Motorcycle Travel Series by @velimir 'The Prison Town' (Part #207)
It is late in a day. I arrive at Lepoglava, a little town in the north. This place is best known for the state penitentiary which has been here for a century. The inhabitants are reluctant to admit that this is the most important thing about their town and point out that there are also nicer things to remember Lepoglava for.
The local church premises were made into a prison in 1854. Later on they were returned fo the church and additional buildings were built nearby. The prison is well known for its later famous political prisoners. Tito (Josip Broz), as well as Franjo Tuđman and a number of top politicians who were serving their sentences there. The common joke is - if you want to be in the top of Croatian politics, you need to spend a few years in Lepoglava prison at some point during your life.
The town itself is quiet and I don't find many things going on. I found this weird looking statue. It is located in a garden opposite to the south entrance of the penitentiary. Looks dramatic and scary to me. Maybe an unintentional overkill. Maybe intentional? :)
I am riding around the town and stopping to ask people for direction to a museum of traditional broidery, which is also situated here but without much success. Guess the prison is the only thing here, after all. When I arrive someplace, I like asking people about their town. Well, I like talking to people in general. Talking to locals gives a much better feel for the place than any Internet guide. Call me old-fashioned but I never use those. They kill the pleasure of accidental discovery.
When compared to USA correctional systems, serving a sentence in Croatia is a cakewalk. Well, not that I've served one and have the first-hand knowledge but as much as I read and heard from people, I am prone to believe it is so. Well, our legislation system is a complete joke but we'll leave that story for some other time.
Enjoy your day! :-)
©2018 Velimir Kovačić All rights reserved.
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Excellent Pictures my Friend
A ghost town. Looks like this kitty has something against you, or he/she's also a prisoner?
Florence, AZ is now almost a bedroom community to Phoenix, but is home to the State Maximum Security Prison. It's where you go to do hard time in Arizona. The residents don't like to talk about it much, but it IS the economic driver of the city. One of our greatest cultural sites (Casa Grande) is very near and they would way rather talk about that.
I'm with you on pitching the on line guides. I have a GPS on my bike that I use as a hyper accurate speedometer and to tell me where the nearest gas station is :) Some of my coolest discoveries have been when I am hopelessly lost.
Thanks for another great post in the series. As always, the photography is completely over the top and the writing is superb. Possibly the best combination of the two on Steemit.
Thank you
Thank you. Your words of encouragement mean a bunch.
Yes...that's it. I don't own a GPS for that matter. I use a smartphone when there is absolutely no way around it. hahaha:D
Really nice post.
About the cats, if you dont own a cat i am sure you will have an issue with their staring, they are naturally attuned to non-verbal communication:)
In human culture, staring is often considered to be extremely rude. Therefore, this may naturally lead on to our own misconceptions and misinterpretations of a cats stare as well. Actually from the experience of owning a cat, cats stare at us because they are interested in what we are doing or she’s staring because she wants something to eat and believes that if she stares into your eyes she can somehow control your mind and force you to do her bidding. (OK, maybe the mind control part of that isn't true, but she may well be hungry :)
So @velimir, take that cat’s interest as a compliment, not all will stare like that. :)
I really like the history behind that church and prison. That shows a transition from bad to good.. Good always wins:)
I liked to know that you like history and raw knowledge. We can find information online very easily. Knowledge is another matter altogether.
It’s a very old observation that the most ignorant people are usually full of opinions, while many of the most knowledgeable people are full of doubt. Other people are certainly sources of knowledge just like you decide to ask for knowledge and not information.
My worry is that the superabundance of information is devaluing knowledge. The more that information piles up on Internet servers around the world, and the easier it is for that information to be found and taken for granted. But when the get the original inhabitants put you through the history, you wont forget anytime soon and ofcourse you would enjoy the conversation because the person will definitely show you around and you can touch them and even take your own picture.
I fear that the Internet has already greatly weakened our sense of what is distinctive about knowledge, and why it is worth seeking.
I really feel your mindset @velimir. About the reply you gave to @darksea, wow, that was epic. No one would know that you took the pic of that cat not just that it was scary and was staring, but because it was as if it was behind bars and your post here was about prison and cell. This is deep thinking at it's best. You deserve an oscar :)
This has spurred me to think deeper while reading your post. You are a Legend in thinking. Readers are plentiful: thinkers are rare.
I enjoyed the post. Thanks.
Great, i love your comments. Loved it. He is really a deep thinker.
Beautiful post indeed.
My worry is that the superabundance of information is devaluing knowledge. The more that information piles up on Internet servers around the world, and the easier it is for that information to be found, the less distinctive and attractive that knowledge will appear by comparison.
We need to get back to our roots when it comes to some certain areas. Like @velimir said in a previous post, we are loosing our cultural heritage and this time to the internet.
Thank you guys, very much, for your support! :)
You are very right Lucy, the more information we are bombarded with, the less time for thinking we can spare.
@georgechuks
You are an awesome supporter of my blog! :) Thank you so much for all the comments! You always speak your mind so clearly, it is a pleasure to read! I don't answer them because my time is so limited but I do read each and every one of them!
Awesome. I loved it. What a contrast of a church and prison.
I agree with you on the place of interacting with people in a locality about their indigenous history. Well, you can find tons of opinions online, ready-made, it is easy to find, but not as easy to digest as a human will pull you through. Just think of the different types of pages that a typical Web search turns up: news articles, which summarize events for the average person; blogs, which are usually very brief; Web forums, which only rarely go into depth; and encyclopedia articles and other mere summaries of topics. The point is that most of the stuff that you typically find on the Internet is pretty lightweight especially ones that involves ancient times. Just like @velimir met people on the streets of that locality to inquire more on the topic.
“Right,” you say, “what’s wrong with the internet? Great taste, less filling!
Excellent post.
In the last picture. It looks like a cat would attack you. Do not you think like that? Or did I get it wrong understand?
I hope not. I am so afraid of angry cats. Once in a while cat was cut off hands.
hehe I took that photo because the cat was behind bars and I was posting about the penal system. she was hungry and wanted some food. as soon she realized I don't have food, she left. :D
well, you did not have a food in your hand. It really looks like it will attack. I'm really scared of ıt. :D
@velimir
Thank you for sharing and I have to say thank you to myself too that I follow you because your beautiful post make me feel like to travel with you too and get to know new things ... :-)
Oh one more thing is , I can practice my reading skill too :D .. English is hard for me but I believe if I try and don't give up then I can do it :-)
Thank you
T.J.
@giantkidishere
So happy you like it :) I feel all people who read my blog always travel with me :)
Yaye !! :D
So now you have me as a new member in every trip you go ...
Well don't let me behind :-)
You have a wonderful day
T.J.
hello hello friend hoy pude ver tu post las fotos son buenas y expresivas, la historia es muy actual , es bueno vistar lugares diferentes para compartir un rato diferente.
Por ultimo my good amigo te invito a leer mi post se que te gustara, tambien comparte con amigos y familia.por favor deme up voto y comenta.recuerda junto podemos ayudarnos el uno al otro
saludos
Thanks
You are right - the best way to find out about a place or a city is to ask the locals. No Internet resource will tell you what the locals know.
I like the way you find in simple places - not simple things. This vision of the surrounding world is priceless :) this is a sign of a creative personality
The cat in the last photo obviously asked you for something to eat :)
Have a good day
Cats love to do modeling and are selfie-lovers. I've never seen a single camera-shy cat in my life. Sometimes, they even stare in a way that makes us look stupid regardless how important task we are doing. For example, this cat has made the cameraman look dumb (sorry @velimir if it was you :))
Isn't it interesting to visit the historic places on motorcycle. This must be very refreshing. I read somewhere that when you go out, you actually come in. It was about finding inner peace that one gets through exploring the world because there is so much in the world that gives us positive energy. I would like to share this beautiful quote with the people through your wall:
Excellent post @velimir.
Steem On!
Hahahaha, yes cats can be funny that way. :D
And thank you for the quote!