Zagreb, Winchester and lots more

Yes, been a while. Sorry about that. Other than bone laziness theres no excuse. So much has been happening, but this will be limited to the trip to Croatia, which really was a blast.

My sister Louise popped over for a 3 weeks stint after her specialist exams. After wowing all and sundry with her wonderful personality, she left for Croatia. The nice parts, the coastal regions, the bits by the Adriatic Sea. I was supposed to meet her there for a long weekend of sand and bikinis, however the flights were too expensive, so we arranged to meet up in Zagreb, the capital. Famous for, um...

The first thing of note was the magnificant communist architecture, ie row upon row of council estates, each the same as the last. It was pretty depressing stuff. Sad really, Louise had raved about Dubrovnik, the medieval city on the sea, to be faced with the concrete city on the highway was a little dissapointing. But the best was yet to come.

Zagreb is a place unused to tourists. This is a shame in a way, the city centre is quite pretty and stuffed full of cafes and Italian restaurants. Despite this, the locals clearly haven't adjusted to visitors yet. There's no other way to describe it, most of the ones we came across were very rude. Perhaps it wasn't rudeness per se, perhaps it was just the way they were, but it was pretty funny. Most of the orders we made were met with a grunt.

Without doubt, the highlight was the visit to a bar recommended by the lonely planet, which was a Tolkien themed bar. We went on a Friday night, about 11pm, nobody was there. The entrance had 'rivendell' written above it. There was a glass cabinet with Lord of the Rings books, most in English. There was a signed photo of Elijah Wood, who did visit Zagreb, but not the bar. Apart from that, the most Tolkienesque feature of the bar was the orc-like behaviour of the staff. The request for two wines was met with an extended grunt. And I swear she had fangs. So we got our wines, sat outside on a hot night and started playing cards surrounded by such things as ceramic pots with 'tabac' painted on them. 5 minutes later the orc came out and demanded 'You finish now! Finish cards now!'

The guidebook I'd bought was correct in saying that most young Croatians do speak English, but its always best to learn a little of the local lingo, helps you to endear yourself to them. Happily, the Croatian equicalent of ciao is a throaty 'Bog'! Made me laugh every time.

A most memorable weekend. Louise left this morning which was very sad, had such a good time with her here. I think that more of you should come over, and soon.

Hope you're all well.