Dobrodošli! (Welcome)

So I am in one piece after my first full day here.

I am feeling more settled, getting to know the city, and enjoying its many parks and green areas. I read that Zagreb is one of the world's cities with the most parks and greenery. I don't doubt it. They also have part of the city that is purely pedestrian traffic (with cobblestone streets and everything). Outdoor cafes proliferate and everyone flocks to them.

The women here are very stylish, and pretty much all women under 70 years look very chic, with the pointiest shoes and matching expensive handbags. The older women, by contrast, are often dressed in long black skirts, with a black scarf covering their hair except for a small mess of grey-white bangs that stick out over very sun-experienced skin. I saw many older people today, walking around the main square slowly, collecting cans and bottles for the deposit money. I felt very sad to see this, because the young people seem to be in a different world-very stylish and seemingly unaware or undisturbed by the situation of their elders. These women, dressed all in black, deeply wrinkled faces that have seen a life of intense sun and more intense worries, seem like they belong to another time.

Today there was a big party in the main square near the hostel, to celebrate the high school students' last day of school (yesterday) and it was PACKED with jubilant teens, dressed in matching T-shirts from each school. They all had whistles, and were tooting away in time with very loud techno music and dancing all around. It was truly a spectacle (this is the same square where yesterday they had the wheelchair sports and concert; tonight it seems that they are showcasing these racecars for some big European rally/race, which will be the first of these events to be held in Croatia).

It is VERY hot (about 27 degrees C) and sunny here (much warmer and sunnier than Amsterdam for sure), so I am enjoying not having to wear a jacket, even at night. I wore sunscreen and my "cover-up" shirt (white shirt, long sleeves... my father always used to make me wear a cover-up shirt at the beach when I was a kid) today and managed not to get burned! I am sure all of you who are intensely protective of my alabaster skin will be pleased and proud. I am nagging myself about sun/skin stuff in your absence.

Speaking of absence.... it does make the heart grow fonder. I am missing family, friends, and Toshi so much, and I am finding myself suprised by the level of longing for each of you who is dear to me, because many of you live a million miles away from me normally.... But that feeling is there, wishing I could show my mom certain things or laugh with my Dad about something that I know he would find amusing. And Zagreb is a very romantic city, so of course I am missing Toshi. I can't begrudge the natives and other travellers their right to be affectionate with their partners, but I am jealous of their proximity to loved ones.

Today I wandered around Zagreb; I wasn't feeling very "high energy," so I stuck to the local attractions and really mostly spent the day doing little walking trips in the neighborhood then returning to the hostel and lying on the couch.I did see the incredible cathedral that I mentioned in yesterday's post during the day, and it was spectacular in the sunlight.


I also walked to the Croatian National Theatre, which is in a very impressive and fancy-looking building near the botanical gardens (which I didn't make it to yet, but hopefully tomorrow or Saturday).

Also, I swear I saw Friar Tuck come out of a little church in town. Spitting image!