Getting to Hum was interesting. We trusted the GPS to get us there, and get us there it did. It first put us on a freeway for about an hour or so, after which it led us to a two-lane highway. Not content with that, it soon had us driving through twisty one-lane roads up the mountainside, and then took us through back roads that we were convinced were a dead end. Suddenly, out of nowhere, we were back in a two-lane road and a little bit uphill we found Hum, paid the entrance fee and parked the car.
Before going into the walled town proper, we decided to explore the church and the cemetery outside the town, only to find the church locked. No problem, the parking lot attendant told us, just get the church keys from the nice folk at the restaurant and explore it to your heart's content. So we got the key, walked through a cemetery whose graves seemed to belong to one of three families, unlocked the door and got a good look at a small church with some frescoes that could use some restoring, but were interesting to look at anyway.
After the church we went back to the restaurant to return the key and took the opportunity to have some espresso and enjoy a local delicacy, cheese with truffles. Together with some bread they made up a light, tasty lunch break for us.
Then we were off to explore the town. Not much to report there, other than it was picturesque, with uneven cobbled streets and old, old buildings where people still lived. At the entrance to the town they had some carvings with Glagolitic writing, invented by some monks in the 11th century and used in Croatia until the beginning of the 20th century.We ended the tour of the town at the souvenir shop, where a very nice saleslady let us taste different flavored olive oils and informed me that Brazilian television had been there the year before to do a special on Hum and that they had actually interviewed her. Erich and Ingrid bought some olive oil, I bought a couple of necklaces with Glagolitic letters for the girls and off we went to Zagreb.
We arrived in Zagreb on a mid-Sunday afternoon, planning on spending that afternoon visiting a couple of museums and exploring the old town. Much to our surprise, we found out that in Zagreb museums are closed on Sunday afternoon and Monday. We were nothing but flexible, immediately gave up on our museum plans and decided instead to explore the town. By now you should know that this means we opened Rick Steve's guide, found the page for the Zagreb walking tour, and off we went in search of the first landmark.
We started at Jelacic Square in the "lower town" which, were told, was once farms. Hard to believe, since what we saw looked as modern as a modern city can look: neon lights everywhere, cars going in every direction, outside cafes, trams and buses going in every direction and people everywhere. I read somewhere that 1/6 of Croatians live in Zagreb and it seemed they were all at Jelacic Square. So we did what every world-wise jet setter should do in these conditions: found a cafe, ordered something to drink and settled down for an hour or so of people watching.
Where there is a lower town there has to be an upper town, and Zagreb actually has two: Gradek and Kaptol. Luckily, it also has a funicular, so getting up was relatively easy. Getting out of the funicular I congratulated myself on expertly avoiding any climbing, just to find myself facing the Burglar Tower, one of the town's original watchtowers. Alex's Travel Laws were still in effect so Erich and I paid the entrance fee and climbed the steps to the top where we found a spectacular view and a very nervous Alex, since the viewing platform was narrow and the railing seemed flimsy. I took lots of pictures, so that I could actually enjoy the view safely once I was back down.
After the tower we started exploring the old town. Wandering always downhill we saw St. Catherine's church, the Croatian Parliament, St. Mark's church, Croatia's oldest pharmacy and the Stone Gate. This is the only surviving town gate, turned into a chapel and apparently the place were Croatians go to ask God for favors, given the number of people I saw praying there. It must work too, since one of the walls was covered in engraved plaques thanking God for blessings received.
Turns out there actually was an open museum, the Museum of Broken Relationships. With a name like that, how could I not visit it? Their premise is simple: people from all over the world send them items associated with a failed relationship, along with a letter talking about it. The museum displays them in rooms associated with different themes: one room for wedding paraphernalia, one room dedicated to sex toys and stories about how unreasonable sexual requests caused the end of the relationship, one room with broken things and how they were flung against the wall in rage at the end of the relationship. All in all a surprisingly interesting collection and a good way to while away a couple of hours.
We ended the walk at the cathedral, a towering, impressive church with spires that seemed to reach all the way to heaven. The bells were tolling, though, and people were coming to mass, so we only had a quick look inside. As the locals settled down for the service, we settled down at a bar on Tkalciceva, enjoying drinks and the dusk. We ended the night with a nice dinner, made hotel reservations for our next destination and settled in for a good night's sleep.
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