Zagreb in One Day

Well, really, this should be titled Zagreb in an afternoon. To be honest, we didn’t plan for much time here – it was intended to be a quick pitstop between our bus journey from Budapest, and our embarking on a coastal roadtrip early the next morning. This was our first visit to Zagreb, even though it was our fourth trip to Croatia in as many years. Somehow, we’ve always been convinced that Zagreb couldn’t possibly hold a candle to its coastal sisters: the relatively undiscovered, untamed beauty of the Istria region and the overcrowded but gloriously handsome Dalmatia. As the capital of the country, it must be so… quotidian.

I stand corrected. Even though our stay coincided with May Day, during which most shops and restaurants are closed, the streets were alive with a gentle energy that only a capital city can offer. We treated ourselves to a lazy afternoon free of an itinerary and Internet-approved haunts – letting the day itself dictate what came next. We left the next morning knowing that we didn’t give Zagreb the time it deserved and that it would have a spot at the top of our list for our next visit (which is never really too far away). Below, find all that we managed to pack into a handful of hours!

1. People-watching at a sidewalk cafe on Tkalčićeva Street. This right here is our happy place: bijela kava(s) – a creamier latte, essentially – within reach, relaxing on a main thoroughfare in a Croatian city. On May Day, it seemed that while the rest of the city was savoring a rest, Tkalčićeva Street was buzzing: locals and tourists alike enjoyed the numerous shops, restaurants, and cafes that remained open.

2. Sight-seeing in Old Town: I mean, “sight-seeing” is a generous way of putting it. Mostly, we walked until we came across a crowd taking pictures and we’d turn to take some obligatory photos and read some plaques too.

3. Marveling at the iconic St. Mark’s Church: what a stunner! This church is a renowned symbol of the city, its colorful tiled roof recognizable from postcards and travel guides. And it’s no less impressive in person – in fact, it’s infinitely more gorgeous when you take in the precision and detail, and the tiles glinting in the sun.

4. Visiting the Museum of Broken Relationships: my confession here is that I’m not a museum person. I’d like to be, and am fascinated by a city’s culture and history so find it odd that I’m not, but with the short amount of time in a city that I usually have – I typically prefer to be out and about.

All of this to say, when we came across the Museum of Broken Relationships in Old Town, our instinct was to keep on walking. But remembering that a few friends had high praises for their own visits here, we doubled back.

You guys, what a concept!!! If you’re in Zagreb and looking for a laugh-out-loud but also a welp-my-mascara-is-running-from-the-tears experience, you need to give the Museum of Broken Relationships a chance. People from all over the world send in mementos from broken relationships (not limited to those of the romantic variety), as well as a reflective statement on the relationship. There are clothing items, gross items (an old scab comes to mind!), things from the household, and really dozens of other absurd, personal, comical, bizarre, precious artifacts that I won’t spoil for you. Before you know it, an hour of connecting with nameless, faceless but deeply human individuals will have flown by.

5. Taking in the views at a scenic overlook: Gradec Plateau is the place to be at sunset! You’ll be unable to resist a selfie at this unbelievably picturesque viewpoint. Do so, and then sit down one of the benches to soak it all in.

6. Fueling up on pub grub on Tkalčićeva Street: a flight of beers and some greasy pub food, and it’s like we never left the USA. Well, other than the fact that we were surrounded by the hum of Serbo-Croatian and were within a stone’s throw of souvenir shops decked out with Modric jerseys and Zagreb postcards.

On our way back to our Airbnb, we couldn’t resist slipping into a cute wine shop that crossed our path. A quick peek, we reasoned. “A quick peek” turned into indecisively mulling over bottles of red, finally settling on one, and then being told by the shopowner that the one we picked wasn’t recommended. She kindly went through other options and hand-picked one for us that she promised was both tastier and cheaper, AND THEN she insisted on our tasting a medley of rakijas (Croatian brandies) on the house. It was Croatian hospitality at its finest.

7. Watching Beyonce’s Homecoming documentary: yep, this happened. After a five-hour bus ride from Budapest in the morning, a packed afternoon of seeing as much of Old Town Zagreb as we could, and a roadtrip ahead of us – we called it quits on exploring pretty early.

With our bottle of wine in hand, we retreated back to our Airbnb. PJ’s on, wine glasses topped, Netflix loaded, go time. Well, go ahead and rest time that is.

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