Last Day in Hrvatska

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010. Zadnji Dan u Hrvatskoj (Last day in Croatia).

For breakfast, we indulged ourselves in several krafen (a doughy pastry stuffed with jam with powdered sugar on top) i burek. Exhausted from hours of packing at home, we made one final trek into the always gorgeous downtown Zagreb.

While my mom waited at a coffee shop for us, my dad & I visited the Arheološki muzej u Zagrebu (Archaeological & History Museum of Zagreb) across from Zrinjevac. We perused the exhibits of Roman, Greek, & Egyptian engravings, coins, pots, jewelry, knives, armor, & mummies. On a bit of a time crunch, we sped through time periods like Carmen Sandiego. I could have spent hours upon hours in there! Although we didn’t go this trip, the Hrvatski Muzej Naivne Umjetnosti (Croatian Museum of Naive Art) is another magnificent muzej.

A courtyard behind the museum showcasing several intricate gravestones

While my parents walked further, I sprinted down Ilica street and bought my last sladoled (ice cream) of jagoda i šumsko voće on this vacation from the lovely Vincek Slastičarna (apparently I ate the same thing on June 11th)

Kuma i Boško invited us over for lunch. Salamis & cheeses for appetizer. Liker od oraha (apéritif, walnut liquor), delectable stuffed peppers for the main course, & a hazelnut chocolate torta for dessert.

After saying our goodbyes, Ujo Dado drove us over to the most beautiful cemetery park in Europe Mirogoj cemetery where my grandfather & grandmother, Dida Zvonimir i Baka Pavica, are buried. May God save & bless my family!

Nives brought over a snazzy dress that was made from one of my mom’s designs. Yes, my mom was a fashion designer!!!

World Cup celebrations filled homes & cafes as Team USA beat Algeria 1-0 in the final seconds of the match moving the USA in the #1 spot of Group C.

Our last night in Croatia was celebrated with my amazing, loving family thoroughly enjoying ćevapi from Bistro M&Z and homemade spicy grah (beans) which my Ujo Dado prepared.

The next day (Thursday, June 24th) went by in a traveling blur. We packed all night, weighing luggage with every shove & swap. I think I stayed up until 3am before we all awoke around 4am to make our 7:05am flight from Zagreb to Paris. After a short transfer in Paris to our waiting Houston bound flight, we were on our way back to the USA. We weren’t upgraded to business class this time, shucks! However, the three of us were blessed with the entire row to ourselves. Praise the Lord :D

My mom’s in-seat entertainment system froze & rebooted revealing a Windows CE Boot Loader. Silly machines.