The last few years, I travel between Motovun and Zagreb a great deal, but I rarely go anywhere else. Ever since my move to Croatia, I have been abroad only a few times. If I remember correctly, I went only to Venice and Belgrade the first few years in Motovun. And I went to Trieste and Monfalcone earlier this year. That is about all. Amazingly, I have been nowhere else for more than a decade. Besides, most of my trips were no more than daytrips. The remaining ones were on the short side, as well. Which is why my trip to Belgrade tomorrow morning is weighing quite heavily on my mind. I go through all the steps over and over again. I even jot down a few things so as not to forget them. Ever more often, I check my knapsack for something or other I consider essential for the trip. Although I will be away for no more than three days, the trip strikes me as a major departure from my sedate ways. When I remember the way I used to travel before my retirement, I shudder. Hong Kong, Helsinki, Saõ Paulo, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Palermo, Sydney, Montreal, London, Florence, Brisbane, Lisbon, Marseilles, Bucharest, Paris, Edinburgh, Ankara, Cape Town, Cairo, Sankt Petersburg, Rotterdam, Guangdong, Bristol, Istanbul, Bangkok, Athens, Beijing, Stockholm, Bari, New York, Berlin, Penang, Toronto, Oxford, Ljubljana, Jerusalem, Brussels, Dallas, Nice, Tallinn, Los Angeles, Milano, Tampere, Wellington, Copenhagen, Shanghai, Budapest, Colombo, Frankfurt, Boston, Moscow, Cincinnati, Kuala Lumpur… Okay, okay. Tomorrow’s trip to Belgrade will be a piece of cake.

Addendum (August 26, 2018)

As it happened, my last trip to Belgrade was my very last. Ever since, I have been to Zagreb quite a few times, but going anywhere else is simply unimaginable to me at this stage of my life. Chances are I will go to Belgrade never again. The same holds for all the other cities on offer. And I still go to Zagreb only because my beloved lives there. Were she to move to Motovun, I would surely stay put till my last breath. As I have written earlier today, sedentary tourism is all I look forward to from now on (“In Praise of Sedenteary Tourism,” August 26, 2018). Why would I ever traipse around the world if the world comes to my feet readily enough? A good question, this. As for sensible answers, tough luck.