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You are currently viewing Zagreb, Croatia 11/11-30/2021 (#2)

Zagreb, Croatia 11/11-30/2021 (#2)

Highlights of our time in Zagreb:

Eating out: We loved sampling local Croatian foods:  Burek, Struckli, Gulash, “Under the Cover,” Shrimp Rizzotto, Sarma (stuffed cabbage rolls), fried Mediterranean smelt (oily fish), Zagreb Schnitzel (meat stuffed with cheese and ham, breaded and fried), cheeses from the Dolac.   Dessert: Kremschnitza, Croatian Cookies, Croatian donuts.  So many tasty dishes. We were always trying something new – AND, when we really loved it, went back another day to enjoy it again.

This is struckli. It's a traditional dish of the region made of dough and various types of filling. Stuckli can be boiled or baked. We liked it baked. It can be a sweet or savory struckli. We are sharing one savory (truffle and cheese) and one sweet cheese struckli. We absolutely loved struckli and came to this little restaurant, La Struk, several times. We sat at their outdoor tables, warmed by a heater and a blanket and thoroughly enjoyed our struckli!.
We had lunch at this very little cafe next to the fish market and the farmers market.
This meal was one of my very favorites. I heard that their calamari was amazing. I wanted to try the little "sand smelt" fish also. I loved it! It was lightly battered, fried and salted to perfection. Just pop the entire piece (bones, head, eyes and tail) into your mouth. It was amazing. Evan didn't like it as much but he gave it a try and then had a sausage sandwich when we left. When we return to Zagreb, this will be one of my first stops!
On our travels we have tried a few Michelin rated restaurants. We found many that were more affordable than what we'd expect to pay in the USA. This restaurant, Pod Zidom, had just reopened the day before we ate here. Our meal was delicious. Here's a look at a "starter dish". This looks like eggs, but it's not. The white part is a buttery cream and the yellow yolk-looking part was butternut squash puree, I think. (I knew what it was when i ordered, just can't remember now) We also had a delicious Risotto and local wine.
One of our favorite meals - available throughout the region - is Goulash. And, we did a local beer tasting with it. The goulash is a rich meat stew with thick flavorful sauce. Craft beer is big in Zagreb. We had 7 different beers from Medvedgrad brewery , a local brewery in Zagreb.
This is another favorite - it's called "Under the Bell". Meat and potatoes are cooked over a fire in their juices for many hours "under a dome bell or lid". Its similar to really tender, tasty beef stew. The meat can be beef, pork or lamb.
Fresh bread from the bakery! Many people buy their bread from the bakery instead of "pre-bagged" bread from the grocery stores. There were several bakeries down the street from our apartment where we could pick up a loaf as we walked home. This would last us a few days. It will start to grow mold after 3 or 4 days. No preservatives! Very tasty and fresh.

Museums: Zagreb is full of museums, forty and counting, some impressive and historical, some small and downright goofy, like the Museum of Hangovers. On our last visit in 2020, we saw:  

  • Museum of War Photography: Powerful and touching photography tells the story of warfare as Croatia fought for independence during the 1990’s.   
  • Museum of Broken Relationships: Quirky and fun. Each “artifact” is accompanied by the story of some “broken relationship.” Most unusual, and great fun.  

This time we saw (from the sublime to the ridiculous):  

  • Zagreb City Museum: Lovely large museum tells the history of Zagreb, from what was learned in archeological digs to modern Croatia. Very rich and inclusive. We spent a couple hours here and could have spent more. Some large placards included English translation, but the individual notes were just in Croatian.  
  • Technological Museum: Nikola Tesla: Despite the name, this was primarily a large museum of technology, from the invention of the wheel to our missions to the moon. Includes one section that highlights the work of native son Nikola Tesla, the inventor of alternating current.  
  • Chocolate Museum: A smaller museum dedicated to the history of our favorite sweet things. Included many tastings to help us understand how chocolate is processed.     
  • Museum of Naïve Art: A most lovely museum that we wished was larger. We both really love the “Naive Art” style.  We also visited a “Naive Art” Gallery and shop. If we had a home to furnish, we would gladly decorate with samples of Naïve Art. 
  • Mestrovic Atelier: In another home that once belonged to the great sculptor Ivan Mestrovic, this museum featured many pieces. Mestrovic’s sculptures are dynamic, profound and always beautiful.  
  • Croatian Artists Center’ Center: Today this building, designed originally by Mestrovic, houses the Croatian Artists Center and displays contemporary art. On our visit we also  saw two temporary exhibitions: one of Dublin artists and another with photography and videos of amazing artistic work decorating the sides of buildings around the city.  
  • Museum of Illusions: Small and quirky, but great fun.  Evan was surprised that there was no mention of M. C. Escher, but this was just about enjoying the illusions, not about history or creation.   
  • Museum of Mushrooms. Small, but a very serious museum of mushrooms, featuring 1600+ varieties, carefully labeled as to which are edible and which are not. The owner was incredibly friendly and informative.  
  • 1980’s Zagreb Museum: Basically, you’re touring a 1980’s apartment to see the styles and technology current in 1980’s Zagreb, which was at the time part of Yugoslavia. 
  • Museum of Hangovers: Small, but might well have been smaller. Quirky, crass and bawdy, best representing the drunken evening rather than tomorrow’s hangover.  But it is nothing more than it claims to be.     
You've probably guessed this is the museum of illusions. It was great fun.
This was pretty amazing - the room wasn't more than 12 -15 feet across. Quite the illusion!
Our visit to the chocolate museum was delicious and informative. I didn't know that cocoa beans grew inside this big pod. The pods grow from the trunk of it's tree.
OUr ticket to the chocolate museum was a box of chocolates. Each compartment had a different type of chocolate that we would taste in the appropriate room. In addition to delicious dark and milk chocolate, we also tasted a roasted chocolate bean. Usually there is a chocolate fountain running at the end of the tour with unlimited chocolate tastes. Sadly , due to covid, the fountain wasn't in operation. However, we purchased some delicious Zagreb-made cholcoate to take with us.
The Mushroom Museum. This turned out to be a very interesting museum with a charming older man as our person guide. It was a small museum and not too crowded. There are about 2500 different species of mushrooms in the world. This museum contains over 1500 varieties in its cases. Here's a peak at some of the displays. I enjoyed this little museum!
The Croatian Artists Center sits in the middle of large Roundabout. Even the art hanging on the outside of the building was compelling.
Croatian Artists Center. This building is so beautiful in the day and the evening.
It's hard to capture the interior space. In addition to these two floors on the interior wall, there were more exhibits on the outside of the curved wall. There was also a wonderful exhibit of Zagreb's street art in the basement.
Tesla Technological Museum

Zagreb Film Festival:  We just happened to land in Zagreb in time for the Zagreb Film Festival (November 14-21), so we took full advantage. From our apartment, a short walk through an historic tunnel that took us to the Kino Tuscanac theater. We saw seven full-length films in all, six at this convenient theater.  We enjoy European films like these, films that focus on the lives of real people with no CGI and no superheroes. What a pleasant break from Hollywood and Marvel. Often we had a soundtrack plus two levels of subtitle.  For instance, The Good Boss, a Spanish film, had a Spanish soundtrack, and subtitles in both Croatian and English.  Here are the English titles for the films we saw:  The Good Boss (Spain), Queen of Glory (USA), Gagarine (France), Feathers (Egypt), And Tomorrow the Entire World (Denmark), The Worst Person in the World (Norway), Hive (Kosovo).   

We LOVED the film festival. People were masked and had to show Covid vaccination certificates and seating was comfortably spaced. Although one movie was filmed in English, several of the others had two sets of subtitles : Croatian and English. Definitely not Hollywood type films. All had a point to make and invited conversation after. I woul have really enjoyed this experience with friends

The Christmas Markets: Advent Zagreb began on November 27.  

“Advent Zagreb” was declared to be the Best European Christmas Markets for 2016, 2017 and 2018. Wow! So we were anxious to experience these great Christmas Markets. In those years Christmas Market booths, activities and entertainments were spread all around the city.   

But then came Covid! The pandemic is changing everything, so there would be Christmas markets in Zagreb, but on a smaller scale, with perhaps only half as many booths.  Even if we did not see “Advent Zagreb” in all its former glory, we still enjoyed what seemed like plenty to amuse us.  

The first night of Advent Zagreb begins with the lighting of the 1st Advent candle in the main square, speeches from the Mayor and a prayer for the City . On this night, the Christmas lights all around the City come alive!
The nutcracker tree in front of St Mark's church in the square with the Parliament buildings.
I love this Teddy Bear tree. Every night there was a musician playing or singing as people passed through this domed passage.

What can you buy in a Christmas Market Booth? 

  • Food: lots of sausages potato pancakes, fried potatoes, Spätzle, cookies, ginger cookies and all kinds of baked good, crepes, waffles with fruit and whipped cream.  
  • Drinks:  A few booths offer a full bar, while others stick to beer, wine, Glühwein (hot mulled wine), egg-nog, hot chocolate, and coffee.  
  • Christmas Decorations: ornaments, stars, nativity scenes, candle sets for your windows.
  • Cold Weather Clothes: socks, gloves, mittens, scarves hats, sweaters, jackets.  
Our first Christmas Market drink! This one is a boiled brandy with spices.

We love the Christmas Markets, even though we do no Christmas shopping. We travel with already full backpacks, so we have no room for collecting gifts. But we enjoy the beauty of the markets themselves. We enjoy window shopping through all the collectables. We enjoy the smiling people strolling through the booths with their children. We enjoy sausages and Gluhwein, the cookies and the munchies.  And we enjoy the entertainment. 

Even though these days in Zagreb were the early, opening days of a slimmed-down Advent Zagreb, there was still plenty of entertainment. We enjoyed a mid-afternoon brass sextet concert just up past the Stone Gate. We enjoyed major concerts in Zrinjevac Park:  a Croatian crooner named Marco Tolja on Saturday and the FilmMusicOrchestra on Sunday.   

Later in the evening, we visited the markets closer to our place, along the  Strossmayer Promenade which looks out over the lower city. A small stage there featured the harmonious Gelato Sisters on Saturday, and La Papa — two men, one on ukulele and one with a cello – on Sunday.  Both groups were really fun. Many of the songs were in English, but with all the banter in Croatian, we really did miss most of the jokes.  

A stroll through Upper Town as we walk to Strossmayer Promenade Christmas markets

So what made Advent Zagreb the big winner in the past? Given that the trimmed down markets we saw were still plenty, we understand that markets in the past were richly spread throughout most of the city, not just in the main square. The large ice-skating area in Thomislav Park, was scrapped for this year.  But they still decorated the streets and the trees in the parks. Booths were spread throughout the whole city, and fine entertainment was offered at multiple venues. We can see why this may have impressed as the biggest and the best. 

Tomaslav Park in front of the beautiful Art Pavillion. In prior years a large ice skating rink was created in front of the Art Pavillion for the Christmas Market. This year there are white silhouettes of ice skaters - no ice.
A stroll down Christmas tree lane.
The gazebo in Zrinjevac Park is transformed into a Christmas main stage for performers during the Advent season. Concerts are held here in teh park throughout the year.

A Day Trip to Samobor: Anxious to see a smaller town outside of Zagreb, we made a day trip to Samobor, famous for its castle on the hill and the sweet, custardy dessert called Kremschnita. With first a Zagreb tram and then a regional bus, we made our way to Samobor, walked into the center of a scenic town, enjoyed a delicious early dinner at a local restaurant, and then started climbing up to the castle.  But we must have made a wrong turn somewhere. We climbed for what seemed like hours, found a couple of mountainside churches and lots of crisscrossing paths, but no castle. We finally gave up, as sunset would soon approach, and hiked back to the village center for coffee and Kremschnitza. We missed the castle, but the climb in the woods was good exercise, the village was lovely, and the food was outstanding.  

I know this sounds crazy, but one of the main goals of this day trip was to experience this delicious Kremschnita. It is said to be the best in Croatia.
We took a short bus excursion to Samobor based on recommendations from several people. It was a lovely small town with delicious Kremschnitza and a casatle which we couldn't find.

Maksimir Park & the Zagreb Zoo. We took the tram to the east of the old city to a huge city park, over 300 acres of walks, woods and lakes, and it includes the Zagreb Zoo. We saw lots of families with children out for a visit to the zoo.  In the middle of the park is a great pavilion to supply your coffee break for the day. We just enjoyed a beautiful day and a long, quiet walk through the woods and along the shores of a lake.   

Zagreb is so easy to get around by tram and bus. The zoo and park is a wonderful day outing within the City. Maksimar Park and Zoo was a 10 minute tram ride from the City Center (about $1.20 round trip). The large park is one of the oldest public parks in Eastern Europe
We had so much fun watching this family of Meerkats.
There were so many beautiful paths to walk at the park. Some are larger paths like this one and some are small single paths meandering through the forest. We did get disoriented for a bit when we detoured off the main path but found our way back. We could have walked for hours and hours.