Christmas 2021 – Coincidentally, I was in Zagreb in pursuit of warmer holidays, by being away from the frozen city of Tartu. While Dubrovnik was the intended destination, Zagreb was a case of circumstantial necessity which turned out pleasantly nice; made more special by the lovely accommodation package and the topnotch service we scored and the fact that I oddly met some Filipinos in this foreign land which doesn’t normally happen quite often. Aside from visiting the usual tourist suspects in the Lower and Upper Town (Ban Jelacic Square, Maksimir, among others), the highlights of this trip were the long walks and the slightly heavy drinking that came with it. On colder days like these, alcoholic road sessions characterized by lots of mulled wines and a handful of gin tonics were arguably among the better things to do in Zagreb, if not the best.

On Christmas Eve, the unexpected absence of a firework display at 12mn sadly happened (after waiting in one of the view decks for a good vantage point), but this silent welcoming of Jesus’ date of birth was quite understandable. The shocking part, however, was the huge number of Broken glasses scattered on the streets during and in the aftermath of the night celebration. The massive breaking of such helpless, fragile things was a picture of disaster. Though, it might be a symbol of the happy moments and good fortunes in Croatian culture. Or perhaps, those were just among the things meant to be broken, with no further meaning whatsoever. 

Meanwhile, Zagreb is also home to the daring Museum of Broken Relationships and the famed Museum of Hangovers. So, go figure!