Fun & Games
After a winter of sitting around eating and drinking and generally being lazy we thought we had better shed a few pounds befor things get out of hand. So we have starting cycling to the local wine village down the lane, and back again. OK its only about a mile or so but its a start. Yesterday we managed a full circuit from our village around the valley and back home, about five miles I would guess. I can still remember when we were fit people……
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Well its that time of year again to get some house maintenance done and in true Croatian spirit Michele has taken to painting the windows and shutters. For those that do not know my wife, the chances of her being at the top of a ladder or out on a balcony with paint brush and pot in hand would not be your first thoughts, she does not like heights. But here is the photos to prove it! How brave is that? Now all I have to do is get her onto an airplane…..
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Michele and I headed over to the town of Sisak last week, about an hours drive from Zagreb. The town sits on the banks of the Sava and was an important river town in its day. Sadly much of the towns historic architecture is in need of repair but there were signs that some of the old buildings were being restored and that the town was heading in the right direction. We found a few nice cafes and there did seem to be plenty of shops and attractions so it is far from the ghost town we had anticipated and been led to believe. The nearby eco village was the main reason for our day trip, seeing the restored buildings made it worth the drive. Just one man/familly have taken it on themselves to revive this old village and are pouring their hearts into it from what we could see, a real labour of love to be admired.
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It was lovely to see Mick and Hailey and the three kids (Taylor, Alex and Ashley) this week and catch up with all the familly news. A quick trip to Varazdin saw them climbing over everything and anything, just as you expect with kids. The castle and insect museum caught their interest, as did sitting outside drinking steaming hot chocolate wrapped up in a blanket in the main square. (The adults prefered the “cooked” red wine….. a real winter warmer!
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For this months day out we all headed off to the newly opened rural tourism centre at Crlenjaki, a short walk from D and Ms place and just down the road from our Eco hamlet development. Its always a bit of a risk going to new places as you never know what you are going to get, but after a bit of a slow start it all ended up OK in the end. All the plates and glasses finished up empty with no complaints, so the quality and quantity seemed very good. Antonio our waiter got to practice his English, until he realised we had a fluent speaking Croatian with us in Sylvia. After that we all had to speak our very best Croatian which is always a bit a of a laugh with London, Midlands and Scotish accents all thrown in for good measure.
Everyone drank and ate all afternoon sitting around or walking by the lakes, chatting, chewing the cud and generally putting the world to rights, something us Brits do so well. It was lovely to see a few new faces around the table with Noel and Marian, Stacey and Pauline and Augusta all in good form and thoroughly enjoying themselves. A great afternoon was had by all and at less than 100kn each it was excellent value.
The weather could not have been better for late September, lets hope its not the last day out of the year. Even though we all chat on the phone, its always good meeting up with everyone over a few beers or litre or two of wine, the stories sound sooooooooo much better face to face.
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Sunday lunch at the local restaurant/hotel (Buncic) was lovely this week and a great afternoon was had by all. Not sure if sitting outside was the best option in the end, temperatures were in the mid 30s and perhaps we should have sat inside with the air-con? 
The company, food and service was excellent as always as was the local wine……..
A few BBQs were being discussed, so im sure we will be posting about those next week.
Michele’s
Birthday.It was Michele’s (XX?) birthday last weekend (yes all weekend) and a good time was had by all. Friday saw us all in Varazdin with the usual suspects, eating and drinking the night away as always seems to happen when that bunch get together.
Sunday was an altogether more subdued affair, partly due to some people having slight hangovers. A slow drive over to the rural tourism place at Čazma was followed by a bit of gentle “off-road” driving up some forest tracks just to liven everyone up and in the afternoon we went to Stari Glog for lunch where we met up with friends and a jolly nice afternoon and evening by the lake.
I like cheap days out!
As usual there were lots of smiles and hugging going on, must be something to do with the Croatian wine I reckon.
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Keith’s 50th Birthday.
When you are feeling “old” just spend some time with your 88-year-old mother……..it makes you realise that age is all in the head! The stamina of the woman is quite something, not only can she hold her own at the bar but also on the dance floor late into the night. Even an afternoon walk up the lane after lunch became a sprint, she really needs to get into the Croatian pace of life. LOL Thankfully she has slowed down to how she used to be! 
It was lovely to see so many of the family and friends again and we really appreciated the effort everyone made in taking time off work to get here for the week/weekend. The sun shined so all seem to have a good time and were probably glad to get home for a rest!
It strange how when you move abroad, you get to spend more quality time with people, when back in the UK we only lived a few miles apart and hardly spoke. OK they get a free holiday, but catching up with family and friends without any real-time constraints makes it much more special.
The last time I had my photo taken with my (elder) brother was at his wedding ”umpteen” years ago. Thats me on the right by the way and yes I know he has more hair than me. Catching up with everyone was certainly the highlight of my week, so thanks to all. I still can’t believe you drank my cellar dry!
After the rabble had departed it was time to settle back into the shade for a well-earned rest.
Welly Shelly did her usual brilliant job in the kitchen, its amazing what you can come up with using leftovers from the day before, tasty lovely as always.
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“Stara-Marca” Rural tourism centre.
The Stara Marca rural tourism centre opened for the season this week so we just had to pop over and see what was going on this year and sample some of the delicious local food and wine. Branco and Ljubica made us feel at home as always and meeting some new friends added to the warmth of the day.
They had arranged for the local “gang” to put on a fine display of traditional Croatian dancing and singing, I just wish I knew the words to the songs so I could join in more. After sampling some of their home-made rajkia (vodka) and joining in to one or two of the dances, we were treated to a wonderful spread in the old dinning room which they had set up beautifully. 
After lunch M and I manged to walk up the hill to where they keep the deer and horses…..its much easier coming back down!
The deer are quite tame and will take grass, carrots and anything else you want to feed them from your hand. The kids loved it, me included.
After a ride on the horse and cart, a walk in the forest and round the lake, it was back into the barn for yet more food.
Stara Marca is one of the nicest rural tourism places we have found around this way and worth a visit. Free parking, free pony and trap rides, free archery and fishing, you just buy your lunch or dinner there all for around 100kn (10GBP) each inc booze. Excellent value.
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Spancirefest
Sorry its taken so long to post the photos, they had been put into the wrong file and only just surfaced. Spancirfest is a great week-long festival in Varazdin with street performers from all over Europe competing, and it’s all for free.
The “out-door” concerts in the numerous squares and side streets make wandering around an experience in itself, you never know what will be around the next corner.
Michele got to dance with the old town “crier” but I think she met her match when it came to talking! LOL
The firework display was great as always and we had a super view from one of the restaurants in the main square. We like Varazdin and especially Spancirfest, it’s a really cosmopolitan place with a great mix of people from all over Europe all having a good time. It was lovely to see my two nieces again, Becky and Charlotte, they loved the festival and the atmosphere of promenading and outdoor fun. I think they were more interested in the young Croatian guys than dancing with their old uncle though. it’s all about image at that age or so they tell me.
Spancirfest is held in Varazdin each August and well worth a visit, but you will need to book a hotel well in advance if you want to stay locally.
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