A brand new bike on Jarun....

My friend bought a new bike. To try it for a bit he went for a ride around lake Jarun (cca 8km) and then took a walk with me... I noticed a detail he overlooked:





See the warning label? :)

Alone on a busy path... Bonus trip photo: a bird (Willow warbler)!

Have you ever noticed how people walk/show up in "waves"? My friend and I were walking around Jarun during a sunny and warm weekend mid-day and somehow ended up in this "vacuum" spot without people, and with all the action and numerous people further away from us:



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Bonus trip photo was taken on Pag. This little bird landed on our fig tree and feasted on ripe figs. I haven't seen it before - we usually get 4-6 pairs of finches with chicks and have a "domestic" pair of chickadees who have a nest each year under our roof tiles (their offspring sticks around too, so now it's adding up to about 10 of them). Does anyone have an idea what this bird might be? Judging by its beak, I would say insects are its primary food source... I haven't heard it sing or chirp... it's around 5-10cm long (1.5-3.5in).

EDIT: Abe solved the mystery, it's a Willow Warbler. Thanks to Google, Croatian name for this bird is Brezov zviždak (I have no idea how people lived without Google!).

Green haven...

Some 30min north of Zagreb starts hilly and green region called Zagorje (literal translation of the name Zagorje would be "behind the mountain/hill"). It's a peaceful getaway, with still cheap real estate, little or no traffic and hidden hillsides. Two weeks ago our ex-neighbors invited us to their holiday house. Here's the typical Zagorje "flavor":

Swans...

As some people asked, here are dug up photos from last year's winter of Jarun's small "Swan lake" (Flash required!):

Swan lake...

The official title of the smaller Jarun lake is "small swan lake" because swans enjoy safe surroundings, medical help and food people provide during the winter. Before swans arrive in huge numbers, and after the swim season closes, it looks like this (there's a tiny island in the middle of it):

Horses!

Recently, the city made a small horse stable near the lake Jarun, where you can get riding lessons... however, in the past 3 years, I have never seen them out of the stable, and certainly not galloping along the lake! In any case, you can see how they're well kept and beautiful.

A trainer coaching:

October theme day - Contrast: Grandson & grandpa...

The boy from previous post, here with his grandpa:



Make sure you check out all other contrasting ideas from other CDPB bloggers all around the world: Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Catch me if you can! Bonus trip photo: a small crab

My friend's son, enjoying a day out and playing soccer:



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Bonus trip photo is once again from Pag. These crabs come out on the docks and rocks near the sea to munch on sea algae. They can grow bigger in size, but these are usually from 1cm (less than half an inch) in torso width to up to 4-5cm (up to 2in). Even though they easily get frightened by sudden movements, they get used to us being there, so it normal for them to come to our feet and check to see if they're food too. Luckily, the claws are too small to grab us properly...

Was Monet here? Bonus trip photo: sun or clouds?

You have to wonder if the random work of nature on the lake Jarun got some help from Monet with this one:



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Bonus trip photo: stormy clouds were looming over us this evening on Pag, but the sun was working hard to show us another glorious sunset. The sun didn't win in the end, at least not until the next morning...

Row, row, row your boat....

Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.



Jarun lake again, this one with girls and boys working on their rowing skills...

PS. Is anyone else having problems commenting on other people's posts?! I can't comment for the second day now (getting weird errors)... :(

"Arena"... Bonus photo: macro world of a busy bee

A year old Arena, a place for sport matches and concerts:



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Bonus photo - a busy bee:



Camera used for both photos is Sony DSC-H9...

Zagreb's "sea" - Jarun... bonus trip photo: Adriatic sea

Even though Zagreb is in the continental part of Croatia, we do have our sea. Technically, it's a lake, called Jarun - used as a rowing center, night clubs and best parties, recreation, celebrations or family time. Pick your fun...





Water temperature in the lake is probably anywhere from 25-27C, which is almost as much as it is outside... there are no more swimmers, because they officially closed the swimming/beach season, so there are no life-guards. Judging by the way this guy was swimming, he definitely doesn't need one.

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I finally downloaded photos from my Dad's camera I took on the island of Pag this summer, so here's the real Croatian sea:



Btw, the camera is non-dSLR Sony DSC-H9...

Say cheese!

It had to happen sometimes: me getting photographed (but also returning the favor):

At a conference...

I spent the whole day today at "Regional SAP BusinessObjects" conference. The setting was wonderful - in a restaurant, right at the entrance to the largest park in Zagreb, called Maksimir, which is also home to Zagreb's ZOO. The conference was a success, from interesting talks, to networking... Food and coffee were great too! ;-)



PS. This was taken by my Nokia N78...