How rich can be this language?

Last weekend I was asking myself: “how rich can be the croatian language?”, and, inside my head, I could hear a silence big as my ignorance about the declinations!

I was wondering if they can write rich poetry as in portuguese or in french (my two familiar languages and the ones I can compare too)?

Apparently the answer is yes, according to my friend Perica, the future croatian writer.

And, actually, I could peek throught the window of the complexety of the croatian language this weekend… I could say that the universe heard my question and wanted to show me the answer.

It took me to Varaždin, in Perica’s car. My future croatian writer friend is from this charming town and he invited me for a family lunch on sunday.

I felt very confortable seated with his family, it warmed my heart: being far from this cosy feeling of belonging in a family table can be hard sometimes… specially on sundays!

So, lucky me!

I met the mama, the baka (grandmother) – she even offered me some crochet angels that she made! – the uncles, aunts, little cousins… and everyone speaked only croatian… but a different one!

Kaj (what, in the north way of saying what)?...You are probably thinking to yourselfs.

They have a super big (like a bible) dicionary of their own dialect.

Rigth away I could suspect that the answer to my question was a obvious yes, but I waited a bit more to be sto posto.

And sto posto I was, when Perica started to explain me some words who where being  put on the table during the lunch.

For every word he tried to translate he had to tell me a story.

Every word is a big story itself.

Kaj?

Da!

So, I can imagine how rich can be a poem, I mean, the good croatian literature in general!

Unfortunatly, having my question answered didn’t make me more savante in croatian but it certainly catalysed my desire to learn the language.

I wish I could find one single word to tell you about my experience visiting Varaždin, but my idiolect is not yeat provided of such power.

So, I will leave you with a photo of a pretty corner of the cosy Varaždin:

In this corner, made by the Museum of Angels, there is nice lights, nice music and some resident pigeons sleeping on the angels heads!