Sunday, June 17th, 2012
Today started quite a bit later than I had planned but last night ended much later than I had planned so I guess it all works out. My plans on this day were to wander the town, check out some museums and once again get a glimpse at the great history of this this amazing city.
I was following a few different tours on my Ipod and I think I managed to see a lot. My first tour was actually taking me back to the Zagreb Cathedral. I was attempting again to get a picture of the inside, but Mass was still going on so I had to once again be satisfied with just looking at it. I would try again later in the day.
One of the many statues around the city. Not sure who this guy is (or was) but he looked distinguished and I thought he deserved a spot on the blog.
A little look at the Croatian National Bank.
Once again looking down one of Zagreb's streets. Not much traffic on this Sunday morning.
Not totally sure who this guy is either (the sign was all in Croatian....turns out I can't read Croatian) but he looked pretty relaxed. I wonder what he's reading.
I eventually made my way back up the hill the St. Mark's Square for another look around and a visit St. Mark's Church. Luck for me it was empty so was able to check out the inside.
Random horsemen in St. Mark's Square. I mentioned before that there always seemed to be people in costumes or traditional clothing around for tourists to see. Not sure where these guys were off to but I liked their little horses. Behind them you can see one of the Croatian government buildings.
Inside St. Mark's Church. Not sure it really matches the outside but if there is anything I learnt in Italy back in 2008 was to never judge a church by the outside....you might find something amazing inside.
Heat register in the pews of the church. I'm guessing these old buildings don't have central heating and I bet it gets a tad cold in the winter.
After leaving the St. Mark's Church I made my way to a couple museums. The first was the Croatian History Museum, who is currently showing a temporary exhibit called The Homeland War, all about the war in Croatia from 1991 to 1995. When I think about a war in this area of the world during that moment in time I naturally think of the Bosnian war. I never really realised how the whole region was affected. It was also at this moment that I became aware of just how complicated the conflict in the former Yugoslavia was.
The way Croatians mostly explain it to me (once again a Coles notes version) is Croatia was a part of the larger Yugoslavian State (a socialist state that included Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Macedonia and Croatia). Initially aligned with the USSR, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia pursued a policy of neutrality after 1948 under Josip Broz Tito. Tito died in 1980 and at this time ethnic nationalism rose which lead to many countries looking to have their Independence recognised. Croatia held a referendum and Croats voted to become independent. This displeased Serbia, and Serbian-Croats who wanted to maintain a larger Serbia and thus the war began. Of course you can read a lot of evidence of the war crimes that occurred along ethnic and religious lines during the conflict (in both Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina) but most people will tell you it was less about religion and more about political positioning. You will also have to remember that a lot of the people I spoke to were only children during the war so may have a different opinion and view of it all. It also seems very clear that any anger or hate towards opposing parties of the war has for the most part not been handed down to the next generation.
The exhibit had lots of pictures and stories and personal letters (etc, etc), most of which were translated into English. It certainly was a good introduction to the conflict, which will obviously come up in future blogs as well.
From there I headed to another museum, The Croatian Museum of Naive Art. Not sure I've ever seen an entire collection of naive art and wasn't really sure what is was. In case you don't know either the term naive is used to describe art the is almost childlike and simple in both subject and technique. In the past these artist were known to have little formal training. That is not true anymore and naive art is recognised as a true form of art. Check out the website to see some examples of the art. I of course was not allowed to take pictures.
I wasn't totally sure where to head next so mostly I did a bit of wandering to see what else I could find on a Sunday afternoon.
Looking down at the "Lower City". There is usually a funicular that takes people up and down the hill but it was under repairs. That's ok I preferred the walk.
I eventually found Lotrscak Tower.....which was on my original list of things to see but I almost forgot about it. I've heard some interesting stories related to Lotrscak Tower but mostly I wanted to climb it to see the view. It was built in the 13th century to protect the South gate of the city.
A look at St. Mark's Church from about half way up the tower.
Yes that is a cannon. Everyday at noon this cannon is still fired. Two different stories explain why. The first says that (according to legend) a cannon was fired from the tower one day at Turkish forces camping. That cannon hit a rooster on the way to the Turks and this upset the Turks so much they were unable to attack the city. Now they fire the canon to commemorate that event. It doesn't seem like a very likely story....honestly it doesn't even seem like a very creative story. More likely the second story is correct, which says they fire the canon at noon each day so the churches can synchronize their clocks.
The rest of the staircase to the top of the tower. Can someone please remind me why I always feel it is necessary to climb to the tops of things?
A view from the top. St Mark's Square is just in behind me.
Hmmmmm, castle on a hill. Love it!!!
From Lotrscak Tower I was able to get a good look at these guys guarding St. Mark's Church.
I also got the check out the changing of the guard (I guess). The guys on horses came back, there was some marching and some drums being played and then everyone went off somewhere. No idea what it was about but all part of the atmosphere.
Once I finished taking pictures of everything I needed to take pictures of I decided I needed to make my way to Mirogoj, which is a giant cemetery just a little north of the city centre. On the map it seemed perfectly walkable and I even had a decent idea which roads to follow. It still some how took me an hour and in true Julie Style I took a couple wrong turns. Good thing it's a pretty city. Eventually I made it and was very glad I made the trip.
Looking at the main cathedral in the cemetery.
Yes Mirogoj has roads. The place is huge......it's kind of necessary.
I love all the vine covered buildings. Croatia is very hot and humid in the summer so everything grows really well.
Just a beautiful spot. If it wasn't a cemetery, this would be a really pretty place for a wedding.
Along this corridor and the one in the picture above you will find plaques and gravestones for political figures and military personal. Everything is unfortunately written in Croatian so I had a very hard time figuring out who was there. In case you are wondering who can be buried here, the answer is pretty much anyone of any religious group. You will however also find some very important figures here including former Prime Ministers, Basketball heroes and famous Croatian artists.
At the main entrance. Really doesn't feel like you are walking into a cemetery.
Need a coffin? Here are some options for you. That 8,404kn is about $1300CAD.
I then decided to head back into town. I wandered out to the bus stop and decided I would bus it back. It seriously took 5 minutes to get back to the city centre. To just to re-cap, 60 minute walk there, 5 minute bus ride back. Only me.
When I got there I decided to try to check out the Zagreb Cathedral one more time. Third time was a charm as when I arrived this time it was empty and I was able to take a few pictures.
A very beautiful, but classic look inside.
The pipe organ and a closer look at the ceiling.
This would be the view that welcomes you to Zagreb if you arrived by train. That's the Art Pavilion, which happens to be the oldest gallery in Southeast Europe. I didn't get to go inside because most museums closed at 1300 (1pm) on Sunday but it just means there is something to come back and visit. I never did find out who is on that horse in the statue.
Interesting name for a store.
My final night in Zagreb I headed back up to watch another movie (one of those little things I miss that I can't do in Riyadh). It was another beautiful end to my 2 days in Zagreb. Monday I would be off again to explore more of Croatia.
Zagreb Cathedral all lit up at night. So beautiful.
Julie
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