In Zagreb today
It was an early start this morning, but we were ready for the fun to begin!
Our tour was the first to leave with a 7.30 meeting time. As we were anchored off Rijeka, Croatia, the first step was a tender ashore.
On such a beautiful morning, what better way can there be to begin the day?
I was Sunday of course, so the city was quiet as we drove out of the harbour towards the motorway.
We were heading for Zagreb, the capital city about two hours drive away. There were just fifteen of us comfortably settled in a brand new coach with our guide Livio and driver Oliver.
As we drove, Livio gave a great commentary, telling us about life in Croatia and briefly outlined the complicated history of this region. He pointed out the changing landscape too, as we left the Mediterranean seaport and drove through tunnels and over bridges into a more alpine countryside with a real flavour of central Europe.
A brief comfort stop as we approached the city gave Livio a chance to share the importance of good timekeeping. During the journey, he'd had a couple of phone calls from the ship with updates about the day's schedule. In no uncertain terms must he be late arriving back this afternoon and it was clear that this was of concern to him. Our cooperation was essential, we understood.
He was preaching to the converted with my Hero and I of course, but we noted the slight anxiety in his voice as he outlined his plan for the day as we crossed the river and arrived in Zagreb. First, we'd drive through part of the city to get a flavour of the architecture and see some of the major buildings. One event we had forgotten/didn't know about was the earthquake in 2020, which had affected the city hugely.
We passed by some beautiful buildings with lovely architectural features.
But many buildings - museums, galleries and public offices - were still under wraps undergoing restoration. Livio explained the difficulties of restoring historic buildings post-Covid, with a depleted workforce and a lack of materials.
We noted some spectacular structures, like the Opera House, above, but it wasn't always easy to get the best view!
So we were glad to stop by the railway station and to get out into the fresh air and start our walking tour.
Here in Tomislav Square, we stopped to learn a little about Croatia's first King before continuing along this leafy avenue into the next square.
Here, we learned briefly about Nikola Šubić Zrinski, but as Livio assured us, we were not a school class taking an exam and that brief outline was all that was needed!
Soon, the avenue opened up into the main square, named after Josip Jelačić, first Governor, whose statue has been moved just once or twice in the city's history. In telling us about the man, Livio explained that he'd died of syphilis “something I don't tell the schoolkids” he said with a wink.
Here in the square was also a significant feature of the city's history, for there's a freshwater spring running through this area. It was here that many years ago, a young woman, Manda, had been washing clothes when a couple of weary soldiers asked her to scoop some fresh water for them to drink. “Zagreb” means to scoop and the spring was named after Manda.
As we stood looking around the corner of the square, who should come strolling up but Ban Jelačić with Manda at his side. Thanks to Livio, we recognised them immediately, understood the significance of the water jug she was carrying and so were able to chat and admire his luxuriant moustache!
Just around the corner was our next stop, the Cathedral. One of the most badly damaged buildings by the earthquake, it's currently closed and undergoing major restoration.
Livio explained that there had been an earlier earthquake, in 1880, that had destroyed the original cathedral of which there remained just the clock. But hard as I tried, I couldn't see it.
Well, no wonder I couldn't see it really, for it was way over there in the shadows, behind another security fence! OK. We can move on now 😉
From here, we walked through an area of religious communities, monasteries and church offices. Here too were souvenir shops selling fridge magnets and so on, many in the shape of hearts - the symbol of Zagreb and Croatia. We had already noted the Croatian name for the country, Hrvatska and the vehicle country identifier, HR (great trivia question, eh?)
The key to another great Trivia question was there in the red and white sign above the umbrellas: the Cravat, which originated here in the city. Who knew? (our son and mine of so much Trivia, Edward, did actually 😘 )
It was a lively part of the old town and I was noting the many streetside tables where people sat with cold beers and ice creams. It was getting very warm indeed and we were beginning to flag a little.
As we stood looking at a very weary St George and his equally weary horse, I understood exactly how he felt! But Livio was always conscious of his time-keeping and today, we had no time for a break.
Anyway, we had more to see and there was always something interesting just around the corner, including this statue of Marija Jurić Zagorka, Croatia's first feminist. Livio explained that she usually carries flowers, placed there by grateful women who have benefitted from her pioneering work.
Sorry, we had no time to sit and contemplate the mysteries of life…
In the stone gate in the wall here we came across a small chapel, whose name I didn't record. We walked though the darkness, noticing the piles of prayers and thanksgiving stones left there over the centuries.
After the darkness of the chapel, we emerged into the sunshine, by the Parliament, but though I was trying to focus on Livio's excellent commentary, I was distracted by the building in the centre of the Square.
St Mark's Church stands in the centre of the square and in the bright sunshine, the colours of that magnificent roof were utterly spectacular. I spent a while standing and admiring, looking also at the work of the group of artists sitting painting on the kerbside. But mostly, I was noting how tired my legs were and how hot and sticky I felt!
Around the next corner was a spectacular viewpoint and on this clear day, we could identify several of the landmarks we'd visited on our way up here. On my mind, however, was the need to get back to the station from here, which was going to involve a rather steep staircase. My Hero and I decided that, rather than stay with Livio for this last bit, we'd take our time and make our own way back to the coach. Several had already broken from the group and the last half dozen or so were going to take a different pathway back. With sincere promises to be there on time, we set off slowly down the staircase, thankful that it was, at least, secure and had a handrail!
Poor old things. It was only when we reached the bottom that we noted that the Funicular railway that Livio had pointed out was actually operating and would have given us a magic carpet ride down into the square, saving our knees! Never mind, we were doing okay, though I had stopped taking photographs and was focusing instead on putting one foot in front of the other (and avoiding the pigeons!)
We returned along the shady side of the avenue of trees, always with an eye on our watches, arriving back at the coach in good time. Livio arrived shortly after us with the remaining half dozen and thanked everyone sincerely for our punctuality. It was a quiet drive straight back to Rijeka from here and much to Livio's relief, we arrived with ten minutes to spare before the last tender was scheduled
We'd no sooner arrived back on Voyager than the engines were started and we set sail for Valletta, Malta, where we'll arrive tomorrow morning. After a quick freshen up we went in search of a Trivia team and soon found a couple of Australians and a Canadian to join us in a kind of Empire team! Not only were they fun company, but remarkably (surprisingly?) successful too 😉
A nice end to a lovely day! I hope we'll return to Zagreb before too long, to take a little longer to explore the city some more. Livio told us of the magnificent Christmas markets that light up the city every December, around the squares through which we'd walked this morning. In the meantime, I'm eager to read and find out more about Zagreb.
