Nostalgija i Avantura

This website begins in a place that is home in my heart in northern Croatia.  I could not think of a better place to share a little of my heart with you. Here is where I learned to love so many things about life.  More & more, I feel nostalgic, sometimes emotional and wanting those people that grounded me to stay forever.  Our parents generation and those before them, life was not easy, but on so many occasions there was still time to raise the glass and celebrate life.  To family, friends, Croatian & non Croatian immigrant families in Canada; the people that sacrificed so much in their day to day lives to do better for others and themselves; you made the world a better place.

I have come to Croatia with the opportunity to learn more about the history, culture & languages with hopes of staying one day in my family home and somehow giving something to a place that gave so much to me.  These are letters of my time here that talk about day to day life, mixed with the past, my hopes for the future & other special moments. This started off as sharing with friends what I could not always say with all my heart in person, but being here, having the time to see the hearts of people in plain view is something to behold. For me, here still lies a place of charm & character, even on the rainiest of days.

A tour guide in the Sistine Chapel where photos are forbidden said to take a picture with our eyes, that we always have that to remember. Here I hope you will get a picture through my words more than the photos. And why would I choose for the love of mortadella sandwiches? One day I will get to that part, but for now please enjoy. To life!

Marian Stella (Marijana)

Video by SARA HUDEK BOSANAC

Pictures by me in Croatia & Italy

‘If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sunbeams & you will always look lovely.’

-Roald Dahl

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3. March 2025.

Hello from Hrvatska!   This may not be the most exciting message but I hope you are all well.  Really, I am only less than 2 weeks here, but I want to say everything is fine and feel very thankful to be here.  I was not able to leave Canada right away because of a snowstorm in Toronto but also a plane too went belly up from high winds, which changed airport operations and sent waves of delays everywhere else. Very scary for those passengers who experienced that, but I was fortunate to spend another night in my own bed and not on the airport floor.  I woke up to an email where they rebooked me with a grand total of 40 hours travel going through Dubai and after a couple of revisions, I left a little later the next day.  Thanks to a friend’s suggestion I bought myself an airport lounge moment and slept in a bed in the airport, that was so helpful!  I had a layover of six and a half hours in London and thought what the heck.

It had taken me a week to sleep properly but here I am writing you feeling drowsy at 7.41 p.m.  Back to normal for me.  My days start early because I travel from the village to the city.  Picture me on a bus going up the mountain, then down the mountain with switch back after switch back after switch back etc….  Do not read or write on this route, breakfast should stay down, not come up.  It is really nice to think about life on this trip, my head feels less full and welcome it.  I have many moments where I feel content in my decision, challenging or not.  It’s nice to see the trees for what they are and hear the birds for what they are.

Last week school started.  Now that was humbling walking into a university in Croatia and reading all the graffiti on the bathroom doors, oh my goodness. Taking me back many years; kids smoking on the steps in front of the university, university activist posters, sports sign up and all.  I felt a little unusual, but then my class started and it was people of all ages from Chile, China, Ukraine, USA, France, Argentina, Peru; amazing.  I have a great teacher who another classmate and I went out to the cafe with one day.  I have to tell you, another far out experience was going to the cafeteria to eat.  I felt like I was in an 80’s high school flick lining up my tray and heading to the tables deciding where should I sit.

The first week I wandered the city trying to get things done.  I am still doing those things, but also creating a routine for myself.  Today I went to the swimming pool and I forget, the buses from the village, well there is no call bell.  You walk up to the front and then he stops.  He gave me heck for not saying something sooner, but I am Croatian, I can take it.  Today, I also bought a bike!  I am figuring out a way to get around being on the bus in the city so have decided I will bike from where the bus first enters the city of Zagreb because traffic just crawls! I am just working out through friends whose house can I leave my bike at, however friends and family have been so helpful.

I have been very busy so far and still have yet to see all my relatives/friends.  With certain things around the home and homework, so far my days are full.  Things I love are church bells, chickens running free although one poor chicken was outnumbered the other day when two dogs started chasing it.  I am not sure what happened there, maybe she said peck off and they went running for her.  I thought they were coming after me.  Anyways on the way to my mom’s childhood home to visit my uncle, it is a village of dogs and chickens.  Other things I love are the bakeries, the squares, the people, but I also love the people back home which is all of you.

Please be patient with me, these letters will come on a leisurely postage route.

Sending you the scent of beautiful Croatian baking from across the Atlantic, you are in my thoughts. Best wishes everyone.

Marian

Koja ulica? Which street?

21. March 2025.

I hope this note finds you all well.  My brother asked me the other day, how’s the planes, trains and automobiles going?  I have to laugh because I am using different modes of transportation on a weekly basis.  Some days I go to the next village to take a train which I can put a bike on, or I take a bus and pick up my bike on the outskirts of the city where it is kept at a friend of a friend of a friends place.  I said last time I got a bike, meaning I purchased it, but the bike came from a warehouse outside so this week I truly rode my bicycle.  This bicycle is like a Cadillac compared to my old Apollo in Victoria.  The colour is sangria and it is a proper ladies bike so I have to remember I can just step over and not swing my whole leg over the frame.  I laughed a little today because I saw my shadow and this bike has me sitting more upright and swaying a little depending on how fast I am pedalling; but that’s good, it is a proper city bike after all and great for me picking up on what’s happening around me.

I am taking a lot of information in.  It’s one thing to visit and hang out with family in their neighbourhoods and follow them around, but then it is another thing to be on your own making your way.  Streets are named after people and they are long names….like ulica (street) Ivana Tkalcica, Ulica Vitezoviceva, Ulica Jerolima Mise, Ulica Draskovica…….  Where the street names might be challenging, the cycling is not in the way everything is flat, however pedalling is done more on the sidewalk and Zagreb has created more bike lanes.  I just love that the bicycle gives me more time and accessibility to the city.  There is so much to see but also now I have the time to come early and just sit in a square and take things in.  What is the race to the finish line for.  ‘Sometimes I need only to stand wherever I am to be blessed’— a quote from the bathroom stall at the university, however I now know the owner of this quote is a Mary Oliver, not a university student.  Anyways, I wish I came up with that one.

When the sun comes out, it is amazing, the cafes are full of people.  I love the city parks and the pigeons.  I really love pigeons, they kind of just move around minding their own business, they are not intrusive, but when someone throws a whole loaf of bread, sea of pigeons and all you see is chunks of bread flying up in the air kind of like the bubbles in a hot tub floating up to the surface in every direction.  People are overall friendly and content, but I do like that Croatian people if there are unhappy, they will let you know.  I went to a kiosk at the train station and this lady sees me standing there but she answers her phone, makes me wait a little, kind of unhappily asks what do you want while keeping her phone conversation going, 2 packets of tissue paper please (by the way, do yourself a favour, carry tissues around for the bathrooms), sees me pull out 20 euros, gets upset and said she needs smaller change.  It is funny to me, but I do know that people have been through a lot in this country as well, plus she works at the main train station and I am sure she deals with a lot.

On the home front.  I love coming back to the village.  It is quiet, but also vibrant for such a small place depending on the days of the week.  I love being in my home.  There is a picture of my dad on the wall, his great smile, I miss him.  The place is small, but filled with many memories.  Homes in Croatia in the past were small, not many bedrooms, just one in this home.  My grandma slept in the kitchen on a sofa type bed when we visited, my parents in the living room and my brother and I in the bedroom on two twin beds with mattresses filled with I have no idea, but it was lumpy.  To go down to the basement, you open a hatch and climb down the ladder, same with the attic, you pull down the ladder.  People slept in one room or two.  We have 2 big ormars that are over 100 years old, there is so many linens in there from the past, sometimes I have no idea if I am sleeping in a tablecloth or bedsheet, okay maybe that just happened 2 times tops, I figured it out.

School is going well but I realize in a way that this is my job now, to be a student.  I truly am thrilled to be a student.  I am learning so much about the history, culture, authors of song and literature, etc… however I can see I am not alone in the way the Croatian language can sometimes be challenging.  I have two classmates from the Ukraine and they are part of the slavic languages group, they have been here for a while and even for them it’s a challenge.  This week I felt frustrated with these irregular verbs and my teacher said, ‘pusti to sada’ which translates to let that go for now and she was right.  I had these slogans before coming here that started off as a joke but were my motivators, ‘big money, big dreams’, ‘last dash for cash’, but I think now I would like to take the anonymous quote from the bathroom stall, plus what my instructor said…..those are my motivating words these next months……….

I am hoping that wherever you are today, you can remember that you have another friend across that world that is thinking of you.

Marian (Marijana)

p.s. this email was not AI generated, from my brain alone so there are mistakes

4. April 2025.

I hope this message finds everyone well.  I hope the sounds of spring are waking you up gently (maybe minus the symphony of seagulls and crows) and the longer days are lifting your spirit.  I cannot remember if I am repeating myself, but when I first arrived to Croatia in February, there was a little bit of snow at the top of the hills, but one thing that I noticed more clearly is without the leaves in the forest, from a bird’s eye view or even just driving by and looking at the forest ahead or from further away, you can see right through the forest.  Hide and seek is a summer sport here I think, not a winter sport because you will lose.   Spring is here and the birds sing really nicely here, but something that is interesting to me is the air pressure shifts.  I don’t think I noticed this too much living on the coast and being at sea level but when the air pressure changes here, incoming headache and an overall heaviness.  It is a strange sensation even if Zagreb is 518 ft above sea level and where I am in Krapino-Zagorje is about 600 ft above sea level.  Right now temperatures can range from 0 in the morning to 20 degrees celsius during the day.

This email will be a little different because a little bit of the initial high of being here has simmered.  I think, up to the point of leaving Canada I had my eye positioned right on the target I knew I needed to get to.  Now instead of moving at 60 km/hr, I have to cut that in half or more, or just sometimes have my brain and body match and be settled at 0 km/hr.  I know a certain way of life and although I brag about Croatia and the lifestyle here, I am not here yet.  I am taking in so much information in school, taking in so much information with family and friends dynamics, culture, moving from one point to another……  Trying to master the Croatian language I have come to accept is impossible.  I will never speak Croatian like someone that is born here.  It is one of the hardest languages to master, just ask around.  Believe me, just ask around.  Actually just ask google, so I did, hahaha;

“Did you know that Croatian is thought to be one of the ten most difficult languages to learn in the world? It stands tall among languages like Hungarian, Icelandic, and Chinese. Inspired by Mr.Apr 16, 2024”

P.s.  One of my classmates from China said Chinese has one case, Croatian has 7!  And 3 gender roles.

I have spent hours and hours over the years, and this week and last shed some tears, or just dropped my head on the textbook because when I think I know it, I realize just how much I don’t know.  You know what, this is the blessing, to realize I will never be perfect in the Croatian language.  The course overall is extremely interesting with the history and culture interwoven.

One of my goals was to just live the daily life here and it is funny because every place has something. For example, one of the bus drivers drives 40 km - 50 km/hr back to the village, while some of the regulars just want to get home from the city but he is just happy go lucky chatting away and enjoying the drive through the city, up the mountain, then down the mountain, switch back after switch back, talking to a lady who is unhappy about the state of the world day after day, while happy Croatian music is playing on the radio.  There are classroom dynamics too now.  One lady has a specific seat and if someone arrives before her, she asks them to move from that seat.  For me I am always sitting between two people that run late and ask me what they missed, while one poor lady particularly now is chronically sneezing and forgetting to cover her mouth when sneezing in my direction.

I also have to tell you something.  One morning I went for a run and a Croatian man asks, are you trying to lose weight?   I say, no this is just my routine.  Although Croatia is catching on with sport and fitness with the general public; when I was a teenager and it was still Yugoslavia and not yet Croatia, I would go for a run and people would slow down their vehicles and stare.  Like why would you just go out and run?  In some ways I see that perspective as they were out working hard on the land, that in itself is physically gruelling.  As a side note I have another funny story.  Many years ago I was out for a morning run in Croatia while visiting family on an island.  I happened to pass this guy running.  The next day or two I see the same guy up ahead, however he kind of jumps off to the side of the road and by the time I run by he is lifting a boulder up and down (exercising) and grunting just to be sure I got the message I guess.  I still laugh in my mind when I think of this.

Finally, I have to tell you something.  Yesterday I got to be part of something really special.  Easter is the biggest holiday in Croatia and the Catholic religion is very strong still.  I got to be part of a pilgrimage with about 200 other Croatian people.  It ran through villages, sub-villages and the mountains.  The scenery and day was perfect with things starting to bloom here.  Before I left a friend already having got up at 5 in the morning to cook us some food which was a whole spread at breakfast, (people do that here, get up at five in the morning baking and cooking for family and friends) unbelievably generous, but all their heart and soul goes towards family and friends.  First there was a mass at one church at the top of hill in one village, then we made our way to shrine after shine along the way, one family along the way had set up treats and refreshments, and at the end was Croatian stew (goulash) waiting for us.  It was 15 kms.  A friends mother in law who knew my grandmother and father and mother said, how special, you come to be in your families homeland, your very roots where your grandparents, father and mother were born; how she said it and from her heart; I really realized the weight of why I am here.  Lot’s of love to you all,

Marijana

P.S.  I am trying not to blow through my budget here, but the shoes, man the shoes.  I am a Croatian citizen now, let me try the Croatian lottery system here.

To learn: I learn, you learn, he/she/it learns,we learn, you learn (more than one person), they learn (male,female,mixed)

Bada Bing

14. April 2025.

I hope this message finds you well and that you are taking the time to enjoy the light moments of spring.  I appreciate all seasons; each one has parts that I really look forward to when their months roll around.  Here, where I said in winter you would lose at a game of hide and seek, now you have a good chance of winning.  In continental Croatia the forest is pouffy and green mixed with some white which are cherry trees and do people ever take pride in gardening here.  They love their flowers and it is amazing, the old homes added with flowers around them, it changes everything.  It is a transformation.  Speaking of transformation, I went for a haircut here and the hairdresser asked me are you ready for your transformation?  I thought while in the city and after class I would go; it was more a transformation of my wallet, minus 68 euros for a 15 minute haircut, however the 10 minute hair washing was lovely.  My friends said just go here in the village, 25 euros, but nooooooo.  Tvrda glava means hard head in Croatian and yes I am the first to say I have that character.

Last time I wrote I felt the meeting of emotions in one place, but that needed to happen.  I would not change being here and even though there are days where I feel like a light weight, for me this is the best place to be right now hands down.  There is a physician/surgeon in Victoria who was born in Serbia and a quote she mentioned in an interview really stuck with me,  “You get the greatest rewards out of life if you do hard things” -Alex Mihailovic.  I was reminded by this from a friend who said this similar thing.  Another thing she felt was that hard work is worthy and I believe in this.   When I  was about 20 years old, many high school friends of mine had come home for the summer to work.   I remember university seemed unreachable to me.  During a conversation, I said to a friend who had come home for the summer, I am not smart enough for university and he replied, it’s actually not about how smart you are, it’s about how hard you are willing to work; and that moment changed everything for me because that I knew I was willing to do, I could count on myself to do that.  Thank you Yat wherever you are now.

So back to the bicycle.  I don’t know if I told you, but my bike ride to the centre of Zagreb begins when I pass a former nightclub called ‘Bada Bing’!!  What a great way to start my morning.  Bada bing, bada boom, hajdemo (mean’s let’s go in Croatian).  For me the bicycle is one of the beautiful inventions of life.  Even though there is a lot of starting and stopping, it works for me.  I am figuring out a rhythm.  The thing with the bicycle is you get stop at an intersection and look up at the buildings in the meantime.  I can only imagine what it took to create these old buildings.  Buildings that were made to last with exterior sculpture and design.  I wonder how long it took to finish everything; then add to the charm, the flowers and the pigeons hanging out on the ledges.  Actually the Italian word for ledge is cornice, something I learned today.  I already said how much I love pigeons, but our teacher said there is a sad story with pigeons now.  Although in history they were seen as messengers of peace, compassion, love and many more meanings across different cultures, I guess some of the locals can find them messy and carriers of disease.  I still like them.

I am getting to know the city of Zagreb more which is a lot of fun and call me old fashioned but I like a good old fashioned map.  I like to see the overall picture, not just a segment I am chasing around on my phone.  Another way I like to learn is trial by error.  What have I got to lose, that way I don’t forget again.  Sometimes you make an error and find yourself in an unexpected neighbourhood with a cafe or shop you would never have seen if you did not make that error.  I also like that I am knowing the bike paths of the city and because of this, I came across a platz (market) in Zagreb.  People come and sell all the fresh fruits, cheeses, mushrooms, vegetables.  It makes me think of my family.  My grandma who passed away before I was born on my mom’s side, would have a basket on her head with stuff from the land and take it to the city to sell.  People have their tables and sell amazing food.  I also figured out that at the end of the day, you may get a deal because like the older lady I ran into, she needed to catch the bus back to the village.  Locals go first thing in the morning, but I am on bike and can only carry so much so it is easier for me on the way home.  Also, I just want to say how much I love a kickstand.  Do you remember as kids when kickstands were not cool to have.  Well I have a kickstand and fenders and yes, yes, yes to them.  I also would like to say I love window shopping with my bicycle.  Sometimes I see something I love, then I see the price, then I go onto the next window.

Some days I am on the tram when the weather is a little blah.  One of the funnier things I saw from the window of the tram was two nuns on the run.  Meaning, I think she blew through the red light.  It is not unusual to see people that serve God around the city, they are part of the very important culture here.  Where we live, my mom and I on a walk a few years ago pointed to a convent.  She said that there are nuns that never ever leave there.  They only have designated nuns who go to do the errands.  Must of been those 2 that blew the red light. Coffee beans fresh and at discount may have been requested on the double. Anyways, many nuns never leave the convent, this is their mission.  Then of course on the tram you always have the one ding dong that doesn’t move for the elderly person.  If I had an elastic band that day, this young guy might have felt a simple sting.  You’re welcome.

When I get back on the bus after dropping my bike off to head home, I seem to in the last little while get the same driver, the 40km/hr driver.  I really like him.  I have to tell you, never underestimate a bus driver.  He was in conversation with the front seat passenger the other day saying how many people would be surprised to know how much he really knows.  He continued to say that he read all his daughter’s university textbooks and so when he goes to the doctor, he know’s if they are bs-ing him!  The only thing is when he talks he looks at the passenger using his hand gestures and sometimes I think, easy steering the ship captain, 10 o’clock, two o’clock; especially with the roads being so narrow and a good drop off down the mountain.  Another thing, there is a segment just before the city where they have like 10 speed bumps.  I guess those were put there because people can drive like a bat out of hell here.  The slang word for these speed bumps is ‘ležeći policajac’ which means something like a lying down police officer.  These are effective for ruining cars that are speeding I think, but as a passenger at the back of the bus, to all those speeding drivers, I have a thick elastic band to share with you too.

One final thing that is so great.  In this village, many kids still say good day to adults, little ones, elementary school, teenagers, even pedalling by, even alone or with their parents.  One little guy said dobar dan teta; teta means auntie which a lot of people use here kind of like in Hawaii.  Then he asks where are you going?  I reply, ‘to Spar’ (a grocery store).  He goes on to say, “are you going to buy a motor”?  Motor is motorcycle.  “No, I am going to get vegetables and groceries”, then he just carries on.  What a way to melt your heart.

While you are all waking up, I am about to start dinner and hope today someone touches your heart.  Happy Easter everyone.

Love Marijana

Sretan Uskers, Happy Easter

24. April 2025.

Pozdrav from Croatia,

I hope you all found some special moments during Easter weekend to enjoy company, time to yourself, or the new season.  I cannot say enough just how green it is here.  The vegetation here in the Krapina-Zagorje area is so lush, so deeply green in colour, it is striking.  My favourite part is when the bus driver gets to the peak of the next village away, and when you look at the landscape all around, the stacked ridges; this scene is something that is stamped inside my brain.  It is like a dream & on the highest rung of special to me.  Every time I arrive to Croatia and we make the first pass, then start the decent to our families home, winding in and out and then the finale is seeing the church which is maybe less then 100 meters away from our home; my heart feels at home.  The feeling is so strong, and the rolodex of memories just moves in me.  Then you add the Croatian music playing on the radio with so much heart, so much soul, so much joy or sometimes heartache for life, with bright instruments like the accordion and tamburica that often play on the upbeat, you feel yourself on another level.  I learned a little how to play drums on a kit many years ago when I lived in London, and the upbeat is often what you hear in Latin music and in North America the downbeat is more frequent.  If I were to count 1 - and - 2 - and 3 - and 4, the ‘and’ has a jump to it, that is where Croatian music hits, on the ‘and’.  I think music here saves a lot of peoples lives from everyday or past stresses, people often celebrate and sing like there is no tomorrow.

I can say Easter weekend was a very special experience here, even the weeks leading up to it.  The weekend before Easter I got a call from my uncle who asked me to pick up some olive branches in the square.  Olive branches are blessed, then brought home and are meant to bring goodwill to a home.  Mine is hanging up in the kitchen.  The few days before Easter, that is from Thursday onwards it is tradition to not work on the land, therefore I was out with the weedwacker on Wednesday getting things done, because you are not supposed to tamper with the land on which Jesus is buried.  Because I live across the street from the church, Good Friday had a choir that was out of this world and filled the village.  The same on Saturday which I attended with the candles being lit and people carrying baskets of food to be blessed.  Also, from Thursday to Saturday evening the church bells do not ring and it feels different because they are part of the beating heart of the village, they ring every 15 minutes.  When I attended this mass I sat outside with my neighbour because the church was full, but with the outdoor breeze, the magic of the choir, people in mutual peace and respect, the beauty of the village, my heart felt full.  Also after the silence of bells after 2 days, at 9 pm, it was a celebration of church bells ringing.  I spent Easter Sunday with family and on the Monday my uncle was over, but something I missed and wish I did not was that everyone meets in the square in the afternoon after a mass, walks up to the vineyard to walk off the Easter feast then atop there was an amazing musician playing that I missed…man!

I feel like I am getting the best of both worlds living here.  I get to be part of the city during the day, then back home to the village.  For a small place it really is alive and vibrant.  I get to hang out with friends or visit family.  There are always events happening and plenty of cafes to relax at.  Before I forget, I went to watch a movie with a friend here and the theatre is in a multipurpose building, but people bring their own bags of chips.  There is no popcorn maker, just bring it yourself.  I wrote before about how on the way to my mom’s childhood home to visit my uncle there are a lot of dogs and chickens.  I feel outnumbered with the dogs and so I kind of am prepared for the unexpected.  What mood are these dogs going to be in today?  Hmmm…let’s see.  One day they had no clue I was there because they were playing on this grass patch in various combinations of playing let’s just say.  Somedays I make it down the road because maybe they are having an afternoon siesta and other days there is always that one damn dog that needs to rat me out to the others that I am coming down the road so they all bark, some get close to me and then wonder why didn’t I bring a pork loin with me.  Back at home in the centre of the village it can sometimes be smokey.  Smokey because people burn brush or garbage or because there is a pig on a spit.  It is like a game of checkers hanging my clothes out to dry.  I hope not to smell like a roasted/ barbequed pig OR maybe that could have been a way to a man’s heart all along.  Eau de Peppa pig…

When I go to visit family or friends they bake, they cook, they serve it all up.  Now I try to say I am coming for a short visit, I have to study or show up spontaneously because I don’t want them to go through the trouble, but they are always prepared to serve guests.  This is deep within the culture.  Another thing about Croatian people is they are sharp as a tack; they notice things, sense things and really just don’t miss a beat.  They know exactly who you are before you do.  They also listen well when you think they are not listening.  I have a story.  A few years ago or more, I was sitting at a cafe with friends.  My mom was more than a few tables away from us talking to her childhood friend with overhead music playing.  This friend asked me how good I was at making a torte, he was testing me to see if I was a good cook. Well, while my mom was in conversation she picked all that up, laughed out loud, ‘see, see, now you are being tested’ on my quality as a partner let’s say.  I just replied, how the heck did you even hear that, do you have the whisper 2000 there mom?    She was involved in one conversation but still part of the other.  One day I will say more, but our Croatian parents were on another level and had street smarts like you would not believe.

I have to sign off now because I have to study for my next exam but I wanted to tell you that I counted all the speed bumps in one direction to the city.  It was about 19.  That means 19 x 2 trips =  38, 38 x 5 days a week = 190 speed bumps a week.  So if someone calls you impersonating me from Croatia saying I am out of money and need help, your safe question and answer is how many speed bumps a week do you hit?  Your answer is 190, actually let’s mess with the scammers and say 190.50.

Hoping your day starts off with a good breakfast and not by putting cherrios in your chamomile tea like I did last week.  Mamma Mia Marijana.

Čao!

Marijana

Festa a la festa

9. May 2025.

Hoping this message finds each of you well.  Today we have mixed clouds & sun with a bit of a breeze, perfect for hanging up laundry and getting the job done in a few hours (that is my meteorology report for today, a job I thought about once).  Last week however was summer at 24 to 27 degrees celsius.  Even though it feels so great to feel that temperature especially riding a bicycle through the streets of Zg (what the locals call Zagreb according to my cousin) first thing in the morning; I truly hope it does not ramp up to scorching in no time.  No one wants their gelato to melt in seconds or the ability to cook your eggs in a pan without using the element.  One of the things I can spend so much time doing is watching people, nature, life take place in front of my eyes.  One day it was a grandfather and his grandchild in a crowd of people.  He bought an ice cream cone and was dipping the soother in, passing it back to the toddler who wasted no time getting a taste and passing it back for more.  I don’t know if that was the toddler’s first taste of ice cream but they were having a great day with djeda (grandpa)!  Also I was in Trieste for a few days last week where I once lived and my friend said have a seat in the direction facing the sea, but I sat on the rocks facing the promenade and was so happy to see people together, not even on their phones, just enjoying being out.

Two weekends ago I was invited to my neighbours daughter’s confirmation, and after that was a celebration in a restaurant where my mother and father first met just below our family home.  There were several other groups there with large groups at a table, a smorgasbord of food traditional to this area and a traditional band which was amazing.  Remember I said last time that I think music saves peoples lives here, well it does!  People eat well and dance for hours, I really am not exaggerating.  If lunch started at 1, the band started playing 2 hours later till almost 11 at night.  It was a 3 piece band that started off with the tamburica, then evolved to the lead singer playing accordion with a headset, keyboardist and other in the background.  Their voices were strong enough that the microphones remained behind them.  The accordion player/singer with his headset on wove in and out of the crowd, even getting his tips in the fold of the accordion (at top); cash will only work (I am in the wrong profession!).  They take 10 to 15 minute breaks, then another set and another set and another set, like talk about great physical stamina.  Eat rich, dance or play an instrument x several hours = net calories 0.  That is what I am talking about people, I am telling you!  I so admired how people dance as couples and with such confidence and joy, especially seeing some of the men how they were so great with the ladies, I was enamoured.  My mom and dad were really good at this and my dad was a fun person to dance with, an excellent teacher.  I am ready for more summer concerts here in the square.

Speaking of square, one morning I was studying near the main square in the city of Zagreb.  An older man rolls up on his bicycle wearing his glasses upside down, Einstein hair and admiration for my bicycle.  He told me his name was ‘Jimmy’ & even his daughter calls him ‘tata Jimmy’ (Daddy Jimmy, but I think he said his real name is Vladimir?).  He was pretty fun, telling me how he is famous in Zagreb, everyone knows him, he owns 8 bikes or so and loves to dance; that these things are his eternal loves.  Anyways he liked my bike because the bars were more upright and he needed that for his aging back.  I talked to him for a bit, said my bike was not for sale because after 15 years I bought a new bike and I love it too much.  He pedalled away laughing saying Marijana, Marijana in the wind……. My friend in Italy said something that she noticed how people just come up and talk to me, and if that is truer than the average person, I will take it because it makes my life interesting.  Thank you to the magic of the way the world works.

So last weekend I went to Trieste, Italy; a place that was once home for me and feels like a home when I go back.  I had a four day weekend because it was Labour Day on May 1st which fell on a Thursday but the school connected it with a Friday off.  Before I left I woke up to a big band playing drum, trumpets and tubas at 6.40 a.m. in the village.  A little practice for the days festivities.  People start their days early here.  Back to buses again.  Buses are a huge form of travel here so I will talk about it a lot.  I cannot believe how many bus lines exist.  For longer haul trips there are 2 bus drivers and they switch out.  I think it is so smart.  Some of the drivers are honest and just swear in Croatian with each other or mumble some other colourful words under their breath which makes me laugh and love in many ways.  Just let it out, just let it out.  I do however see when they are beginning to get tired and/or lose their patience and all I have in my head is the flashing red alert light; time to switch out drivers please.  Driving here is like a tetris game, it’s like brakes, 1,2,3..GO!, let’s squeeze in here, brakes, 1,2,3…GO, let’s squeeze in over there.  Maybe a few swipes of the hand in the air with some swearing & like the bus drivers I had, they rolled up parallel to the next bus like in a rap video, gave the other drivers of the bus the hairy eye ball and rolled onwards.  Only it wasn’t rap music playing but happy Croatian music.

This trip to Trieste normally takes 4 hours but that day had so much traffic to the coast it was slow going and not only that there was police control at the borders.  When a Croatian police office asks you to take your bags, you better take them like yesterday.  Europe of course has had problems with illegal immigrants so they have to do their routine checks.  He saw my Croatian passport, did not blink, said hello to me nicely and moved on.  All of a sudden I hear calmly, take your bags, then in a louder and firmer voice, take your bags!  The guy across from me got up quickly and followed the police officer.  When I heard that I sat up straight like a soldier and it was not even me in question.  Three Croatian police officers interrogated this guy from the trunk of their vehicle and after 35 minutes or so he was back on the bus.  I have experienced this many times over the years and in the past when I lived in Trieste and crossed the border to visit family in Croatia, they would just leave people at the border.  They have to do this, it is part of their jobs and I appreciate it.  We also had an another stop at the Slovenian border and the police officer came on again checking all our passports; the guy across from me passed.  I think he was still sweating off his interrogation from the first go.

Trieste Italy, a place of many adventures for me.  Trieste is an interesting city, a very dynamic place of culture.  In history there was struggle for this city between Italy and what was previously Yugoslavia.  I feel connected to this city maybe because it offers many things I have been connected to in my life; the sea, mountains, a deep water port where my father worked, multiculturalism, the arts, sciences, sports, fashion; it’s like an all around city.  It’s an exciting port city to me.  I have so many stories about Trieste.  One day my friend Arianna and I both got our haircut.  While this was happening, an accordion player slides through the doors, serenades us, then leaves.  I thought in my mind, wow, just what I would expect in Italy.  After he leaves, she turns and says, that never happens here.  I am still laughing today about this.  However I did see a few accordion players this time  playing on the streets or at the tables of cafes/restaurants.  People are out and just so engaged with each other, also so expressive,  and it is just so satisfying to see.  Living a simple but important way of life.  There are a lot more scooters here and driving is another style of driving which I will get to next time.  Did I ever tell you how I locked myself in a bathroom for 12 hours in Italy and how I got out?  Cliffhanger for next time…….did Marijana kick the door down Hollywood style?  Stay tuned.

Lot’s of love to you all,


Marijana

13. June 2025.

Mamma mia, matematika!

I am hoping this message finds you all well!  I have wanted so much to write everyone, but I had nothing in the tank because my family was visiting, final exams happened, applications for another intensive course; but 762 speed bumps later and surround sound snoring being of the past, here I am to tell you more.  I really want to say I enjoy writing these letters.  A Croatian teacher once asked a group of us, who taught you how to speak English, and I recently asked my brother this question.  When I think about it, we were born to Croatian parents who arrived to Canada with not much English or not at all, then we were always around Croatian Canadians.  My mom cared for us at home.  It’s a good question.  I guess from other kids in the neighbourhood through play, but there also was a whole lot of first generation immigrants where I grew up too.  Anyways, what I want to say is once I got to school, my favourite subjects were physical education and english.  I loved english and writing essays because I could search for a way to express myself in a way that meant something to me.

I know my first emails describe a lot of my love for Croatia and I still love it the same.  This time away has been the greatest gift of my life, but I also want to say it has challenged me too.  A long time friend of mine once said that life is really a bunch of ordinary moments, and I agree.  I think ordinary moments are the quiet but special moments.  Probably for most of us it is like this with flashes of lightening and balloon popping moments here and there.  I am not in a Mountain Dew commercial swinging off the Tarzan rope everyday.  This program has challenged me because in some ways mastering this language has been like how mathematics was for me all my life.  All these rules that change this way and that way, with some exceptions, but somehow the formula works. I just was never good at mathematics, but I try.  I am about to start another course in the next 10 days that is more of a kick then the first one because it takes 3 months or so and puts it into 3 weeks, but I know what my bigger dream is and if I have to get hit by some branches through thick foliage, walk through some mud, wipe out a few times or more, I will, and that is that. I like this quote,  “you do what you can do for as long as you can, and when you finally can’t, you do the next best thing.  You back up, but you don’t give up.”  Chuck Yeager

I do not think I ever told all of you that I get to volunteer here and there for the church.  I am basically volunteering in ambulatory with a medical team because this is a large and well known religious site in Croatia.  A physician who befriended me found out quickly I work in the hospital as a cardiology technologist and asked me to be part of the team.  This lady is amazing, selfless and is also quite ill, but finding a way to keep giving even when she is weak somedays.  I cannot believe her strength and will.  She is something special among many other people I know like this.  I am not going to say this word lightly, I am humbled.  People work so hard in this region of Croatia and apparently Zagorje is known for this as one doctor told me.  We volunteer because there are huge crowds and now it will be hot, people faint and so forth.  After I finish volunteering I get to have a huge lunch in the priests dining room because it falls after a mass, the 11 am mass which has the most numbers of people.  There is the sound man for the church, the medical team, maintenance crew.  Priests are pretty liberal here in the way, they will have a shot of alcohol, they will go play soccer, etc….  I have to tell you, one priest walked into the dining room & he looked like James Dean’s best Hollywood photo, I am not exaggerating.  I was so confused, my eyes dropped, I mean this can’t be, did I say I was so confused. I am so glad my seat was not next to him, I would have needed triple action antiperspirant plus one of those fan necklaces.   All I know, he is going to convert a bunch of women to catholicism, the pews will be full, catholicism will be on the rise.  Well maybe that is the catholic church strategy.  During the lunch I snuck in a few side eye looks but tried not to for too long, I am so confused still.  The doctor who asked me to volunteer, well we went out to the cafe one day and she spoke about another priest who served in this location.  I guess he had the same appeal.  This doctor was in the choir and I guess she said one lady showed up with a low cut shirt, mini skirt, high heals and was always in the front pew every Sunday when he was leading the mass, then after he left, so did she.  I am laughing writing this now because I feel like I am the old lady in the village gossiping and giggling too.

I have another story.  There is one bus driver that has been taking extra money.  I tell him I am going to one location outside the city, he charges me to the centre.  Even though I know Croatian, I will forever have a Canadian accent being born in Canada, even if 95% of people ask me if I am from the Ukraine.  He was trying to take advantage I think of me being the outsider and finally I had enough.  I had to stick up to this guy who was pocketing 1.50 euros each time.  I told him one day that I am going here, all the other bus drivers charge me the right amount and I will pay this much, not what he was charging me.  He replies, no to this place it is this amount, then out of the blue, a passenger behind me getting on the bus sticks up for me.  She says, this is the second time you have done this to her (actually more, maybe 3 or 4 times), she said Sesvete, not Zagreb, I am standing  there, yah, give it to him seka (sister)!!  I had back up!  He back pedalled in his response, but I got the right fare.  Funny, I have not seen the guy on this route since.

That is it from me.  I am leaving on a week trip in between starting my other course.  I am heading to a region called Istria and then to Trieste again for a wedding anniversary and 50th birthday celebration.  I truly wish everyone good health, strength, kindness and a pleasant surprise somewhere in between.

Lot’s of love,

Marijana

Jadransko More

22. June 2025.

Dobar dan ljudi.  I will kick off this email by saying vroom vroom, I got a motorcycle ride in Trieste!  It was one of my life highlights, actually it made my year.  My friend Arianna was running late, she sends her friend Luca.  At first I paused, a few birds were circling my brain, but the flying slogan that won in the end was to keep my heart open to new experiences.  When you work in the hospital you know the possibilities, however vespa & motorcycles are a huge part of how people commute here because there is no parking spaces available and people are so fluid in how they move around in these.  Also I already knew sweet Luca a bit and I trusted him.  The ride was through the city streets, up some switch backs, up higher to a main road, a bit of highway and into another town/village.  It was amazing to me because I got to see Trieste in a different way.  Some of the lean ins when he was moving through the switchbacks had me leaving my finger prints on the back handles indented there for life, but when I jumped off at the end, I was so happy inside!  In Trieste people are so fluid in their driving; they are like efficient race car drivers weaving in and out of the network of streets while in Croatia they are in some ways the same but I notice in Croatia that there is a drive it like you stole it theme.  I have to laugh because I heard this story last week where 2 Croatian American brothers came to Croatia, one fell in love with Croatia and wants to immediately move here and the other said ‘I will not move to a place where drivers accelerate when I cross the crosswalk’.  I laughed so much when I heard this because it is true.  I mean not everyone does this, but many do.  A coworker last month, while on the tram saw me crossing the crosswalk on my bike.  It happened on a right turn, he accelerated, slammed on his breaks looked right because he was embarrassed.  She asked me, are you alive Marijana when I arrived to class and she said that was a close call.  Funny the next day construction workers were removing scaffolding and a showering of concrete pieces/rocks came down as I was pedalling by, I still cannot believe that one did not hit me.

My time away last week was just what I needed.  I love swimming in the Adriatic Sea.  The water is clear, blue, salty, and the feeling of buoyancy makes you feel so light while everything flows while you swim.  It is so special and I seem to have good fortune meeting someone new each time.  Istria is more lush than maybe some parts of the central/south coast.  It is always amazing driving from north to south & seeing as you get to the coast some of the rocky outcrops begin to show on the mountains and hills; I always know I am getting closer to the sea once I start to see this.  Here is the home of so much olive oil & wines.  People are lovely & hardworking.  It is a relaxing place, a relaxing paradise.  I love the stone walls and how little plants seem to find ways of growing off these walls from the smallest amount of soil.  I also notice how imaginative people are here in decorating their homes, they come up with so many unique ideas and would say everything is thoughtfully created and ingeniously expressed.  I love the cobble stone lanes & stone buildings that are different from continental Croatia.  One day in Rovinj, there were two shops across from each other along the cobblestone paths, a young guy working in one of those shops was dancing away while hanging up something to impress the other girl working in the other window across the way, she was smiling and quietly laughing.  I think he accomplished his goal either to lighten the day or to impress the girl, either way I gave him a thumbs up.  It was so sweet and special.  Something that happened in Istria was I went to the bathroom in very tight quarters, I looked up and a very large grasshopper with his antennas shifting was staring down at me as it was up on the door.  Ahhhhhhh!  Also there was a very large storm when I was there, the sky was black and that night was the first time in my life where I felt so vulnerable by Mother Nature.  I stayed on the top of the hill in a nice accommodation but it was exposed and it was gusting.  I felt like it was storm after storm.  It did some damage down in Rovinj, and what more can I say.

Trieste was so fun for me.  You already know how I feel about Trieste and forgot in the last email to tell you the ending of the story to being locked in a bathroom, you still have to wait till the end of this email.  I was shopping, eating out, birthday/anniversary celebrating and went to a beach which one had 500 steps to get down to.  I was in this museum that showed all types of communication to the present day cell phone and had pay phones on display.  I cannot tell you how much I miss pay phones, I used them so much when living in Europe.  There was even a quote in this museum, ‘Finche’ il telefono rimase legato al filo l’uomo rimase libero’ which translates to ‘As long as the telephone remained tied to the wire, the man remained free’, something like this.  Isn’t that the truth?  My preferred mode of communication is the ol’ fashioned house phone.  This museum was part of the post office which looked more like a palace and accidentally ran into it.  It was beautiful.  On the way there was a Jewish Synagogue with 3 military soldiers standing outside of it with machine guns.  Message loud and clear.  How can you blame them.  Actually many years ago when I arrived to Italy, one of the first things I saw when the plane arrived on the tarmac was military soldiers standing there with machine guns.  It’s a great way to say, don’t ?#$%* mess with this country.  Speaking of not messing around, I went with my friend and her daughter to the beach and just above are some apartment complexes.  I guess some young kids were messing around and this place had a loud speaker where the man living in the complex gave these kids hell for doing something out of line and so the whole beach turned to look.  That’s one way to get your message across with a lot of witnesses.  Because I had already swam that morning I sat on a wall with my clothes nice and dry, everyone in bathing suits and this little girl with one of those turbo water guns targets me and nails me!  And that water gun generated a lot of water.

So I said that in Italy I locked myself in a bathroom for twelve hours.  Yes true story.  This was when I first arrived to Italy many years ago.  I had come home from a bike ride, went straight for the shower, closed the door and locked it with those old fashioned keys and key locks.  I finish the shower, try to leave the bathroom and do you think I could align this key.  We have these keys in our home in Croatia.  There was no way.  I kept trying, I even took my toothbrush, fed the handle through the base and used it like a leaver to turn, nope!  I broke the key.  I put the toilet lid down, sat on it, laughed a little, imagined that maybe a beautiful Italian firefighter might rescue me.  I opened the windows and looked down from 4 storey’s to the cafe below realizing I do not know how to say help which is aiuto.  One of my new roommates was drying bed sheets in the bathroom on a rack and I thought about tying them together to repel down 4 storeys but there was not enough sheets to connect, or even an anchor was not possible.  Even if I did do that where do I go exactly when I am new in Trieste.  So I decided to wait it out a little, maybe a roommate would come home, only these Italian university roommates were still on summer break, expect for one.  I thought she might come home.  I yelled a few times because I thought I heard some motion, then at some point I just laid on the tile floor and slept there.  At 7 the next morning I could not take it anymore, I was hungry and had to go to my new job as it was prep time for the teachers before the school year started at this elementary school.  The door which had a stained glass middle that I was afraid to break earlier because of cost was my last option, although I thought to lift it off its hinge but you cannot if it is locked.  So with my hard plastic soap box and a full bar of soap, I wound up and smashed the glass and went to school.  I have to say there was a note on the kitchen table saying that my roommate had went home for a few days that I had not seen en route to the shower.  The husband of the headmaster at school helped me and there was a little laughter.  When the door was fixed I was told by the locksmith I needed to be more patient.  And that is one story.

And finally to finish with a little bit of village gossip back home in Croatia.  I come back home, my neighbour with all this excitement tells me she saw the priest’s profile, and lost it.  Then she noticed another church goer do a double take.  I yesterday volunteered on the medical team again and so when it came to receiving the bread or offering, we took turns lining up so someone was always on duty in ambulatory.  There were two big line ups and I stood in one and as I got closer I saw who was doing the offering, James Dean’s best Hollywood photo.  I think I kind of panicked because when you receive the offering you look at the priest and say Amen.  If I have to stare at James Dean’s best Hollywood photos smouldering eyes I will only be able to say aaaaaaaa.   So I moved over to the line with the older priest because his line emptied out.  However I did have lunch in the dining room after, my vip access to the priests dining room for being a volunteer and James Dean’s best Hollywood photo had taken my soup bowl and plate after finishing and served us drinks.  I behaved, said thank you and did not need any ice packs under my arm pits.

I am onto a new chapter of studies therefore I will be a little quiet for a few weeks, but I wish you summer inspiration, relaxation and some condensation.

Best wishes,

Marijana

Plavi Grad

Here we are, the dog days of summer in the ‘Plavi Grad’ (the blue city).  Zagreb’s signature colour that you will see worn by the football club Dinamo, the ZET - Zagreb Electric tram colour, the buses, the statue I cannot help but not ignore every time I have pedalled by these last months of a tall, robust, nude male athlete where we can say more a less that a blue circle was painted around grand central station.  I keep wondering when will someone clean the statue, but I have a feeling no one wants to lose to rock, paper, scissors on this one.  I really like how the capital city has slowed right down and people have gone to the coast.  It’s a nice experience really.  I do not know if you have heard on the news, not to long ago Zagreb had a sold out concert of half a million people attending one night for a band called Thompson.  People of Croatian and non Croatian descent came from around the world and that was all that was in the news; the preparations, logistics, and all that.  People talked about it at the cafe, the kiosk, on the tram, the bus, at home, on the streets, it was hot stuff.  It all turned out to be okay more or less, but it was the big bigger biggest news here for a while.

Right now, there are sales galore, this is the best time to get what you want at discount, like a series of summer Black Friday’s.  Watermelon and ice cream have become part of my daily diet.  People are living it up at the cafe’s, students are out of school, including me.  I will give you my speed bump tally soon so I can update my safe word with you.  Last week on my bus ride back from Zagreb, their was a group of teenage boys in the back, they bantered back and forth, their laughter was unanimous.  It made me smile so much, there laughter was very infectious.  That feeling of being young, a fresh look on life, it was so fun to be on that bus listening to them.  Laughter really is the best medicine.

There have been some amazing thunderstorms in the last week or so, the cold meeting the warm, they are battling it out, kind of like how I have felt as I think about where my heart is most aligned.  I just love being here.  It’s an interesting feeling.  The feeling of safety, the feeling of morals being in line with how I like to live life, the balance of knowing when to work hard and when to spend time with family and friends, the food, protecting culture and tradition, the arts, sport, expression, and so much more.  Sometimes I even observe certain characteristics or personality traits that make me think, there are more than a 100 me’s here.

I have in recent weeks been invited to a couple of birthdays, one being a combo university diploma achievement and birthday.  When people organize something like this they pay everything.  It is quite amazing.  One friend had reserved a spot at a restaurant here in Krapina Zagorje and out came platters of food, jumbo platters with a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  She pays for it all, drinks and all, that is how it is done here.  On Monday, another friends daughter who graduated from school and had her 22nd birthday rented a traditional wood home by the forest here, that had a couple of other traditional homes on site and they made all this food.  The cake, the appetizers, the barbeque.  It was something special and how she balanced to make sure people were content and enjoying themselves was smooth as the torte she made.  Here’s a story for you, I grabbed this jug, smelled a little to make sure it was water, seemed good, I have allergies so my sense of smell stinks.  Poured myself some water, took a big sip, quickly realized my lips and gums were on fire and spit it back into the cup.  Well this special drink was a pear brandy (rakja od kruške, 40% to 65% ABV) often served as an ‘aperif or digestif and is a common feature at celebrations and social gatherings.’  It is made by distilling fermented fruits.  Like holy cow, I thought my chicklets were going to drop off and my gums had lost all sensation.  People drink this and Croatians swear by this, they say it cleans out your system, there are no additives, it is naturally made (actually my neighbour made it), and generally has some healing properties.  And maybe it does, if you can get it down the hatch!

Lastly if I wanted to be noticed by all the priests in the dining lounge this past Sunday including James Deans Best Hollywood photo, why not knock over a wine glass, with the cling cling sound, into the doctor’s lap full of water.  Yup, my name is (Marian) Marijana, I am here to always entertain.  Hoping this message finds you all well.

Only best wishes I send to you all,

Marijana

16. July 2025.

Viva Italia

28. July 2025.

Here I am back from a 5 day trip with my mom, that is un viaggio di cinque giorni con mia madre.  Also to be a thief of this sentence and use it as my own, Roma non e stata costruita in un giorno, Rome was not built in a day.  How can a person really understand the weight of this line without having lived through this time.  The paintings on the ceiling that give the illusion of cast mouldings, the paintings on the ceiling that Michelangelo painted standing up, the columns, the granite, the marble, the cornices, the tapestries woven by hand, every edge, crown, sculpture, shape, colour, fabric, stone; something out of this world but stands as part of our world still.  How fortunate are we to have a gift that was made to last, and have maintained by master craftsman and women.  It was my mom’s dream to visit Rome, but now it is my dream to go back for a while.  Five days is not enough of course, five days in the heat, the sea of tourists in Rome, Vatican City, Naples, Pompei and Orvieto.  This was a tour recommended by my cousin by a Croatian tour company, the tour guide was sharp as a tack, she knew how to manage a group of 40 people, balance out the banter, free time, enchant you in the history and common sense, knew Italian and Croatian inside out which left me in admiration.  I think the Italian language is the most beautiful, like a song.  These last years I focused on Croatian, however I feel like I could of done better in spending time learning Italian while living in Trieste, but after an accident in the swimming pool that left me on crutches, and a few things that defeated my young soul, I in some ways gave up.  Now in a different time of life, I have certain goals and promises for myself, one is to pick up this language from where I last left off and not let it go.  Una promessa da mantenere (a promise to keep).   

While in Rome, a protest surfaced in front of Pantheon, people came down the cobble stoned road banging pots and pans and the Italian police closed in on Piazza della Rotonda.  To the protesters, smart move, good way to clear out the sea of tourists and get everyone’s attention.  To the Italian police officers who I am sure that Valentino hired and outfitted in their beautiful Navy polo shirts, pants and berets, thank you for letting me admire you when you were not looking.  No really, they closed in fast to keep order and keep us safe, grazie mille.  To our tour guide who wanted to fly out of there before we were closed in, hvala vama (thank you).  And to me, at the back of the pack trailing behind like a puppy dog wanting to spend more time looking at Valentino’s Summer 2025 collection of beauty and strength, Mi dispiace che tu non possa rimanere piu a lungo Marijana (I am sorry you couldn’t stay longer Marijana).

What I have noticed in Italy and you could say this about Croatian people is how people communicate from the heart.  Vocal cords are a beautiful gift, but what about the hands and the many ways a story or a problem can be understood with real meaning.  Watching gestures of head tilting or nodding, all body, heart and soul.  I really believe this expressiveness makes life more meaningful & people can have the feeling of joy to the fullest when it comes into their lives.  I also feel like the basis of their expression is rooted in a love for life and people.  Yes, it may not be nice if all that comes in the expression of anger, but in my experience, usually there is genuine love, care and safety for the recipient being in the firing line of tomatoes, bufalino, coffee beans and biscotti in that moment.

Also let’s take a moment to talk about tomatoes.  As I write this, my mouth is watering, but tomato sauce in Italy, those rich, fresh tomatoes are equivalent to a million golden euro cents.  I don’t have experience with a million golden euro cents but it’s really an experience to eat not only incredible tomato sauce, but al dente homemade pasta, olive oil and all the things that Italy is known for.  My mom and I landed ourselves in a cafe in Rome that was all locals.  This cafe/restaurant is a well oiled machine.  Bada bing, bada boom, hajdemo or in Italian, andiamo (let’s go!).  People were coming in so fast, the staff communicating solid, moving fast to attend to customer’s, espresso’s on the go, no take out cup seen, just proper ceramic cups with customers that come in saying, ciao, come va, I got 10 minutes for you, let’s chat, good to see you, how’s family, done my espresso, a kiss, and I got to get back to work.  People are not stuck to their phones, it’s a pleasure to see this, and also a gift.  Speaking of phones, let me be your ‘Aunty Give you Crapola.’  Well before that, let me tell you this first.  We did a trip to Pompeii.  I am not sure if you know about Pompeii, however it is an ancient Roman city that is preserved, and just a little south east of Naples.  August 24, 79 CE, Mount Vesuvius erupted and covered Pompeii in volcanic debris, but also the next day was clouds of fierce hot gases.  People were crushed or asphyxiated, buried under ash and pumice.  Pompeii slept under this all until it was discovered that here was a city frozen in time, preserved under all the ash.  It was an experience to listen to this.  I am sorry for this part however human remains were perfectly preserved and so you see people in the last moment of life.  It is tragic, but it happened.  And so back to let me be your ‘aunty Give you Crapola’, here I am listening to this tour but I cannot help notice these two girls.  One girl standing in front of what was once a families home in her silk long dress, high slit, low cut, sticking her bum out, sexy poses this way and that way while her accomplice was taking photos.  Lady do you know what happened here!  No.  Just no.  But you know that is going on instagram.  I shake my head over and over and over again.

Naples, was a quick visit that I really cannot say I know.  It was completely vibrant & if I had ever visited South America and one of its busiest cities, I get the feeling it would have elements of Naples.  I would go back, like never in July.  It is a city that is very alive, with tourists, restaurants, cafe’s, food kiosks, vespa’s trying to make their way through the alley ways of jam packed people.  I have heard about the maffia here and at one moment on a Saturday afternoon in broad daylight I saw some fireworks go off at the top of the hill.  My mind went in the direction, is that a wedding, or is that a cover up for gun shots.  Mix it all up.  The most interesting thing was to see people’s love of footballer Diego Maradona.  I remember my dad liking him. However he is embedded into the fabric of that culture all around Naples.  That is as south as I have been in Italy, but even in a few short hours there, it is easy to see that it is a very different feeling from the north of Italy.

Driving from north to south the vegetation was so lush, so beautiful, agriculture is alive and well; what a beautiful thing to see.  I have to say the stop in special Orvieto captured my heart.  A small quaint place in Umbria where I would have loved to stay so much longer.  I hope when I return there one day, I can sit in a cafe having a nice conversation, in Italian with a local.  Che tutti I miei sogni si avverino (may all my dreams come true).  And may all your hopes and dreams come true.

  

Marijana

Let it rain

6. August 2025.

Poštovanje prijatelji.  The word I have started off with today is ‘respect friends’ and is often used in addressing people in a kind way in Croatia.  I hope that the beginning of August has given you some of those warm summer nights that are worth staying up late for with fresh summer air, maybe the nice smell of flowers or fruit, and a cool breeze that gives pause to the summer heat and makes you feel so thankful to be where ever it is you might be.  One of the things I really love is the summer rain.  There have been some great rain days recently and when thunderstorms come here, they soak the land.  It is an experience.  It is sunny, then clouds start rolling in at first looking benign, dark blue and grey colours begin to take over, then a wind picks up out of no where and it’s like god opens the faucet in full might.  I have had a few bike rides over the course of this year where I could see what was rolling in from the distance and pedalled as fast as I could to get to my destination, but sooner or later I got my turn.  I bet you I could stand outside with a glass and it would fill with water and I could drink one or 2 cups easy because those rain drops are juicy and plump.  Well maybe this would not be a good party trick, leaving the glasses outside my window might be better.  The time I did get caught, I could not pedal soon enough to an entrance of a building in downtown Zagreb to take cover.  A resident came out, understood why I was there and was very nice to me.  There was one day where so many people tried to get undercover where the tram comes in by the main train station.  They have these covered spots and people like sardines squeezed themselves under one or two spots.  The station is only 30 meters away let’s say, but you cannot even make it 10 meters without already being soaked.  I recently heard a story where my neighbours got caught and were soaked to their underwear.  For me, I really do appreciate the rain, the sound throughout the night is a warmth and comfort to me, the fresh air, everything is lifted after a good rainfall.

I said before that many people have now gone to the coast and there is no better place to be than swimming in the Adriatic Sea.  The smell of pine, the glistening morning water, the feeling of warmth from laying on a rock bed, afternoon siesta’s and many more special delights; but there is also something very special to say about being away from the most busiest time on the coast and staying at home in the north.  It is very relaxed.  A perfect balance of people coming and going, a nice balance of activities and peace, enough space and air to make me appreciate just how nice it is to be here.  There has been some summer concerts on the square.  I know the sound man for the church who also is the sound man for the events around the village.  His name is Davor, but I call him sound man in English and he get’s a kick out of that, so one day soon I am going to gift him a sound man t-shirt.  This past weekend, a famous Croatian singer performed here.  We live right by the square, so no way Jose was I going to bed.  What is the saying, if you can’t beat them join them.  So I went dancing with a friend.  The singer was a spot on entertainer, 120% energy & had the crowd at the tip of her fingers.  She knew how to make sure people were dancing at her concert.  According to my neighbour she started off as a wedding singer and then gained popularity.  She saw a guy on his cell phone, called him out for texting, asked him to come right up to the stage, his name is Boris, asked him why he was texting, showed Boris some dance moves, got Boris dancing and singing into the microphone which is a smart move because it gave her a moment to take a sip of water and move on.  She was high energy on high stilettos swinging around some extra fabric attached to her sleeves like swinging a rope overhead, she was a professional.  Another guy came up on stage after she noticed the sign he made for her.  Young guy, she asked if he was single and was trying to help him out with the ladies.  She asks him, what kind of girl he’s looking for, his response.  Attractive.  There were local villagers weaving in and out of the crowd selling roses and people were buying them for the singer.  People would buy them, give them to their small child who would walk up on stage, hand it to the singer, dance with the singer and return to mom or dad.  On the outskirts of the square, all the cafes were full.  It was a festive night.  Something that crossed my mind watching Maja was the Eurovision Song Contest, where one day I will somehow get tickets to watch & where ABBA first got their start and currently Baby Lasagna got his start.  Many of you may already know that Eurovision is a grand music competition which has representative music of each country from around Europe, but also I have noticed now outside of Europe.  It is fantastical.  In Croatia, I believe you have to win the Dora song competition and then you represent your home country for the Eurovision Song Contest.  You win by 50% public votes, 25% Croatian Jury and 25% international jury.  I mean, ABBA had a longstanding career out of this and so why can’t Baby Lasagna.  My brother, myself, our Portuguese neighbour Jeorge and his friend, would lip sync to ABBA like we were in the Eurovision Song Competition when we were kids.  Those moments were the greatest moments of my life.  I can still laugh so much about this.

Yesterday was August 5th in Croatia, a national holiday known as Victory day.  This is the day the Croatian military took the city Knin through a military operation called storm or oluje.  It has been 30 years since this happened. I read that Knin is a strategic city close to the river Krka which is an important junction for rail and road between Split & Zagreb; these are Croatia’s largest cities.  Last week I watched a military parade in Zagreb.  Of course the Croatian government asked that people come and support the people that fought for this country.  I know people who said they would not go because they do night like war, that kid’s suffer, among other tragic and unforgettable events.  It is true, war is never a good option and we are all of a different thinking in what is deeply important to us.  Trieste is one of the places people from the former Yugoslavia fled to because they did not want to be part of the war.  I met someone once that said they left because they did not want to participate in the war, in the sense that was no political answer.  Then there are the people that stood up so we could live in this beautiful country and have freedom, safety and access to so much beauty & bounty that Croatia has to offer.  I often think, how would I react if someone decided to take over my home and family, would it be fight or flight?  I think many people would fight to protect their families and all they built and sacrificed with heart and soul.  I grew up in Canada and know the fear I felt for family abroad, but what would my steps be if I was faced with this uncertainty?  And you?  Years ago while on the coast visiting family, my aunt introduced me to some family friends who had young adult children around my age.  One of the guys had a necklace with a bullet hanging off the chain.  He said that was the bullet that he was struck with during the war.  That was a conversation stopping moment, but he is one of many that defended this special country.

Back to the things that we can be thankful for in freedom and soul.  This past weekend was international watermelon day according to Croatian news and do you know where you can taste the best watermelon that cracks open beautifully and has the excellent balance of water and sweetness, here in Croatia.  They are massive, tasty and easy to eat most summer days.  Sometimes it is for breakfast, sometimes for lunch, sometimes for dinner or after dinner while my mom and I watch a show called Večera za pet which translates to dinner for 5.  It is a popular television show here in Croatia, great concept for a show, but basically a group of five people are selected and each one hosts a dinner in their home.  They are in charge of a pre dinner, main meal and dessert.  These are home cooked meals with local products which is not unusual in Croatia and all around.  Croatians take so much pride in this and they should because it is from the heart and tastes out of this world.  If you see the word Domaći, it means homemade. Sometimes you see simple signs on the side of the road with a phone number or a stand already there where you can buy eggs, honey, cheese…I mean the list is endless.  People make their own wines and fruit brandies.  Šljivovica is a plum brandy, and rakja is the same thing but could be from pear, cherries, apricots and more.  My brother and I were so blessed because our parents carried on these traditions in Canada.  Back to ‘Večera za pet’, the show starts where they film the host prepping and cooking the meal, along with questions about who they are.  Then a driver for the show picks up the group, they show up to the hosts home, they bring gifts to the host, have a drink, head to the dinner table, go through the dishes, socialize, at the end the host gifts people with something often homemade, then some sort of entertainment happens which is often live Croatian music.  There of course is drama too because they get these little chalkboards at the end and write their dinner rating out of 10.  Some people sabotage things and give a low rating so they have a chance to win.  The top prize is 1000 euros and that is a lot of money here in Croatia, it makes a big difference for a lot of people as many have small pensions.  Where people get into sporting events on TV, my mom gets into this show.  Some dinner guests can be a little too much in the way they complain so much about the meal being too dry or too hard or not the way they would have done it.  Then out of no where I hear my mom say ‘ah shut up stari’ to the television which means shut up old man, and some episodes I cannot help agree with her.  I would love if there was a bubble at the top of the t.v. with my mom commenting, as I say Croatian people are honest.  It is a fun show to watch and it is so great to see the homemade cuisine that is offered from region to region plus the traditions and cultures that go with it.

That is it for me today.  I hope whatever you are cooking today is a success and that the leftovers are even better.  I am working on the final tally count of speed bumps and so get ready to update your safe word.  Best wishes everyone,

Marijana

Lova do krova

14.August 2025.

Halo from Hrvatska.   I am going to start by sharing the current tally of speed bumps I have up and overed (remember that Croatian people call speed bumps ležeći policajac) between my home village and Zagreb since February.  And the total count is…… 3230! There will still be a few more trips, but that is it more or less. As before, I have been enjoying my time in Krapinsko-Zagorje when many people are now on the coast.  Many people will be heading back home after a large religious feast this weekend known as Velika Gospa (Assumption of Mary or the direct translation would be Great Lady), which is a very big holiday that honours the falling asleep or death of the Mother Mary, then her accent to heaven.  I will talk more about this, but friends have said that people tend to head home from the coast to get their kids ready for the school year after this weekend, therefore I will trade spots with them and head to the Adriatic Sea after this holiday. Jadransko more, here I come!

I really want to take the time to talk about the simple pleasures of life that I feel such a joy from as soon as my eyes and ears open in the morning.  I always hear the sound of church bells, day and night, meaning that they chime every 15 minutes and then serenade even more as a storm warning, for funerals, weddings, holidays or when the new pope was designated in Rome and other special occasions.  People start their days early here meaning off to the bakery, working on the land, meeting at the cafe before they move along.  That morning buzz of people talking at the cafe, their silverware ringing on the ceramic cups and plates, the birds flying over the square, then in and out of their nests under the eaves.  Beside this is the sound of locals setting up their artisan stands for the day, some of them rolling out their stands from the ground floor of homes at the foot of street, the sound of my neighbours talking, maybe the sound of music either from a band or the radio, the first morning mass on the loud speaker, people singing, all of it is like a warm blanket for me.  My baka (grandma) used to sit right by a window with a direct view of the church just across the street from us and listen to a mass when she could no longer physically go.  What a beautiful thing, to be in the centre or heart of the village and still be part of something great.  I like that feeling of the world being so close to you, all the sounds of life; even if you cannot be in the middle of it, at least you can still watch from the sidelines.  In many ways you can say things are idyllic and they are, something to admire and be part of.  But within the beating heart of a place are hearts of sorrow; there is someone you know suffering from an illness, or someone is carrying a great stress because of some unfortunate challenges or life circumstances.  I wish with all my heart that things could be easier for them.  There is a jewellery store close to me where a painting hangs of a man carrying time on his back, instead of a backpack it is a clock.  I think many of us wish for time to be on our side especially for the people we love.  I think time offers hope, and who can fault the person that always has hope.

Does the nature around a place make things special or is it the people that live in the area that make it special?  It is both for me within reason of course because not every place in the world is in peace and harmony, neither with themselves or nature, sadly, and every place has something that could be changed somehow.  But back to what I find special about being here is the simple pleasure of the man driving by on the tractor and waving hello, or the genuine handshake or kiss on the cheek when you see someone, the good mornings, the good day’s, the good evenings, the animated conversations or shooting the breeze.  Villages have their hallmarks and still contain a lot of worthy treasures, hold traditions & have a tempo that is kind.  I like that here people pull up to the grocery store parking lot sometimes with a tractor.  Speaking of tractors in more ways than one, I have been helping family with the land here and there.  I did not know that Lamborghini makes tractors.  Not that we have one in the family, we have the gas powered lawn mower, not by Lamborghini.  It takes more than a few hours to cut this way.  I cannot tell you how many times I have smoked my head on the apple trees and cherry trees when cutting.  I will make a circle, crouch down and think I will have passed all the branches, but there is always a BAM!  You know those moments you swear under your breath, like how did I miss that good for nothing, piece of…, I will let you finish that sentence.  There are so many combinations of swearing in the Croatian language that, well that is a dictionary in itself.

Back to tractors, in preparation for Velika Gospa, my uncle and I are getting the land around my aunts home ready for parking because up to 70,000 people will be coming here, parking is a hot commodity, plus this is a way locals make money during this time.  My uncle taught me a new line, ‘lova do krova’ which means money (slang, like mula) to the roof.  We are doing this for his sister or my aunt in her 80’s.  This week I   swept the long driveway to the road where you enter my aunt’s property with grass and apples that had fallen from a neighbouring property.  Well, I do this, get to the end of the long driveway, Mr. Lamborghini tractor comes along that my uncle had hired to cut a large patch that was made more for tractor cutting and everything I swept was blown out onto the asphalt again.  Of course I lift my hands in the air and say to my uncle, but why did I sweep?  My uncle had hired this man and didn’t know his plans, however just as I said that and maybe he saw the throw of hands in the air, Gospodine Josip (gospodine is a polite way to address a man, like sir), drove over the spot I swept and cleaned everything up again.  He popped out, asked are you mad at me, I said no, everything is good now and there was smiles and small laughter.  Velika Gospa is so large and for the people that work here all year long, getting through this weekend is a monumental achievement I would say.  The cafe’s, bakeries, food vendors, the church, the flower shop, the buses, the medical volunteers or people that support the church.  One restaurant here will have 100 pigs to roast, and that is just one.  A friend who has a vendor just below our home, well they are prepping unbelievable amounts of much food that is so hard to fathom in this heat.  She normally would be serving but she will be at home roasting pigs non stop.  Right now Europe is on fire, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Spain, it is hot, so this day will be demanding for the locals that work here, for everyone really.  I will volunteer with the medical team for a part of the day and in the morning I will be helping with parking.  I am sure I will have some good stories to tell since there is room on my aunts land for 160 cars. There is so much to say, but it is better to share what happened later instead of before it happens, however there is a buzz in the air and people are starting to arrive; media, campers, backpackers, Roma people, police, and more.

Final thing about tractors.  There is a radio station in this part of the world that my brother and I often listen to from Canada.  In fact, a couple of years ago I convinced my brother we should knock on the door of the radio station since we were in the neighbourhood and I wanted to say that we were big fans that listened from Canada.  The director invited us in, gave us a little tour, my brother got to meet his favourite disc jockey, we left with a note book, bag and special book of the 50th anniversary of the radio station.  It was fantastic.  They were so gracious to us. There are some great radio stations in the world that can make all the difference in someone’s day & for me this a very special radio station.  Where in the world do you have radio stations where people call in still to sell their tractors, cows, chickens, eggs, and so much more.  Where in the world do you have a radio station where Croatians call in from all over the world making special requests for songs they love, some of them happy and drunk, and gospodine Darko, or DJ Darko has just the right banter.  I can even tell when an old person calls in that has lost their teeth, because that is how my grandmother sounded when we were kids or I laugh when people call in with their phone right by the radio and then there is the feedback of course. I love this station with all my heart.  It makes my day to tune in to them.

A little back to how my heart flourishes here.  A few days ago, I road my bike to another village to go to a thermal hot springs.  I climbed these hills and switch backs on my six speed, wait, let me not complain because guess what, people did this with one speed in the past or at least tried before pushing.  I do want to say I learned from my father’s childhood friend that my dad had the very first bicycle in this village with gears.  A bike with gears was called a specijalka.  We have the photo of him, however I had no idea it was the first.  A nice thing to think about.  I have to say flying down the mountain was the best feeling on a warm summer morning with the brilliant green all around me and blue sky above.  Even though I am a grown adult, there is always something nice when I can reach that feeling I had as a kid.  Along the way I saw agriculture thriving, I passed the turn off to the birthplace of my grandfather, a butterfly crossed paths with me on bike, I waved to a man working on the land with his tractor, passed a few shrines, and passed a road sign directing me to homemade honey.  I am so glad I got that bike ride in before every artery of these small village roads will be congested tomorrow.  Timing is everything.

Hoping that wherever you are now, that something in your day catches your eye and gives you hope.  May you get the extra time you wish for in every fragment of life.    

Marijana