odds and sods by wi_ka

When your friend asks you for a few words about the first memories of Croatia:

It isn't even funny 

My first visit to Korzo (the main street in Rijeka) was associated with many official matters. It was the end of September and I remember perfectly how the orchestra played in the middle of the square. Someone told me: look, this is the famous clock in this city (then we met many times at this point, before we were able to get internet connection and google maps). 

CONCLUSION: After a few months your soul becomes more "Mediterranean" than "Polish" and you start to be eternally late - you can even get similar pictures from an impatient Italian: 

What was the most interesting at the beginning? Landscape, of course. I have never lived between the mountains and the bay of the Adriatic Sea. Sure, that was something new for me, but I also remember a crowd of people at the aforementioned Korzo. People who celebrated a moment with cigarettes, caffeine and conversations. People who, as it turned out later, are generally very chatty. Most older people like to talk, preferably Croatian. I remember a story with a really old woman. A day like usual: a bit windy, a bit lazy (belated bus drivers are a topic for a separate essay). This grandmother began to exchange a few random words in front of me. Ok, it happens very often. Then I tried to explain to her that I can not understand it. "I'm sorry, I can not understand you" (waving to her hands). It was like talking to a sculpture, no reaction, but something did not suit her, which I could deduce from the tone of her voice. After a few more attempts with the English language I simply said "I do not understand" in Polish. Unfortunately, in Polish, the word is almost the same as in Croatian (I do not understand - razumijem), so the old lady almost did not beat me. And you must know that the Croats are quite loud, so imagine that this old lady was very loud when she started shouting at me that I was fooling her. My conclusion: it is good that these views are outside the window. 

Korzo's karnaval decorations