Zagreb

Oh but I loved Zagreb. There's something about being in a city with its own energy, especially after so many stops in places whose major (and almost sole) industry was tourism. I'm sure it didn't hurt to be a few hours further north away from the heat of the south, but there was a friendliness and openness and just plain fun to this spot that I loved dearly. And really, once I passed a music shop - as in, a shop selling musical instruments - I realized how long it had been since I'd been in a city with a large enough local population in the center to cater to the commercial interests of residents. I breathed a sigh of happiness and dove in. As with Dubrovnik, no video here - though that should be up in the next few days. I don't have a ton to report here - my earlier post on the Museum of Broken Relationships aside, I mostly poked around and got a feel for the energy of the place - but I would love to spend more time here in the future.

After the jump: photos!

Walking to my AirBnB was somehow the first time that I realized I was staying about a block away from the Croatian National Theatre. Coooooool! Great social life in this piazza through the coupla days I was there, hooray for theatre and travel and public spaces and whatnot!

I wasn't in Zagreb long enough to feel I could spend a few hours of my time at the animation festival that coincided with my visit (ugh festivals while traveling are my favorite thing) but the toothy bowler hat pictured here exerted a hypnotically persuasive pull...

INSTEAD, why not wander through one of the major squares in the Lower Town (Zagreb is split between upper and lower, with altitude actually determining the split) and find out they have a mega low-key renaissance festival going? All handcrafts and a hand-cranked "ride" that you can see in the video when that goes up later this week. 

This was one of my faves my first night here. Following the sound of music, I came across this micro street festival, a wine tasting with what seemed by all appearances to be spontaneous swing dancing. This, pals, this is why the meander is one of my favorite ways to explore a new spot...

A failed experiment in long exposure times that PRIMARILY taught me that you actually need a tripod for these things you dundering dope! Still, let's all imagine how cool this would have been if the focus had been clear on the non moving things! Whoaaaa great shot Imaginary Pat!

Chatted with the deeply excellent artist who makes these, and who has an entire series of Captain America Elephant prints. "I love Marvel," she said, "And last year I made this elephant, and I just couldn't stop making more, he was so cute!" Well AGREED, friend, agreed.

View of the Lower Town from the edge of the Upper Town. Towns! Or maybe cities! It is too sleepy to research this nomenclature at present, see you all in the future with mooooving pictures!