Coffee & Beer

Scenes of people having a cup of coffee or a mug of beer is common sight in Europe sidewalk cafes.

Prague.

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At the spacious Graben pedestrian boulevard in Vienna near St. Stephens Cathedral, we stopped at Espresso Segafredo to savour the Saccher-Torte and Apple Strudel.

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Pivnice Stupartska - a traditional Czech pub serving Gambrinus beer. Gambinus is one of the most popular beers in Czeh Republic. Brewery was set up in 1869.

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 Zagreb.

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At the huge square in front of the Great Market Hall in Budapest, a cup of coffee or a glass of beer in one of the sidewalk cafes is perfect to watch people. And if you are lucky like in our case, we were entertained by the non-stop performance of a street musician.

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At a cafe overlooking Dolac Market, Zagreb.

Zagreb - A Strong Christian Heritage

Croatia, though a small country has made a name for herself particularly in the sports arena. With a population of just about 4.2 million, it managed to secure a place in the recently concluded World Cup 2018 Final. In Tennis, Marin Cilic, a Croatian has consistently made it to the world top 10. Croatia won the Davis Cup in 2005 and again in 2018.

With the growing prominence of Croatia in sports, anything with an appearance of checkerboard of red and white is quickly being recognized as Croatian.

Croatians are predominantly Christians at 91%. Among them, 86% are Catholics and just under 5% Orthodox Christians. But Protestant Christians are slowing growing - likely brought in by non-Croatians. We saw a vibrant group of Baptists worshiping in an open hall converted from shoplot. This is typically different from their Catholic brethren who worship in huge old cathedrals and church buildings. 

There are many Catholic churches around the vicinity of the Upper town and Lower town of Zagreb all within walking distance from each other.

St. Catherine Catholic Church of Baroque architecture
 was completed in 1632.

Greek Catholic Co-cathedral of  Saints Cyril and Methodius built in 1681

Zagreb Cathedral in Kaptol, is recognized as the most monumental sacred building in Gothic design in this part of the world. Since we spent the whole day of 16 September in Zagreb, we managed to see some of the magnificent buildings under bright sunlight as well as in twilight in the evening.

As we moved from the Upper town to the Lower town, we bumped into the Cravat Regiment which had just completed their routine changing of guard at St. Mark Square. The uniforms they wear are replicas of those worn by the military forces called the Croats which fought during the "Thirty Years" War.

Dolac market in the heart of Zagreb is the city's main flea or open-air farmers' market. Unlike our local tamu, the rows and rows of vendors in Dolac market are instead neatly arranged and covered with the same pink-white standard size beach-umbrella canopies. This is a one-stop centre where almost all local stuff both edible and non-edible are marketed. Compared to their other European counterparts, things here are generally cheaper because Croatians have their own currency, the Croatian Kuna,

Whenever you are thirsty or hungry, there are plenty of eateries, cafe and restaurants around the market to choose from. 

Catching Witches in Zagreb's Upper Town

Stories of witches riding and flying on brooms seem too far-fetched to be believed. The racing brooms in Harry Portter's "The Chambers of Secrets" further reinforced that this is something that happens in fairy tales. But when the tourist guide in Zagreb pointed out a mace on top of an old building and elaborated its significance, I realized that people at one time did believe that witches flew on brooms.

Zagreb has a history of supposed witchery. Many women had been accused of practising witchery and tortured for being witches. According to legend, mace was installed at the highest point of the roof to catch witches. When witches fly on brooms over buildings, their dresses or capes would catch on the spikes of the mace!

Look closely at the spikes on the mace - meant 

to catch witches flying on brooms!

This building is reckoned to be the oldest in the old town called Gradec which is part of the Upper town of the city of Zagreb. Earlier, we took the Zagreb funicular from the Lower town to reach the Upper town. This cable car built in 1890 is acknowledged to be the shortest cable car in the world. The Lotrscak Tower greeted us immediately upon our disembarkation from the train. This Tower built in the 13th century used to guard the southern gate of Gradec wall. Since 1 January 1877, a cannon placed at the fourth floor was fired daily at 12.00 midday to give sign of the exact noon. The guide told us about an incident when a lady tourist who was not warned before hand about this had a shock of her life when the cannon was fired!

Toward the Funicular Station at Lower Town.

Zagreb Funicular.

Lower town viewed from Upper town.

Lotrscak Tower.

St. Mark Square - the centre of power houses the Parliament, the Prime Minister Office and St. Mark Church in a U-shaped formation.

St. Mark Church.

Prime Minister Office.

Parliament