The countryside near Pridraga basked under a gentle sun. The town buzzed with stories of five young men who’d arrived from a neighboring village. Amongst them was Martin, with a nervous glint in his eye, and his four cousins, including the boisterous Vrater. Martin was 23 and the journey was crucial. He remembered the Church… Continue reading A Proposal in Pridraga
Author: Martin Erlić
Operation Storm
At the edge of our world, where village life melts into the wild, a hunter’s lodge perched – a beehive of noise that night. Local heroes gathered, marking the anniversary of Operation Storm. A bare-knuckle, tooth-and-nail defiance that finally laid the war with Serbia to rest. Center stage was a character, as round as a… Continue reading Operation Storm
Over the Sink
Summer is in full swing, and the watermelon is ripe and ready. I had a hankering for a slice, just enough to savor the sweet, refreshing taste. But with dida, a slice was never just a slice. We stood over the sink, the enormous watermelon between us, and dida’s eyes were alight with a determined… Continue reading Over the Sink
Beba Je Se ‘Gladnila
I wandered into the kitchen, hungry and with a craving for something warm and cheesy. Macaroni was on my mind, and as I opened the fridge to gather the ingredients, dida looked over, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “Beba je se ogladnila,” he said mockingly, a knowing grin on his face. The baby got hungry.… Continue reading Beba Je Se ‘Gladnila
Let It Flow
“Pusti vodu,” dida called to me, pointing at the water hose as I was heading out for a walk. He wanted to garden, and now, my walk was on hold. I turned the tap on, feeling a pang of irritation. This wasn’t the first time my plans had been derailed by a seemingly trivial task.… Continue reading Let It Flow
Steak, Wood, and Blame
The sun was setting, and the wood wasn’t going to cut itself. I had steak in the oven, but my dida, a no-nonsense kind of guy, insisted we finish the job. Baba was inside, probably mad as hell, but the work needed to get done. “Dida, dinner’s ready!” I yelled over the saw, following baba’s… Continue reading Steak, Wood, and Blame
An Unexpected Exchange
Life has a knack for throwing you curveballs, and on a recent sun-drenched day, it pitched me one straight from Nikica’s farm. Nikica, a relative of mine, is a man of the soil and a cultivator of summer’s quintessential fruit. His farm, a vibrant splash of green under the Croatian sun, is his canvas and… Continue reading An Unexpected Exchange
Of Code, Cheese Pita, and Camaraderie
Nestled in the heart of Croatia, our close-knit community thrives on predictability and comfort. As a programmer, my life often orbits around lines of code, a world far removed from the communal rhythms of our homey enclave. Not long ago, my work-induced indoor marathon caused quite a stir – I managed to miss the much-anticipated… Continue reading Of Code, Cheese Pita, and Camaraderie
9 Reasons Why Extra Virgin Olive Oil Is Nature’s Ultimate Superfood
I was born in Canada but my body was crafted in the Balkans, just like my family’s extra virgin olive oil. In fact, several millennia of inter-glacial Big Game hunters precede me. When I discovered that my ancestors drank olive oil daily, then sparred with Mammoths and saber-toothed tigers, I simply stopped questioning why people… Continue reading 9 Reasons Why Extra Virgin Olive Oil Is Nature’s Ultimate Superfood
3 Deceptive Olive Oil Marketing LIES, Revisited
It’s been almost a year since I wrote the original article, which blew up on social media. In that article I unveiled the lies that many North American olive oil importing companies tell their customers in order to make more money delivering inferior product. Many of the myths and lies surrounding olive oil, particularly as… Continue reading 3 Deceptive Olive Oil Marketing LIES, Revisited