Like the rest of Europe, Croatia has been dealing with the pandemic, with restaurants and bars shut. Coffee to go was not quite the same as relaxing on a cafe terrace with a morning espresso. And then, on March 1, with much of Europe still more rigorously locked down, the cafe and restaurant terraces of Zagreb opened for business.
If Spring is the season of awakening and blossoming, then the opening of the cafes had the exact same effect on the social life of locals and tourists alike.
By chance, I had a teambuilding day with the TCN crew in Zagreb, five of us in total. I suggested that we grab a coffee in the nearby cafe before we got to work. The coffee (ok, perhaps something a little stronger) turned into a second. And then a third. People were SO happy to be finally allowed to meet in a civilised manner.
(Photo Roza Zanini Mozara)
Similarly with the restaurants. After months of seeing te yellow and blue cyclists of Wolt and Glovo dominating the streets of Zagreb, restaurant terraces were open for business.
(Photo Roza Zanini Mozara)
And what a joy to wander through Tkalca street the other evening, with restaurant terraces doing brisk trade. It felt like a life I used to know.
But that is not to say that all this has been done without paying attention to the epidemiological conditions. Cafes and restaurants remain closed indoors for now, but with weather like this, who wants to be inside anyway?
Masks are mandatory on public transport and indoors. Whereas there was perhaps a more relaxed attitude to this last year, things are now much more strictly enforced. Mask-wearing has become second nature to almost all, but the freedom of walking maskless around a city in bloom is wonderful indeed after such a difficult winter.
And there is plenty to do. Planning tourism activities with the uncertainty of the pandemic is certainly a challenge, but one that the Zagreb Tourist Board is rising to.
Zagreb’s emerging reputation as an alternative and funky art destination has another string in its bow this month, with the launch of a new and unique exhibition called Street Triptych.
Organized by the art collective of the association Preuredi moju pumpu (Pimp My Pump), which also hosts the Art park event, and the Zagreb Tourist Board, a new project called Street Triptych, which will enrich the streets of Zagreb with small street art masterpieces in 2021, starts this weekend.
It is a unique all-year program of street exhibitions, offering a cross-section of the current local street art scene. Throughout the year, advertising billboards will be a “living” painting canvas and the street will become a temporary art studio, while selected artists will have the opportunity to exhibit their works through a unique form of “exhibition in transition”. The content of Street Triptych will change in cycles – every three months three new works of art will appear on the billboards signed by various Croatian authors. Moreover, as an added element of surprise, one of the three locations will be different each time.
(Photo Roza Zanini Mozara)
Zagreb Tourist Board CEO Martina Bienenfeld explained more:
“With the idea of taking our minds off the uncertain reality, the earthquakes and all their visible consequences, and the desire to revive the city center with the help of brush and spray, we hope that the new exhibition concept will adorn the streets of Zagreb and brighten the everyday life of its people,” said the organizers.
“With our new project called Street Triptych we want to show that brushes and spray do not always mean vandalism, but that they can also be used to create real visual art in public spaces. We have connected with the most prominent representatives of the local street art scene and every three months new artists will leave their original mark by expressing themselves through different styles and forms. In this way, Street Triptych creates a year-round attraction at certain locations in our city, of which our Visitor Center is always the central location, and conveys positive messages by decorating urban areas in a modern way.”
Another fun project which has also just launched is called Little Zagreb, a great way to explore Zagreb in the Great Outdoors.
The concept of Little Zagreb is to reflect on the living space of the huge planet we inhabit, and to bring that space into more manageable proportions.
Little Zagreb is a series of miniature installations placed in the busy and interesting streets of the city of Zagreb. These tiny compositions resemble the facades of Zagreb´s residential buildings and the windows of the once typical Zagreb businesses and craft shops. You can learn more about Little Zagreb here.
With the emphasis on tourism moving more to outdoor activities, Zagreb and surrounding areas are working hard to provide a comprehensive and diverse offer for its guests. The joint project, Around Zagreb, between the Zagreb County and City tourist boards remains my favourite official tourism initiative of 2020.
Spring in the capital of Croatia is truly Zagreb, Full of Life. See you there!
