I spent five low-key days hanging out with Jelena, her brother, and her mom. We:
-went ice-skating. Zagreb is inland and rather mountainous so it was cold, with some snow.
-drove to Kaprina, a small town toward Slovenia, to visit a museum about Neanderthals. It was on the site of one of the biggest and most pivotal fossil discoveries of early man.
-had coffee with another of my Croatian teammates (I have four total). Croatians drink a lot of coffee (kind of like Turkish people). The cafe was a little loud and smoky-- not horribly smoky, just the odor. That's something you don't really come across in the United States anymore- smoking indoors- but my friends said they're used to it, as it's the norm there, and that they get nostalgic for home when they smell cigarettes in the U.S.
-walked around downtown Zagreb, saw a few of its important sites. It's Croatia's capital and largest city- approximately the same population as Austin, TX.
-visited her cousin, Snezjana, who I knew from her visit to Austin last year. While drinking hot wine and eating flaky "butter bread," the priest came and blessed the home-- something he does for all the devout Catholics of his parish.
-went to the movies with some of her friends. They spoke great English and we had a very interesting discussion on the walk home-- about cultural differences, school, stereotypes-- it was gratifying..
More about LIFE IN CROATIA in my next post!
While Zagreb didn't have the pretty views and "grandes choses" of Paris, it had something Paris didn't: FRIENDS! After traveling and sight-seeing alone, being with Jelena and her brother felt like nourishment.. It was nice just to lounge and read in the company of somebody I knew, in their cozy apartment, overlooking the white, wintery outskirts of Zagreb. I was sorry when it came time to leave!
The sunset from Jelena's apartment
That is a beautiful view from Jelena's apartment.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't look very urban. Ascetics are important.
I got spoiled on Baker's Meadow.