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Our main purpose of travelling to Zagreb was to cheer on Marie' and Team Japan at the World Synchronized Skating Championships - there are plenty of pictures from the competition short program and freestyle. This post is about the wandering we did in the city itself and what we saw. The one goal was a visit to Tržnica Dolac, the Dolac Market, walking through the Lower City sites.
Zagreb turned out to be a delightful surprise. The first impression is that there is a lot less concern about the appearances. This is like a home that has been well lived in by folks not overly concerned about how it looks. The basic structure is the old Austro-Hungarian architecture - buildings with domed corners and cafes on public squares. Some of this is a result of the large number of projects restoring older buildings damaged by the earthquake in 2020.
Exiting the main train station leads to a large historical park - Park Josip Juraj Strossmayer (apparently a 19th Century Bishop). It's a lovely park includes the Croatian Acadamy of Sciences Arts, it's library, and the Zagreb Art Pavilion, which is undergoing extensive restoration.
Along the borders of the park are buildings in various stages of repair and some interesting art. One building, behind the fountain. had an SOS sign begging the government for restoration funding.
Another promotes the national airlines with a series of fun crew portraits, each framed by an arch and tagged with less formal art.
Continuing up past the park and through the pedestrian friendly streets we came on the main Zagreb square - Trg bana Josipa Jelačića. Ban Jelačića is in the center astride his horse; "Ban" was a title for local bigwigs in the Austrian Empire. He was a general who helped put down the local 1848 Revolutions. A good company man.
The Dolac Market is on the next level up from the main square. Passing through an open air flower market gets us to the stairs to the Market.
Entering the Market on a bright spring day the bright red of the large umbrellas contrast with the bright blue sky and the orange and yellow of featured fruits.
We're a bit late in the day for the market, but there are still stacks of citrus, tomatoes, cucumbers, greens, and more. Midday gets warm and the scent of ripe fruits touches the air.
Watching over all this is the Zagrebačka katedrala - Cathedral Zagreb. As with many large, old buildings in the city, the cathedral is undergoing significant restoration from the 2020 earthquake. But that is not unusual for this structure, which was first completed in the 13th century just in time to be destroyed by invading Mongols.
Having reached the tourist goal, it was time to eat. We were a bit late to the market, so it was well into our need for lunch. Fortunately, our able host had recommended a number of places so back down to the main part of the city to find Market Street Food & Drinks
This turned out to be a really good place for modern swings at traditional Croatian food. It turned out to be a small but comfortable shop with Gen Z staff. Had a Croatian beef shank stew call PAŠTICADA on gnocchi, matched with a local lager, while Nobue had the very green spinach and asparagus risotto. Good stuff...
Time to head back home to "recover" for this evenings first event of the Synchro Competion - why we're here after all :-). Of course a posting by me wouldn't be complete with out some wall art, like this passed in a tunnel along the way.
Our Zagreb home included a nice courtyard patio in the middle of the restored (or being restored) apartment block. Good place to lay back and rest before the trek to the Arena...
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