Zagreb Diversion

“Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.”

Lao Tzu

Another 11 hour sleep.

We lay in bed. Watching the footy and reading.

Today, we leave for Zagreb—a couple of days in the city.

I always like Zagreb. After we finished our ride, we stayed in a tiny apartment in the heart of the city for a few weeks. The weather was warm, and we would ride into the park with a baguette. Lay in the sun and count the days down before we started a contract in Cambodia.

The secret to excellent scrambled eggs is truffles. Mountains of truffles. After the truffles, you can do anything, the eggs will be great.

We sit around and read for a few hours. Check out at 10.00 am and take the slow road to Zagreb.

Spring has yet to arrive. You must walk right up to the trees to see the tiny bud burst of life. The trees and landscape remind me of winter, with shades of grey and brown and the occasional burst of yellow acacia or white and red blossoms.

“April’s air stirs in
Willow-leaves…a butterfly
Floats and balances”

Bashō

Shell finds us some sports club for lunch. Another great find. a meat plater, shrimp pasta, and fried squid. A liter or two of beer to wash it all down.

The Restorn M90 is not pretty, but the beer is cold and the food is excellent.

We roll into Zagreb and find our car park without much drama. It has rained heavy the entire drive but it is now clearing for the short walk to our place.

I catch up on some sports highlights and read my book.

We head out to Bistro Beštija for dinner with a friend.

Beštija is tucked away off the road and has a cool vibe. They have some unusual beers by the glass and a decent wine list. We order an American Red Ale from Swing and a Blonde Ale from Lepi Dečki, both great drinking, particularly the Blonde.

We order a bottle of 2023 Dvorak Belaj Summer Malvasia to go with dinner.

I order the rabbit ragu with pappardelle. Our friend orders the mushroom risotto. Shell is not sure what she wants as her preference was the ragu. I order the steak with roast potatoes and she decided on the ragu.

All are excellent.

Baba ah rhum and a chocolate mousse for desert.

We walk home. I am tired, ready for bed.

Tomorrow Boogie Lab and back to the river where we first ate trout.

“But cities aren’t like people; they live on and on, even though their reason for being where they are has gone downriver and out to sea.”

John Updike