Our first task for the day was to drive into one of the suburbs of Zagreb, Velika Gorika, to a very friendly Mcdonald's, to do a little blogging. It was Easter Sunday, so very little was happening in Croatia! We got onto the Internet, and one of the first things we found was messages from Oz to say that our little nephew Samuel had been born that morning — congratulations Cherie and Greg!
Our host at Macca's was the most friendly chap — even shouting us to extra coffees! He had spent some time in the UK, so his English was impeccable (except for the American accent be has since developed — he says, because of watching too many American TV shows!) But he gave us a few good tips, such as the fact that you can change money or use a hole-in-the-wall Bankomat at any time at the Zagreb Airport, just a short way down the road. And he told us of car parking suitable for vans just on the southern side of the central city.
So we spent time at Macca's, then drove via the airport — not a large place, more like the Gold Coast than Mascot! — and then into the car park. Normally it's pay-and-display, but on a holiday weekend, it's free. We walked into the city, enjoying the parks on the way. The city was closed up tight, but there were people wandering around enjoying the quiet.
The trams here are blue, and come in two varieties -- one sleek and modern, the other quaint and somewhat dated. The fire hydrants as well are blue!
The theme is blue!
We walked up to the cathedral -- we've been here before, so we were remembering things from the last time, like the old clock in the wall beside the cathedral, and the golden Marian pillar in the square in front. This time there were some huge Easter eggs in the lawns before the cathedral, painted in naive Croatian style with village scenes. And they are doing a lot of work on the cathedral itself, and have a display by the clock of a worn part of the cathedral and an example of the replacement taking its place!
Our overall impression of Zagreb (and of Croatia as a whole so far) is that is is fresh and clean -- they're taking great care of the place, restoring inner-city buildings, and making short shrift of any litter.
Umjetnički Paviljon u Zagrebu
Art Pavilion in Zagreb
Umjetnički Paviljon u Zagrebu
Art Pavilion in Zagreb
The Railway Station across the park
After wandering around for a while, we went back to the van and, seeing the car park was virtually deserted over this holiday weekend, we decided to stay the night and go back into Zagreb in the morning.
By the way, our host at Macca's had informed us that Zagreb was not the best of Croatia by a long way — in his mind, it's just an old industrial city — and he recommended most strongly Istria and the Dalmatian coast — which was already on our itinerary, but it just made us more keen to get there!
Distance driven — today, 24 miles ( 38 km ); to date, 17,089 miles ( 27,502 km )
Sounds like people all over the place respond to your very nice selves the way we do here. I'm glad I can talk to you this way. it's fun. I got out of bed this morning and stood looking down at David and thought evil thoughts of him because I couldn't detect any breathing. I got the courage up to try for a carotid pulse but he moved his hand so I stopped telling him what I thought of quitters in the vernacular in my mind and went and got me a cuppa instead. He thought it was hilarious when I told him about it. Good for Cherie and her little family. haven't heard from the kids at all so will have to ring Tris for a chat and catch up with lilly's doings and see how the job is going for Jess. She's got a fair bit of travelling to do, hasn't she? I thought Croatia was like Bosnia, all war torn and all. I can't sort out what the Shengen treaty is all about. And there are mumblings in England about getting out of the EU for some reason. Poor old Tony Assbbott keeps getting it in the neck but to day he announced that people who don't have their kids vaccinated will lose some child benefit.unless they can show just cause. The others are actually supportin g it. also he's launched some thing about carbon trading. gonna cost some people a mozza. the stupid thing is that most of the carbon pollution comes from generating our electricity. they are still dragging their chains about switching off coal and going renewable as in Spain. Oh well, two English singers, on Songs of Praise this morning, the were called the Opera Babes, gave us a spine tingling duet-old music in style but quite marvellous., I love serendipitous occasions. Love ya, cathy
ReplyDeleteGlad David is still with us! You're in a very special family group, Cathy -- we haven't heard from Jonno and Tristan either.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Shengen Treaty, this is a free border treaty between EU countries -- free crossing through all the countries that have signed on, BUT they all now count as ONE country for automatic visa considerations, so we poor people from Oz only get 90 days in virtually the whole of Europe, then have to get out for at least 90 days. At least Craatia, Serbia and Turkey are great places to while away this time!