4 David's Birthday on the 4th of July

Sunday morning, Independence Day back home and Dave’s birthday in Zagreb, the drive to downtown was simple now that we had daylight, a good map, some sleep and three “road tested” navigators. This capital city is a hum of activity; the town is a mix of old rundown Communist 5-6 story buildings and newly constructed high rises. The “Centar” or downtown area is historic. I love the circle-dot icon on the road signs pointing the way to downtown. We followed a self-guided tour enjoying the majesty of an enormous 100-year old Neo-Gothic cathedral called “the cathedral,” the bustling market place where Petey knocked over a stack of nectarines, the joyous worship singing in the famous St. Catherine’s Church and St. Mark’s Church that sports the fancy tile roof with a coat of arms of Croatia and the city seal of Zagreb. Next to St. Mark’s is the parliament buildings which are stately but concrete heavy, nothing green, not one flower, not one tree, not even a weed.

An educational tour of the Naive Art Museum enriched our understanding of peasant life under communists rule. These artists were untrained and yet their work took Paris by storm. They painted mostly on glass because it was cheap and easy. They painted in a figurative way rather than the trendy abstract style. Down the street I climbed the 100-stair Burglars’ Tower to get a commanding panoramic view of the city and just in time to see a citizen fire the old cannon that once guarded the city. The cannon fires each day at noon to commemorate the 15th-century victory over the besieging Ottomans. Dave, Donna, and Petey were resting just below the cannon wall when its loud bang echoed toward the city. Petey hit the deck assuming some catastrophe was soon to come … sorry honey, just me.

I love walking through foreign streets listening to the unique sounds and the different languages. The “upper town” of Zagreb is a mix of locals and international tourists. The locals were busy in their routines shopping in the market, selling homemade wares and traveling the public system. The tourists pick through the popup sidewalk souvenir stands around Jelicič Square or browsing the little shops that line the narrow bending streets. On a Sunday, people are relaxed, chatty, comfortable. The place feels safe. Graffiti however, old graffiti marks many walls. It stains the splendor of the city which seems old and rundown because of it. On our self-guided tour we wandered off the beaten path into a homeless park. All the elements of a growing democracy are at hand … the good and the bad.