Zagreb I

I arrived in Zagreb in mid-afternoon. The tourist office was closed; a hand-written sign indicated they would return in 10 minutes. I stepped outside the modest airport. A bus driver briskly stowed my bag under his bus and sold me a ticket to town. I was on my way.

From the main bus station I took a tram to the center of town. I stepped out into the bustling Trg Josipa Jelacica and climbed the steps from the square to Dolac market. It had closed, but a few merchants were idly packing up their tables for the night. The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary loomed over the scene.

Continuing up Opatovina I ran into my guesthouse owner's daughter. She was just returning from walking their dog, Otto. She showed me my warm room and disappeared with my passport, calling out 'Five minutes!' as she bounded up the stairs.

I showered nad changed and set out to wander the streets. I stood a long time in the square, watching the trams pause to let their passengers board and alight and I was happy with the scene before me. A light rain had fallen, and the streets shone with reflected light. Later, Ana would cast a disparaging remark on the square, lamenting its tree-lined past. 'Now it looks like they just poured concrete over it all' but at that moment I was full of the life around me and I was content.

Posted by eku at November 8, 2010 3:57 PM