I know central Zagreb rather well, but I was still stunned when I walked through it on my way from the central bus station to my beloved’s apartment. It was jammed. The streets and squares were crawling with people. There was hardly a free table in any of the outdoor cafés in the pedestrian area. And everyone was dressed the proverbial Sunday best. As I was picking my way through the crowd, I kept shaking my head. “What’s going on?” I was wondering. “Is this some holiday I’ve forgotten about?” Only then I remembered that it was Saturday. Just Saturday! The weather was most pleasant, and everyone and their uncle got out around noon. It was just past two o’clock when I arrived in the Croatian capital, but everyone was still out. The only mystery in my bewilderment is my lousy memory. How in the world could I forget how central Zagreb looks in the early afternoon on a balmy Saturday? And after only a couple of months away! A provincial to boot, to be sure.

Addendum (June 6, 2015)

A week later, everything is exactly the same in central Zagreb. Once again, the weather is splendid, and everyone is out and about. There is hardly a free table in any of the outdoor cafés in the pedestrian area, and so forth. The only difference this time around is that I am not stunned by anything I witness as my beloved and I stroll home after our lunch in one of our favorite restaurants in the Croatian capital. It is just Saturday, after all. If there is anything I miss this particular Saturday, it is my provincial bewilderment a week ago. In fact, it is only a memory by now. In a few weeks, it will strike me as but a dream, and rather a baffling one. Hey, this is the city of my birth!