Zagreb

Click on any image for a better view.

Zagreb, once the capital of Yugoslavia, is now the capital of Croatia. We weren't sure if it would feel like a stopover on the way to/from Dubrovnik or a destination in itself, but we enjoyed our stay there.

It couldn't compete with Dubrovnik's natural beauty but there was energy and vitality in the air and we enjoyed sightseeing and people-watching. It was clear that the citizens liked their beer, their cigarettes, their books, and American rock music - in no particular order. The city was also very religious - we saw more nuns, and younger nuns, than we'd seen anywhere else except Rome.

The statue of Tomislav, first king of Croatia, dominates the public square across the street from the train station.

The town square was the site of a massive vegetable market when we arrived.

View of the Old City, near the entrance to the world's shortest funicular train (our route back down the hill).

A tower near the center of town.

There were many bookstores. Check the face of the author on the left side of the black book. Yes, it's Donald Trump all right. And we didn't even know he could write in Croatian.

The Strossmayer Promenade, a narrow strip of park where cafes serve wine and beer, while American rock music is played all day and (we suspect) most of the night. Note the speakers hanging up in the trees.

Two versions of Mary Magdalene (for whom our Western Missouri parish is named) from the Mimara Museum, a very good eclectic museum with, as Ron put it, "minor works by major artists and major works by minor artists". The painting at left is by El Greco and the one at right is a Botticelli. The museum has a collection of 3,750 works, mostly collected by one man with wide-ranging interests in art, archaeology, textiles and ancient history.