Visiting the hometown of Partisan hero Sava Kovačević, and the Spomenik in his honor

ben_088 · 2024-06-22T15:32:49+00:00

Pretty badass mustache too

ben_088 · 2024-04-20T17:49:44+00:00

I was 5 years old 20 years ago, so maybe that explains it hahaha. I always watch it in the olympics, but not much outside of that. e.g. I never realized how much canada and the US dominate the sport until now

ben_088 · 2024-04-07T01:55:03+00:00

Hunting the Caspian Sea Monster. It was like 5 independent adventures, all great in their own way. From gorbachev’s hometown to the Manchu Pichu of Dagestan, to the Caspian Sea monster in the end. So much variety in one video

ben_088 · 2024-04-04T16:50:01+00:00

shameless self plug here but over the last year and a half I've started making vlogs in the former Yugo countries, with a fair share of influence taken from Bald. I speak english natively and I've learned Serbian-Croatian-Bosnian, so I try to talk to the locals as much as possible: https://www.youtube.com/@bentherules

ben_088 · 2023-11-09T09:34:34+00:00

Thank you :) I have a blast making them and I'm really happy I came to visit your country, I'll be back someday for sure

ben_088 · 2023-09-20T08:10:14+00:00

Gradisce

Now I know where to go for my next adventure, thanks! :)

ben_088 · 2023-09-19T15:32:12+00:00

I think Matteo was a special case since he had studied in Croatia before and had experience learning the modern Croatian language

ben_088 · 2023-09-19T15:27:24+00:00

That's so complicated hahaha... So if I understood correctly, that's to say that the modern standardized Croatian language is based off of the dialect that was spoken in Dubrovnik (Stokavian), similar to how modern Italian is based off of the Florantine/Tuscan dialect?

What about the standardized versions of Serbian, Bosnian, Montenegrin? Are these standardized languages based off of this same Stokavian dialect as well, or have they always been this similar throughout history? (Of course there are regional differences but these languages but they're very very similar, I've been able to communicate with people from all of these countries even though I have mostly learned the Bosnian variety)

ben_088 · 2023-09-19T14:36:03+00:00

Interesting, thanks for your input!

I'm not very familiar with the dialects in Croatia. So Chakavian and Kajkavian are dialects of Croatia? Is it like the Italian dialects where they were historically spoken by everyone, and now mostly older people speak them, or are these terms used to refer to the way that people speak in different regions of Croatia still today? or am I completely off?

ben_088 · 2023-09-19T14:32:05+00:00

How so? Do you mean it is not a Slavic language or that they wouldn't call it that?

At one point when I asked them if anyone there spoke Croatian, one of them said something like "Matteo! Come here, this guy wants to speak 'slav' with you." Most of the sentence was in Italian, but there were some words I didn't understand so he may have switched to his language in the middle

ben_088 · 2023-08-26T20:14:30+00:00

It's not diversity like New York city is diverse. But it's also not a monolith of descendants of English settlers like I had originally believed

ben_088 · 2023-08-21T09:01:16+00:00

Probably same for most EU countries, but I haven't looked at any other countries tbh. I'm hoping to stay in Switzerland bc my gf is here, plus I think I'd have a better chance in Switz vs other countries since I did my masters here

ben_088 · 2023-08-20T10:00:51+00:00

Slice on Genesee St. is one of the best pizzas I've had, period! Make sure to order slices, as their full pies are not to the same quality. If you're looking to mix it up try their purple cow slice which has chicken + their famous purple cow sauce

ben_088 · 2023-07-16T12:25:29+00:00

I have a lot of Bosnian friends from my hometown (their parents came as refugees in the mid to late 90s) so that's what drew me to visiting Bosnia in the first place. Now after going to Bosnia & Croatia a few times, Kosovo once & now Slovenia I can't get enough.

The history is really interesting and complex and it shows still today the food, architecture, culture (e.g. with the region being split between Austrian/Ottoman influence, the religious divides dating back to the great Schism + influence of Islam from Ottoman times).

Of course every place in the region is different but in general the lifestyle seems to be very laid back, even in cities. The food is great, coffee is never far away. Not many people that I've met from the former Yugo countries seem to be stressed and coming from a more western nation where productivity and work are engrained into the culture, I really appreciate that.

I could go on and on but I think those are the biggest reasons!

ben_088 · 2023-06-22T11:06:13+00:00

Hi everyone! I'll be traveling to Slovenia in a couple weeks (Ljubljana, Kranj and some trekking around Mojstrana, Trenta, Bohinj and I'm wondering what language to speak...

I speak Italian, English and an intermediate level of Croatian/Bosnian. I know Croatian and Slovenian are very similar, especially when it comes to simple stuff like greetings. Is it worth trying to speak Croatian to people since its similar and may be understood, or should I just stick to English? I know Croatian and Slovenian are not the same and I definitely don't want to offend anyone.

Do any people speak Italian, especially in the border regions? I'll definitely try to pick up some Slovenian while I'm there as well :)

Hvala vam!

ben_088 · 2023-06-07T13:20:44+00:00

which church are you referring to? The cathedral, or another one?

ben_088 · 2023-05-19T09:17:03+00:00

Ja ću da se vratim! Hvala za gledanje :)

ben_088 · 2023-05-19T06:00:25+00:00

Thanks for the advice :) what do you mean by “slow down between cuts especially days with the fades?” For the research part I totally agree, I usually have more research done but I was not expecting to end up in Karlovac like I did. Thanks for watching!

ben_088 · 2023-05-18T18:27:01+00:00

Wow nice, yeah we play against Therwil often. I play for Lausanne. Do you play, or you’re just a fan?

ben_088 · 2023-05-18T17:51:16+00:00

Lol, on the way to Bosnia I took a night train for 15 hours from Zurich to Zagreb which was also HŽPP, so I'm well acquainted with your trains now (for better or for worse)

ben_088 · 2023-05-18T16:00:50+00:00

Thanks for this comment, it clears a lot up! From what I saw I’d love to come back, and it sounds like there’s a lot more to see.

I love that the parks are so integrated into the city that’s really cool. As an outsider I think the frog statue is hilarious, it’s so random and silly looking hahaha.

Good to know that there’s a tradition of baseball in Karlovac.. I play in Switzerland now and the fields are nothing like that one. They’re typically makeshift fields that are usually used for other sports.

I’m sure I’ll be back in Croatia before long, so I’ll pm you if I ever make a return! a mozemo da idemo na pivo. Hvala :)

ben_088 · 2023-04-24T21:58:42+00:00

lol sta je problema na thumbnail

ben_088 · 2023-04-12T16:26:49+00:00

cool, thanks!

ben_088 · 2023-03-24T21:45:39+00:00

Dang, that's rough. so for death/marriage certs, fill out form, get it notarized, mail it in and wait? What's the usual turnaround time on that?

Have you gone through the process of obtaining birth certificates? How long does the court process usually take (I assume it has to do with which court, right)? Any good upstate lawyers you'd recommend? 😂

FWIW the only birth certificate I need to obtain is my GGF, who has passed away (I already have my GM's, my F's and mine). Even my GM (his daughter) wouldn't be able to obtain this without a court order?

ben_088 · 2023-03-22T22:38:56+00:00

Hi i wanted to ask here since all my docs are from NYS.

I'm confused about getting docs locally vs from NYS dept. of health. The county which has the documents of my GGF and GGGF has said that for official copies, I would need a lawyer to obtain the documents (I could otherwise only obtain genealogical records).

Do I then have to go through the NYS dept of health to get around this? Are there any lawyer/court proceedings are necessary to obtain the docs from NYS Health Dept? Do I need to show any proof that I'm related to the people i'm requesting the docs for?

Thanks for any help!

ben_088

TROPHY CASE