Klanjec

Our bus took us on a 45 minute drive outside of Zagreb to the village of Klanjec. This is a very hilly area, and quite scenic. The town is tiny, only a couple thousand people, but it has quite a history. Again, countries are small here, so while Klanjec is still in Croatia, it is less than a kilometer from the Slovenian border.

The primary attraction is the Galerija Antuna Augustinčića. Augustinčića was a sculptor of some note who was born in this village in 1900. Although his studio was in Zagreb, and in later life he worked mostly in the U.S. (where he died in 1979), Croatia and the European Union honor him here in his home town.

Perhaps his best known work is a larger-than-life bronze of a woman taming a warhorse and carrying an olive branch above her head. This statue stands on the grounds of the United Nations Headquarters in  New York City.

Many Augustinčića statues were commissioned for placement in the Mirogoj Cemetery we visited yesterday.

Also, a statue of a brooding Marshall Tito was replicated dozens of times and can still be seen in many cities of the former Yugoslavia. Augustinčića fought alongside Tito against the Nazis during WW II, but rejected Tito's communist philosophy after the war -- which is why his later work was in the U.S.

In addition to the Gallery, we also visited a newly-constructed center where a good deal of Augustinčića's work is stored, and where art education programs are conducted. This center is only a short walk from the Gallery.

Another claim to fame for the village of Klanjec is that the composer and poet who wrote the Croatian national anthem was born here. Our tour leader played a recording of the anthem for us from her phone. Croatians are quite proud to point out that the words speak of the beauty of the land, and not about war or conquest.

Klanjec began as a Franciscan monastery founded in the 16th century by monks fleeing the advance of the Ottomans in Bosnia. The monastery became a spot for traders to gather, and later a town grew up around it. Although the monastery looks fairly large, there only two monks remaining there today.

There is a statue in the village square, but also a monument outside of town, near the spot where the poet supposedly wrote the words to the anthem. Slovenians like to point out that the poet may well have been looking at the beauty of their country, rather than that of Croatia, as the spot is right on the river that serves as the border between the two

For whatever reason, a "treetop walk" has been installed at this site also. There are placards along the walkway, briefly describing some of the surrounding flora and fauna.

We were supposed to visit the nearby village of Kumrovec, birthplace of Josip Broz -- commonly known as "Tito." A museum is here, and we were scheduled to see it, but it was closed due to "flooding." This area experienced heavy rains a couple of nights ago, and there were some fields in the area with standing water. But when we drove by the village, nothing appeared to be amiss.

Our route continued near Veliki Tabor Castle, which is one of only a few restored castles in this area. The castle can be seen from a wide area, and carries legends and ghost stories, but it was not part of our tour. We did not stop.

Instead, we went to an out-of-the-way restaurant, Grešna Gorica, which has the look and feel of a tourist trap. However, we were served a traditional Croatian Christmas dinner consisting of beef soup, roasted turkey with noodles, salad, bread, and apple strudel for dessert.

Mounted on the wall of the restaurant were two stuffed kuna -- small animals similar to mink that live in the forests on these mountains. Kuna furs were much sought and became the currency among traders. That's why the Croatian currency today is called the Kuna (currently worth about 14 cents U.S.). Trivia, since the country will shift to the Euro within the year.

We had a scenic drive back to Zagreb. Along the way, we noted that most homes were finished with the typical stucco in pastel colors that is popular across Europe. However, it was quite common here to see homes in which people were living, but were bare brick without the stucco façade. Ida explained that such a home is considered unfinished, this it pays no property tax.

Back in Zagreb, we were once again surrounded by the blue trams that serve as the main mass transit. There are numerous routes, the trams run frequently, and the cost to ride is only 4 Kuna -- about 57 cents U.S. These trams are manufactured here in Zagreb and are one of the country's biggest exports. It's very possible that the Metro Transit Lightrail trains in the Twin Cities were made here.

After returning to the hotel some of us took advantage of the beautiful spring day to walk a few blocks through the city's central green space, where many locals were also enjoying the weather.

We walked to the Hotel Esplanade, a grand old 5-star hotel near the rail station, originally built as a stopover for the Orient Express.

We visited the ballroom, which had been set up for some sort of business meeting, and walked through the restaurant to the terrace, just to take a look.

Not very hungry after the big Christmas lunch, we found a wonderful gelato shop and had ice cream for dinner before returning to the hotel for wine and conversation.