Time to Learn

Since we will be in Croatia for about a month we definitely need to learn some words and phrases. So many people here speak English, but it’s really nice to make an effort to try to speak the language. Up until now we have been in and out of most places really quickly and to be completely honest we haven’t put in much effort. We’ve tried to remember simple things like “hello”, “please”, and “thank you” but my memory is the worst and I constantly have to look at and listen to Google Translate. German was the easiest for me, but that’s because I took German in grade ten and miraculously recall some basics. With the exception of Germany, I felt like I was using words from wherever we’d been last, or was pronouncing phrases so badly that I may be saying something offensive.

What I’ve learned so far is that in Croatian every letter makes one given sound that stays the same regardless of where the letter is in the word. I should probably watch some YouTube tutorials. Wish me luck.

Fabulous Accommodation, Food and People

Our flat in Zagreb was super sweet. It was nice and roomy with a wonderful balcony that we could hang both our hammocks on. Any place with an outdoor space that accommodates both hammocks is pretty much perfect in our books.

Our host suggested a restaurant called Zlatna Śkoljka. It was conveniently located just across the street and we ate there three nights in a row. Not because we’re too lazy to walk further, but because the food was excellent. The same could be said for the staff.

On our second visit we met Christian. He was a young guy, I think he said twenty-five. We were eating outside and there was a lot of cheering in the distance as well as singing. We asked him what was going on and he explained that there was a big footy game that determined who would be in the final. He asked where we were from and when we replied Edmonton he immediately said, “Oh, Wayne Gretzky! Well, now McDavid.” He was a really funny guy and continued to chat to us while clearing our table and dropping each piece of silverware in the process. And not all at once. It was like watching Jack Tripper. He’d drop one and go to pick it up and then two more would fall off a plate and he’d pick one of those up and the first would fall again. It went on for an absurdly long time, much to my delight. And never once did he even bat an eye. Just kept on chatting while cutlery continued to slide from the plates and crash to the ground. To end our evening Christian brought us out shooters. Nice gentle delicious ones.

Our server the first and third night was an older gentleman, well older than Christian, so around our age. Hmmm, right. Our age. Nano was forty-five. During our conversation he told us that he had to fight in the war for Croatia’s independence when he was just nineteen and it was clearly difficult for him to talk about. He asked us where we were planning to go in Croatia and we named four or five of our next stops. Afterward he told us we were visiting more places than he’d traveled in his entire life. There was such a stark contrast in personality between these two men who were just 20 years apart in age. Both were born in Zagreb. While Christian had moved around to try working in hospitality in other areas of Croatia, Nano had never left. Christian was outgoing and lively, whereas Nano was serious and reserved. Obviously life circumstances play a huge role, but I also wondered about how these two were as young boys before they experienced such drastically different realities as young men.

I’m reading a book about introverts and extroverts at the moment which probably had me thinking about this more than I would otherwise. It’s an interesting book about the power of introverts and how society has shifted its focus from having good character to having a good personality. It addresses how we have come to place such a high premium on being extroverted, changed our work and school environments to support the “extrovert ideal”, and how this affects introverts. Anyway, I’ve gone way off here, but the book, written by Susan Cain, is called Quiet if you’re interested in this type of thing.

So we thought we were done eating but then Nano brought us out special desserts that are apparently only made at their restaurant. We were both so full but we didn’t want to be rude so we ate as much as we could, at least two thirds of it. When he returned and saw the remaining portions he said, “That’s okay, you didn’t like it” with just the smallest hint of a smile so I think he was mostly kidding…

Good Vibes

We loved Zagreb. It had so much happening. People are out all the time. As Christian had told us, people here do not have a lot of money but they live like they do. They like to be out. There are tons of places to eat and drink and the people are friendly and helpful.

I absolutely adored the fashions here as well. I fell in love with a skirt in a shop window and went in to investigate. It was on sale! Half price! Only two hundred and fifty Canadian. Needless to say I did not end up adding anything to my suitcase that day.

Zagreb is full of good vibes and we wish we had more time to explore the place. As it turned out it rained most of our last day there so we ended staying in and worked on planning for Greece. Luckily we had made an effort to get out and see things the day before. If you take a look through the photos you will see some of the beautiful buildings there. St. Mark’s Church was one of my favorites. We also passed by the Museum of Broken Relationships. This is a museum I would check out! There are also lots of quirky little areas like Strossmayerovo šetalište that are great for grabbing a drink and taking pics.

 

 

Holy Thunder

As I mentioned, It poured down the last day. The thunder was unreal. I have never heard such continuous rumbling. Just as soon as you thought it was about to die out there would be another huge crack and so on. I love a good storm and enjoyed sitting on our covered balcony listening to the show. It was actually nice to have the rain as it was extremely hot each day, cooling down to around 30 degrees by 9 pm.

You Snooze You Lose

Andre has been doing almost of of the planning and had been looking at our options for flights into Greece. While the rain was coming down he got to work. The thunder was briefly interrupted and overshadowed by some colourful language when Andre discovered the flight we had wanted was now gone and the other had doubled overnight. He is currently steaming and searching for other options.

 

 

 

 

 

49 days in…

Onward to Rovinj and Pula.