Zagreb
People socializing and waiting for their tram during the rush hour commute
March 16, 2005
The bus from Split to Zagreb was supposed to be eight hours and while I love arriving
early, I don't when I leave at 10:30pm and roll into Zagreb bus station at 4:45
in the morning. I got my stuff, walked past some Roma children at the station and
headed over to the train station to check train times.
Zagreb is more like a couple small towns put together with a lot of parks and museums
than a city. I went to upper town immediately to try to watch the sunrise then headed
over to the Banski Dvori, or Presidential Palace, the Sabor or national Parliament,
and St. Mark’s church. It was a nice area, but didn’t at all feel like the seat
of a national government.
Nearby is the old Stone Gate with people constantly stopping and praying, in fact
there are pews in there to pray and it was busy during my entire people-watching
session. This whole area was nice; it felt more like a small town with old colorful
houses, all quite small and none taller than two stories. It felt like a peaceful
little town, but not a city, and definitely not a capital city. The Cathedral of
the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was also nice, but under construction.
Lower town seemed to be where things were happening, there were parks everywhere,
museums, many neo-Renaissance buildings, and more modern buildings too. The trams
and buses were constantly moving and the city was alive with energy and thousands
of people. I sat at Trg Jelacica for about an hour just watching people. There were
people of ever walk of life, punks, students, businessmen, homeless, and of course
the typical Slavic babushka. The area seemed to breath and felt more like
a European capital city, but still not a city, but rather a town at the same time.
Lower Town is more like a cultural center; modern buildings and business centers
were still further from here.
Next, I enjoyed the Archeology Museum and the Museum of the City of Zagreb. The
city museum was nice, but unfortunately I simply don’t know the city well enough
to really appreciate it all. The Archeology Museum was great and there were some
great mosaics that really inspired me to make my kitchen floor with mosaic tiles.
Also during the day I bought some fruit from a market – another part of the city
with a different feel entirely, and checked my e-mail at a café. The city is best
described as a combination of a capital, business center, government center, a village,
a thriving metropolis, a student town, and a great religious peace all in one based
upon what street you decide to turn down. I really like Zagreb as a whole and arrived
at two theories: first, cities with more money have more beggars; second, places
with a higher GDP per capital also encourage much larger people.
Government building
St. Mark's