Frisbee and film festival

The tournament last weekend was a big success, with some ups and downs. We came out slow both mornings - not a battle-hardened group. The defense on Saturday was outstanding. When we got beaten it was usually on the break side with something exciting. Our open side D really declined on Sunday, when people were more tired and satisfied to just chase the cutters. Dario and Frki are coming into their own, and we owe a big thank you to Jakob (from Austria), plus Jill and Kris (from Calgary) for picking up with our team and elevating the level of play. It is tough to get better when you only play with new players, so the infusion of more experienced people was excellent. Stacie and Ilana (our American med student friends) started out as great cheerleaders but worked their way onto the field and scored lots of goals. Also, the guys from Mali Dim formed a pickup team in the men's division, which was the most fun playing of the weekend. We picked up a few studs from other co-ed teams, and won all of our games.

Lake Balaton was also awesome. From the train platform when we arrived, we could see the sand ultimate fields, the huge lake dotted with sailboats, the big tent already set up for the party, and a handful of bars, cafes and restaurants a stones throw from the dorms where we stayed (also within sight). Perfect setup.

And shoutout to Beatbox from Ljubljana for doing what he does best.

Back in Zagreb, last night I went with Dudo and Sanja from work to the Tabor Film Festival, at Veliki Tabor Castle. We made an afternoon of it, and did end up watching some films there. On our way we stopped for a coffee at a lovely, renovated hotel: http://www.bezanec.hr/. Before going straight to the film festival, we ate a traditional meal on top of a steep drive, overlooking the hillside farms and the castle. For appetizers we had homemade bread with spek (a spread of pure fat) and a salad of lettuce, cabbage, cucumber and tomato, doused in vinegar. I ate the dragon steak, which consisted of lamb with carrots and potatos in a gravy.

The film festival itself was sleepy during the day (the party starts at night), though a friend of a friend was on a film crew for a movie about knights and damsels. Visitors set up their tents for camping outside the castle. Inside, the place is awesome and being renovated to become a mainline tourist attraction. There are some artifacts that are cleaned up and arranged, as was the carriage in the foyer. At the same time there was old artwork and bits of old plows and things just sitting around. In the end the films were fine but the castle was the attraction. I hope to go back:


This Friday Dario and I are heading to Graz for an afternoon of touristing and then another weekend of beach ultimate.