We were in Zagreb for 3 days.
- Funicular: We took this very small funicular the three minutes up from the modern town to the old town. It was cheap and it avoided a big hill climb, but it’s not an amazing tourist attraction you must see. However, it’s pretty cool that it’s the oldest public transit in Zagreb (one year older than a horse-drawn tram), and that it’s the shortest funicular in the world. The old town area was fun to walk around: the architecture was pretty, and the views of various parts of the city were cool.
- Museum of Broken Relationships: This was one of the most prominent things to see up in the old town. It has a cafe which is even open on Sundays, but remember that a cafe only serves drinks, so no cookies or granola bars to be had. The museum is interesting: it displays artifacts that people from around the world have donated to the museum. Each artifact comes with a story of how it was involved in a couple’s relationship, as well as a bit about the nature and/or demise of the relationship. It’s primarily about love relationships, though there is a room on broken parent-child relationships. Some of the stories are funny and others are sad, but the primary theme was that a lot of the experiences we have are universal. One of the things that was universal was how difficult it is to maintain a relationship. There were tales of people who broke up after dozens of years together, if not more. The museum wasn’t as sad as that realization, however.
- Old Town Gate: Here, there is a portrait of Mary considered to be sacred, because it was the only item in the area to survive a devastating fire. It’s protected by a big black wrought-iron gate, all of which is inside a tunnel of sorts that gets pedestrian and car traffic. There are even benches inside the tunnel, so people can sit and pray. Out of respect, you are asked to remain quiet as you walk through. Interesting and unique site, though not as meaningful to us as to others, presumably.
- Zagreb Cathedral: This is a beautiful church, with a very gold statue of Mary out front. The inside has a huge painting, a big crucifixion scene, and a lot of unusual characters that looked a bit like the Windings font in Office software. One of the spires is being repaired at the moment, but it’s still the tallest building in town and worth seeing.
- St. Mark’s Church: This building has a beautiful mosaic roof, which is quite patriotic. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go inside, but it’s still fun to see.
- Scale model of solar system: The city has created a model of the solar system that’s to scale. That means that the sun is in one place, and other planets are much further out, and they’re different sizes. Pretty cool idea.
What We Skipped
- Moderna Galerija: This is a museum of 19th and 20th century artists. We were resting in Zagreb, so we didn’t get to this.
- Muzej Mimara: This is an even bigger art museum, though we didn’t get here either.
- Umjetnički Paviljon (Art Pavilion): Ditto.
- Muzej Suvremene Umjetnosti (Museum of Contemporary Art): And this too.
- Tehnički muzej (Museum of Engineering): This museum of technical inventions – including fire engines, Nikola Tesla things, and an underground mine – seemed particularly cool. Would have been great to get to it.
- Arheološki Muzej (Archeology Museum): We saw quite a few Egyptian and Roman items in Copenhagen, so all set.
- Maksimir Park: It rained much of the time we were in town, so this big recreational park was out.