Zagreb

A 5 hour bus journey brought me from Budapest to Zagreb. A quick walk around find the funicular railway, This 'connects' the old town to the new. An entirely pointless contraption which takes 55seconds to go the 66metres distance. You are quicker just walking up the stairs than waiting for it, but worth it for the ride once.

Loads of small museums are dotted around Zagreb. One building catches the eye with a neatly tiled roof depicting the Croation flag. I popped into the Naive Art museum which houses art from artists with no formal training. So perhaps farmers who painted in their spare time, most of was actually very good. Back near the main square, a market is just closing with all the traders packing up, escaping the afternoon heat.

I headed to have a look at the impressive Zagreb Cathedral, apparently still the tallest building in Croatia. An unusual way of getting around is to go through the Gric Tunnel which go mainly East to West underneath the shops and houses for 350m.

Another day I decided to head out to the Zoo. Jumped on a tram and 30 minutes later was in a large, leafy park opposite the Dinamo Zagreb stadium. A ticket is 30 kuna and a decent way to spend a few hours, maybe not the best zoo in the world, but probably decent for the region. 3 big lions lay sleeping in a cave, with just a glass panel in between (thankfully!). Elsewhere a shaven llama looked ridiculous.

Some other museum and galleries were in the city centre so I went in for nosy. One had an exhibition on furniture which wasn't too riveting. Another grand gallery was almost empty. Lots of really old paintings, some from the 12th century, very much focused on religious iconography but over time subject digressed. As there was nobody else there I had to wave around to get the lights to go on in each room!