A train trip north

I got up really early today (May 7) which I hate to do because it's St. George's Day. On this day families who consider the dragon-slayer their saint celebrate with a slava. It's a lot like Thanksgiving; huge amounts of food and alcohol consumed all day long at a long table filled with relatives, friends and guests. I was lucky to get an invite again from Ceca, our deputy editor, whose family has a beautiful little farm in Doboj (pronounced Dough-Boy) about three hours north of Sarajevo.

But how to get there? The company car is in the shop and anyway even renting a car I hate driving alone on roads here, which according to CIN research, are among the worst of all Europe -- including Albania. Public transport was the answer but that's why I had to get up so early.

I decided on the bus over the train because according to the schedule Ceca got on the phone the bus left 30 minutes later at 7:45.

I took a taxi to the Autobuska Stanica and found the ticket window. Doboj I said and held up a finger for one-way. There was a buzz, some fidgeting and the clerk sent me to the next window. Here sat the English speaker, I discovered.

"The bus," she told me, "is very gone."

It's impossible for me to say what that meant -- I missed it, although the idea of a vehicle here leaving ahead of schedule seems only remotely possible; the bus was canceled; there never had been a bus scheduled for 7:45 despite what we were told over the phone.

I took another taxi to the office where the newspaper had a whole different set of times for departing trains and buses to Doboj. Anyway, I got a 10:27 a.m train.

I could have slept in.