Evening in Rijeka

Some quick pics of our perambulations:

That's our apartment building on the left. Those very white shutters are where the apartment is.

And here's a view from those very windows:

Going with the Flow

Due to an unforeseen glitch in our itinerary we had to make a pit stop in Rijeka.  Goodbye, Zagreb.  I for one will miss you terribly.  

I won't bore everyone with the wacky trek to the bus station or with the wonky internet tickets that cost us financially little but headache big.  Long story short we arrived in this beautiful Croatian port town an hour later than we'd hastily estimated the night before.  Here are some pics taken from the bus:

The top ones are closer to Zagreb and these above are driving down out of the mountains into the city of Rijeka.  Yes it really does look like the pictures, like a fairy tale.  

The apartment owner met us right away. This apartment is totally high tech and right in the heart of the city in an office building.  It's huge and probably bigger than our house.  

We had the most delicious fresh fish special of the day dinner.  Our waiter was so nice and brought us a drink on the house after our meal.  Here are a few pics of our walk back to the apartment along the marina.  One of them is guest starring...me!

Zagreb Boxen - Part 2

I don't think I could ever get tired of boxen, although I can't speak for you.  They remind me of Joseph Cornell's objects, but almost more "pure" because they are so unselfconscious and meant only to lure the potential shopper.  For me they are just as mysterious as his work because they are so foreign to my eyes in almost every way.  At the risk of flooding the boxen market and numbing you to their endless charms, I present to you Zagreb Boxen - Part 2.

Here is a very plain example flush with the wall and blocked by a gate further obscuring what it could possibly be hawking.  At least you know in what general direction Moneli can be found.

This is one of two boxen flanking the entrance to one of the most heartbreakingly semi-abandoned little courtyards we wandered into.

The last time we were here two years ago it was in the same neglected condition, which I suppose is better than if it had been vandalized like the chicken boxen from the previous post. 

At the back of the courtyard is a deserted postal place that A tells me is called, "quiet dream" or Tiki San.  As in most of the courtyards, it is very peaceful back here and to those of us who stumble upon such places, almost dreamlike.

And yes, Leonarda has been noted.

Tucked away on one side, there's another grand yet unassuming staircase serenely enduring the tests of time.

And on exiting, back to the bustle of the street, if you look up above the arched passage these enclosed walkways are what you will see.  

Here is the boxen on the other side of the courtyard entry from the street.

Another random boxen.  I love the repetition of shapes and the monochromatic color scheme.  It's almost diagrammatic.  Who cares what it's advertising!  

Here's the passage way to the shops.

A couple more examples.

This entry had boxen all over the place, inside and out.

These keys are so cute.

This little shoe boxen seems lost against all the crazy displays of a lighting store.

Here's a better shot of it in the context of the larger entryway.

After several hours of wandering in and out of courtyards, we were starting to get hungry and tired so headed back to the apartment.  Of course I couldn't resist snapping more boxen along the way.  I did resist, however, taking a picture of one that was built into a wall.  It had a shiny black painted wooden frame with a raw brick background.  A single bulb hanging from a cord illuminated it.  A and I were both stumped by this unmarked specimen so crossed the street to get a better look.  You will be as surprised as we were to hear it was advertising absolutely nothing.  Possibly it was under construction.  I suppose this could be construed as ironic, but where boxen are concerned, I have noticed there is no irony.  People here barely notice these amazing little theaters.

Here's an empty one.

Here's one advertising a very cozy bookstore where A bought quite a few titles two years ago.  It was closed this time for the holidays but we were glad to see the bookstore and its boxen are still here.

The bookstore is a tiny building at the end of the entry hall.

And to tie things up, here is an entry which may or may not have boxen at the street, I just liked it.  In the back is a fountain pen repair shop.  That's weird, you are probably thinking.  Little known fact: the fountain pen was invented here in Zagreb by a man named Penkala.  We looked in the windows of the cute little shop tucked neatly under the eaves and saw much memorabilia devoted to the pen inventor and his era.  At first we didn't see a proprietor around, but as we were leaving noticed a man inside typing away on a computer.  Irony.

Isn't that gate incredible?

Oh.  This was a courtyard that was almost completely abandoned.  In the photograph you are looking out to the main drag from way in the far back.  The faint sound of a radio playing unidentifiable music could be heard, but where it was coming from was a complete mystery.

I will leave you with one last boxen from way way down the main drag where the sidewalks are much less traversed and the shops very utilitarian.  Look closely.  This place sells convention pins, another one of my obsessions.  I suppose you could say this is the ideal boxen.