On Friday, the 13 th of April 2007, I got on the train to Zagreb and my exciting adventure, my excursion to Trogir near Split took its course. Several fellow students and I were on route to “Croatia Mundi 2007” an international meeting of people who study Croatian. I knew the other participants of Graz more or less by sight and met them briefly at the platform.
My friend Gunther was also on the train and so we shared a compartment. To be a bit more precise, we weren’t alone. We enjoyed the companionship of Gunther’s friend Sead, a Croatian translator and journalist, who had even been awarded the Austrian state prize.
My friend Gunther was also on the train and so we shared a compartment. To be a bit more precise, we weren’t alone. We enjoyed the companionship of Gunther’s friend Sead, a Croatian translator and journalist, who had even been awarded the Austrian state prize.
I saw him the first time He is a fascinating and blind man. After getting to know each other, I received an introduction into his work in general and his latest job in particular. He had his “laptop” with him. At first sight it looked like a customary keyboard but on a closer view it had a “reading line” and only a few keys. I must have sounded rather foolish when I asked. “And how can you write with these few keys?” He answered with a smile: “In Braille, of course”.
It was a stroke of luck that I wasn’t alone on the train. Every now and then an official appeared, murmured something incomprehensible and we had to show our passports. Slowly but surely, my fear was growing because we had to part in Zagreb. Well, I had studied Croatian for one and a half year and I knew some words and expressions, but could I already master a commonplace situation? In no time we had reached the both men’s destination. Gunther helped me to find my connecting train to Split and all of a sudden I was alone, all alone.
Hesitantly I asked the conductor about the sleeping car (Molim Vas, gdje je spavača kola?). A compartment was assigned to me – which I had to share with two young girls. They opened their mouths and, thank heavens, they were speaking English.
Both young ladies were relieved too. They couldn’t speak or understand a single word Croatian. They told me that they had come from California and would spend a whole year in Europe. One girl studied in Rome, the other in London and they used the Easter break to meet and explore the continent. The conductor collected our tickets; we locked the door and fell asleep.
(Is to be continued)
It was a stroke of luck that I wasn’t alone on the train. Every now and then an official appeared, murmured something incomprehensible and we had to show our passports. Slowly but surely, my fear was growing because we had to part in Zagreb. Well, I had studied Croatian for one and a half year and I knew some words and expressions, but could I already master a commonplace situation? In no time we had reached the both men’s destination. Gunther helped me to find my connecting train to Split and all of a sudden I was alone, all alone.
Hesitantly I asked the conductor about the sleeping car (Molim Vas, gdje je spavača kola?). A compartment was assigned to me – which I had to share with two young girls. They opened their mouths and, thank heavens, they were speaking English.
Both young ladies were relieved too. They couldn’t speak or understand a single word Croatian. They told me that they had come from California and would spend a whole year in Europe. One girl studied in Rome, the other in London and they used the Easter break to meet and explore the continent. The conductor collected our tickets; we locked the door and fell asleep.
(Is to be continued)
