Weekend on the Farm

Our next door neighbors (who don’t speak a single word of English) have a farmhouse in the region of Zagorje, just outside of Zagreb, and we love when they invite us out there. This is a region that is so far off the tourist path in Croatia, yet might be one of the most beautiful. It’s a hidden gem. Between the forests, meadows, wild flowers, orchards, vineyards, rolling hills, little farms and valleys, it feels like surely! fairytales must have originated from here. I picked bunches of wildflowers, we walked their land, drank their wine, visited their flock of 50 chickens and new piglets and hunted for wild asparagus. I think our family was made for the country.

John Shea covered in dirt from head to toe exploring with his best friend in Croatia, Rex the German Shepherd.

Sunday lunch is a huge meal that always begins with soup. They made us chicken peka, which is a very traditional Croatian dish, slow cooked in a lidded pot in their outdoor fireplace under hot coals and ash. Everything we ate (and drank) came from their farm!

Walking through their vineyards and orchards to our friend’s “wine shed” to stop for a drink of his vino. He won the silver medal for his Malvasia white wine, and this is the view from the porch:

Our neighbors always generously send us home with at least two dozen eggs from their free-range chickens, leftovers and fresh bread. They are neighbors to us in the truest sense of the word! They’ve also opened up the culture and language to us right over our fence.

I hope you had a great weekend!
I’m excited to show soon what else they sent us home with…