07-Dec-2023
The weather has been growing steadily better.
Tuesday 5 (aka Day 10) was dire. Temperatures starting below freezing and not climbing much all day (the thermometer has not made it above 5 degrees Celsius or so all the time we've been in Zagreb). AND heavy rain.
I say "dire", but it could actually be lots worse, of course -- like cold, rainy, AND windy; or snowing; or icy underfoot.
At least we could get out. So we did two wet city walks that day, and used the rest of the time to catch up on a few jobs:
Alongside the very grand thoroughfares, there are really lots of streets in central Zagreb that look like this
Rainy market
There's nothing like coffee and cherry pie from the indoor market to cheer you up after a wet walk
In the evening we tackled the Christmas market. Rain is probably not great for business, but it certainly adds a picturesque quality
Statues in the rain
The railway station
By yesterday (Wednesday, or Day 11), we'd lost the rain (mostly), but we still had overcast skies:
The blue trams glow on a dull day
Lunch was struklji! The Croatian version! A little different from the Slovenian style, but still very tasty:
La struk, not far from our accommodation
Next, Mirogoj cemetery, founded in 1876, and a haven of green, contemplative quiet:
The Wall of Pain, commemorating the thousands of Croats lost in the Croatian War of Independence of the 1990s
And finally, today (Thursday, or Day 12). Blue skies and glorious sunshine. Still cold, but a wonderful, bright change after the grey of the last two days.
Sunshine on Zagreb's gracious buildings
Sunshine on the sculpture garden of the Archaeological Museum
And sunshine on the embankment of the Sava, which -- like us -- got here by way of Ljubljana
You can find a better photo here (as ours didn't work), and also a bit of context
And another little bit of sunshine in the shape of a peach pastry from the wonderful Korica
So tomorrow we move on again.
I feel there's lots more we could have done in Zagreb (as there was lots more we could have done in Trieste). But this kind of trip relies on a balance, or else it becomes exhausting: A balance between, on the one hand, doing interesting things that make the most of being in a particular and unique spot where you can do things you can't do anywhere else, and on the other hand, having enough time and mental space to chill, digest the experiences you're having, and plan ahead for the next stages.
It's always difficult to know whether you've got the balance right.
Whether we have or not, tomorrow we head for Banja Luka, Bosnia. But we're not saying goodbye to Croatia just yet. In a couple of weeks' time, if all goes to plan, we'll pop out of Bosnia again, and find ourselves back in Croatia for Christmas. It's certainly a country that embraces the Yuletide, so that should be fun.