Zagreb is the landlocked capital city (intermittently since 1557) of 800,000 people. It is home to one of every six Croatians. Truthfully, we were a bit disappointed with our first impressions:…a lot of graffiti and a lot of buildings under renovation.
Then we were told about the recent earthquakes….a 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit in December of 2020 and caused major damage to buildings in the city. Another one hit during the pandemic lockdown with more damage. So the city has been dealing with a lot! Despite that, we enjoyed our time here. The picture below shows how the earthquake affected the walls of a building not far from our hotel.
Sites We Spotted around the City……
While walking the streets of Zagreb, we dropped in on a unique museum. The Museum of Broken Relationships is an eclectic collection of items sent in by heartbroken people worldwide, along with heartfelt stories of their breakups.
One night for dinner, our guide took us to this location specifically because a woman appears in the window above to sing! She had an amazing voice that filled the street. Quite a clever stage and a delightful way to enjoy dinner!
If there is not enough to fight about in the Balkans…..throw in Nicolas Tesla! Tesla, an ethnic Serb born in present-day Croatia in 1856 (when the country was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire). He is a source of pride in both countries and Zagreb and Belgrade both claim this pioneer of modern electrical engineering as their own!
A popular dish in Croatia is 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙠𝙡𝙞….a dough filled with cottage cheese and sour creme. It does not sound tasty but, made by the right restaurant, it is sooooo delicious. We ordered 4 different types at, what is supposed to be, the best place in Croatia to make them. It took 40 minutes once we ordered for it to be done!
Also….would you believe that the “Old Lamplighter” is not a thing of the past!!!!! He is alive and well and lights the lanterns every evening in Zagreb!
We took a very short (the shortest in Europe) funicular ride to the Upper Town, the older part of the city, filled with medieval monuments.
𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚
Located nearby Zagreb is the quaint region of 𝗭𝗮𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗷𝗲, a region of winding country roads, natural springs, and rolling hills. Here we could witness the contrast between life in the bustling cities and the small towns and villages of rural Croatia.
Klanjec is a quiet town (pop 600) in the region, surrounded by fertile wine hills. It is also the birthplace of the renowned sculptor, 𝘼𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙣 𝘼𝙪𝙜𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙘, one of the important sculptors of the 20th century. (He created the Peace monument that stands in front of the UN building in NYC). We had a guided tour of his gallery and sculpture garden.
Kumreovec
This village is a unique open-air museum focusing on the traditional ways of life a century ago. It is also renowned as the birthplace of Tito. We enjoyed a guided tour of the grounds. Half of this house is where Tito, #7 of the children in his family, lived as a youngster.
Our lunch today was 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖 𝙞 𝙢𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙞, a traditional dish of roast turkey and homemade flatbread served in this wonderful outdoor setting.
