Sunday, 20 September
Today is still summer. The sun is warm, the temperature is around 26°C, and for a moment it feels like summer still has plenty of time left. I set off on my bike without a particular plan, but somewhere along the way I found myself thinking about Jambrić. Maybe I could stop there one more time, go for a swim and make the most of one of the last warm days before the weather changes.
But I had already said goodbye to Jambrić for the summer. To the forest, too. To that particular summer forest, full of green, warmth and long days. Even though summer is not officially over yet, somehow I had already felt that its season was coming to an end.
So I kept going.
I took the road towards the forest, wanting to make the ride a little longer and more of a proper route this time. Before long, the trail brought me back to Glavica, one of those places that feels different with every season.
In autumn, people come here to gather chestnuts and mushrooms: porcini, chanterelles, parasol mushrooms and many others best known to those who know the forest well. The whole place takes on a different character as the season changes, with new colours, scents and a different rhythm.
I come here almost every autumn.
Life sometimes takes me to Zagreb, Rijeka or somewhere else, whether for work or simply to explore, but somehow I always find my way back here. Back to the forests of my home region. There is something special about being able to experience the same landscape throughout the year and watch it change with the seasons.
And today, quite unexpectedly, I felt that change again.
Not because autumn had suddenly brought cold weather. Quite the opposite. It was still warm, and the summer heat was still lingering in the air. But there is a certain feeling you get when you enter the forest and realise that something has shifted. Summer is still there, but it is no longer the only thing you can feel.
Perhaps that is why letting summer go is always a little difficult. After all the long days, swimming, cycling, walking and warmth, it is hard not to want just a little more of it.
And yet, it only takes a moment in the forest to remember that there is something beautiful waiting on the other side of summer, too.
Autumn brings its colours, chestnuts, mushrooms, mist and the smell of wet earth. The days become quieter, the landscape changes, and the forest reveals a completely different side of itself. Then comes winter, and eventually spring, each bringing its own character and its own kind of beauty.
Maybe that is what I love most about this place. You never really have to say goodbye to one season. You simply move into the next one and discover what it has to offer.
Today I set off on my bike thinking I might be heading towards summer one more time, but autumn opened its doors to me instead.
