Zagreb and surroundings

Originally we never planned to go to Zagreb, as most of our research on attractions and things to do came up short. But after finding ourselves with a little extra time to kill before heading back into the Schengen Zone, we said 'why not?' and headed north. Choosing the back route, we headed up though the parklands beside the Bosnian boarder, and decided to camp a couple of nights in the Plitvice Lake National Park. Whilst we never actually made it to the lake, we had a great couple of days there relaxing in the countryside and trying the local cuisine, mostly spit roast lamb and pig.

Having read an interesting article in a magazine a few months back about abandoned Yugoslavian statues, I thought it might be interesting to go see a couple since we were in the area. Initially this proved to be a little difficult as most of them had very vague address that even our trusty GPS couldn't find. But eventually I found a couple that were only a short detour off our path to Zagreb. So deciding to make a day of it we packed a lunch and set out exploring so history. Originally these statues were commissioned by Josip Broz Tito, at famous WWII sites, conveying powerful imagery of the strength of the Socialist Republic. However now days they've been left in disrepair, as they're just another reminder of the terrible past. Nevertheless with over 30 statues, spread over the entire former Yugoslavia country side they made a great little side trip and interesting photo shoot.

Like I said before Zagreb wasn't high on our list for places to visit, so we decided to splurge a little and stayed at a place that included a spa and sauna. Whilst it was a little out of town our stay at Hotel Fenix was really relaxing and made for a nice treat, before our long drive back to the west. As we arrived late in the afternoon, we decided to skip the site seeing and make a day of it the next day. Driving into town was easy enough, although finding reasonable parking was a different issue as most of the streets were under roadworks. With the car safely stored we then preceeded to wander the streets to see what enticements Zagreb had to offer. Whilst the buildings and parks were lovely, they just seemed to be a blend of everything else we have seen over the past few months. The main market was also the same, with fruit, veg and meat sellers all trying to hawk off their local produce. But the thing that really caught out eye, was a small little museum just off the main drag called the Museum of Broken Relationships. Originally starting in Zagreb, this museum has since traveled the world collecting weird and wonderful items from relationships long since ended. From weird and kooky to melancholy and heartbreaking this seemingly small museum has an extensive collection of broken relationship memorabilia all with their own story.

- Ryan -