Touring Zagreb

Tuesday, September 25

Another country, another currency and another free tour.  Here in Croatia they use the Kuna and the exchange rate is 6.31 to the dollar.  The conversion is not as challenging as you might expect but a calculator does come in handy.  It’s a little disconcerting to pay 12 HRK for a slice of pizza until you realize that it comes to less than $2.00 (still very expensive even for Croatia but it was the main square).

We headed for Ban Jelacic Square.  It’s the main square in the old town district and it’s where we found a hive of activity.  At the North end there was a stage where a large group of young people were dressed in traditional costumes singing traditional folk music.  Booths were setup all over the square selling souvenirs and all sorts of foods.  We later found out that it was a festival celebrating Croatian Traditions and would only be there for two days.  We were fortunate to happen upon it.

Our tour started at 10:00 am and the size of the group numbered at least 50.  Vid, our guide, said that most of the groups he handles are even larger.  The old town is divided into an Upper and Lower Town and we saw both of these.  He told us (and showed us) the market area where you can buy fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, fish and cheeses and explained that was the place that the locals shopped and that the prices were very good.  He also made some recommendations for restaurants.  He explained to us that Croatia, unlike many of the other Balkan countries, is overwhelmingly Catholic.  This is because Croatia collaborated with the Habsburgs and was never under Ottoman rule.

Fun Fact: The name of the country in Croatian is Hrvatska and it is pronounced just like it’s spelled.  You often see it spelled that way on official buildings.  It’s not clear to us how Hrvatska morphed into Croatia.

After the tour we went back to the main square and checked out the festival.  The sights and smells were overwhelming.  We decided to have a little lunch and then do some serious shopping.  We bought some traditional Croatian pastries called burek.  They’re made of phyllo dough and stuffed with all kinds of things.  Most of the Balkan countries have some variation of burek.  In Bulgaria they called it banitza and in Hungary they called it retes.  In Serbia burek is always vegetarian but in Croatia it usually has meat.  There’s an amusing cartoon that shows how important this issue is…

Telsa was Serbian, Telsla was Croatian,

Telsa was Serbian, Telsla was Croatian,

Telsa was Serbian, Burek has Meat!

We actually bought burek stuffed with cheese, one with beef and onions and one stuffed with cherry.  They were freshly made, greasy and absolutely delicious and altogether cost us just over $2.00.  After filling out stomaches we hit every booth and sampled meats, cheeses, honey, cookies and anything else that was for sale.  We walked away with a jar of chocolate flavored cream honey and an assortment of Turkish Delight including Rose, Banana and Chocolate flavors.

Afterwards we went back to the same burek stand and bought several to take home for dinner.  This time we got a beef and onions, a spinach and cheese, a cherry and a version with nut and honey.  We ate them with the Bermet wine we bought in Serbia.  It made for a nice meal.

Distance walked: 6.6 miles

Wednesday, September 26

Ok, let’s get this out of the way right away because there seems to be some bad feelings on this subject.  Today I bought TWO pairs of sneakers making my total three pairs of shoes for this trip (Deborah hasn’t purchased a single pair of shoes in the past 12 months).  We’ve walked over 1,800 miles this year which is the equivalent of walking in a straight line from New York City to Albuquerque, NM – and then some.  I’ve already worn out the two pairs of sneakers I brought with me and the pair of Nikes that I purchased in Prague (they didn’t last very long). The good news is that after a long search we finally found a New Balance store that had sneakers in wide sizes – and that’s why I bought two.  The clerk was surprised when I wanted to leave my Nikes at the store but when I showed her the many holes in the soles of both shoes she understood.

Today we planned to take another tour.  This one was all about a subject that has come to fascinate us: The Balkan Wars of the 1990s.  It was a paid tour and cost a little over $20.00 per person.  For that amount we were expecting something special but since that tour didn’t start until 3:00 pm we had a lot of time to fill – and fill it we did.

After purchasing sneakers we headed back to see some of the sights we encountered in yesterday’s tour.  First stop: The Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Lord which is one of the few Serbian Orthodox Cathedrals in the city.  The present day version of the church dates from 1861.  As usual the surfaces are all covered with frescos highlighted in gold but there are gaps between the pictures.  The iconostasis is very pretty but not crowded.  In this case less seems like more.  The church has a very soothing ambiance which was different and pleasing.

(The Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Lord)

Next we visited one of the main attractions in the city:  ‎⁨The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Kings Saint Stephen and Saint Ladislaus.  It’s usually referred to simply as “The Cathedral”.  The original church on this site dates from 1093.  There were many different buildings on this site but the earthquake of 1880 caused so much damage that the decision was made to build a brand new building.

(The Zagreb Cathedral)

The present day Cathedral is in the Gothic style and it’s an impressive site with beautifully painted vaults, gorgeous stained glass windows and a huge organ with over 6,000 pipes.  The Renaissance version of the church had one tower that was used as the city’s watch tower but after 1880 they decided to have a church with two towers.  The church was built with limestone from local quarries that unfortunately has “melted” over time.  Because of this the Cathedral is in an almost constant state of rehabilitation.  For historical reasons they are required to use the same limestone for all repairs.

(The Zagreb Cathedral)

Fun Fact: A congregant donated several chandeliers to the Cathedral that came from a Las Vegas Casino where he’d been working.  They were supposed to be temporary but they’ve been hanging in the church for over a decade.

For lunch we went to one of the restaurants that our guide had recommended.  The restaurant is called, “La Struk” and it sells a traditional Croatian food called Strukli.  He characterized it by saying that it’s one of the foods that everyone’s grandmother makes.  Strukli can be baked or boiled but we opted for the baked version.  Everything is made to order in this restaurant so every order takes about 20 minutes.

We ordered two different kinds.  One was called Salty Cheese and the other was Blueberry.  In both cases we got a deep dish lined with dough and filled with a mixture of what they call cottage cheese (it’s more like ricotta), eggs and milk baked until bubbly and brown.  The blueberry version was sweet while the salty cheese version (which wasn’t very salty) was savory.  It sounds like it might be a custard but the consistency is more like melted cheese than anything else.  One dish would easily feed two people but of course we ate both down to the dish’s ceramic coating.  They were damn good.  Total cost for two cappuccinos and two Struki came to $15.85.  We’re planning to go back and try some of their other varieties including pepper, nut and honey, apple and cinnamon, truffle and pumpkin seed pesto.

(Salty Cheese and Blueberry Strukli)

After lunch we did some more exploring.  We found The Church of Saint Francis nearby.  It was another beautiful Gothic style church (we can NEVER see enough of these).  It was not nearly the size of the main Cathedral but it was worth seeing.  Next we strolled down Tkalcicvea Street.  The street was built on top of a creek that once separated two different cities that are now part of Zagreb: Kaptol and Gradec.  Today the street is lined with restaurants and is known for its nightlife.

Next we visited Dolac Market.  It’s a large, mainly outdoor, market.  This is the place where locals shop.  The market typically closes around 3:00 pm but when we got there around 2:30 pm the meat and cheese vendors had already gone for the day.  We wandered around the produce section for a while and patronized several booths.  We purchased a pound of figs, and bags of plums and mandarin oranges.  The total cost was less than $4.00.  We also checked out the hut where the fresh fish were for sale.  Most of the vendors were packing up but we saw huge shrimp in the shell selling for less than $10.00 a pound and enormous sea scallops in the shell that were incredibly cheap.  We plan to go back another day and get some to take home.

Our tour guide had told us about a public restroom near the square that was free of charge.  We headed over there before the tour began.  Most public restrooms in Europe charge some sort of fee to pay someone to keep it clean and stocked.  This one had an attendant, was clean and near one of the busiest places in town.  Deborah says it’s one of the best ladies room she’s been in.  The stalls as spacious and there are three hooks to hang your stuff on.  It doesn’t get any better than that.  (If you exit the square to the north on your way to the Cathedral it’s on your right).

Finally, at 3:00 pm we met our tour in the main square.  It’s called the War Tour and our guide, Kristina, has been giving this presentation for many years.  She began by talking about the region just before and after World War I and little by little continued the timeline until the mid 1990s.

After World War I Croatia, Serbia and several other countries formed as the Kingdom of Serbia.  By World War II the area encompassed most of what we came to know as Yugoslavia.  During World War II the Balkans were divided between several powers and Croatia was led by a Nazi Sympathizer named Ante Pavelić who headed up the Ustase movement.  During this time the Serbs in Croatia were persecuted and atrocities were committed by the government. The area was now called the Independent State of Croatia.

The anti-fascist Partisans, lead by Tito, defeated the Ustase in 1945 and eventually formed The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which was a communist state.

After the death of Tito in 1980, Yugoslavia was in a state of turmoil.  It was a time of Nationalism where old ethnic biases came to the forefront.  Many of the republics wanted their independence and on June 25, 1991 Croatia declared theirs.  Serbia inflamed tensions by invoking the atrocities committed by the Ustase and started a war with the aim of defending the Serbian population.  History is not yet clear as to whether Serbia was indeed concerned for the ethnic Serbs in Croatia or it simply wanted to keep power by keeping Yugoslavia intact.  In any event hostilities broke out between the two countries which, with help of the International community, ended only in 1995.

Today Serbia and Croatia still have some disagreements but they are confined to the political arena.  From our experience Serbs and Croats generally feel kindly towards one another and continue to enjoy their shared heritage.

Our story would not be complete without a recounting of what we had for dinner: fried shrimp, french fries and pizza.  It might not have been healthy or nutritious but it was really good.

Distance walked: 10.2 miles