4 Life in the Hood

The large hotel in Zagreb we stayed at and large arena nearby draws an affluent crowd but surrounding the area stands a collection of 6-story apartment buildings for the working class. Petey and I walked the neighborhood in the evening. Most of the high-rise buildings are old, shabby, Russian style apartments with sheet metal siding you would more likely find covering industrial warehouses. A bar, restaurant, hair shop, and other utility stores composed the bottom floor. The evening was warm. Men sat at tables outside the bar smoking, enjoying a beer, chatting about life in Croatia I suppose. Three or four apartments surround a courtyard the size of a school playground. Petey and I sat on a bench and watched the microcosm of Croatian families in the routines of life. In one sand-filled area the younger children played on swings and a jungle gym. In a small brown grass area the upper grade kids pushed a soccer ball around or chased each other in a game of tag. Shouts of laughter and play-talk filled the air much like you would see during an elementary school recess. Across the dusty courtyard was a set of benches where teenagers stood or sat; they got quiet when a gang of rougher older kids passed by. Young families with babies in strollers sauntered through courtyard or stood and watched. Mothers supervised through the upper floor apartment windows, shouting out exhortations. I was enthralled analyzing this picture of normal, I presume typical, Croatian family life.

Close by a cluster of apartments was the neighborhood school, a two-story Bulshivic-style building. Peeking through the windows we saw a typical classroom setup, but older décor with windows to the ceiling. No technology to speak of. At the backend of the school yard was a 10 foot high grass mound with a door cutout on one side … a bomb shelter. Indeed this school was 30 miles from the frontlines during the 1991 conflict. An old Roman Catholic Church anchored the neighborhood. Adjacent to the Russian style buildings were a newer set of clean high-rise apartments painted in white with bright orange and green trim, a stark contrast to the older section. We learned that these newer units were too expensive for the average worker; most were vacant. Next to the hotel was an abandoned golf driving range and some nicely lit clay tennis courts well used by older men and young teens. Our stroll ended … an engaging slice of Zagreb living.