Grace graduated from Haverford on May 17, 2015, and she and I started our post-graduation mother-daughter trip just two days later, flying out of Newark on a red-eye on May 19. After a short layover in Munich (uber-efficient airport, very German), we arrived without incident in Zagreb, Croatia. I must confess that I had never even heard of Zagreb before planning this trip, yet it’s the capital and the most populous city in Croatia.
At the airport the Hertz lady said, “This car has a few dents. Please don’t add any more.” That’s silly, I thought – I’ve never dented a rental car (I’ve abandoned two at airports while running to make flights, but those are stories for another time). We were given a detailed chart that showed all the pre-existing dents, and I had Grace document the more significant dents with photos, just in case. This turned out to be a good idea because it served to distinguish the existing dents from the ones I added. So much for my previous rental car history.
(On the topic of rental cars: When I first started planning this trip, I couldn’t find any flights from Dubrovnik to Athens, so I considered dropping off the car on the island of Corfu on the west coast of Greece, where there were regular flights to Athens. I came close to booking a car with Avis and was pleased that it was only $300 or so for the four days. I got pretty far booking it before I noticed the drop-off fee in fine print: $8,700.00. That would have been a shock.)
Back to Zagreb: I had decided that while we were in Croatia we would stay entirely in sobe – sort of like bed and breakfast places, but without the breakfast. My main criterion was excellent location, and I insisted on having a bathroom attached to our room (as opposed to shared, down the hall). The places we stayed in were GREAT; this was such a good decision, if I do say so myself. The rooms were way cheaper than a hotel and in outstanding locations. How much time do you spend in your room on a trip like this, anyway?
Our first sobe in Zagreb – called Sobe Zagreb 17 – was outstanding. It was a large and chic room with very high ceilings, painted and decorated all in white but with bright artwork on the walls, and in a superb location (once we found it). Our windows looked out onto Tkalciceva Ulica (below), the well-known pedestrian street lined with cafes. Well-known to people who have heard of Zagreb, that is. We dropped off our stuff and immediately set out to explore the old city (Stari Grad – a Croatian phrase that we learned in all the cities we visited), which was quite charming.
The photos below are from the market near the center of the old city.
In the cafes we heard a few American voices, but mostly the city was full of Croats enjoying a pleasant early summer afternoon. In the plaza in front of St. Mark’s Church (below), we were virtually the only people there, until a flock of young people poured out of the Parliament building, where they apparently had been at some sort of meeting. I loved that the city wasn’t overrun with tourists.
Above, Lotrscak Tower, at the top of what might be the world’s shortest funicular. Below, Jelacic Square, the busy plaza just outside the old city. There is a story that I’ve now forgotten about the statute. I think he is pointing his sword at the Serbs.
We made what I thought would be a quick visit to the Museum of Broken Relationships (huh?) but it turned out to be fairly engaging so we killed quite a bit of time there. This museum (below) proves that you can display practically anything, as long as you curate it well. Each object represented a broken relationship, with the story told on the wall. It was addictive; I kept saying to myself, “I’ll read just one more, then we’ll leave.”
As our flight had been a red-eye, we took a nap in the late afternoon then headed out again in the early evening. The weather report for the following day was looking increasingly alarming, so we bought umbrellas. After some cappuccino, we decided to look for pants for Grace (as she had not packed any, expecting hot weather). We ended up shopping at H&M, which felt pretty silly. But Grace did find pants, and the exchange rate is so good!
Dinner was at Nokturno, one of the many restaurants tucked into an alleyway – they seem to sprout up everywhere in Zagreb.
After dinner we strolled to the big cathedral (below – Grace in doorway for scale) then went to bed early, as our plan was to get on the road first thing on our way to Plitvice National Park.
