Zagreb, Croatia: broken hearts, Matthew McConaughey and nudity

March 4 and 5

On my way to Croatia, I drove through Ljubljana, Slovenia and grabbed lunch at McDonald's. I know, I know, I should have my world traveller card revoked. But Ljubljana was a nice town. It has a large, historic old town and a large university population.

I got back on the road. The drive took me through Slovenia and northern Croatia and was gorgeous. The land is full of rolling hills, but it's a drab, dreary day and somehow that suited me just fine. It felt right for Eastern Europe.  In less than 2 hours, I was in Zagreb, Croatia.

I was surprised by how big and modern Zagreb was. It wasn't particularly neat, tidy or gleaming, but high rise apartment buildings dotted either side of the highway and I saw a Ford dealership, a VW dealership and other signs of commerce. The apartment buildings looked like they were built in the 1970s or 1980s...square, uninteresting and plentiful.

I drove into the Old Town area and it took me 3 passes through the labyrinth of 1 way streets to find a parking lot and check into the Jagerhorn Hotel.  My room was on the 2nd floor (4 flights-no elevator) and I was pleasantly surprised at how quaint the room is.

I spent the first evening walking around the area surrounding my hotel - a bustling shopping district with a variety of international stores like H&M.  Zagreb is full of outdoor bars - patio seating huddled under heat lamps, rows of chairs with blankets draped across them, beckoning people to sit, drink, relax.  I walked the city, enjoying how foreign everything felt. I marveled at the language and how foreign everything seemed. In Italy, basic Spanish helped me decipher some Italian words. In Germany, English helped.But nothing could help me with Croatian. Absolutely foreign!

The good news is that most Croatians speak some English and the signs for the main tourist sites have English on them, so that helps travelers get around.

I had dinner at a restaurant recommended by my hotel, an international place called Carpaccio's.  It's a small, charming restaurant with an excellent menu.

My meal was fantastic!!!  I had Croatian wine (meh), vegetable soup, an amazing turkey breast stuffed with cheese, ham and basil, plus roasted vegetables and semi-freddo for dessert

 stuffed turkey breast at Carpaccio's

It was funny to get the bill and see that it was 221 Croatian Kuna (HRK). My heart stopped for a second and I thought I was back in NYC.  But I did the conversion and realized that 221 HRK is about 28€ or $39. Considering it was 4 star restaurant and I ordered soup and dessert, I'd say it was pretty inexpensive! I love Croatia... or should I say "volim Hrvatsku"!

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On day two, I woke up early and set out to explore the city. I started with the Naive Museum, which is full of art from native Croatian artists.  They had a special technique of painting on glass instead of canvas. They paint on the back of the glass, which means the artist paints everything backward.

Here are a few of my favorites. The first is "Woodcutters" from Ivan Generalic:

The next is "Swine Herd" by Mojo Kovacic. I loved the bright colors in the background and the way Kovacic played with light and darkness with the snow on the trees. It almost looks like a cartoon at a glance. Very unique!




Next, I went to the Croatian Natural History Museum.  I saw hundreds of stuffed animals and birds plus gems, stones, rocks and other stuff. It was a great museum, well laid out and I enjoyed strolling through the rows of Croatian animals. The bugs and reptiles... not so much. But at least they were dead!

I'm not a big fan of this octopus...can you tell?

But, I liked the birds. 

 And everyone likes butterflies, right?

I am not much into geology, so I raced through the section on stones and earth. But one room did give me pause. How gorgeous would it be to have a countertop or table made of this Tiger Onyx? Swoon!

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After getting my fix of animals and rocks, I walked through St. Mark's Square, the central square of old town Zagreb.  I saw several news cameras around - it looked like there was a press conference starting. I noticed a well dressed woman standing on the sidewalk and asked her what was going on.  She explained that the media presence was typical because St. Mark's is the center of the Croatian government. It's as if Washington, D.C. was condensed down to a city block. 

The woman and I had a nice long chat about Croatia and the challenges it has faced since it became independent from Yugoslavia in 1991. She explained that the conversion to capitalism is quite difficult and after 23 years, she feels there hasn't been enough progress. She explained some of the challenges the people and government faced when it converted. She says the people of Croatia still think in socialist ways, where nothing belongs to them.  The government hasn't created any long term plans for infrastructure, economics, growth, industry or trade and the people seem oblivious to what capitalism really means.  Very interesting chat!

After my new friend left, I continued exploring St. Mark's square, which includes constitutional courts, federal courts, lower level courts, the Parliament and presidential offices.  

 The Croatian EU Flag...

And the Croatian and Zagreb coat of arms on this flag...

But my favorite building was the one right in the center of it all: St. Mark's church. The roof is covered in beautiful, colorful tiles.  On the left is the coat of arms of Croatia, while the right is the coat of arms of Zagreb. It's a gorgeous building.

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I left the square and headed to a very different type of museum, the Museum of Broken Relationships.  

I'm 35 and single and joke that after 20 years of dating there is nothing I haven't seen. When I read about this particular museum, I knew I had to go.  It was nominated for Museum of the year and won for the Most Innovative Museum in Europe in 2011.

It's a museum dedicated to failed relationships. It started as a traveling exhibition but is now a permanent collection. As it travelled around the world, the exhibit encouraged people to donate a token of a previous failed relationship along with their story. People embraced it and items and stories poured in. 

The museum was FASCINATING.  It wasn't solely dedicated to romantic relationships, but that is the majority (probably 80%).  And of course, I think as visitors walk from room to room, they think of their own failed romances and friendships.

Below are a few of my favorites. 

Some were scary...

And some were funny. 

Some were quite sad to read...

And one even made me cry...

Others reminded me of my own life...like this example of what I call the "fake-out."

And some were triumphant...!

And even a few that managed to be funny, like this one from Silicon Valley...

The museum was really unique. It was interesting to read the stories and realize we're not the only ones who have been through love, passion, betrayal and heartache. 

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I took the funicular back down to my hotel, where I learned about 2 movie theaters in Zagreb with English movies (Croatian subtitles). After months of no English entertainment, I jumped at the chance. In most of Europe there are either zero English channels, or the English is limited to BBC, Sky News and CNN International.

I almost ran to the theater! Actually, I took the local city tram which was fun. All of Europe has extensive trains, busses and trams and it makes me with the USA took public transportation more seriously. 

I was tickled pink when buying my ticket the woman asked me to look at a seating map and pick a seat.  You have to select a seat?! I couldn't even figure out where the screen was.  I panicked as people tapped their feet behind me to get me to hurry. I quickly picked one of the only yellow ones I saw in Row G.

As I went into the theater, I realized I’d picked the only empty seat in a row, so I squished between people.  Who wants to be right next to someone in a movie?  Not this girl!

So, after the lights went down, I moved to an empty row and had the entire section to myself!  I saw Dallas Buyers Club (which was excellent!) and it was so wonderful to hear English I never wanted to leave the theater.

That's me and a Croatian, skinny Matthew McConaughey.

As I left the mall that night, I saw a DJ booth and next door to it, a naked penis on the wall.  WHAT?!?!

I stood, staring at the artwork I was seeing.  A girl cam out of the DJ booth and explained it was an art exhibit from a man named Tomislav Gotovac, who had died, but was famous for his naked art. She worked at the radio station next door. I had a long discussion with her and another DJ at Radio 808 about nudity and attitudes in Croatia vs. the USA.

I was shocked. I explained that in the USA, we would never have this displayed out in the open for children to see, right next to the DJ booth. They were shocked by my view that a naked person should be hidden away.  To Croatians (and most people around the world, I think) the human body is nothing to be ashamed of or hide away. Why shouldn't children be able to see it?

Here is part of the art exhibit. It consists of 100 photos of Gotovac and his various body parts.

What is your opinion? Let me know in the comments...

 Zagreb is a fabulous city and Croatia a wonderful country.  I found great art, history, museums, food and warm people.  Next time I visit Croatia, I plan to explore the gorgeous port city of Debrovnik.

Caio!