zagreb

One is aware of the beauty of Zagreb the moment you step outside the train station. I didn’t find much to do there however and spent the majority of my time sitting in the central square watching people and writing silly poems.
I did however meet a girl named Mateja who told me a bit about the country and the people but she was something like 14, so I’m guessing that skews the picture a little. One of the interesting things was how easily we related, it was like 14 yr olds in Croatia go through the same things 14 yr olds go through in the US - The same angst, the same rebelliousness. It was sort of fun hearing her talk about her friends who are followers and how she has dreams of doing something bigger, but was stuck there for now.
I did a lot of walking, the city seemed to have some very modern features as well as a more 1950s (rebuilding Europe look) I was in the center of the city, and I assume that the further out you go the differences become more apparent (I would assume both poor/old and new/wealthy neighborhoods. Croatia and Slovenia seem at pace with most of Western Europe.
I did not eat there, but one of the funniest restaurant names I have seen was in Zagreb, a place called Pizza Duck Cut or Pizza Cut Duck (one couldn’t tell by the sign) me and another American I had met were dumbfounded as to what that could mean. But it seemed like a western style pizzeria (pizza hut, dominoes). The McDonalds in Zagreb (like McDonalds in all warm countries of Europe) had café outdoor seating.
There were many nuns and priests walking around, which I had gotten used to because of Poland but was still semi out of the ordinary for an American to see.
There was a giant T mobile billboard in the main square, the sign was translated, but recognizable by the product and logo.
While in Zagreb I went to some cd stores where they had the cds in large cases that you would swing from left to right (similar to how they sell posters at stores in the US) . I bought 4 Roma cds –considered to be popular musicians, but relegated to a second class category of music because it comes from their traditions. Many of the store owners had none, or were surprised that I would want any. People spoke fairly good english. I did not have a hard time communicating with anyone.
At a local kebab stand, the owner sang to the customers… didn’t say much about globalization but it was cute. Coke and Fanta seem to dominate eastern Europe with the exception of Pizza Huts and KFC (which have deals with Pepsi) but you have to look for Pepsi, Coke is easy to find.
The hostel I stayed at was owned and operated by Japanese people, who said they had visited several years before and loved the location, but also were capitalizing on the fact that the market for hostels in the former Yugoslavia was just beginning to open up. The Hostel had a great deal of Spanish speakers, I wasn’t sure where they were from, they did not talk a lot to anyone but themselves.
In general I guess the impression from Zagreb was that it was a central European state, with a strong influence of the past, but looking forward to the future with the doors newly opened.



Silly poems from Zagreb
Poem 1
When the flock flees a feared and scatters
The child stands trumpeting triumphant
The parent stands idle not realizing it matters
To correct young sadists before their screaming announcement
2
If you are in Europe in any town
There is a statue of a man on a horse
This is the man who nobly led
And who was victorious in war
Around the statue will be some birds
Who happen to be the source
And upon his noble majestic head
Will be what these birds know the statue is for.
3
When you see the lonely Babushka selling flowers
With her “help me?” sales pitch
Don’t be deceived by her cunning powers
For in reality she is quite rich
With basements full of hydroponics
Her flower fields bloom in the coldest of winters
And the Babushka Mafia pushes out competitors
While their corporate alliance never splinters