frago

I went to The Spar today and got a shock.
Evidently, it was purchased by the Mcmenamin brothers from Oregon in November of last year and they redecorated a bit. The cigar counter was moved from the front to the back. The Highclimber room is gone and the old logging pictures were moved up high. In their place were paintings of pub scenes and some character studies of long time Spar employees.
I’ve been to several Mcmenamin’s restaurants and this was a pretty tasteful remodel. Nothing too radical. I did sort of miss the old, very non-PC style of The Spar. The huge smoking section, the not-exactly-friendly waitresses and the guy at the register who NEVER smiled (not to mention the Hangtown Fry!).
Things move on I guess.

I was in the US Air Force during the Baltic civil war in the early 90s. I did a stint flying cargo into Sarajevo during the dark days. It was a dismal, devestated city. We would land in Split, Croatia on the way back to Frankfurt and I was always so startled to see a normal city operating so close to the wreckage of Sarajevo.
Croatia was beautiful and the people were friendly. I always wanted to head down to that lovely beach and try out the water. Never got a chance to though.