In New Zagreb, We Slid Out of the Museum and Enjoyed Golden Bear Beer

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Playing bocce in a Zagreb park on a Sunday afternoon.
Playing bocce in a Zagreb park on a Sunday afternoon.

Our destination on this sunny Sunday morning was New Zagreb, a part of the city developed after the war. We pedaled by a statue of a former mayor of the socialist times, walking through a doorway, symbolizing leaving the old to the new area of the city, which as all developed after World War II.

My guide Alida showed me large buildings on either side of the road, one a shopping center, another the city’s museum of contemporary art. We went inside and viewed the art…it was as usual, hard to describe, and hard to define. Some of the artists are famous for posing naked on the streets of Zagreb, another exhibit was two movies, playing on opposite walls, one showing protesters battling with police in Belgrade, another showing performance artists mimicking their actions.

The best part of the museum was how we exited…sliding down a long circular tube, just like in an amusement park or a McDonald’s play area. A perfectly playful way to leave a very entertaining museum of art!

We visited another smaller museum in the city, called the Museum of Broken Relationships. Inside are objects left by people who broke up, and poignant stories of love lost, love ditched, and don’t let the door hit you on the way out good bye to love.

This is the slide that you take to exit the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb.
This is the slide that you take to exit the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb

Croatians love to sit outside—we had a coffee at British Square where on Sundays tables are set up for antique sellers. One of the nice things about Zagreb is hidden oasis you can find just off the busy main streets. One such place we found was the Medvedgrad brewery. They brew a beer called “Golden Bear,” that we enjoyed in their terrace underneath a canopy of leafy trees.

Strukli is one of the Croatian dishes found there…a creamy potato cake with cheese. Another common food here is corn on the cob. But sadly, it’s usually overdone burned on the top and has none of the delicate flavor of US corn on the cob. Somebody should tell them to leave the husk on when they grill it. But they’ve been doing it their way for centuries, so what do I know?

Alida Mezic at the Medvedgrad Brewery, downtown Zagreb.
Alida Mezic at the Medvedgrad Brewery, downtown Zagreb.