Croatia: Part 15 - Day 13: Dovac market, walking tour and Plaza Jarun

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 13

13/8 Day 13: Breakfast at Dovac market. Walking tour from 10-1130am. Went to Plaza Jarun (beach) to take a dip in warm water and we showered off with cold water. 

Cost
(1) Walking tour tips - Shared EUR24

(2) 2 tram tickets EUR0,53 each - EUR1,06

Food
(1) Breakfast at Broom 44 EUR16 - Shaksuka EUR13, cappucino EUR3

(2) Walnuts from the market EUR10 per kilogram - Shared 300g EUR3

(3) Drink pause at Tolkien House Bar - Sour beer 300ml EUR3,50

(4) Lunch at Stari Fijaker EUR20 - Chicken with mushroom sauce (popecci a la Fijaker) EUR16, radler 500ml EUR4

(5) Coffee pause at Vincek cafe - Kremsnite EUR2,70, iced coffee latte EUR2,30

(6) Drink pause at Macao Bar, Plaza Jarun - Hidra 500ml EUR3,50

(7) Dinner at Basta Gourmet EUR16,50 - Chicken salad EUR13, peach tea 250ml EUR3,50

The Story

13082025: Our morning activities started with breakfast at Dovac market. It was a lovely morning walk as it was not scorching hot yet. We passed by a giant tie in town and eventually, I found out that the idea of neckties originated from Croatia. 

Summary of the history. Once upon a time, Croatian soldiers wore scarves knotted in a special way and joined the French army. French became inspired and made a fashion out of it. The word 'cravat' comes from the Croatian word 'Hrvat'.  

Behind the giant tie is the town's funicular which is under renovation so we could not ride on it. Sad. 

Yay, we reached Dovac market. Sellers have set up their stalls. It was empty yesterday evening when we walked through it.

We found a random cafe located in one of the buildings surrounding the market. It was nice to see the market's activities. It got hot quite quickly.

We walked through the market to see what was being sold. Lots of giant watermelons with bees and hornets around. We gathered that the watermelons are really sweet. We bought local walnuts. I hope they are local as I asked the seller and I hope he understood my question... Anyway, cheaper than the ones in Stockholm. The affordable grocery stores in Stockholm (Willy's) sell for SEK174 per kilogram. Here, we saw the price for EUR10 about SEK110 per kilogram. Good price, in my opinion. We bought 300g as 1kg is too much for us. 

After breakfast, we walked to the meeting point for our walking tour. I booked a Zagreb Lifestyle and History guided walking tour that we pay by tipping the guide. We received some good tips on where we could have lunch, drink beer and the food to try. Our lunch spots was based on his recommendation.

We met in front of Zagreb Cathedral which was undergoing renovation. This is the status of Virgin Mary in front of the cathedral. 

We walked through Tkalčićeva Street and got a brief history of the street. The street used to be a flowing creek. Zagreb had many watermills which resulted in the development of the town and eventually led to the covering of the creek which got replaced by gravel.

Prostitution used to be legal in Zagreb and this street had many brothels. This bust is a reminder of that business.

The guide explained to us that the town has shelter for homeless cats. They are located in the middle of the photo. 

A statue of Croatia's first female journalist and also a writer - Marija Jurić Zagorka

Grič Tunnel was built during World War II by the Ustaše government to serve both as a bomb shelter and a promenade, but following the war it quickly fell into disrepair and disuse. The tunnel saw renewed use only in the 1990s, hosting one of the first raves in Croatia, and functioning as a shelter during the Croatian War of Independence. The tunnel spans 350 metres from Mesnička Street to Stjepan Radić Street, and measures 3.2 metres in width. The central hall measures around 100 metres (330 ft) in length and 5.5 metres in width. Source from Wikipedia.

It was cooling inside the tunnel. We walked in here again after the guided tour to cool ourselves down.

Sculpture of Saint George and the dragon. The dragon lies defeated under him. In Stockholm, the sculpture is Saint George slaying the dragon. I think most countries in Europe have a sculpture of Saint George and a dragon as he was a Christian martyr.

We walked through the Stone Gate. There were some seats inside the gate and some worshippers praying. The seats are facing the painting. 

The Stone Gate (Croatian: Kamenita vrata) is a landmark in the Upper Town of Zagreb, Croatia built between 1242 and 1266. Its present-day appearance dates from the 18th century. One of the most popular historic monuments in Zagreb's history, it serves as the shrine of Mother Mary, which painting survived the Great Fire of Zagreb in 1731. Source from Wikipedia.

Passed by St. Mark’s Church famous for its colourful rooftop which is made up of thousands of tiles in various colours creates a stunning mosaic in the form of two coats of arms: one of the City of Zagreb (the one on the right with the castle in a red background) and the other of the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia. Source from Croatia Week.

The Grič Cannon is known for its daily ritual of firing a cannon at noon. Since 1877, the cannon has fired at noon from Lotrščak Tower, a historic fortified tower that was built in the 13th century to protect the southern gate of the Upper town wall. The cannon was first fired to let the bell-ringers of the city’s churches know it was exactly noon. Only a handful of people have held the job of firing the cannon. Just four people done the duty in a 140 year-span. Source from Croatia Week.

It was a VERY loud boom. I was so shocked when I heard it. Everyone cheered after the boom and the person-on-duty waved to everyone.

The statue of Antun Gustav Matos - a Croatian poet, writer and journalist. It is made of aluminium and it is so hot to sit on! Since it is scorching hot.

After the tour, we stopped at Tolkien House where the interior was inspired by Lord of the Rings movie. I had my sour beer. Affordable price compared to Stockholm's average price of SEK129. Converting my Euro price for this sour beer to Swedish crowns is SEK38,50. Wow. 3 times the price. 

For lunch, we went to a place recommended by the tour guide. It was a good meal. I tried to eat as slowly as I can so that we can sit longer to enjoy the air-conditioning but my food was getting cold too. 

After lunch, it is dessert and the hunt for another Kremsnite cake. My travel companions found their purpose in Zagreb - to look for the best Kremsnite cake. This one was not good. Too much whipped cream and was tasteless. The only taste was from the chocolate top layer. 

The iced coffee was nice. Never thought that I woud be drinking iced coffee out of Malaysia. I drink only iced coffee in Malaysia.

We decided to head back to the apartment to rest. We took the tram this time. Tickets were bought from a newspaper kiosk - Tisak. They are almost everywhere. Buying from the kiosk or the app is cheaper than buying from the driver (EUR0,80). We bought the 30-minute ticket because we know our ride takes lesser than that. There are options for 60 minutes and 90 minutes. 

 

After the rest, my travel companions were keen to take a dip in the waters. One of them found a beach. So, we made a bad decision - to WALK under the scorching heat. They said that it is okay as it is 5.30pm. Late evening and the sun is not so bad. Seriously, don't do it. It was 34 degrees. We walked for an hour. I was in the worst mood ever. It was so not worth it to save EUR0,53. I don't even walk outside when it is scorching hot when I am in Malaysia, and I am doing it here. 

I had dried heels after the walk, and a cracked right heel which was painful for two weeks after the trip. I moisturised my heels every night and wore socks to sleep. My cracked heel did heal eventually but heels are still dry. 

We reached the beach, Plaza Jarun and the water in the river is warm. Was not a fun experience. I saw ducks swimming around and I saw duck poo on the sand too. No sight of any fishes. I took a short dip and washed myself off. It was better to wash myself off with the cold water. 

After the dip, we had a drink at the bar on the beach. It was 6.56pm and the sun has finally set. 

For dinner, we went to a restaurant near the area. The waiter asked if I wanted crouton in my salad. I asked him if it costs extra. He said yes and I declined it. His reply - fair enough. I learnt my lesson when waiters ask if we wanted bread and we realised that they are not complimentary when we received the bill. I think it is sneaky. 

We encountered a kind lady who gave us three of her paper tickets to ride the tram back. We were confused on which zone we were in to buy the tickets from the app. There were no Tisak kiosks around. We saw one but it was closed. When we managed to purchase the tickets from the app, she had already validated the tickets for us, by slotting the tickets in a punch machine. So, we could not utilise her tickets. Too bad. But really nice of her.