Wednesday, September 29, 2010

It's a culture thing


Photo by: MARINNYC

Weather permitting, every day (from 10am-1pm), you will find cafes busy with Mommies and their toddlers as they gather for a fun date with their friends. So after Beli had her breakfast, I packed a few snacks and headed to the nearest cafe to meet my friend and her daughter.
Like the locals I have perfected the art of taking a coffee, as it is called, often making a single cup of coffee last for hours.
It was a nice morning almost like a summer day. A few people were sun tanning and I even saw a man swimming! Brrrrrr...
You see, in Croatia all sorts of meetings from casual conversations to business discussions, take place over cups of coffee, never on the run. The concept of coffee to-go is not very common, which I believe was the main reason Starbucks reconsidered and indefinitely postponed opening its first store in the capital city of Zagreb (which was planned to open in October). And I was even planning a special trip, driving 4 hours, to have a venti white chocolate mocha. Yes, the things a dedicated coffee enthusiast will do! But for now I'll continue and be like the locals, sitting at a cafe and passing the time with a cup of coffee, it's a culture thing.

12 comments:

  1. It sounds like a nice cultural thing! People really need to perfect the art of taking their time. They usually rush, rush, rush!!!...Let the kids do all of the expending of energy! ^_^

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  2. I love "taking a coffee" concept and we use it here too..I love when people can enjoy a good cuppa:)
    Your morning sounds wonderful,sweetie
    Hugs and kisses

    Ps: I will be hosting a lovely GIVEAWAY in a little bit… so please join in !!!!

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  3. Oh yes, we love our coffee. What coffee do you drink Turkish, or still American filter! Can not imagine sitting down with friends without a cup. We have Costa coffee in Belgrade and it is doing fine, although they have changed from self service to servicing. I supposed they had to and it is the only place they do that in the world. We love our coffee brought and served, not waiting in line!

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  4. Haha we say that in France as well "take a coffee"! In Amman, we have Starbucks (and yes I do like it sometimes - too many calories, though!)... but when I am home in Callas, I like to sit at the bar in the village a "take a coffee" and watch time pass-by! It is definitely a culture thing... Seems to be a very nice area for the kiddies!

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  5. Debbie, yes! it's nice to slow down and not always be in a rush.

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  6. Diana I'm glad to read you also take the time to drink your coffee. I will right over, I enjoy free giveaways! LOL

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  7. Jelena, hmmmm I'm going to have to read about that Costa coffee. I'm intrigued as we have family living in Belgrade so next time we travel there will have to give it a try?

    Oh I love Turkish coffee. it's all I drink in fact. (seems it's less acidic and I tolerate better than Colombian coffee.)

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  8. Babs,
    We don't need daycare when we have this playground,LOL there are many kids running around about the same age as Beli and she has to fend for herself when a kid takes her plastic dinosaur, plus she is tired by the time we go home and is ready for her afternoon nap.

    Oh I agree I don't even want to know how many calories are in the white mocha I enjoy drinking, plus it's also expensive. I believe we adopted the idea of taking a coffee from the italians? or france? either way we love our coffee.

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  9. This is exactly a type of cafe that I wish we had in Arlington, VA!!!! I would go there everyday!! We have nothing like this in Indonesia. I would love it if it exists! Art of making coffee. Sounds good! I love having a play date over a cup of coffee. It's a divine time of my day. I'm missing it here and I should make time to do that! I hope Starbucks will open in Zagreb. We have Starbucks in every corner. Sometimes two of them in one shopping mall!! xo Kaho

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  10. Haha, can you teach me how to make a single cup of coffee last an hour????

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  11. Andi@ Global butterfly, ha,ha well for me, it works this way: just take a sip then get and go chase your toddler, then come back and sip and repeat.

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  12. What a lovely way to drink coffee. Especially when you spend that time chatting with friends. Have a wonderful day! Kellie xx

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Thank you for your comments!

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