Zagreb and Dubrovnik

We spent most of today, Thursday, May 28, traveling between Zagreb and Dubrovnik.  But, let me finish writing about yesterday's walking tour of Zagreb first.

Our tour of the Upper Town began at Ban Jelacic Square, a busy, commercial place that has been the heart of the charming city of Zagreb since the mid-17th century.  The statue of the governor for whom the square is named dominates the center.  He is revered for abolishing serfdom and holding elections for the Sabor, or Parliament, in the mid-19th century.  This statue was removed during the communist authorities in 1947 but was returned to its place in 1990.

From the square, we started uphill, stopping first to admire the Neo-Gothic fountain of the Virgin Mary with Four Angels, a needle with the four gilded angels around the base and the Virgin overlooking the cathedral on the top.  The spires of the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary can be seen from many vantage points in Zagreb. Although the building dates from the late 19th century, the original building on the site was constructed when the Zagreb bishopric was established in 1094.  Gothic additions and modifications were made from the 13th through 15th centuries.  A turreted wall was built around the cathedral when the Ottoman Turks threatened invasion, from 1512 to 1521.  In the 18th century, Baroque altars and ornamentation were added.  Finally, much of the church (as well as many other buildings in Zagreb) had to be reconstructed after the huge 1880 earthquake, which is why many of them are now Neo-Gothic in style even when the underlying structure predates this architectural period.

Virgin Mary with Four Angels

One notable thing in the cathedral is the tomb of Aloysisus Stepinac, archbishop of Zagreb from 1937 to 1960. He defended the rights of Jews and Serbs against the Nazi's and was persecuted for it.  He was declared a martyr and a saint in 1998.

Tomb of Aloysisus Stepinak

Our next stop was yet another church, the Franciscan Church.  There are Baroque elements inside from the 17th century, but the church is noted for the colorful modern stained-glass windows from the 1960's.  

Franciscan Church

After stolling along through a park and along narrow streets, we came upon the bustling and colorful Dolac Market, where fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and fish as well as some clothing and handicrafts are sold in a large three-level square.  Towering behind it is the gold-topped spire of St. Mary's Church.

Dolac Market

After wondering around the market, we took an alleyto get to Tkalciceva Street, a sloping pedestrian street lined with outdoor restaurants and cafes and shops.  At the end of the 19th century the street paved over a creek which had separated the Kaptol, church-controlled area to the east and the secular village of Gradec to the west.  An alley running off the street is called The Bloody Bridge because, before it became paved, it was the location of altercations between church and secular sides.

Tkalciceva Street

Street art on Tkalciceva Street

The next street over is Radiceva, a quieter street with the back walls and windows of palaces on the next, higher street, overlooking it.  After walking up Radiceva, we turned and strolled past the palaces and residences on Opaticka Street.  This brought unto St. Mark's Square, the former main market of Gradec.  Facing it are the Governor's Palace (Banski Drovi), which houses the prime minister, and the Sabor or Parliament, which has held sessions at the site since 1737.  St. Mark's Church, built in the 13th century, dominates the square.  The colorful roof tiles portraying the coats of arms of the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia and the city of Zagreb date from the late 19th century.

St. Mark's Church

Walking down the hill, we came upon the Museum of Broken Relationships, where we stopped to see the exhibits.  The include objects, poems, stories and art work that people from around the world have submitted about failed relationships.  It is a quirky and interesting little museum with the mission of giving people a means of marking the end of relationships.

After visiting the museum, we walked along part of the Strossmayer Promenade, which runs along the southern rim of Gradec hill.  From there, we descended many steps to make it back to the level of Ilica Street.  We grabbed fast food and went back to the hotel, intending to take a short rest.  In retrospect, I realized that we had not stopped to have anything to drink since breakfast, so I suspect our exhaustion was due to dehydration.

Already half-awake, we got up this morning when the alarm went off at 6 a.m., got ourselves ready for the day and packed up our stuff.  Breakfast was served at 7 a.m., and we were there to eat quicky and gather up bread and fruit for the day's trip.  We walked the few blocks to the railroad station and found our car and our seats, with only a few minutes to spare.  Sitting across from us was a man from Adelaide, Australia.  We struck up a conversation which continued for the six hour train ride from Zagreb to the coast.  He had already been travelling in Germany and Eastern Europe solo for over a month, and we think he was pleased to be able to converse at length in English.

The countryside west of Zagreb is beautiful.  The train tracks climb up into the mountains, through forests and wide valleys.  In some parts, bright yellow gorse was growing in abundance.  The route was very windy, and but Katya and the Australian man suffered a bit from motion sickness.  It did not help that we often could smell cigarette smoke quite strongly in our non-smoking car, which mystified us until we figured out that the driver's compartment was in the front of our coach, and the walls and door to his compartment were not sealed from the rest of the car.  We discussed how smoking seems to be much more prevalent in this part of the world than in our countries, sometimes making sitting in outdoor cafes quite unpleasant.

Croatian countryside

The final range of mountains before reaching the sea are granite monoliths soaring into the sky.  The tree line is quite low.  The views reminded me of the mountains in the Cape of South Africa.  White walled houses with red tile roofs cling to the slopes above the clear blue water of the Adriatic Sea.  The city of Split, the final destination of the train, is large and industrial, but with a preserved ancient area to which we will be going in a couple days.  Today, however, we got off the train and went to the adjacent bus station to buy tickets for a four hour ride along the coast to Dubrovnik.  The driver's expertise was commendable as we headed south along a road on the steep slopes overlooking the crystal blue water, a road similar to Highway 1 along the coast of Big Sur in California in terms of vertical drops and continuous curves.  Katya, who took the window seat, slept for a while.  When she was awake, she still suffered from motion sickness.  But we made it to Dubrovnik by 6:30 p.m., caught a taxi to the main gate of the walled old town and walked about ten minutes until we found our apartment, where we will be staying for two nights.

Katya by the apartment where we are staying with a new friend

Dubrovnic with its glistening pavement

The most wonderful husband in the world, Peter, arranged to have roses in the room as a surprise gift for our 21st anniversary.  I am so lucky!

Katya and I had a great dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant and strolled through alleys and up and down stone stairs--it's all stone here!--to get back to our apartment, where we are getting ready to sleep soon.

Once again, I am caught up.  Tomorrow, we explore the ancient city.  Katya is especially excited to be here since scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed here.  We'll see if she recognizes any.