The Croatian Language Is Missing Vowels

Sometimes neurons that I haven’t used for over 30 years start to fire off, and the memories they harbor trickle back in. This began a few weeks ago, with just a low frequency hum. The more I read in preparation for the trip, the more it grew, and then last night the excitement on arrival […]

That Color Is Almost Unnatural

The greens and blues of the waters in Plitvice Lakes National Park enchant the eye. But then, almost everything about this place does that. When making decisions about what to do in Zagreb this week, I spent some time looking at different tours, and found a tour that transports me from Zagreb to Split, stopping […]

In Which I Find Memories

I stopped at the bottom of the Lotrščak Tower and looked around trying to get my bearings and decide where to go next. I spied a cafe serving drinks from a sliding glass window and came to a realization: Zagreb isn’t that big, it’s a Sunday afternoon, and there is no urgency. So I stepped […]

In Which I Get to Zagreb

The night was swarthy when I stepped into the hotel lobby through the open door of the building that had been left wide open in a futile attempt to lower the temperature. I would later learn that the air conditioning is not on yet so that’s going to make for a long night. Including driving […]

A Necessary Memorial

The plane pulled gently back from the gate and I missed it entirely, lost as I was in ruminative thought: this is something that’s happened a lot lately, as I’ve worked through the last few weeks of my life. This entry, my friends, is a tribute that demands to be written, and I’m worried that […]

Of Donuts and Memories

My memories (and this blog) are the souvenirs I bring home from my journeys – I know I’ve mentioned this before. Today is my last day here, and when I go home I’m bringing donuts with me. Charlie told me about them – we were talking about cooking fat (they like lard here) and he […]