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Jun. 5th, 2006 11:00 pmToday it didn't rain. The group broke into smaller groups that went to different places. S and Igor went into Zagreb for meetings. Irene and Trond and I enjoyed the opportunity to sleep a little later, and relax a bit in the morning. Breakfast was on the front porch of the cabin and included stupifying quantities of food. I started to sort out the various people from the local crowd that was hosting us. There were Daniel and Liliana, who we'd met the night before. There was an older couple, who actually owned this place. They lived in town, but this was their farm and they spent their free time there. The mother introduced herself as Mama Tomislav so I assume the father was Papa Tomislav but I never was introduced. Mama Tomislav didn't have any English but she was beautiful, with a welcoming smile and very long brown-grey hair twined around her head. Papa Tomislav had twinkling eyes and a huge white beard. Now that I'd had some sleep I loved them both on sight. There was a fellow named Davorin who would ride with us for a few days, and his daughter Cassandra who would ride with him. There was also a younger blond woman with a little girl, and several extra younger to middle-aged men, whose relationship I never did sort out. A mixture of local motorcyclists and non-riding family members, I think. Few of them spoke English and I had no Croatian, but they made me feel welcome anyway.
Up the hill in back of the house, Papa Tomislav had a garden on the hillside. There was a concrete shed with a metal ladder on the side that led to an little observation balcony, and from there you could look out over the valley. We climbed up and admired the view.
Eventually we rode out, led by Davorin and Daniel. They led us to a sort of museum village whose highlight was the birthplace of General Tito. There was a statue, and the house he was born in, and an assortment of other buildings with interpretive displays showing how flax was made into linen, and how candles were made, and whatnot. We wandered around for a while, then went on to Liliana's school. There are fifteen children who attend this one-room school. They were all there and waiting for us when we arrived on the bikes, and they were VERY excited. We parked the bikes along the road in front of the school. The children who knew English practiced it on us, and took turns sitting on the bikes. Somehow I ended up with a whole pack of little girls, and all the teachers, while Robert had all the boys clustered around him. Robert's GPS was a huge hit. Inside the school, they fed us lots of food, and the children sang two songs for us. It was amazingly cute.
After the school visit we had a roundabout ride back to the farmhouse, stopping at some other local historical sites. When we returned to the farm, they were cooking meat on the grill, and there were many people there, including a reporter for the local paper, who was writing a story about the motorcyle visitors. I was pulled over to be interviewed and photographed.
Then the band arrived. They came walking up the road to the house, playing as they walked. There was a cello, a violin, an accordian, and a tamburitza. I learned the name of the tamburitza from the singer, Carol, who was from Ontario. She was wearing a shirt that said "Croatian, made in Canada" and was more able to talk to me than most of the people there. The band was excellent! We danced some athletic folk dances. There was one where we all held hands in a big circle and ran in circles until someone fell over. There was another where partners held hands and ran under the arms of other dancers. I danced a partner dance with Robert and he was quite good at leading, made me feel like I wasn't nearly as clumsy as usual.
I had a long chat with Tomislav, the son of our hosts. Tomislav wanted to practice English, and he had many questions about the USA.
Later, another Croatian guy claimed me as his companion for an hour or so. In broken English he told me how the birds in Croatia sounds better than the birds anywhere else, and the hay there smells better too. He was very drunk and wanted to come back to my tent, but I turned him down. He tried to pour more wine down me, and he told me all about his wife and children, and more about his love life than I really wanted to know, then asked again if he could come to my tent. Sorry, the answer was still no.
As it got dark, the party got larger and louder. S was making jokes about how he'd fallen off the wagon, and he didn't think he and Bill would be mates again for some time. I didn't hear about this until later, but at some point that evening Robert went up in the hayloft, and some of the other guys moved the ladder while he was up there. Undaunted, he tried to climb down the side of the barn without the ladder, and caught his nipple piercing on something, and suffered an agonizing pull. Fortunately for him he was well anesthetized when it happened, but I guess he was pretty sore for a few days.
Eventually the band finished their last set, and then played as they walked away down the road. I was exhausted so I went to bed, even as the party continued.
It was a fabulous party, IMHO one of the high points of the trip!
Up the hill in back of the house, Papa Tomislav had a garden on the hillside. There was a concrete shed with a metal ladder on the side that led to an little observation balcony, and from there you could look out over the valley. We climbed up and admired the view.
Eventually we rode out, led by Davorin and Daniel. They led us to a sort of museum village whose highlight was the birthplace of General Tito. There was a statue, and the house he was born in, and an assortment of other buildings with interpretive displays showing how flax was made into linen, and how candles were made, and whatnot. We wandered around for a while, then went on to Liliana's school. There are fifteen children who attend this one-room school. They were all there and waiting for us when we arrived on the bikes, and they were VERY excited. We parked the bikes along the road in front of the school. The children who knew English practiced it on us, and took turns sitting on the bikes. Somehow I ended up with a whole pack of little girls, and all the teachers, while Robert had all the boys clustered around him. Robert's GPS was a huge hit. Inside the school, they fed us lots of food, and the children sang two songs for us. It was amazingly cute.
After the school visit we had a roundabout ride back to the farmhouse, stopping at some other local historical sites. When we returned to the farm, they were cooking meat on the grill, and there were many people there, including a reporter for the local paper, who was writing a story about the motorcyle visitors. I was pulled over to be interviewed and photographed.
Then the band arrived. They came walking up the road to the house, playing as they walked. There was a cello, a violin, an accordian, and a tamburitza. I learned the name of the tamburitza from the singer, Carol, who was from Ontario. She was wearing a shirt that said "Croatian, made in Canada" and was more able to talk to me than most of the people there. The band was excellent! We danced some athletic folk dances. There was one where we all held hands in a big circle and ran in circles until someone fell over. There was another where partners held hands and ran under the arms of other dancers. I danced a partner dance with Robert and he was quite good at leading, made me feel like I wasn't nearly as clumsy as usual.
I had a long chat with Tomislav, the son of our hosts. Tomislav wanted to practice English, and he had many questions about the USA.
Later, another Croatian guy claimed me as his companion for an hour or so. In broken English he told me how the birds in Croatia sounds better than the birds anywhere else, and the hay there smells better too. He was very drunk and wanted to come back to my tent, but I turned him down. He tried to pour more wine down me, and he told me all about his wife and children, and more about his love life than I really wanted to know, then asked again if he could come to my tent. Sorry, the answer was still no.
As it got dark, the party got larger and louder. S was making jokes about how he'd fallen off the wagon, and he didn't think he and Bill would be mates again for some time. I didn't hear about this until later, but at some point that evening Robert went up in the hayloft, and some of the other guys moved the ladder while he was up there. Undaunted, he tried to climb down the side of the barn without the ladder, and caught his nipple piercing on something, and suffered an agonizing pull. Fortunately for him he was well anesthetized when it happened, but I guess he was pretty sore for a few days.
Eventually the band finished their last set, and then played as they walked away down the road. I was exhausted so I went to bed, even as the party continued.
It was a fabulous party, IMHO one of the high points of the trip!
