Trieste quite stunned me today. I felt like a provincial lost in a metropolitan labyrinth. Regardless of census statistics, Trieste struck me as a much larger city than Zagreb. The buildings were taller and grander. There were many more people in the street. And there was much more traffic. Walking around the bustling city, I often felt like leaning against a wall, or holding tight onto a railing. The port of Vienna was still around me in spite of all the palpably missing boats. It did not take me long to realize that it would take me many a visit before I would feel at home in Trieste, like I now feel in Zagreb. And what for? My beloved is in Zagreb, after all. Eleven years since my last visit, today’s visit to Trieste ended up like an unexpected farewell. A metropolitan labyrinth is hardly a comfortable place for a newborn provincial like me.