With a population of 1.2M, roughly 25% of Croatia's population, Zagreb may be one of the few cities in the country where locals outnumber tourists - for this reason it was a nice change from the Dalmatian coast. There's a Central Park that extends north from the train station that eventually leads to a town center. Al fresco cafes fill the pedestrian only streets and in other areas of the city spill onto the street. I ate a traditional Octopus Stew, then focused on enjoying the present-day environment. Josip Jelacic Square is a central gathering point and the tram lines that run along Ilica Street bisect the old city into two distinct parts.
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The Older Old City rises up the hills north of the tram lines. This area was built by the BLANKS and reflects their architectural style. It has far less traffic and as I wandered north along BLANK I wondered if reaching BLANK coffee shop would be worth the effort - it was a steep hill on a warm day yet when I arrived I was pleased with the destination and ordered a macchiato. I put in the BLANKS as place holders five years ago and now I have no idea what I'm talking about. I'm not sure what the first and second blank refer to. I remember the coffee shop having outdoor seating and that it was more cafe than coffee shop. That's all I can remember. I just Googled coffee shops in this area and there's ten coffee shops that look awesome. Zagreb's a good spot. I should have stopped at that.
I opened google maps to find a way back down and a museum caught my eye - The Museum of Broken Relationships. On the way to the museum I passed St. Mark's Church which has unarguably the best roof of any church I've seen in current European travels.
The Museum of Broken Relationships exhibits contain a memento left behind from an ex lover. The items range from the quirky (modems) to sports equipment, to oddly symbolic (barbed wire). Each item contains background from the jilted lover and what the item meant in their relationship. Some backgrounds were a bit funny, others sad, but all were poignant and seemed like a cathartic exercise for the writer. There are lots of jilted lovers in Paris and Taipei. There were all forms of loving relationships covered.
I opened google maps to find a way back down and a museum caught my eye - The Museum of Broken Relationships. On the way to the museum I passed St. Mark's Church which has unarguably the best roof of any church I've seen in current European travels.
The Museum of Broken Relationships exhibits contain a memento left behind from an ex lover. The items range from the quirky (modems) to sports equipment, to oddly symbolic (barbed wire). Each item contains background from the jilted lover and what the item meant in their relationship. Some backgrounds were a bit funny, others sad, but all were poignant and seemed like a cathartic exercise for the writer. There are lots of jilted lovers in Paris and Taipei. There were all forms of loving relationships covered.
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From here the rest of the afternoon was drinking in open squares. I went to Zagreb Cathedral, a large Catholic Church who's steeples peek out on the skyline from various city vantage points. Im not sure whether I was exhausted from the heat or the repeated cafe and leisure afternoon but I called it an early evening and spent the rest of the night at the hostel.
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I was here for two nights. Zagreb is a good spot for non-Dalmatian coast day trips. The hostel advertised a day trip to Plitvice Lakes National Park - it looked awesome. I wish I had done a little more research and I would have spent an extra day in Zagreb and gone there on a day trip. It's two hours away but the cost of transportation was included in the trip's price.
For additional photos see FLICKR ALBUM.