Zagreb days

I just got back from Zagreb last night, which means I've been traveling almost non-stop for over two weeks. And that's how much of the rest of my time here will go – a week here and a week gone. Mostly I’ll be giving lectures at other universities, but I also have a trip to Dubrovnik (where there is no English dept) in the works. Today my colleague Bess is coming from Zagreb to lecture here. So I'll be busy helping to host her. Then on the weekend I’m off to Istria, a pretty part of Croatia near here.

I'm watching CNN in the background and hear how high gas prices are there in the U.S. now. The world is really a scary place these days with the most powerful man on earth so out of touch. Cheney is apparently coming here – to Dubrovnik – which happily is quite far from here. But I think the embassy is all abuzz about it. I was there two days ago (the embassy). I finally met the people there who have coordinated my whole visit and work experience here. It was a trip going to the embassy, literally. It's way outside of town (near the airport) and is a kind of bunker, I guess. The security was really tight getting in. I had to wait almost ten minutes while they verified that I was meeting someone there, and then I had to get everything x-rayed and scrutinized, and they kept my camera while I was inside the building. But everyone who works there seems very nice. And it was interesting to see. They used to be in a beautiful location right downtown on one of the main parks, but three years ago they moved out to the cornfields. The French are apparently in our old building. Those French appreciate aesthetics.

Zagreb is quite an interesting and beautiful town, more so than I expected. There are lots of beautiful buildings, public squares, and parks. I visited quite a few museums too, the best of which were the ethnology museum, the archeology museum, and the naive art museum. And there are lots of beautiful churches too. It has a fairly small feel and seems easy to navigate, although there are 1,000,000 people there.

I taught a class on Native American literature at University of Zagreb on Thursday. The students were very sharp, asking some perceptive questions. Then I had dinner with my American counterpart in Zagreb and two Croatian colleagues in American studies. We had a nice dinner at a restaurant across from the old cathedral and talked about our cultures and politics, and so on for hours. It was the first dinner I’ve had with Croatians I think, and it was very nice. I wish for more such experiences.

I also took a day trip with my colleague Bess on Sunday to Verazdin, a town northeast of Zagreb with a castle and several palaces. It’s known as one of the loveliest Baroque towns in Europe. The churches and palaces are indeed very Baroque, and it is undeniably a lovely town with many beautiful buildings, the castle set in a park (you can walk around the whole place on the old hill that made the moat), and plenty of squares and parks. We had a great meal at an Italian type restaurant on a balcony overlooking a big park. Afterwards we walked (or rather waddled – it was a huge meal) to the cemetery, noted for its park-like design by a famous landscape architect here. It has very tall hedges (though with gaps between each bush), and the graves were raised and quite well tended, with walkways weaving maze-like through the whole place.

Monday evening in Zagreb the embassy people organized a Fulbrighter gathering at a bar in the center. It was fun to meet and compare notes. Almost all the other Fulbrighters this year (and most years) are in Zagreb. But a number of them were working or out of town this week. Still, those of us who went had a nice couple of hours. I ordered Guinness to drink, but this bar didn’t have it. The waitress suggested I try the Croatian dark beer that is like Guinness, so I did. It was good, though a little sweet, and I’m sorry I can’t remember what it’s called. Then three of us went on to dinner at a good little restaurant one of the student Fulbrighters knew about. It had some kind of Vietnamese influence, though the menu items were more or less standard Croatian fare. I ate pasta and salad that were very tastily prepared.

My last day there (yesterday) I met with the folklore institute, who were quite nice and buzzingly busy – something like 60 people work there. They gave me homemade apple juice and a few pastries and asked me to come back and give a talk in June or July. They also invited me to a conference on myth this weekend near here. But with my Istria plans I don't know if I'll be able to go. And they gave me a bunch of journals and articles about folklore in Croatia. I'm so glad I got to meet them. It's always a joy meeting with other folklorists, everywhere in the world. I hope I do get to go back. They seem to be doing a lot of good work, and I can’t wait to read these articles (I’ve been longing to have something to read about the folklore here).

I took the bus back yesterday afternoon after my meeting with the folklore institute (arrived here about 6 pm). So now I'm back “home” in my place in Rijeka, which feels good. Seeing the familiar streets, buildings, and river and sea was nice. I slept ten hours last night and still feel a bit tired. I'm here (except for Istria this weekend) for almost two weeks, then I'm off to Osijek (in the east – Slavonia), near the border with Serbia and one of the cities in Croatia most hurt by the war. They are quite keen on having me come, and I’m also interested to see this part of Croatia, though I heard at the embassy that they are plagued now by mosquitoes, because they’ve had so much rain and the river is flooded (as are rivers in much of this part of the world).

As I was wandering through the beautiful archeology museum yesterday morning in Zagreb, looking at various artifacts from the Paleolithic, Neolithic, Copper, Bronze and Iron ages from all over Croatia, including many grave sites, “hoards,” and artifacts from daily life (pottery, jewelry, cups, icons, etc.), it struck me how cool it is to be here in the land where my ancestors lived. I mean I have seen museums like this all over the world and have always enjoyed them and find a sense of wonder in connecting with the work of humans from the distant past where ever I am. But when I see these kinds of things here, I keep wondering if one of my ancestors helped make that old pot or bead, used a similar icon, or prayed in that church, etc. It's the first time in my life I've been in a place where I can experience that feeling of connection, however fanciful or imagined it is. I mean if you go back far enough, I guess we’re all related and so any place is the home of our ancestors. Plus, I don’t know how long my ancestors even lived here. There was always so much migration all around the world. But still, I’m enjoying my imagined connections to ancestors here and getting to learn about their life ways.

The more I get to see of Croatia, the more persuasively I can affirm what a beautiful and interesting country it is. Apparently this is the number one tourist destination for Americans this year, but I really think most Americans have no idea how lovely the place is, nor how appealing the culture is here. I feel very happy to be here and lucky to have this opportunity.