, and it was a pleasure to discuss some of the political, strategic, and budgetary challenges facing Romanian security forces and interests.

All the Fellows were then treated to a free afternoon for sightseeing, etc. I took this opportunity to meet with my cousin Silvia Mainescu who lives in Bucharest. I had never met Silvia before, and this was a wonderful opportunity to catch-up. Silvia and her partner Victor took me on a tour of the city, including a play-by-play recounting of the 1989 revolution. They also treated me to a wonderful dinner at a historic/traditional Romanian restaurant, complete with live music and dancing. It was great to catch-up with Silvia and share stories about our families. Thank you, Silvia and Victor!

BTW, Victor is also a kiteboarder, so we were fast friends!


My meeting with Romanian National Security Advisor, Iulian Fota




Visit with Silvia and Victor, with a quick tour of some of the city sights, including the Opera House, monument to those lost during the 1989 revolution, and dinner at a traditional Romanian restaurant.







Our final full day in Romania was a wonderful trip to Sinaia by train. Sinaia is a small town in the mountains, about two hours by train from Bucharest. It is home to skiing as well as Peles Castle, the early 19th century summer residence of Romania's King Carl. We had a guided tour of the castle, and were treated to a traditional lunch in one of the mountain restaurants/pubs. The lunch was a meat-lovers dream: sausage, pastrami, chicken leg, pork wrapped in bacon, lamb, chicken wings and finally beef. Each of these was served as an individual "course" and, needless to say, we all slept well on the train back to Bucharest.

The natural beauty of Sinaia stood in stark contrast to the poverty and apparent lack of services that we saw in some of the small villages we passed through on the train.

Day trip to Sinaia and Peles Castle - definitely a stark contrast between services/standard of living inside and outside of Bucharest.







More pictures from our trip to Sinaia, including a "high protein" lunch (sausage, pastrami, chicken, pork wrapped in bacon, lamb, more chicken, and beef) at a mountain inn/pub.






Wish there was time to go skiing! Note tramdock high above Peles Castle.




We finished off the day with a farewell dinner at a traditional early 19th century restaurant in the Bucharest city center. This was an opportunity to say farewell to both our Romanian hosts, as well as our "fellow Fellows."

Goodbyes are tough, but we are all happy to be heading home to see our families. We all made a mutual commitment to maintain communication, and continue to see each other through MMF alumni activities or perhaps a group reunion.

I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel to Europe with such a fine group of people. Our diversity was one of our biggest strengths, and our collective bonds and team spirit only got stronger as the trip progressed. Thank you all for the tremendous support and companionship throughout this very rigorous program.

I'd also like to thank the staff and volunteers at GMF and all of the supporting organizations that helped make this trip a success. This program was a life changing experience for me, and I thank you for your dedication and commitment to the principles of GMF and the Marshall Memorial Fellowship.

Finally, I owe a debt of gratitude to my wife, kids, parents, friends and co-workers who supported me throughout the Fellowship. I feel so fortunate to have had this opportunity, and i could not have done it without your support. Thank you!

Farewell dinner in Bucharest - Happy Birthday Stacey!

Team GMF in Bucharest. Thanks to Andrea, Anamarie, and Raluca for the fantastic program and support!





Welcome home, Daddy!




Thanks to GMF for this tremedous opportunity!

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina

Sarajevo - city of contrasts
I had mixed feelings during the flight into Sarajevo. I was leaving the familiarity and relative stability of countries within the European Union, and going to a country that is still trying to heal from the deep wounds of the Balkan War. Quickly I realized that Bosnia-Herzegovina(BH) is a Nation of dramatic contrasts.

On the flight in, we saw views of beautiful mountains and rivers blanketed in fresh snow. We were greeted at the airport by our hosts Sevko Bajic and Edisa Kuljuh from the Civil Society Promotion Center, the largest NGO in BH with a mission to strengthen relationships between government and civil society. Sevko and Edisa epitomize the strength, beauty, and optimism of BH people, and we were impressed by their strong character.

Immediately after leaving the airport we began to see the physical scars of war. Many buildings remain gutted, destroyed by military action during the nearly four year Siege of Sarajevo (one of the longest sieges in modern warfare) and the resulting fires. A large percentage of inhabited structures remain riddled with bullet holes, mortar damage, and other visible destruction. I have never seen a modern city with this type of damage and obvious evidence of relatively recent death and destruction.

Scars from the war are evident everywhere. Most of the people we met lived through the siege of Sarajevo and have friends and/or family that were killed during the war.

An example of what the city looked like during the seige.

Monument to children killed during the war



The old city is surrounded by dozens of large concrete apartment buildings constructed during communist rule.


Basic services (trash removal) remain problematic in some regions. One of the rivers we saw was horribly littered with plastic. Our guides explained that much of this litter is leftover from the total collapse of services during the war.


The city's architecture reveals a past heavily influenced by foreign rule - mosques abound from Ottoman Empire rule and a majority of the city's population is actually muslim. More recent structures reflect Austrian influence from Hapsburg rule leading up to World War I. From the hotel one could simultaneously here Catholic or Orthodox church bells and calls to prayer from local mosques. This religious and ethnic diversity has led some to call Sarajevo the "Jerusalem of Europe."

Princip Bridge - named after Archduke Ferdinand's assassin, Gavril Princip

Intersection where Archduke Ferdinand and wife Sophie were assassinated in 1914, the incident that helped trigger the start of World War I.




BH remains a Nation with deep divisions. Indeed the 1995 Dayton Accords ended the military conflict, but it appears ethnically-based tensions between Bosnian Muslims, Croatians, and Serbians are alive and well, and the process of reconciliation is only just beginning.

A word about our wonderful MMF team in Sarajevo. I was fortunate to be travelling with Kristy Teskey, Amy Gardner, Blaine Griffin, and Natalie Vestin. Krisy and I were together in Rome, and Amy and Blaine were previously in Lisbon. Natalie flew into Sarajevo from Athens. We had a great and diverse group with complementary strengths and interests.

After settling into the hotel on Friday afternoon, we were treated to a welcome dinner with representatives from the Civil Society Promotion Center, including Director Aida Sljamo, the Deputy Mayor of Sarajevo, and local GMF alum. It was a great start to our visit.

Welcome dinner


Our hosts used the weekend to get us out of the city and experience some BH culture and scenery. Saturday we drove to the city of Visoko for a private tour of the recently discovered Bosnian "Pyramids." A non-profit called the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Foundation is currently excavating multiple sites as they attempt to piece together the story of what type of ancient activity occurred in this region.
The pyramids have alot of skeptics, but I think we all saw evidence of some ancient human activity. You can read about it here: http://www.piramidasunca.ba/en/

Hiking up the Moon Pyramid

View of the Moon Pyramid

Inside the Pyramid caves - looking at one of the large monoliths excavated by the foundation



Entrance to the caves

One of the many terraces excavated by the pyramid foundation. The rocks here are extremely large and weigh several tons each.

Beautiful scenery around the Moon Pyramid

On Saturday evening we had a wonderful dinner of traditional Bosnian foods at Avlija restaurant, and then went to a local night club to hear some live music known as "Turbo Folk," basically traditional Bosnian folk music with a modern twist - a very interesting sound.

Sunday was another day of cultural activity and exploration of the countryside. We travelled southwest by van through the mountains to the cities of Medugorje (location of several reported sightings of the Virgin Mary), Buna, and Mostar (all of these cities are in the Herzegovina region of the country). The scenery was stunning.

Beautiful scenery enroute Herzegovina:








Medugorje holy sight - thousands make the pilgrimmage up the rocky hillside to pray. Some do it barefoot, some even do it on their knees.


In Buna we visited a 15th century Muslim monastery at the base of a huge cliff and adjacent to the underground source of the River Buna.

The river Buna and our visit to the monastery:











In Mostar we saw a 15th century city still rebuilding from the devastation of the Balkan war. Mostar was on the front line between Croation (Catholic) and Bosniak (Muslim) forces, and much of the city was destroyed or heavily damaged, including the historic bridge. The bridge has since been rebuilt using the original stone retrieved from the bottom of the river.

Some photos from Mostar:





The city remains divided, with Croats generally occupying one side of the river, and Bosniaks the other. In Mostar we sat down for a working dinner with two representatives from local NGOs working to improve civil society. While tensions and mistrust remain high in Mostar, both of the NGO representatives were cautiously optimistic about the way ahead.

On Monday I met with Dubravko Lovrenovic, Chairman of the BH Commission to Preserve National Monuments, and had a great discussion about their work to build ethnic cooperation, stimulate economic growth, and preserve cultural heritage through the establishment of national monuments.

Later we toured the BH Parliament, a building that was heavily damaged during the war and rebuilt with a donation from Norway. Many in the country feel the BH government, in particular the Parliament, has failed to deliver meaningful results/legislation. The structure of the Parliament was determined by the 1995 Dayton Agreement ending the war, and is designed to give generally equal represenation/power to the three main ethnic groups in the country: Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks.

BH Parliament




This is what happened to the government/parliament complex during the war.

On Monday night Sevko surprised us by announcing we would be guests on one of the most popular TV/radio shows in Sarajevo and throughout the Balkan state on Tuesday morning. The host, Bahtko, was a really neat and funny guy, and asked us some basic questions about our impressions of the country, and American views towards BH. There are definitely some in BH that wonder whether the United States "still cares" about the situation in the Balkans. We all felt very fortunate to be part of this great regional PR opportunity for the MMF program.










Later we visited the BH national court, and had a briefing with U. S. Judge Phillip Weiner, one of the international judges serving on the court. The court is the busiest war crimes court in the world, and continues to fight to bring war criminals to justice. The court system in BH is still maturing, and Judge Weiner shared some of his very impressive insights on the current status of the country's judiciary and the way ahead.


Lunch at the source of the Bosna River




Our farewell dinner to BH was a great opportunity to reflect on what we had seen and done. We all agreed that Sarajevo was the most emotionally moving city we had seen during the Fellowship. While the physical fighting between ethnic factions is over, the wounds remain fresh and deep, and the reconciliation process is far from over.
Throughout our visit we heard citizens expressing particular frustration with the country's current political leadership, and their propensity to capitalize on fear and ethnic tensions to move forward with specific political agendas that may not be in the best interest of the country. Despite these and other challenges, the people of Sarajevo remain optimistic.

Visiting Sarajevo was an amazing and enriching experience; I feel extremely fortunate to have had this unique opportunity to expand my understanding of the region's exceptionally complex characteristics and challenges.

Next stop, Bucharest.

This tailor didn't speak any English, and I didn't speak any Bosnian. Nevertheless he did an excellent job with my new Italian suit (hotel in Rome bought it for me after they lost my clothes). He is a veteran of the former Yugoslavian Navy and showed me some pictures from his time at sea.