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14 days is never enough time to fully grasp anything let alone a country and their lifestyle. Yet I needed something to do besides see old towns and churches and what have you. Granted it has been a lot of fun exploring the places that I have seen. I have run around the charming capital of Zagreb, the magnificent old town of Drubovnik, hiking along Plitvice's endless waterfalls and even sojourned to Slovenia for the weekend in order to learn how to pronounce it's capital city Ljubljana.
Today however, I chose the town of Zadar to begin my ˝Croatia Day˝and attempt to do as I had observed over the past two weeks.
So I started my day with the standard cup of coffee and a burek. Burek is a greasy pastry with a slight hint of cheese in it. I fret away most of the morning staring out over the Adriatic and one of Zadar's many harbors. Randomly I noticed a large Sphinx sitting on the ground across the water that had purple eyes and lips. Intrigued by it but not wanting to ruin my imaginative reasons for how and why it is there, I left it alone.
Random
Not sure what is happening in Croatia or with the make up. I wandered into the old town of Zadar, a tiny penisular section of the city whose stone is worn to a slippery smooth surface due to the centuries of pedestrian traffic. You could literally slide in the streets and that become a reality when the rains arrived later in the day. My interest in seeing another medieval church, an old armory and some other relic from times gone by has dwindled greatly from two weeks ago. Instead of focusing on St. Michael's, St. Simeon's and St. Chrysogonus' Churches (although the name did intrigue me), I simply strolled on by. Besides it was almost 11am, well past first beer time in Croatia. While one can opt for a coffee, I noticed that the males tended to go straight for the beer. Do as they do was the theme of the day, so I ordered myself an Ozujsko. Sipping on my pint overlooking the Adriatic was definitely a pleasant ending to a simple morning.
After the morning pick me up I headed around the streets window shopping as it seems that restaurants and gift shops are the only viable use for the ancient buildings. It did allow me to attempt some
nice street shots. The buildings in general are really mish mashed together in Zadar. There are centuries old ones and across the street you have a new steel and glass structure. This is probably due to the bombings, attacks and hostile take overs throughout the years.
In honor of the Venetians and Italians who at one time ruled over this land, I decided to have pizza. In a throwback to the Slavic people, I added an Ozujsko as well. According to a random leaflet in my menu, it was artichoke days around here. Not wanting the artichoke to feel left out of the lunch of honor, I added artichokes to my pizza. Amazing what mood you are in when you have a morning beer!
Rain started to fall so I added a coffee and later on another beer as well (It rained for a while). I noticed that there were some ancient Roman ruins serenely fenced in by chain link next to my restaurant. History was surrounding me. As I tried to out read the rain, I began to notice that the cheese on my diminishing pizza had a slightly stronger taste than mozzerella. When I asked what
kind of cheese I was told it was paski cheese from the island of Pag. As she said this she pointed over her shoulder. Turns out this sheep cheese was made on a sage covered island an hour bus ride away. Overcome with the desire to see this island of cheese, I went right off to the bus station. I was going to see the sheep that made the cheese that made my pizza.
At the bus station I was met with great disappointment as there were no more buses going to Pag today. Momentarily defeated but still unexplainable curious about the nature of paski, I booked the early morning bus to Pag. Satisfied with the ticket in my hand, I went back to my ˝Croatia Day.˝
The rain had started to let up and my concern over getting wet took the similar path of old churches. I went along the shoreline until I arrived at the southwestern side of the peninsula. This side is home to the ˝Sea Organ.˝ Funny name aside, the sea organ is some engineering art form consisting of a series of steps that lead out to sea. Underneath these steps are vents and
pipes that use the crashing waves to push water and air through them creating őrgan˝like sounds. The music was certainly a pleasant soundtrack to the passing sailboats and ferries heading to the outlaying islands.
Walking over the Jaznin footbridge allowed me to check out the ˝new town˝area of Zadar. Not much was going on as everything was closed due to it being a Sunday. Luckily the ice cream shops do not close on any day as it is a ritualistic treat every afternoon and for some late evening as well. It seems everyone enjoys a scoop or two to help cool you down on a hot day. Granted it was rather cold and rainy today but still, you earned it walking around all day. In fact it seems that late afternoon is the time to fill your fix. If it's caffeine, alcohol, or sweets you have your choice of coffee, sodas, wine, beer, strudel, cakes or ice cream at your disposal. I opted for a cone and a stroll which was soon followed with another Ozujsko as I had to get out of another downpour.
Dinner time quickly snuck up on me and being a fan of the
street meat. I went to a food stall vendor and had some Cevapcici which is best described as hamburger meat rolled into little fat sausages and stuffed into a bread roll with a paprika based sauce. Granted I have really enjoyed the squid and the fresh seafood offered here, I was just craving a little grease after the beers.
Completely full, slightly ill and definitely unsure as to the source (was it the alcohol, the grease, or the sugar?), I made my way back to the sea organ to check out the solar powered art dial called the ˝Greeting to the Sun.˝ Felt it was a bit ironic since it only lit up at night when the sun was no longer out. Irony seemed as good a place as any to end my day. Besides I am sure that I would contemplate all my decisions as I wake up early to catch the bus to an island covered in sheep, curdling cheese and salt air.
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Josh
non-member comment
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I found mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know why, but I laughed out loud when I read that caption.