My daughter and I somehow always spontaneously travel to Zagreb for New Year's Eve. We like to welcome the New Year on the main square of Zagreb, Trg bana Jelacica. It's nice to feel that collective joy and excitement that we shared with thousands of residents of the Croatian capital this year as well. Last year's representatives for Croatia at Eurovision 2024, Baby Lasagna, as well as some other performers unknown to us, performed at the concert this year. All these performers are well-known above all to Croatian youth, so the Square was packed that last night in December. Due to the crowd, it was difficult to move through the Square or to get to a place from where you could see the stage well, so the two of us, together with family friends Nada and Tibor, settled at the back of the stage where the crowd was tolerable. Unfortunately, the sound transmission didn't work well behind the stage, so we couldn’t hear the lyrics, only the loud beat of the music.
All the same, we were all happy and drank mulled wine and hot chocolate and ate tasty doughnut-like cakes “fritule”. We welcomed 2025 with hugs and kisses with dear friends and ensured that our tradition of welcoming the New Year on the main square in Zagreb continues.
But not only New Year's Eve was a memorable event of our holiday. A wonderful trip to Ljubljana was organized for us by Nelija and Fran. Although we have already visited Ljubljana at Christmas time, this is the first time we took the cable car up to the castle, which offers a wonderful view of the Slovenian capital. The river Ljubljanica that flows through Ljubljana was beautifully decorated and the boat ride in a warm armchair on gazing out the windows was magical. Nelija and Fran rounded off that wonderful day by taking us to an excellent restaurant near the river.
Another unforgettable day with friends was a trip to the mountains of Zagorje to the cottage of our friends Biserka and Štef. I want to thank them for hosting us in their home, with a wood-burning fireplace and delicious food. After lunch, we walked around the area and even played darts. We will be happy to come again to practice our darts skills.
And so, with wonderful memories, we saw off 2024 and welcomed 2025. I wish all the readers of this blog good health, lots of happiness and joy in 2025.
With love
Kristina
Wednesday, January 15th, 2025
Novogodišnje radosti
Moja kćer i ja nekako uvijek spontano otputujemo u Zagreb za doček Nove Godine. Sviđa nam se dočekati Novu Godinu na koncertu na glavnom zagrebačkom trgu, Trgu bana Jelačića. Lijepo nam je osjetiti tu kolektivnu radost i uzbuđenje koje smo i ove godine podijelile sa tisućama stanovnika hrvatskog glavnog grada. Ove su godine na koncertu nastupali prošlogodišnji predstavnici za Hrvatsku na Evroviziji 2024. Baby Lasagna kao i neki drugi izvođači nama do tada nepoznati. Svi su ti izvođači dobro poznati prije svega hrvatskoj mladeži pa je Trg te zadnje noći u prosincu bio krcat. Zbog gužve se bilo teško kretati kroz Trg ili prići mjestu sa koje se dobro vidi pozornica pa smo se nas dvije, zajedno sa obiteljskim prijateljima Nadom i Tiborom smjestile sa stražnje strane pozornice gdje je gužva bila podnošljiva. Nažalost prijenos zvuka nije funkcionirao sa te stražnje strane izvođača pa nismo bas pretjerano puno čuli od same pjesme iako je muzika dumila.
Svejedno bili smo svi veseli i uz odlične fritule pili smo kuhano vino i vruću čokoladu. Dočekali smo 2025. uz radost, zagrljaje i poljupce sa dragim prijateljima i osigurale da se naša tradicija dočeka Nove Godine na glavnom zagrebačkom trgu nastavlja.
No, nije samo novogodišnja noć bila događaj za pamćenje. Divan izlet u Ljubljanu organizirali su nam Nelija i Fran. Iako smo do sada već posjetile Ljubljanu u Božićno vrijeme sada smo se prvi puta žičarom popele do dvorca sa kojeg se prostire divan pogled na glavni slovenski grad. Rijeka Ljubljanica koja protiče kroz Ljubljanu bila je je divno okićena i vožnja brodom u toploj fotelji ugrijane palube broda bila je magična. Nelija i Fran su nas vodili u izvrstan restoran i tako zaokružili taj divan dan.
Još jedan dan uz prijatelje bio je nezaboravan, a to je izlet u zagorske brege do vikendice naših prijatelja Biserke i Štefa. Hvala im što su nas ugostili u svom domu, uz kamin na drva i prefino jelo. Poslije ručka smo malo prošetali po okolici i čak zaigrali pikado. Rado cemo ponovo doći u tu idilu zagorskih brega i prakticirati pikado vještine sa prijateljima.
I tako uz divne uspomene ispratili smo 2024. i dočekali 2025. Svim čitaocima ovog bloga želim dobro zdravlje, puno sreće i veselja u 2025.
S ljubavlju
Kristina
Srijeda, 15. siječnja 2025.
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