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Published: December 6th 2007
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Getting up this morning was a bit of a farce because there were too many people trying to get through one bathroom. We waited until most people were awake before we got up and ready. Unfortunately the weather was bad and it took us a while to motivate ourselves to leave the warm dryness of the hostel. We attempted to get on the internet to send the obligatory "we're safe" e-mail, but there were just too many people in the small common room.
We walked out of the hostel and into the rain. Rob immediately began complaining about people being lethal with their umbrellas which is something I have to endure on a regular basis. This time however he did have a point. More people here seem to have umbrellas and a lot of them are broken leaving metal spikes which are perfect for gouging a persons eye out if they don't move out of the way in time.
We were both considerably hungry so we began the seemingly endless task of finding somewhere/something for lunch. Despite Croatia's claim to be the boundary between eastern and western europe this cannot be entirely accurate as their cafes don't sell food.
We looked up and down streets and found pubs, cake shops, ice cream parlours and restaurants but nowhere for a simple sit down lunch.
We settled for a takeout sandwich that we ate huddled in a shop doorway. Mondays in Zagreb are slightly confusing as the shops are all open and everyone returns to work, however none of the tourist attractions are open. We were beginning to snap at each other because we didn't have a clue what to do as neither of us fancied getting drenched. Rob had taken note of a chocolatery when we were looking around the tourist information and it was this that we resorted to. We anticipated extortionate prices and fiddly little finger cakes, we were pleasantly surprised.
We both ordered hot chocolates mine with strawberry syrup and Rob's with vanilla. Unfortunately we noticed that the cakes were too cheap to resist, so we shared two beautiful chocolate cakes as well. Our visit wasn't all frivolous indulgence; we did decide what to do with the rest of the day.
Despite the weather we decided to visit the city cemetery which was a tram ride out of the centre. It sounds like quite
a weird excursion but it was fascinating. The cemetery is surrounded by walls which would be more fitting on a fort and all along the walls are green cupolas which give an overall impression of grandeur which is unusual for a cemetery. Inside the walls the tombs live up to (no pun intended) the impressive standard both by the plots themselves and the overwhelming attention that is given to each individual graves.
We spent a while walking through the older part of the cemetery looking at some of the unusual objects and dedications to loved ones. At the front, just by the main church is the dominant grave of Franjo Tudjman, Croatia's last dictator. Surprisingly there were flowers laid down and we saw a family pay their respects.
It was getting colder and the light was begining to fade so we decided to hightail it out of there and head back to the centre. We could have taken the tram but we decided against it as even compared to English prices it is pretty expensive. The walk took less time than we anticipated which was lucky because we were both pretty desperate for the toilet.
At the
hostel we sat and read in our room for a bit and read up on places and things to see over the next week or so. There was nobody else in the room so we enjoyed a little bit of us time. Around half seven we went to a vegan restaurant that came highly recommended in every tourist guide we had seen. It was called Makronova which sold both Vegan and Macrobiotic foods. We have no idea what the latter is entirely but it seems to be a european fad which goes hand in hand with vegetarian and vegan restaurants. We both ordered the daily macrobiotic plate which was pumpkin and lentil soup to begin with. The macroplate was mostly yummy but the algae was a bit unusual. We had smoked tofu and red lentil pate, seitan rolls, wild and red rice, and salad. It was pretty darn good and we definately left feeling satisfied, even Rob enjoyed it.
We were both tired and so we lounged in our dorm room, read and did a few sudoku. We lounged around until such time as most people were coming to bed and then we did the same.
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kate
non-member comment
i'll have some of that!
Hi The food sounds delicious. Wish i could join you. We were given samosas yesterday Steph. Can you guess who would do that? No clues. Ask if you don't know!!! Love mum xxxxxxxx