This is the blog for Matt Hollingsworth. I'm from Ojai, California. I've worked in comics for 22 years as a color artist.

This blog will largely be used to show my daily life as I live in Samobor, Croatia and as I travel around the region. Lots and lots of photos! Leave me a comment, will you?

All content on this blog is copyright 2013 Matthew Dale Hollingsworth and cannot be copied or used for any purpose without my consent.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Maybe some folks are curious about the Croatian language. I'm posting my homework for my language lessons for yesterday.

The assignment was to write a ghost story or something about a local myth from where I am from. So, I chose "Char Man", which is the most famous legend from my small town of Ojai, California. I had to write this, then tell my teacher the story without looking at my paper. And I made no mistakes! Woo hoo!

First the Croatian version then the English:

U godini 1948. bio je veliki požar šikare u Ojaiu, selu iz kojeg dolazim. Požar je spalio veliki dio doline. Nitko nije mogao ući u dolinu, zato jer je požar bio suviše veliki. Kasnije, ljudi su provjerili sve kuće na obroncima planine. Tražili su preživjelu osobu i našli su zabačenu kolibu gdje je čovjek živio s njegovim sinom. čovjek je umro u požaru i njegov sin je bio opećen. Sin je tonuo u ludilo i objesio je oca na obližnje drvo i ogulio ga je. Kasnije je pobjegao u šumu. Još obilazi šumu kao duh, izlazi noću, luduje kao luđak i plaši mještane.

In the year 1948 there was a large brushfire in Ojai, the village which I come from. The fire burned a large part of the valley. Nobody could enter the valley, because the fire was too big. Afterwards, people checked every house in the foothills. They searched for survivors and found a remote cabin where a man lived with his son. The man died in the fire and his son was burned. The son descended into madness and hung his father from a nearby tree and skinned him. Afterwards he fled into the forest. He still haunts the forest like a ghost, coming out at night, raving like a madman and scaring the locals.

Monday, March 19, 2007

In early February, Nara and I wandered around a bit, walking around in the centar and also taking the tram to Jarun, a lake complex in the South part of Zagreb. It's pretty big and is a nice walk around the lake. I wanna go in the spring when the plants are green and lush.


Moja djevojka Nara! On the way up to Grič



Austrijska.



Frankopanska.



Frankopanska.



Nara, at Jarun.



Jarun.





View of Zagreb from Grič.



Thursday, March 15, 2007

Trying a new beer tonight, Osječko Pivo, from, appropriately enough, Osijek.



It's okay. A basic light lager. Nothing spectacular, but also not bad. Gotta try new beers now and then, though, eh?

Velebitsko Pivo still stands as the best Croatian beer, as far as I know so far.
One of my favorite foods here from this winter has definitely been "matovilac". It's really tasty!


In English, people call it "corn salad" or "lamb's lettuce", but I have not heard of it in it's English namesake, nor do I remember eating it before. Here in Zagreb, people make a simple salad with it, and only it. I recently bought a huge amount of it at the local tržnica (farmer's market), and it cost me very little money. I wash it, then pour a little olive oil over it and some balsamic.

Corn Salad on WikiPedia

The olive oil is also from the market and it's what they call "domestic", "domaći" here, which just means it's homemade by the person selling it. This olive oil is far superior to what you buy at the store and is 70 kuna, or around $12.60 for one liter. Well worth it!


Anyway, matovilac is really nice. It's got a very nice flavor to it, somewhat pronounced and buttery. It really makes for a good salad all on it's own. Yummy! It's a winter green, though, so I have to eat it while I can as it will go away sometime, possibly soon.

More info on matovilac:

floridata.com

mobot.org

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

So, spring seems to have arrived! Not that we had much of a winter. But we have had some dreary days. Mostly, we've been having some very nice, sunny days, though. And today's no exception. It's warm and sunny out. And the flowers are starting to return. Outside my apartment, there are a few trees that are blooming. The green has not returned on most trees, but the flowers have gotten a head start.




That's my apartment on the bottom floor. The flowers are outside my window.


Sunday, March 11, 2007

Some recent pics.

We spent a day a couple of weeks ago going to some local museums and wandering around a bit. We saw a nice display of photos of Native Americans by a guy named Edward Curtis.

Edward Curtis on WikiPedia

He spent a large amount of his life photographing various tribes from the Western United States in the early 1900s. Some great photos.


My lovely girlfriend, Nara, looking a lot like a Croatian partisan!



St. Mark's church in Gradec, Zagreb.



We discovered a new restaurant called Peperoncino, and had lunch there. The food was fantastic! It was Italian, but like what you'd find in California. Tasty shit!


One of out new restaurant finds, Peperoncino. Really great trattoria.



The restaurant is located very near Kamenita Vrata ("Stone Door"), which is a shrine to the Virgin Mary.




Saturday, March 10, 2007

In mid to late May, Esad and I are going to attend a comic convention in Makarska on the Adriatic Coast of Croatia and bring a few friends along. While the exact plans are not nailed down 100% yet, this is to show our ideas thus far on this trip.

We will have our friends meet us here in Zagreb, then most likely fly to Split and rent a car for Makarska or find another way to Makarska.


Map showing our possible travels.



Makarska.



Makarska.



Makarska.



Makarska.



There's a glass bottomed bar out in a sort of cave area here over the water. Nice!



Old blog entry about Makarska and Omiš.



After the show, we're thinking of traveling to the island Hvar, which is famous for it's lavender flowers.



Hvar on WikiPedia



Hvar.



Hvar.



Hvar.



Hvar.



Hvar.



That's where the island of Hvar is.



After that, we should be renting a car and driving North to Tribunj.


Omiš. A nice place to stop for a lunch or coffee on our way North.



Omiš.



Omiš on WikiPedia



We could also drive through Split on the way.


Old blog entry about Split.


One of our friends has a house in Tribunj that we'll see if it's okay for us to stay at again. If not, we'll adjust plans. But he let us stay there last year and is a good guy. So, we're hoping it'll be cool.



Old blog entry about Tribunj.

Old blog entry about Tribunj and Prvić.




Tribunj.



There's also a nearby island called Prvić that might be fun to visit and wander around. It's a short ferry ride away from Tribunj.


The island Prvić.



Prvić.



Tribunj.



Tribunj on Dalmacija.net

Prvić on WikiPedia



We also have a friend here with a house on the island Murter and we'll see if we can stay there too. Should be fun.


The island Murter.



Murter.



Murter.



Murter.



Murter.



Murter on WikiPedia