Zagreb, Croatia
My arch enemies (the clouds) are back. And they brought reinforcements. The rain last night was so heavy that my $8 NYC chinatown umbrella broke under the pressure. Now I need to figure out where they sell umbrellas in Croatia. It being a sunday today, the chances of finding someone, anyone, selling an umbrella was 0%.
I left Ljubljana this morning at 835am, expecting to be in Zagreb by 1030am. Alas, this year's freak storm had left most of southern Slovenia flooded, which meant a 7.5hr train trek, during which we criss-crossed the croatian border three times. My five hour inconvenience was nothing compared to the pain thousands of Slovenians must have felt today, as along the way I saw bulging rivers overflowing into tiny townships, consuming houses and cars.
I arrived in Zagreb cranky and starving, but the first order of business was to find somewhere to stay. Most of the hostels were way out of the center, so I bought a tram ticket and was figuring out my game plan when some Irish guy approached me and asked 'do you speak english?' Yes, I replied, and asked if he was looking for a place to stay. No, he wasnt, but he owned a hostel and had two more beds free. Now this is where things go sketchy. We settled on a price and he sent me off with his Irish friend, who I dubiously followed, while carefully looking for a gun in his pocket. I fully expect some sort of scam, especially when he invited me for a coffee. Instead, it turns out I was just a cynic. The Irish Friend, an expat for the past 10 years, simply wanted to chat, to find out about the world outside of Croatia. So, we sat in a lovely little cafe, discussed Croatian politics as well as world economics, and watched the city wander by as it enjoyed a two hour respite from the rain.
It's pouring again, by the way.
I left Ljubljana this morning at 835am, expecting to be in Zagreb by 1030am. Alas, this year's freak storm had left most of southern Slovenia flooded, which meant a 7.5hr train trek, during which we criss-crossed the croatian border three times. My five hour inconvenience was nothing compared to the pain thousands of Slovenians must have felt today, as along the way I saw bulging rivers overflowing into tiny townships, consuming houses and cars.
I arrived in Zagreb cranky and starving, but the first order of business was to find somewhere to stay. Most of the hostels were way out of the center, so I bought a tram ticket and was figuring out my game plan when some Irish guy approached me and asked 'do you speak english?' Yes, I replied, and asked if he was looking for a place to stay. No, he wasnt, but he owned a hostel and had two more beds free. Now this is where things go sketchy. We settled on a price and he sent me off with his Irish friend, who I dubiously followed, while carefully looking for a gun in his pocket. I fully expect some sort of scam, especially when he invited me for a coffee. Instead, it turns out I was just a cynic. The Irish Friend, an expat for the past 10 years, simply wanted to chat, to find out about the world outside of Croatia. So, we sat in a lovely little cafe, discussed Croatian politics as well as world economics, and watched the city wander by as it enjoyed a two hour respite from the rain.
It's pouring again, by the way.
posted by Ace at 10:40 AM
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