The Mystery Flight

This story begins the evening after BratPest, when Lucy and Katherine encounter the 'mystery flight' option on the Germanwings website. Germanwings is a budget German airline. A mystery flight is what it sounds like: you pay for the flight before you find out the destination. And so Lucy and Katherine clicked 'confirm'. An agonising wait for the page to load followed... where were they flying to?!

Four days later we were on a flight to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Surreal doesn't quite cover it. We travelled from Bad Salzdetfurth to Köln the previous day as our flight was at stupid-o'clock in the morning. When we landed it looked like we were still in the air. It was cloudy and snowy and foggy and generally not ideal. But by the time we had sorted out our Kuna supply (like hakuna matata - 1 Kuna is about 11p), found a map and worked out how to get the bus to the city centre the weather had drastically improved. At 8 °C it was positively tropical.

After the walk from the bus station to the main square we were in need of cake. As it happens we found the most amazing cafe ever. Amazing enough for us to go five times in 48 hours. There were macarons in flavours from blueberry to mint chocolate, dozens of cakes and hot chocolate that was just like chocolate custard in both flavour and consistency. But the most popular dish seemed to be chestnut puree with cream on top. In fact there's a bit of a chestnut obsession going on. So if you ever go, watch out for 'Kesten'! Have I mentioned that it was cheap too?! The only slight issue was the language barrier. We had to earn our right to eat macarons by pointing, smiling and nodding until we were understood. It was clearly worth it as we visited as many times as we could.

Zagreb is split into the Upper Town and the Lower Town. Possibly because the Upper Town is literally much higher up. To get from one to the other you can either use the funicular or walk one of the very steep paths. The Upper Town is home to the palaces, St. Mark's Square (and St. Mark's Church). The first time we went there was a protest thing outside the church but our second visit was far more successful.

The catchily named 'Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary' is the big cathedral right in the centre of the city. The two spires can be seen from pretty much everywhere (including the airport). Close to the cathedral is Dolac Market, which the internet informs me, is the biggest open air market in Croatia. There was the largest selection of salad leaves I have seen in my life. There are numerous markets though, including those for flowers (in Flowers Square) and an antiques market.

Dolac Market // Ilica // St. Mark's Church // Upper Town // Jelačić Square // Zagreb Cathedral

The Zagreb Eye. I imagined it to be a little like the London Eye. It is nothing like the London Eye. It is effectively a viewing platform at the top of an office block. Your ticket is valid all day so you can admire the city in daytime and nighttime. From the top you could see the mountains surrounding Zagreb by day, and the main shopping street at night. Typically, our night viewing was also a business event which we had to sneak through... We did laugh at all the jokes which we definitely understood...

In between the eating and sightseeing (the National Theatre, Tkalčićeva, the list goes on) we actually went to a museum. The Museum of Broken Relationships. It has won prizes for innovativity (is that even a word?!) and was definitely unlike any other museum I've visited. The layout is simple: a series of personal objects, each accompanied by a description of the failed relationship. The story varies from a couple of words to multiple paragraphs. A truly bizarre museum, slightly depressing but weirdly interesting. Unique.

Our whirlwind visit ended in Ban Jelačić Square: the centre of Zagreb. It is full of people and tram intersections. And an excellent place to eat macarons and watch the world go by.

To conclude: Germanwings made an excellent choice when it sent us to Zagreb. It was such a fun city, it's hard to explain but something about it just felt nice. It feels like a modern capital city but it hasn't forgotten its past. Opposite a brand new shopping centre there is a 'row' of dilapidated single level buildings with crumbling brickwork and missing roof tiles. There are signs that 'Westernisation' hasn't been entirely successful, escalators blocked by concrete. There is still a hint of former Yugoslavia about it but that makes it all the more interesting. It feels like a city in transition, with glass office blocks and bars alongside markets and very cheap food. I definitely recommend it.