September 20, 2022

September 20, 2022

Aimee and I both had a fitful sleep last night. We were jetlagged and the hotel room was much colder than we are used to. After a slow start we headed out for a walk with all the layers of clothing we brought. Our first stop was at the ATM to get some of the local currency, the Kuna. It is named after the weasel pelts that were the medium of exchange here in Medieval times. Kunas are about to become a collector's item because Croatia is scheduled to adopt the Euro in three months.

Cash in hand, we set out to explore Zagreb, Capital of the Republic of Croatia. We strolled down one leg of its horseshoe-shaped municipal park. It begins with a statue of Kralj Tomislav, the first king of Croatia in the 10th century. This green space is dotted with an opera house and several museums, all in a yellow Neo-Baroque architecture.

Down a cafe-lined street we ran across a statue of Nikola Tesla, reminding us that he was a Serb born in Croatia. We then walked southwest to visit the Tesla Technical Museum. It is mostly a two story warehouse filled with a hodgepodge of antiques loosely related to technology. Aimee is bored but I like the amusing walk through history. Where else can you see old steam engines, early typewriters and a Soviet moon lander in the same spot.

I really came to this museum for the small room devoted to Nikola Tesla. Aimee likes learning about his life story. I like the lab demos. We watch half of a taped English version until a large group of Croat students interrupt the film. We then listen to a live Croatian lecture with the students participating in the demos. Tesla is famous for the development of Alternating Current displacing Thomas Edison and Direct Current. So the demos start with electromagnets and their use in motors. But the highlight is always Tesla’s forays into high frequency. The Tesla Coil and the million volt sparks coming out your fingertips predictably generate excitement.

Back at our hotel, we checked out and walked around the corner to our Tour Group hotel. After a short rest, we walked north uphill to the Old Town. Actually there were two old hilltop towns sitting next to each other across a small river. We approach the east one, Kaptol, from an adjoining park but find it inaccessible because of a defensive wall. This park must have been the old moat. We walk well north before finding a road access that leads us to the Zagreb Cathedral. It is almost completely enclosed within castle walls. Like so many European sites, it is covered in scaffolding for renovation.

We walked west toward the river that separated the two towns. It has now been paved over and lined with dozens of outdoor cafes. We are hungry so we quickly choose the pub food option. Aimee and I both have delicious tomato soup. I wash it down with a dark beer named after the first Croat King.

After lunch we explored the western old town of Gradec. It is also known as Gornji Grad or Upper Town. We passed a statue of St George slaying a dragon, the second today. I guess that is symbolic of Christianity overcoming paganism. In the main square sits St Marks with a very colorful tile roof reminiscent of Vienna’s Cathedral.

Nearby is the Museum of Naive Art. Rick Steves gives it rave reviews. It is nice but very tiny and crowded, containing some homegrown art works. The style is similar to the 16th century Dutchman Pieter Bruegel known for painting peasant landscapes. I really like the pieces painted in layers on glass giving them an almost 3-D look.

On the way back to our hotel, we passed through Ban Jelacic Square with its statue to this famous Croat freedom fighter. The Lower Town is the commercial and business center of Zagreb. Most of the architecture is Art Nouveau built in the century before WWI when the Austro-Hungarian Empire ruled the region. It apparently was wealthy. That all changed when Vienna lost the war and the Empire broke up. We have seen this throughout eastern Europe. Many of the buildings have been restored to their former glory. We pass one of the most beautiful examples known as the Oktagon. This is a turn of the century urban passageway of an old bank building that is topped with a nice eight-sided glass atrium.

Back at the hotel we rested up before meeting our tour group for introductions and dinner. We have almost thirty fellow travellers. A lot.