Croatia 9 - Zagreb 3

Day 9 was our last full-day of the trip, which means it was a shopping day! First we visited a bakery called Korica, located just a block away from our Airbnb. Various kinds of bread and pastries as well as loaf cakes were already ready to be picked up at 7am. There were several containers on the floor, filled with baguettes and other breads. I guess they were reserved for wholesale. 

I chose banana bread. It was good but not special. J had a savory quiche. He also got lemon poppy seed cake and shared with me. It was nice. I saw some babkas in the showcase. We haven't had babka for a while. I had thought that I would suggest we buy one before leaving the city the next day and I forgot to do so.

It was still too early to do shopping. We just walked around the city. We explored the city all the day before but somehow we had missed this pop art on the street as well as the statue of Nikola Tesla, in the busy commercial area of the Lower Town, close to the Upper Town. I didn't know Tesla was from Croatia. More precisely, he was born in Smiljan, a village in rural Croatia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

Tesla's beloved childhood companion was a black cat named Macak. Probably he wouldn't mind staring at the colorful cats 24/7. 

We also didn't see the Oktogon the day before either. It's a passageway within the building of the First Croatian Savings-Bank, connecting Petar Preradović Square and Ilica Street, known for the octagonal, glass-roofed atrium at its center.

One of interesting findings from the trip was that Croatia invented the necktie. In the 17th century, Croatian soldiers wore scarves to protect and distinguish themselves on the battlefield, often tied with a distinctive knot. Adopted by French soldiers and King Louis XIV, the Croatian necktie, or "cravat" became a fashionable accessory in Paris, and then the trend rapidly spread to other countries. 

The Zagreb Funicular was over there, known as the world's shortest funicular, spanning only 66 meters in about 55-65 seconds. It would be fun to ride but it was closed for major renovations at that time. The Lotrščak Tower was just above the upper station of the funicular. We were looking forward to watching "a cannon of the day" there later.

Some stores were beginning to open their doors for the day. We stopped by a local butcher and picked up a dried sausage. We also found a small local grocery store. They had lots of local or Croatian products. We picked up pumpkin jam and sweet potato jam as well as four kinds of cured meat.

I was excited when I found traditional Croatian rolled Christmas cakes, Orahnjača (walnut roll) and Makovnjača (poppy seed roll) at the grocery store. Surprisingly there was a mix version of both, plus added cherry jam in the middle! Those were made by a local bakery in the city in the very morning. We bought one of the walnut-poppy seed-cherry roll. We tasted it once we got back home. The cake was very delicate and delicious.

Then we visited Gligora Cheese & Deli, one of the stores of the Gligora Dairy, a Croatian cheese maker on the island of Pag. Based on recommendations by a lady working there, we bought two kinds of Croatian cheese, Žigljen (a mixed cheese from cow and sheep milk from the region of Zadar) and Pag (the most famous Croatian cheese produced from 100% milk coming from Pag sheep from the island of Pag). We enjoyed the cheese as part of our holiday season feasts.

Next stop was a wine store. J selected two kinds of Croatian red. Both were delightful, especially Kiridžija Dingač 2022 was J's favorite.

Once we had wrapped up our shopping, we set out to explore the Lower Town again.

Then we moved to the Upper Town. We walked through the Grič Tunnel, a 350-meter-long pedestrian passageway, connecting Mesnička and Radićeva streets. It was originally built during WWII as a bomb shelter and it's been open to the public since 2016. 

It was very dark and kinda creepy. I wasn't comfortable being there, but I felt better when I listened to the musical bells, which were installed at the central hall in the middle to the passageway, playing Christmas tunes. 

It was getting close to noon. We hurried to the bottom of the Lotrščak Tower.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The cannon sounds shocked me as much as the first time. I don't think I would get used to it. Anyway, it was fun to watch, even for the second time.

For lunch, we visited La Štruk, a restaurant specialized in štrukli. Štrukli is a traditional Croatian dish, specific to the Zagreb and Zagorje regions. It basically consists of thin dough filled with cottage cheese, sour cream, and eggs, which can be either baked or boiled. Once considered a humble peasant dish, štrukli highlights the creativity of rural households, relying on basic homegrown staples like flour, eggs, and cottage cheese. For many Croatians, particularly those from the Zagorje region, štrukli are a nostalgic comfort food linked to family gatherings and the winter season, recognized as a protected intangible cultural heritage by the Croatian Ministry of Culture since 2007. How could we leave Zagreb without tasting štrukli?

 

La Štruk's offers savory (salty cheese base) and sweet (sweet cheese base) options with different flavors and toppings. I ordered sweet štrukli with walnut and honey while J did savory one with roasted pepper. Mine was served piping hot! The thin dough was almost melting in the creamy cheese sauce. It was certainly simple and comfy. The portion was generous. I was very much stuffed. 

We wandered around the Upper Town and then the Lower Town. We happened to find another Christmas food market in the Josip Juraj Strossmeyer Park although we didn't get anything since we were still full with the lunch. The city of Zagreb was filled with Christmas food stalls. 

Eventually we made a space for a dessert in our tummies and walk to Amélie, a cake shop located in the Upper Town, near the Cathedral. Their cafe space was small but we managed to get a table. 

My cake was Međimurska Gibanica, a traditional pastry with four layers (walnuts, cottage cheese, poppy seeds and apples) originating from the Međimurje region of northern Croatia. It was nice, not so sweet but rich and dense. The cake reminded me of Flódni, a traditional Hungarian Jewish, consisting of four filling layers: poppy seeds, walnut, apple and plum jam, separated with five layers of thin pastry. They may be related to each other. J chose pumpkin cake and gave me some. It tasted like pumpkin bread topped with chai flavored cream cheese frosting. It was pretty good! After the tea time, we headed to our Airbnb in the Lower Town. We did a lot of walking, as usual.

To be continued...