First look at zagreb

We arrived in Zagreb at 12 noon. The city, being a little smaller than Belgrade, makes a lot of difference. Zagreb is in the Croatian Republic of Yugoslavia. The station is surrounded by parks and we found the youth hostel easily. It cost $11 which is cheaper than Belgrade, but still more than we would like to have paid, although Austria will probably be more expensive. We met a Japanese girl there who came with us into town to the tourist info to get maps. We also arranged to meet her in the evening to see a play. Then we set out to see the city on foot. First a Cathedral - one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. From a distance you can see the twin Baroque steeples rising above the city sky line. The Cathedral is like a Disney palace. Outside is another tall steeple with a gold figure of Mary on top, and at the bottom gold angels. The gold really glows in the snow. Inside the stained glass windows are more like a kaleidoscope than pictures. All around the edges of the cathedral are alters set up by various patrons/artists. The whole area is very Catholic and there is a Nunnery attached to the Cathedral.

We walked up very steep wooden steps to the top of a hill in the centre of town and constitutes the old part of the city. Then we walked down cobbled streets looking at all the little shops. One of the cobbled streets leads under an arch and underneath is an alter to some saint. It is very dark except for the candlelight. We found a fruit market which was closing up but we wandered down between the stalls and found a hat stall. We both bought rabbit fur Russian style hats for $25 to add to our hat collection. This was a bargain, and the sales man was happy as we paid in Dollars. We were squealing with glee at our purchase. They have flaps on the sides which can be tied up or come down to cover your ears. Our heads will be warm for winter. It is a big splurge but it will last me a long time.

Photo by Gothphil