Marshalls Abroad

Life our zagreb home zagreb

Dinners at Home in the Beautiful Hills of Zagreb

About thirty years ago, many of the homes in this valley weren’t here. The land was covered in vineyards with little villages dotting the hills. Today, those villages have grown, including the one we live in, but you can still see how many of the vineyards there are. Almost all of our neighbors have a small vineyard in their backyard! Before we moved here, and before Cam took his trip to Zagreb to house hunt, I was hoping we’d find a house really close to the city center so that we could walk everywhere. We are not close enough to walk, but after moving here, we are so glad about it! It’s quiet where we live. There’s a beautiful old village church that rings it’s bells throughout the day, encouraging you to stop, slow down, and listen, we can walk to our neighborhood cafe for coffee, and to hiking trails, we’re getting to know our neighbors, getting to know our (still empty) house, and we’re in the middle of this beautiful little valley covered in grape vines. It’s unreal!! I couldn’t have imagined a better place and I cannot believe we get to live here! We don’t deserve it but we are so grateful!!! The Lord always, always answers better. 

Can you spot our little bunny rabbit John Shea in the meadow?

We’ve been traveling and exploring a lot, mostly in the regions around Zagreb (and southern Slovenia) that I think many tourists who come to Croatia unfortunately don’t get the chance to see. The castle built into the cave is Predjama Castle in Slovenia, said to have once been the residence of the robin hood of Slovenia.

Each time we leave Zagreb on a daytrip, we’re excited by the end of the day to get back. It feels even more like home, empty as our house is. My kitchen is empty too, minus a few dishes and silverware, a small pot and a pan. So our dinners have been as simple as it gets, but isn’t that the beauty of summertime cooking anyway!?  We’ve been cooking every variation of eggs I can think of, all too often, hah, salads (the one below with figs from our neighbor!), grilled sausages, breaded chicken, roasted chicken on the few rainy nights we’ve had, and fresh pasta with veggies. There is so much inspiration at the markets and from the wonderful Croatian food we’ve tried, so…  Recipes are coming. As soon as my kitchen makes it over the Atlantic ๐Ÿ™‚


Comments

  1. Melanie Fontaine says

    What a beautiful place you get to live in! I don't find it hard to believe at all that you and your family are really savoring this time and place in your life! ๐Ÿ™‚ I am really eager to visit Slovenia one day soon (but there are just so many beautiful places in Europe that it's always so hard to choose where to go next!), but until then I love seeing your pictures and read what you have to say about the lesser known places in this part of the world. The castle looks so unique and interesting!

    • Amanda Marshall says

      Thanks, Melanie. I hope you get to visit it too, along with the different regions of Croatia! But I know exactly what you mean – there's SO many wonderful places to see it's hard to choose. We're having the exact same dilemma as we plan trips while over here.

  3. Candice says

    So beautiful, Amanda! It looks like such a charming and historic area; what fun to explore. Also, John Shea is looking so grown up these days!!

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  10. Kait says

    How magical! I love that you always make the absolute best of your situation, which can sometimes be a stumbling block in military families. You are my inspiration!

  13. Katie says

    This made me tear up a little bit because I so desperately miss that slow, peaceful, small-town, church-bell-ringing European life. I'm so happy you're sharing your time over there.

    • Amanda Marshall says

      I know I'll miss that aspect too after our time is up here. Hope you guys are all adjusting really well being back in the States and getting to see all of your loved ones.

    • Amanda Marshall says

      Thank you! Was thinking of you tonight – we've read through the prayer book you sent John Shea so many times it's unraveling.. a sign of a truly well-loved book ๐Ÿ™‚

  15. Colleen says

    Your pictures make me want to travel so badly. Someday. Someday. Thank you for sharing your adventures. I can not wait to read about how you continue to make this cute little town your own. Hope your kitchen arrives soon!

  16. Kaysie says

    Like other commenters have noted, you guys have such a knack for finding stunning homes. What are your go-to home finding resources? What are your tips?!

    • Amanda Marshall says

      Thanks, Kaysie. Like our apartment in Okinawa and our house here, it came down to telling the realtor just what we were looking for after doing some research and talking to others who have lived there about the best areas… and prayer. I think the second part of that is the key ๐Ÿ™‚

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