Today was another delightful day in Zagreb where, like the rest of Croatia, there is a surprise around every corner. My overall impression is that Zagreb is a fabulous city that brings together the typical European blend of the very old, the quite old, the old, the recent and the brand new. It has some absolutely wonderful, stately buildings as one would expect of a capital city, but still manages to make it easy to get around and to present a vibrancy that comes from all sorts of people doing all sorts of things – and at this time of the year, some taking it very easy.



After enjoying a great breakfast and checking the weather so that we could be properly attired (and for me to know whether my new Croatian umbrella would get a work out today or not), JJ and I set out on different paths to explore parts of the city as yet not seen… the size and complexity of Zagreb really means that this would take a very long time – in just 2.5 days we have barely scratched the surface. The weather was fine the most though during a brief time in the hotel in the middle of the day, there was an un-forecast (according to Yahoo) downpour which had no impact on JJ or me.

First, I headed to the area called the Upper Town, where I was yesterday visiting the Shot Tower and climbing a multitude of stairs – to check out the Museum of Broken Relationships, the Croatia Museum of Native Art and to take another look around St Marks Church, as the buildings that surround it are government buildings (including the old city hall) and a fleet of black police cars there yesterday saw me move through quite quickly.

The Museum of Broken Relationships is dedicated to failed love relationships of all types. Its exhibits include personal objects left over from former lovers, accompanied by brief descriptions that put the item into context. Visitors to the museum read the story and I found that the individuality of them was engaging – some sad, some intriguing and all of them very thoughtful, with often the telling and handing over the item helping the person to move on. I have attached a pic of the museum's approach – I hope you can read it. Well worth a visit.

Then to the Museum of Native Art – quite interesting and a slightly strange feel to the collection. Not being an art expert I don’t really have anything to add other than it was quite stark and I am sure that it means a lot to some.

St Marks Church has a long history and has elements from various times in its history – starting in the 14th Century. During the past 2 days we have seen quite a few groups of school students, apparently on excursions, and here I saw a group being instructionally entertained as they learnt about the various parts and history of the square (or so I guessed).

From there I spent a bit of 'phone charging’ time in the hotel catching up with communications at home and then headed out in a different direction to explore some of the Lower Town. This part of Zagreb is a mixture of the quite old, the old, and the newer bits with plenty of open spaces, a multitude of restaurants (rows and rows of them, mostly very well patronised – I am not sure where all the people came from but the University is quite close and I assume that some of the buildings were offices – at least those that aren’t museums or other cultural institutions). By the time I headed back to the hotel prior to an afternoon drink and then dinner, most of the restaurants were nearing capacity, which trimmed down a bit later in the evening so I guess many people were enjoying Friday afternoon drinks.

Most of my afternoon was wandering, looking and taking in the people doing things which overall made for a very dynamic experience. My pics tell you nearly as much as I know, apart from what I learnt from my trusty guide book…. So a few more bits of information that I was particularly interested are…

The Well of Life is in front of the National Theatre, a popular work by one of Croatia’s popular sculptors. It is an interesting ‘sensual piece’ that is a circular pool surrounded by a frieze of intertwined nude figures – ranging from children to couples to older people… who appear to be reaching over to the water.. Apparently ‘suggesting a universal theme of human zest for life and interdependence’… interesting.

From there I walked past the imposing Museum of Art and Craft (not for me I didn’t think but the building is imposing) then chanced upon the also imposing Mimara Museum, which is huge, but I think not all given over to displaying the collection. I spent not long enough in it – the permanent art collection includes paintings and drawings by great masters including Raphael, Melasquez, Rubens, Rembrandt and Goya… some of the items were of course outstanding and made more so because I saw only 4 other people while I was there. The Museum also includes a collection of items from ancient Egypt and Greece.. all presented in very classy cases and on plinths… quite an impressively laid out display. I wish I had had more time to listen to the free wifi audio – another item to add to the list of reasons to head back to Croatia another time.

Oh and it was nice to see that the museum was being used for university graduations – hence the scene of very happy graduates and families on the front steps… given my interest in university student admin I found the setting and the organisation of multiple, short ceremonies quite a good idea – which seemed to be the format there. Another group was arriving as this group was leaving.

Then it was drinks and dinner o’clock and to start packing up for our morning bus ride to Ljubljana, Slovenia – which of course (sadly) means leaving Croatia.. last dinner was pizza again, sampled a lemon beer and polished off a bottle of Croatian dessert wine that our Zadar hostess gave.

A good way to end – but tomorrow Slovenia beckons.