Whichever café I go to in central Zagreb, I find the people surrounding me a bit too close for comfort. I like the crowds, but I am often annoyed by their proximity. The screeching of the boisterous young is not to my taste. Neither is the sneezing and coughing of the tottering old. Well, no-one is to my taste from close up. The cafés I like best provide a perch some distance from the hubbub. As well as a slightly raised one. An observer’s post, that is. Rare as they are, such places make me feel at home. This is where I can observe human behavior to my heart’s content. And I can remain unobserved by my merry subjects, too. Equipped with my laptop, I can also bang along as much as I wish. No prize for guessing where I am at this very moment. Home, of course.