Yellow facade made me smile

This past few sunny days made it possible to make some great photos. The weather is beautiful - sunny and warm with just a hint of smell of autumn. I took this photo near the Zagreb main square after being immediately attracted to the awesome yellow facade. Just look at this details!

Old catalogue cabinets

Few days ago I had some business to do in the Croatian State Archive so had a chance to look around. I really love the interior of this building that's used to be National and university library. The whole interior was designed in Secession style and the furniture was designed and made exclusively for the purpose of the library. Here you can see the catalogue cabinets made of the finest wood. I just love this old design!

I wish you all a nice and sunny weekend!

Beautiful Kallina House

It's finally restored! One of the most beautiful examples (and one of the most important in this part of Europe) of Secession architecture - Kuća Kallina (Kallina House). It was built between 1903. and 1904. by the famous Zagreb architect Vjekosav Bastl. It is well know for the beautiful decorations and the fact it is all covered up in ceramic tiles painted in lively colours with motifs of flowers and bats. And this photo really doesn't do the justice to it! If you're in Zagreb you'll find it on the corner of Masarykova and Gundulićeva street.

Tower Cibona

Finally we got some sun yesterday! It was perfect weather for walking and taking photos. Sadly, I had not time for that but got a chance to take this photo of tower Cibona. Cibona is one of the most recognizable motifs of Zagreb. It was built between 1985 and 1987 and was quite modern at the time. The tower is part of the so called Cibona complex that is composed of this tower, sports hall and some side business premises and square. The square and the hall both carry the name of the world famous basketball player Dražen Petrović!

Another one on Zagreb Stock Exchange

One of my first motifs for the blog was this building of the Zagreb Stock Exchange. It's not a particularly interesting building in an architectural sense, but it does have a rather unusual entrance. However, I'm bringing it this time in a completely different perspective. It's glass skin is reflecting the unending grayness of the sky. 

I must say there is one thing I really like about this city - it has a lots of trees and green areas. But sadly, I can't say there is much appreciation for it on the behalf of our city government.

Ginkgo tree

It's cold and rainy again. I just can't stand all the grayness! I'll go mad until the end of winter. :D

This is one lazy photo of a typical park in a residential area of Zagreb. But there is one special detail about it - in this park there are no two of a kind trees planted. So, it looks very colorful and fun. And it is great for teaching children the sorts of trees. This closes is the ginkgo - it is very tall and had the most interesting leaves!

Zagreb film festival 2010

This last week was the Zagreb film festival going on in town. On several locations people could see wonderful movies mainly of the European production. I had a chance to go and see something on Sunday which was the last day of the festival (technically the last day was on Saturday but there was some screenings on Sunday as well!). I really had a good time and was sad I couldn't see some more! Next time maybe,...

Kosta and his quince

This sculpture I found at the corner of Jurišićeva and Kurelčeva street not far away from Zagreb main square. As much as  know it was made by one Croatian artist called Kosta Angeli Radovani who lived through the 20. century and died in 2002. His main theme was woman body and nudes. He often compared a woman body with a certain fruits - considering the form and shape of course.

For that reason he called all his sculptures Dunja (eng. quince) - as it was the fruit and a very common female name.

Foggy morning

This last days are starting with a tick fog every morning in Zagreb. This one I took on my way to work - everything was gray and looked sleepy. But the day turned out to be sunny around noon and that was nice to see.

I wish you all a nice weekend!

At the ''old'' pub

I can't resist the warm atmosphere of the ''old'' pub in autumn or winter cold days. It just goes on well together! I had a nice time at Oliver Twist Pub at Tkalčićeva street (a very popular street with many café bars). The interior decoration is lovely and warm, making me feel cozy and in a good mood. It is one of the rare places in Zagreb where you can still find a nice non smoking room. I know that many of you can't imagine pub without smoke, but I find the cigarette smoke very hard to stand. I strongly recommend this place for upcoming winter days!

Echo Pavilion

After few days of rainy and cold weather it is sunny again in Zagreb. So, it is a perfect opportunity to show you another photo of beautiful Park Maksimir. I love every part of it! It is so incredibly relaxing and peaceful! Unfortunately, I live on the other side of town so I am not a frequent visitor. This is the Echo Pavilion, a very common garden facility in early Romanticism gardens. The constructor was Franza Schücht who made the design and built it in 1840. Today it is a beautiful memory of past times!

Desperate face

I really like photographing details that many people probably don't even notice. This one I took at the entrance to the passage Oktogon from the Ilica street. This sculpture is probably a 19. century version of the famous sculptures of titans from Greek mythology. On the other side of this entrance stands another similar sculpture. They both are holding on it's backs a shallow balcony with the sign and name of one bank and look quite desperate and miserable. I must say that this is a quite an interesting detail - it can also be interpreted as faces of all the poor people that made this bank rich. Don't you think?

Electro duo

I found this funny electro duo playing some weird music last Saturday at the Flower square. Saturday morning in the city is usually full of people, walking or having a coffee with friends. For that reason it is usually full of events and street performances. I'm really not sure who these artist are, I must say I never seen them before.

If anyone knows who they are, please let me know.

Chapel of the Crucified Christ

This Chapel of the Crucified Christ is a part of the Saint Francis of Assisi Church at the Zagreb Kaptol. The church is placed not far away from Zagreb Cathedral and was renovated after the big Zagreb earthquake in 1880. -  and this chapel also dates from that time. It was meant to be an open public chapel but due to the devastation this big fence was put in front to protect it. The Franciscans Order has a strong tradition in Croatia and was and still are one of the most loved monastic order in Zagreb.

Amélie - just like the movie

I finally find a time to visit this little cute cake store (pâtisserie) called Amélie. Everything about it is so French (or at least follows the habitual perception of what is French :-)). It is all decorated in shabby chic manner and with a compilation of the beautiful French songs that are making the certain atmosphere and the mood. But even more importantly it has great cakes! I tried the blueberry-cheese one and the chestnut one - they are divine!

And yes, you can find it at the Vlaška 6, just few meters from the Main square. More photos at this address!

Welcome to the Vampire Ball

During this past few days, while I was having internet connection problems, lots of new stuff happened in Zagreb. I took this photo yesterday afternoon at the Cvjetni trg (eng. Flower square). It was some closed-for-public (open-for-VIP-guests) event that's promoting a new ''lifestyle'' center aka. shopping center at the Flower square in the Zagreb center. It is a highly controversial project that's still provoking protests and law suits against the investor and the city government that let this project pass (remember this three posts: 1, 2 and 3?). This vampires are the protesters that stood yesterday at the entrance to the new shopping center with the sign that says: ''Welcome to the Vampire Ball''.

After this last problem with my internet connection it made me think about changing the conception of this blog a bit. I still like the idea of a ''daily photo'' blog but I am thinking about making some changes, adding new content and making it more personal and friendly. You will find out everything soon!

Colorful sign

Dear readers, I have a quick post for you today. This is the sign of the Zagreb City Museum. I found it quite colorful and beautiful in an old-fashioned way.

I'm sorry for the late post, but I’m having some troubles with my internet connection. I hope to sort it out as soon as possible.
I wish you all a nice weekend!

Mask fountain

I just love all the things that have to do with water - especially when water is made a part of a certain architecture, sculpture... when it is part of the public spaces. So, as you can guess, I love fountains! This one is a part of the Virgin Mary sculpture that is placed in front of the Zagreb Cathedral (you can partly see the sculpture in this post!). The column, sculpture of Virgin Mary and the angels were made by Anton Dominik Fernkorn in 1865. and the fountain was made by Herman Bollé between 1880.-1882.

Green Zagreb

Although it looks like a park, it is not a park - if you look a bit closer you will see the stairs and the green railing. It connects the Ilica street and the Upper town just behind the Jägerhorn passage - I've already told you about it before. I love how Zagreb has all this hidden places and passages that can lead you from the busy, noisy city center to the peaceful and relaxing places. To me, Jägerhorn (or Lovački rog) is one such magical passage.

Passing through Harmica

I have one simple photo for you today. I took it while passing through Harmica few days ago - maybe you remember Harmica from my earlier post. It connects Zagreb main square (just behind the ban Jelačić) and the famous Zagreb open market Dolac (see also this two posts: 1 and 2). This passage is very dear to people of Zagreb!

Students graffiti

New academic year has already started in Croatia. Many students have started attending new lectures recently. The city is full of young people, many of them from other parts of Croatia that came here to the University. And as always, students bring a certain spirit in the air that calls for rebellion. I took this photo at the entering fence column of the main building of the University of Zagreb. Those graffiti were most surly made by some students - first one represents the fight for free education and the other one is a protest against the control in the society.

Morning coffee and papers

I went for a walk with my mother this morning - at first it was foggy and quite cold - but it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. We had our tea and coffee outside the Kaptol Centar shopping center not far form Zagreb main square. To me, Sunday morning is hard to imagine without morning coffee and daily newspaper!

Independence Day, the count and a tie

Yesterdays date - 9th of September - is the day we celebrate the Croatian Independence Day. As it is a public holiday, so lots of people did not work and had a chance to use it for a long weekend. So, much less people spend it in Zagreb and it was delight to take a walk through the city center (and the weather was also very nice!). I took this photo on the Zagreb main square where I saw two of this guards around the ban Jelačić sculpture. They were wearing very interesting historic clothes - pay a special attention on the red scarf around the neck - it is a precursor of the modern tie. And if you didn't know - Croats invented the tie as it is known to us today! More about it you can read here.

Spring motif in autumn

This is a kind of sight you would probably expect in spring time - so I can't describe the thrill and joy I felt when spotting this beauty yesterday during my walk. I took this shot in front of the Croatian national theater - on the square that many ''Zagrebers'' consider the most beautiful square in Zagreb.  I know it is going to be a boring motif for some of you, but it really made my day. People should just enjoy little things every day and they would feel much better!

Autumn in Zagreb

So, this is autumn in Zagreb! Yesterdays photo was totally inappropriate, so I forced myself to take new ones. The sight of these orange leaves was beautiful, but it is a shame that my camera wasn't able to catch the brightness of colors. For me, autumn always represents the start of a new ''year'' - i.e. working year. I'm usually so busy I have no chance to enjoy the positive aspects of it - the nature turning yellow, orange, red and brown... the warm sunny days that smell like autumn, hot maroons and much more...
I hope you are enjoying for me!

Summer... where did you go?

I admit it, this photo is not recently taken. I took this shot sometime at the end of August while it was still sunny and warm. September turned out much colder and more rainy than I excepted it to be. Sadly, I think that the whole autumn is going to be like that. For me, that means a lot of problem with finding good shots and inspiration at all. However I do promise to make even more effort for that reason! But don't take this amiss - I still wanted to show you this photo of a nice facade with flowers. At the house entrance you can see the street lamp I wrote you about in my last post.

Petroleum lamp

This is a typical street lamp, one of many on the Zagreb Upper town. It dates from the 19. century and today all of them still work on petroleum. There is even a certain gentleman that has a job to light all the lamps on the Upper town. It is definitely one of the most romantic jobs I've ever seen. With the light from this old street lamps everything looks like in the old days.

Blue decoration

While I was at the exhibition in the Zagreb City Museum the other day I also took this photo of a part of the museums side facade. As the building of this museum used to be a convent it still has preserved this beautiful decoration from old days. I'm not sure if this kind of decoration was a fashion of that time or was the lack of money that forced the builders to imitate the three dimensional decoration with blue paint - but this sure is an interesting detail.

Flower on the wall

Today something completely different! I present you little things we usually pass by but are charming and special. I found this flower attached to a very old house with a facade in a very bad shape. It used to be a very fancy Upper town house. I really could not guess what was the idea behind this - placing an odd decoration on an old house - but it really made my day!

Corner trio

Recently I've been posting quite a lot of photos taken in this one street - Radićeva street. Maybe it is not fair, but this street that's situated in the very Zagreb center and is connecting Zagreb main square with the Upper town has really colorful history and is visually very attractive. So, after presenting this excuse, I give you this nice and sunny shot of a very beautiful house and it's front. This corner ''trio'' - column, sculpture and the marble sign - are just lovely and special. 

I wish you all a nice weekend!

October Theme Day: Museum graffiti

I took this shot of the ''graffiti'' in the Zagreb City Museum on an exhibition about Zagreb quarter called Trnsko. This was the last part of the very interesting exhibition where visitors had a chance to express themselves. I like this ''controlled'' graffiti and doodles! ;)

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants