We already feel at home in Zagreb. I think we are happy to be back in a city. The other cities of Croatia felt like tourist destinations. This feels like a place people work and live. And thus eat and shop. First impressions: it’s a lot warmer here than the rest of the country, and people are incredibly fashionable.

Stefan and Lillian go to the grocery store first thing in the morning for fruit and other breakfast supplies. Lillian insists on carrying all the fruit home.

My Lonely Planet has a walking tour that we use to see the city. First stop, though, is the Food Film Festival stalls, which have all sorts of amazing food. We get smoothies, tacos and sushi.

Then we set out to see the city by scooter. We go to the Zagreb Cathedral, which is impressive. Each pew has its own radiator! It must get very cold in winter.

Out front, two towers are displayed to show how much wear and tear, due mostly to neglect, the building has weathered. The one on the left is only a hundred years old, and it’s crumbling away.

We walk around the old town and go to the street known for all the nightlife. We’ll be coming back here this afternoon to meet my friend from law school, Arati. We’ve been walking for no more than 30 minutes, but the kids are apparently exhausted and need to sit down. We find a cafe at the end of the street and spend an hour coloring. This is a really cute place, like somewhere I’d love to meet a friend for coffee. The patio is gorgeous, but the tables are too small for our coloring project this afternoon.

Just as we get everyone moving again, we pass a playground. We stop for 15 minutes to let them go nuts. And they do. It’s amazing how well they can work over a playground.

Now we must ascend stairs to the upper city. Zagreb is split into the lower city and upper city. Based on what I read and how people speak of it, I thought the distinction would be great, but it isn’t really. It all feels like the same city.

We come to the Stone Gate, where a painting of the mother mary was miraculously saved from a fire. Even though this seems to be a regular walking path that people pass each day to and from work, there are several pews and a place to light candles because so many people visit daily to pray. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Our walk takes us up to St. Mark’s Church, with its impressive mosaic roof. Here we encounter a large Asian tour group who become distracted by the church and take hundreds of photos of my kids. So funny.

There are several museums in this neighborhood. We choose the most unique: The Museum of Broken Relationships. It’s an interesting collection of odd items with notes about the broken relationship to which it relates. I really like it. The kids aren’t too impressed.

The city’s funicular is at the end of the street. We decide to walk back to the bar street and take the funicular another day. The view from here is really nice, but it’s funny that the hill is just not that tall. There’s an amazing street here with a few vendors and picnic tables. It looks like the perfect place to meet friends on a Sunday afternoon. Really cool. An artist is selling her prints here, and I love them. I hope we can come back and get one tomorrow.

The kid get ice cream. We’re just trying to hold everything together until we get back to the bar where we will meet Arati in 25 minutes.

Our walk home is beautiful. It’s that perfect time of day when things are cooling off and the sun casts amazing light on the buildings.

We are meeting Arati and her family at Plivnica Mali Medo, a beer bar on the main drag. We arrive only a few minutes before they walk up. It’s so fun to see a friend from law school. It’s even more amazing we could make this work when we haven’t been able to connect in the ten years since school!

Arati’s husband Anu is wonderful, and their 16 month old daugher, Asha, is a delight. I forget how much they have to keep moving at that age. It’s so cute. She is fascinated with the kids’ scooters and takes Lillian’s for a spin. So many people stop and smile at her. We catch up here for a bit and then go to the Film Food Festival near our house for some grub.

The minute I put blankets down ont he grass the kids are all over them. We have a wonderful picnic here, but I think everything is too low and within Asha’s reach for Arati and Anu to enjoy it fully. Again, I already forget this stage. They have to head to their hotel and prepare for their early morning flight tomorrow. 

After they leave, I realize how much I miss social interaction and how bad I’ve gotten at it. I feel like I was a bit zany. I spoke a lot and very quickly. I was left feeling like I didn’t listen well enough and there’s still so much I want to learn about their lives.

I need more social interaction for sure. I may be weird for awhile after this trip.

We remain in the park until dark, and the night’s movie begins. We pick up our dessert and head home this time, though. It’s been a full day, and I’m ready to be home.