the Rays: Part One.

Once upon a time, in December (2013), I went to Croatia. True story! Here's the simplistic backstory: My younger sister, Hannah, has lived in Zagreb for almost 4 years with her hubby, Matija. He is from Croatia. They met at Gordon College and after graduating, getting married, and living in Gloucester MA for some months, they decided to head over and try their hand at some different sort of industry. This is their café, bar, music and arts venue. Café U Dvoristu. Pretty fabulous, huh?! I'm so proud (vast understatement). Skip ahead to 2013 and Hannah is pregnant with their first wee one. A boy. And due in mid-December. Perfect. And so I flew over, a 10 days trip squeezed beautifully between Andrew finishing final exams and us traveling for Christmas = a genuine logistical miracle...made possible by my husband. Profound gratitude, there.

It was a most-incredible time, one that will never be able to be captured or expressed completely through a post (or two!) here, but I'm going to make an attempt. Especially since Hannah asked me 4ish months ago for some of these pictures to be posted somewhere (anywhere!) and I never even responded. So, darling Bean, this is mostly for you and for anyone else, I hope the tag along is enjoyable...it'll be picture-heavy and long and interspersed with journal musings. Let's go!

As much as I had wanted to write about my days, during my days, I didn't. I ended up writing quite a bit on either end. Those glorious trans-Atlantic flights served me so well in that regard. I intentionally chose not to watch anything, but to listen to my book and to write. I forced this upon myself in an attempt to honor the time alone and I was not disappointed. And so, for the purposes of these posts, and for the sake of time, I will pull mainly from words already written, back in December, in retrospect of the visit, and copied here in italics. There will be rambling and mis-punctuation and lots of heart. It was such a rich moment, in the walk of my life.

The Alps were a dazzling welcome and farewell. Magnificent.

My dearest hosts.

I remember a friend saying to me before I left that there would be such a sweet vulnerability about our time together, and how that was true. Beautifully true. We were vulnerable to each day, hour, because of the reality of Hannah's pregnant state. We couldn't make solid plans with anyone for the ever-present truth of "we'll see if the baby comes", but in the unknown there was a certainty of togetherness. We were together. And it was a gift.

Upon meeting anyone new, I was asked about my impressions of Zagreb. Granted, I don't have much European City comparison, but compared to my own daily functions and my (very) limited living/breathing city experience, I had not-a-one complaint. The bustle of this city is so. vastly. different. from American suburban sprawl. I was startled at the ways in which busyness seemed to manifest itself differently. Such a different cadence and one that reverberated well within me......I have tried to think about and describe the bustling there in contrast to the American bustling that I have experienced, but it was hard to know what was a good city/cultural comparison because I so rarely have walked around in cities exploring just for the sake of exploration. So, even though so many people were out and about there was a healthy pace to it. Like if you saw a friend or acquaintance, they would make time to stop, or offer to have you walk with them, or even to get a coffee. And you, in return, would. have. time. How important this is for a healthy community! To have margins of time for the unexpected, but even more so, the relationally unexpected.

We would start late on most of our days and usually go to get coffee at U dvoristu by 11am. Matija and Ava (fabulous workers at the café) would meet us with big smiles and beautifully poured cappuccinos. Milky swans, ferns, hearts steamed upon an Ethiopian bean. A few days from there we would walk (oh glorious commuting!) to Christmas market stalls steaming with boiling mulled wine and fried fritule. And then to look and shop....And how the city gleamed with lights!

Loved this miniature display of the city located right down the hill from the Cathedral below. Magnificent.

Hannah and I stopped into the Cathedral to rest and be warmed one evening amidst our walking. It was a feast for our chilled senses.

One of the things that I enjoyed most was being able to meet SO many of the people, both whom are friends and often double as some sort of business partners for Hannah and Matija and the café. It was so important to me to meet the souls that make up and add to these dear-to-my-heart lives across the sea. Ava and Matija, Tin and Leona, Tana, Ivan, Betsy, another Matija, even Hannah's doctor. Such a privilege.

At Ivan's café. We. believe!

As a very uninformed student of historical architecture, I really appreciated a lot of it on display. Everywhere.

Hello roasted chestnuts.

You fulfilled all my romantic expectations. You beauties.

And I had zero romantic expectations of Sofra, a favorite traditional Bosnian restaurant of H&M's, but it won me over with it's hearty stew, perfectly spiced meat, roasted red pepper chutney...