I have no excuse left, I was just super tired and didn't feel like writing.

The two days we've spent in Zagreb have been blisteringly hot (by my standards anyway). I don't deal with heat well and just don't like to be sweaty and sticky so I've been trying to spend a majority of time in airconditioned places.
AKA museums / galleries / coffee shops.

Day 1

We arrived in Zagreb late on Tuesday evening. After the almost six hour bus ride I was very ready to grab a bite to eat. Seeing as a majority of my friends read my blog you all know that I like to eat healthy a majority of the time. I'm not one for continuously eating fried things or over-indulging in sweets. Unlike my South-East Asia trip where most, if not all of the foods were rice / meat / veggies this trip has been a more diverse mix. Airing on the side of fattier or more filling foods. Relying solely on google maps we found an Asian-fusion restaurant called Umami Zagreb which seemed to be more what I was looking for (I was thinking I'd get something like rice and beef...). Of course the entire menu was in Croatian so I just had the pictures to make my selection.
Basically what I ended up with was a glorified chicken nugget. The food quality itself was good It just wasn't really what I was hoping for.
Regardless we went to bed with the plan of exploring the city the next day.

Zagreb itself is a fairly small city. The AirBnb is an easy ten minute walk outside of the city centre. My first stop was at a Museum unlike any I've ever been to. It's called the Museum of Broken Relationships and this had to be the most cathartic experience I've ever had. It's a museum simply made up of sentimental objects left over by peoples relationships. They have the object (if not a picture of the object) and a short description written by the person who donated it in order to give context. It touched me so deeply I think because it's something so simple and yet so human. We all collect things from previous romantic encounters. A hat, a ring, a shirt, a book etc... Throughout a relationship we give meaning to inanimate objects. We instil emotion into them and if/when the relationship ends they hang about, like ghosts. It was such a cool idea to see these objects on display. It gave a rather indescribable sense of catharsis, witnessing the objects of love and loss. I'm going to try and do my damnedest do get a touring collection to come to Vancouver because this was simple incredible. One of the suggestions I could make is to have a specific section of the gallery dedicated to LGBTQ+ people. Regardless, simply supurb.

After the Museum of Broken Relationships I was very much in need of a coffee so we went off in search of a cafe. After taking a lunch break I really wanted to checkout another unconventional gallery, The Museum of Illusions. What Illusions have to do with Croatian culture I'm not sure but it seemed interesting so we went and had a look. Firstly, although it doesn't say they do in fact have a student discount (with a valid student card) which knocks 2$ off of the price. In retrospect this is a bit of a tourist trap. It's not very big and probably is in need of a little refurbishment. However the illusions that are there are still interesting, if a bit simplistic. We had some fun and it's a cool way to burn an hour but I can think of a better way to burn 6$. By this point the sun was high in the sky, it was roasting outside and I was getting very sleepy. Deciding a siesta was in order I made my way back to the AirBnb to nap-off the hottest part of the day.

I made a choice for dinner and had a salad, not wanting anything to heavy after my fried chicken strip from the night before. Having spent a majority of the day walking around we headed back to the AirBnb and promptly passed out.

Day 2

Yesterday basically involved a lot of walking.
Zagreb has several parks along with a rather well kept botanical garden. The temperature was around 30 again with the sun fully out so after lathering ourselves in sunscreen we went to explore. The garden's are stunning and I really wish my Mom was able to see them in person because she would absolutely love them. The Botanical Garden is somewhat sectioned off into different plants from around the world and the flowers are laid out by colour. There are enough tree's and cover for you to walk around and avoid overheating from direct contact with the sun. It's warm in the shade without being uncomfortable. I'm not sure if there's too much more to say about it, I think it's something you have to come and experience for yourself.

After that I relaxed for most of the day. Jack went off to explore a cemetery but I hadn't had anything for lunch so I stayed in town. Afterward I went home to have another siesta and wait for the sun to set (don't judge me I don't handle heat well. Why do you think I picked CARDIFF to go on an exchange too.).

We're just about to get on another bus to go to Slovenia.

See you on the other side.

G-

Zagreb, The City of Many Museums - Day 1 and 2