Velika Mlaka

Addy turned S E V E N in Croatia! Her celebration began on the 11th, but her birthday is actually on the 12th.

Happy birthday Adalynn Elissia! This girl is full of spunk & jokes. She's thoughtful, generous, colorful and fashionable.

On birthdays we let the birthday girl choose what we eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We borrowed this tradition from our North Carolina cousins. Addy wanted a cinnamon roll of sorts for breakfast, bread with lots of butter, cucumbers & grapes for lunch, and a steak with lots of butter for dinner. As a toddler, she would find butter and sneak it by the handful. We finally figured this out when she left cute, tiny finger marks one day.

We had to figure some food things out quickly, because we were in a new place, on foot and we were "not in Kansas anymore Toto." She was hoping for a vanilla cake, but they seem to put chocolate in everything. We mistakenly booked a place with a kitchenette, instead of a full kitchen for two weeks, so we could not bake her one. We were on the hunt for this birthday girl.

I'm jumping a bit ahead, so let me back up. We arrived via overnight train and started with an early morning walk through the graffitied city of Zagreb. Our train arrived before 0600 and our expected walk was about four miles away. It seemed as if every part of the city that was reachable from the ground had some kind of graffiti on them, but some were kinda artsy. Several graffiti markings made it clear they were over covid restrictions, all of which have been lifted now.

Then as we made it to the edge of town, we stopped in a lovely, green space that had a giant playground and huge trees. A pirate ship that they captained for a bit, slides, spiderweb climber things, a treehouse to explore, hammocks, swings and more. It reminded me of White Rock Lake with a smaller lake.

We found this fun place called Amazinga along the way, so we popped in. This place was a mash up between Shenanigans and Urban Air with trampolines, obstacle courses, VR games, bounce houses, bumper cars, rock climbing and a "pizza master." We appreciated that no one else was allowed to cook the pizza and it was very tasty. Addy was excited that this place started with the same letter as her name. They played so hard that two out of three fell asleep.

A bus and fifteen bazillion steps later we made it to our cottage just outside the city. It is a very cool place and the owners are so friendly. They have given us tips for fun things to do with our kids around town and invited us to have Turkish style coffee with them. We essentially have our own tiny house tucked away from the city with a kitchenette, a dog our kids can enjoy, and an outdoor play area.

Since we are quite a walk from most things here, Seth gave in to his girls and got a CAR on Addy's actual birthday. The girls kept saying "Addy got a car for her 7th birthday!" Ha ha. And it seems silly, but this car was the means to this momma being able to do what I know to do to make her birthday special. We searched many places for cake with no luck, but Seth saved the day with this car. We ended up finding a great grocery store with a buttery, vanilla bundt cake for Addy! Yay!

We never found a cinnamon roll, but she was happy with a fresh, buttery croissant. And Seth managed to find this awesome place for steak that had horses too. It was a lovely short drive through the country side with purple mountains in the distance. The place was called Cowboy Western Ranch Restoraunt. We felt a little cliche eating steak here, but it was stinkin' amazing. On top of this incredibly high quality, perfectly cooked 42 oz steak that was unbelievably well priced, the grounds offered horse back riding on certain days, a playground and an obstacle course in the woods. We could have spent all day here!

I think she had a memorable 7th birthday in Croatia. Now to sleep for a day after all that travel!

Next up...
Our conversations about traveling north or south are quite comical. They go something like this - "We need to plan, because we leave in seven days." Seth says " Don't worry. It's going to be a surprise. I haven't even told myself yet.". Sometimes I laugh and sometimes I wanna cry. Luckily, that day it was laugh. Learning to roll with it.Read more