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Hej.
No pics now but soon as I have some cool ones from Croatia (did I mention I love Croatia?) I'll be able to put up on Monday or Tuesday, after going to
Roskilde Festival on Sunday to see my friend Thor and also The Strokes and Franz Ferdinand.
After several years, I've made it back in Denmark meeting my host family and Birgitte. So far it's just been all about catching up and watching the quarterfinals inbetween. It is nice being in the only place in the world where I can practice my (poor) Danish.
Travel update:
Last I wrote I had just arrived to Zagreb. Since, I spent a handful of days in Krezevci, Zvonimir's hometown NE of Zagreb an hour where I met the infamous 50+ parrot collection of his father. From there another stint in Zagreb and eventually to the coast to swim and chill at the summer home with Z&Z, Jacky (friend from Van), and Massimo (friend living in Trieste) on the island of Murter near the town of Belina. I bussed back to Zagreb to fly to Copenhagen (or North of it 35 km in NivÄ, where I sit now.
Delightful tales:
fort just outside of Krezevci
this old town rests on the hillsides of Zvonimir's region I'm thinking that since it's been so long, I might get a little bit KrAzY and get all CHRONOLOGICAL on you!!! BAM!!
June 23
This day in Zagreb was incredibly hot, as were those to follow. It was about 34 C and humid. Fans and air conditioning are uncommon so being sweety and miserable is :-). Towards the evening Zvon and I threw the frisbee at the riverside and eventually checked out the late World Cup game at an outdoor cafe nearby.
June 24
This day we went to Zvon's hometown of Krezevci, but not before having a quick lunch with Zeljka and Elena, girls we left behind so that they could study for their exams. Originally, we were going to check out this air show happening at the riverside from Zeljka's 17th floor apartment but we found out later that instead of starting at 11 as usual, it started at 4. Zvon was prepping for a big BBQ at his hometown that evening (a sort of reunion with old classmates) so we had to miss the air show, but we got to see a handful of warm-up runs just before we left for Krezevci. I was
perfect dive at Betina on Murter
Zvon watches Jackie's perfect form! introduced to the parrots, each of whom threatened me with squaks and claws. We heard later during the BBQ that actually a stray glider that wasn't a part of the show actually crashed sadly during the show into Zeljka's building!
June 25
Zvon's grandma lives at with his family and it was her birthday this day. She made some fantastic dumplings that she shared with the rest of us in addition to several other treats.
June 26
Early on, we explored the region. We checked out a nearby old fortress build on the side of a hill and eventually had a traditional lunch consisting of masses of fresh BBQ meats and topped off with a drink popular in the region which is a mixture of mineral water and white wine (it starts with a 'g' like gemist or something; help me Croats!).
We returned to Zagreb to go to an awesome concert, a Croatian punk band called "cold beer" or
Hladno Pivo
. Stupidly, I wore my sandals to be warm but instead got stepped on in the mosh pit. After rockin and moshing in the building that had to have been 45 C, we walked home half-naked, grabbing
chillin at Betina
the gang having a meal at the summer house some late-night eats like borek along the way. I got myself a nice T-shirt, and the merchandise people made fun of me because I asked for it in English since all of their songs are in Croatiain. Don't they know they are talking to a Croatized individual named Bradimir? Geez.
We arrived back late and Jackie, a friend from Vancouver, had arrived. He's currently doing a trip of his own. I'm told he has a travelblog too; anyone have the link?
June 27
This day was random. I did some shopping and some Zagreb exploration focusing on the parks around the national soccer stadium. I was in search for the zoo but never found it and instead played in the woods most of the time, in fact on two occassions in the day (before and after meeting the gang for lunch). Wisely I wore my sandals once again.
At night, we drove the three hours to the island of Murter to Zvon's summer home on the sea. A few days prior, I got an email from my friend Massimo who was meant to be on a motorcycle trip on the Croatian coast so I told him about
follow the green light
a journey to a mysterical land our plans to visit Murter. We actually met him that night in a bar in Betina and he stayed with us for my time on the coast!
June 28
This was an awesome chillout day on the island of Murter! Our day was filled with swimming swimming and more swimming. Finally the 34 C heats were conquered by the comforting temperatures of the sea! Later, we threw the frisbee to the person running into the water off the dock. We had a lot of fun diving for the frisbee. I felt like a dog, so later I was doggy paddling and burying bones and everything. I also humped a man's leg. This is a test to see if anyone is reading this.
June 29
I personally had a half-day on the sea and then the second half I caught the once per day bus to Zagreb. I did this so that I could catch my flight the following day. So we did some more swimming and frisbee diving and even threw the frisbee for a while all while treading water; quite tiring! But in the end, I stayed near the bus station in Zagreb so that I could
make it in due time to my flight to Copenhagen the following day.
June 30
I arrived in Copenhagen eventually, meeting Birgitte in the airport. We took a train up to her parents place in Niva (where the 'a' has a special circle on top!) and had a nice dinner while we got caught up after several years, watching soccer at the same time, of course.
July 1
This is today! I played basketball, handball, and soccer with Viktor all before Birgitte arrived and then we all took off on our bicycles. Unfortunately, there was a bike mishap once we made it to the sea and explored around a little bit, so we ended up having to walk back. We made it scenic by checking out the old foundry and also Birgitte's old kindergarden. At last, we arrived back in due time to check out the remaining quarterfinal games. These finished and here I am!!! I told my friend I what I was doing was running naked around the house on Ikea furnature because the home here is absolutely gorgeous and looking like a showroom from Ikea. I'm not going to say if I am a
liar or not.
The near future:
As mentioned, tomorrow I'm going to
Roskilde Festival to see my friend Thor and also The Strokes and Franz Ferdinand. After that, things are a little bit undefined, but I know I'll be going to Berlin for the final roughly the 8th through the 10th. From the 10th to when I leave, I will be in Minden staying with Ute, the sister of Jan (a German guy who I studied with in Vancouver now living in Japan). I fly to Vancouver from Frankfurt via Heathrow on July 13 and land in Vancouver around 5:35pm where I'll be until the 22nd. Then I fly to Chicago to start my 10 week internship before heading back to Van on Sept 30. I know I'll be in Columbus Aug 18 - 20 as well to visit my home sweet home in Central Ohio!
So that's the story on this side. I just want to send my congrats to the Italians and Germans out there for their team's semifinal births! I would congrat the others, but I don't think I know anyone from those places or at least any of them reading this. To
Hladno Pivo
the famous Croatian rock band be safe, I'll congratulate them too! History is guaranteed to be consistant this time around since Europe will win; the only World Cup where a non-European team won when it is in Europe is 1958 (and European teams have never won outside of Europe).
Once again (sounding like a broken record), thanks again for all your emails and support. I can't wait to see everyone in Vancouver and Chicago and Ohio in these upcoming weeks (no offense to the others ;-). Enjoy the last 4 games!
brad
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joan devraun
non-member comment
having the time of your life
Hey Brad, It sounds like you're having the time of your life. And to think that you were concerned before you left about how it was to all come together - and it came together absolutely spendidly. So congrats. Practicing your Danish, heh? I know nothing about the language and don't know how difficult/different it is. My very rudimentary knowledge of Dutch helps me understand some German, but suspect that assistance wouldn't extend to any of the Nordic languages like Danish, Icelantic, Swedish, etc. OK, back to work as a Microserf (that's not a complaint). All the best. Cheers, Joan