Full Circle: Zagreb and Homeward Bound

After two days of wandering and two nights of dancing in Split we were back on the bus, this time to Zagreb, the city where we started and the city where we'll wrap this up. Most of Friday was driving, Marco faithfully got us to Zagreb on time and we checked into our extremely fancy hotel.

le very fancy hotel

Zagreb is in full Christmas swing, and they do it bigger and better than anywhere I've been so far. The main square (where we met Ena and her friends for ice cream two months ago) is covered in twinkling lights with a huge Christmas tree and a stage set up where there are performances every night from choirs to dancing groups to musicians and bands have been playing. Several of the streets have been transformed into outdoor markets selling all kinds of fun wintery things, luckily for me things like gloves included because it is very cold here.

Winter arrived Friday night while we were walking in the market. The streets were alive with people, music and lights. From every corner we heard laughter and singing, various versions of familiar Christmas songs. Almost everyone on the streets held a steaming cup of something or a hot pastry from one of the stands. We shopped our way up and down the rows of vendors admiring all the interesting things laid out before us. I felt the change in the air and then it started snowing. It doesn't get any more ideal than that my friends.

And fall it did, all through the night and it didn't stop the next morning either, I heard that it was the most snow Zagreb has gotten in a single day in 57 years. By the time we were bundled and ready to go to out on Saturday there was at least a foot and a half of snow in some places. Snowplows of all sizes scurried through the city trying to make it possible to travel again.

My first order of business was to acquire boots. Having lovingly chucked my work boots at the end of the program I didn't have any practical weather shoes left so some friends and I shuffled and slipped through the snow and ice to the shopping district.

With that task finished we moved adventured through the icy city, popping into football shops and coffee shops. We visited the Cathedral along with all the other tourists in Zagreb for awhile before going to lunch.

Tesla under a snow blanket.

Srna and her friend also battled the elements to get to us from the other side of town. It took them almost four hours to reach the city center where we were. It was great to see them one last time before we left. Most of us found our way to a brewery/restaurant with the best beer I've had over here and the rudest service. We all went out to a pub afterwards but I had gotten the plague- the newest cold going around our group and was feeling pretty terrible by the end of the day. At the pub I said goodbye to Srna and Sean who left early the next morning.

The last couple of days in Zagreb were emotional and difficult. The next morning I said goodbye to the people from Florida, then a large group of us from Seattle, the next morning and afternoon even more people from Seattle. By Monday night there were only three of us left and I was an emotional wreck. 

And it's not like I'll never see the Seattlites again. They'll all be back in studio in a few weeks. But it won't be the same.

Tuesday morning at 4:30 my taxi arrived at the hotel. On the drive to the airport I got my last good look at Zagreb lit up by Christmas lights and committed the image to memory. It will be awhile until I get to see it again. So somewhat tearfully, I got on my plane, sat in my seat and watched Zagreb, Croatia and eventually Europe fall away behind me. Homeward bound.

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This experience has been one of the best of my life. It started out on a little bit of shaky ground not knowing exactly where we would be or all the rules of the project having it get set up so quickly. But those unknown elements just added to the adventure of it. I've never worked harder or been more focused on any project. To wake up and have the whole day be about one thing without getting bored or manic is pretty amazing.

I grew emotionally, physically and academically every day. All that schlepping and shoveling did make me stronger, more patient and understanding that just because a job isn't glamorous, doesn't mean it isn't vitally important to the cause. I learned how to work in a group when not just working, but living with them as well. Also, how to keep entertained on a tiny island in the off season is a skill not to be overlooked. It's impossible to count all the lessons I learned, they would be several of their own blog posts. 

So where the heck is Caitlin now? Back in a rainy city in the heart of the Pacific Northwest. 

To be honest I still have mixed emotions about coming home. There is no question of how happy I am to see everyone I love here and how nice it is to see the mountains thick with lush forests of home. But this experience was so wonderful I can barely put it into words, (though I have tried, obviously). 

I'm going to enjoy being home for awhile, but one thing I know for sure that I've been bitten by the travel bug. I've got to get back out there again, and I don't know if it will be Europe, Africa, Asia or a tiny little island no one has ever heard of again. But keep an eye out for me, who knows when I'll be coming your way.

-Caitlin