It’s 4:08 Thursday morning.
After sleeping about 6 hours Tuesday night I have so far slept zero tonite. I’m very tired but cannot fall asleep. I’ve tried many things that sometimes work- I read, I did number puzzles, I wrote in my journal. Most of the time I’ve laid in bed in the dark, doing breath practices, spiritual practices, relaxation practices, as well as ‘doing nothing’. Thus far none of these have helped me doze off. Jim, too, has barely been sleeping, more concerning because he is to be the driver to Serbia later this morning, assuming we get our luggage. Four years ago Jim fell asleep momentarily at the wheel on this route. We do not want a repeat of that. In typical traffic the drive is about 4 and a quarter hours, assuming no long line at the border, no roadwork and no accidents. I just want us to get our luggage and get to our next destination safely, the spa town of Banja Koviljaca, near where our relatives live.
We had hoped our luggage would be delivered yesterday but no such luck. We received a text in the afternoon that our bags were on the plane to Zagreb, then got a text that they arrived and we would hear about a delivery time at some point. We waited all evening with not a word. I tried many avenues of communication hoping to talk to an actual person who might tell us if we would get our bags this coming morning. Finally we were given a number to call. The woman who answered was difficult to hear over her chattering baby who she must have had in her arms. But she said it should be no problem to get our bags to us by 10:45 but to call back in the morning for more specific information. She apologized for not being professional but it was after hours and she was out. At least the call offered hope that we will finally be reunited with our dearly missed luggage.
Aside from trying to get info about our bags we had a mellow day. Jim had a good 10 hour sleep Tuesday night (6 for me). We walked a few blocks to a bakery and bought a few pastries, and Jim cooked eggs for us when we returned. We both took short naps then walked to Maksimir park, the huge lovely wooded natural park with trails, a zoo, some small lakes and a few monuments and historic buildings at the edge of Zagreb. My sister informed me that the ducks we saw that I sent a photo of were Mandarin ducks. Quite striking. I have yet to use the Merlin bird song I.d. App on this trip, mostly because I’ve not heard many birds which is very different from when we were here last year in April and I wakened to a lively array of bird songs. Maybe the lack of birds is normal for this time of year, or maybe it is due to the very long very hot dry summer. Hearing lots of birds had been one thing I was especially looking forward to. Maybe we will hear more in other places although this whole region has been unusually hot and dry. At least I’ve enjoyed the crows and doves, and the church bells!
After our walk we went out again to our friend, Zora’s apartment, just 5 minutes by foot from our place. It is where my sister and I stayed for a couple nights on our first trip here in 2014. I’ve mentioned Zora in my writings about past trips because we always see her when we come to Zagreb. Today she served us delicious Rakija made of grapes and herbs. We chatted a while then walked toward the park to a well loved pizza place where she treated us to dinner. The pizzas have very thin crispy crusts and were delicious. Although of retirement age Zora still works as a therapist and sees about 20 people a week. She likes her clients so much she imagines she will continue working for as long as she is healthy enough to do so. I am grateful for our connection but was sorry I wasn’t feeling a bit more perky and upbeat. Both my sleeplessness and my concerns about the luggage have been hard to ignore.
Hopefully from here forward things will settle into an easier mode.
Despite my dulled spacy brain I have been enjoying many sights and sounds and smells here. I just don’t quite have the energy to write much about them, yet. Hopefully soon!
below, Maksimir Park, and Zora
Leave a Reply