Adventure - Zagreb - London - Seattle - Portland
On my way home
Homeward Bound — Zagreb → London → Seattle → Portland
And just like that, the adventure turned toward home.
Leaving Dubrovnik behind, I made my way back to Zagreb for the night — a quiet pause before the long chain of flights ahead. The hotel near the airport was simple, calm, and exactly what I needed after weeks of stone streets, fortresses, ferries, and Yara’s ongoing attempts at monarchy.
Yara, of course, insisted she deserved a farewell parade.
I told her the airport didn’t offer that service.
She told me to “speak to management.”
Zagreb → London
The first flight lifted off smoothly, Croatia shrinking beneath the clouds. Yara pressed her face to the window and said,
“Goodbye, my kingdom. I shall return.”
Landing in London felt like stepping into a different world — bigger, louder, faster. Yara said it had “potential,” but needed “more thrones.”
London → Seattle
The long haul across the Atlantic was its own kind of quiet. Hours of sky, hours of ocean, hours of thinking back on everything — Split’s marble streets, Hvar’s harbor, Korčula’s stone alleys, Dubrovnik’s walls, Ston’s oysters, and all the little moments in between.
Yara slept most of the flight, curled up like a tiny porcelain cat.
When she woke up, she asked if we were “still flying over her territory.”
I told her no.
She said, “Unacceptable.”
Seattle → Portland
The final hop home felt familiar — the Pacific Northwest coming back into view, green and soft after weeks of sun‑bleached stone and Adriatic blue.
Yara looked out the window and said,
“This place is… fine. But it needs more fortresses.”
Touchdown in Portland marked the end of the journey — the return to routine, to home, to normal life… or as normal as life gets when you travel with a porcelain figurine who believes she owns half of Croatia.
A Quiet Ending
Suitcase on the floor. Laundry waiting. Jet lag settling in.
But also: memories stacked like postcards.
Zagreb’s trams
Split’s Riva
Hvar’s sunsets
Korčula’s pirate statue
Dubrovnik’s walls
Ston’s oysters
And Yara, everywhere, demanding upgrades
It was a month of movement, stone, sea, and stories — the kind of trip that stays with you long after the flights are over.
Yara has already asked when we’re going back.
I told her we just got home.
She said,
“Then start planning.”
And honestly… she might be right.
todd@FollowTheRide.com