Hrvatska

It may come as a surprise to you that the Croatian name for Croatia is Hrvatska. We figured that out after we saw all the local wines listed with an HR after them. How Hrvatska tuned into Croatia is a mystery to me. 

Zagreb has many many museums (architecture, history, ethnographic, mushroom, torture) but Marj and I decided to check out the quirky Museum Of Broken Relationships. Each small, but significant, item has a story to tell, some heartbreaking, some devastating, some hilarious and some tragic. Here are a few samples. 

This was a bit humorous - a photo of a lake. The accompanying description says "Florida lake where I skipped school with my boyfriend. The arrow indicates the first spot I saw a penis in the sunshine."

This is the ‘toaster of vindication’ - "When I moved out and across the country I took the toaster. That’ll show you. How are you going to toast anything now. "

A Lynksis router. "We tried. Not compatible."

We then did a short city bus tour and I must say the city isn’t much to look at. Lots of old, ornate buildings most of which could use a good scrubbing. A few nice parks, cathedrals and statues of historic figures unknown to us.  Found a good ice cream shop (Amelie if you happen to come here). 

One of the more striking buildings is the one below with the Zagreb coat of arms and another coat of arms all done in glistening tile work. Very intricate. The building is the Palači Grlečić Jelačić, also church of St Mark. 

The red and white checkerboard pattern on the roof is kind of like our maple leaf - a national symbol. 

I’ve been trying to learn a few words but so far I’ve only got yes (da) no (ne) and thanks (hvala). It doesn’t help matters that a lot of their words don’t have any vowels and most of the letters are j, k, z and c with various accents. 

As Marj and I bumble our way through train stations, bus routes and menus all the locals are exceedingly patient and helpful (not including the two who tried to steal Marj’s money but that’s another story). 

Boarding the boat on Saturday.