ZagrebMapMay 24–25, 2009 Whoever designed Croatia’s money was an idiot. When the bills are folded in half, which is the most natural state for bills to be in, it’s practically impossible to tell a ten from a hundred.  Trash dumpsters are parked in personal pens here.  Street trash cans all have giant ashtrays.  People put up posters on lampposts using the power of friction.  The traffic lights are pretty boring.  The payphone half-booths are Deutsche Telekom ones.  The fluorescent lamp on a curved arm is rather elegant.  A water conduit and water, water, water.  The plaques with distances to the nearest hydrants are pretty nice.  A fire hydrant? Indeed. An unusual object to see in Eastern Europe.  A special path for mothers and daughters.  Running pedestrians.  The windows here have roller shutters, just like in Budapest and Bratislava.  There are blue trams with one accordion joint.  And blue trams with four accordion joints.  Not enough space for a full car? No problem, we’ll make it a parking spot for a scooter.  The text under the sign says, “You want to take my spot, but you don’t want my disability?”  The post boxes are fairly boring.  The lane direction signs are all ugly because the arrows on them have been hideously stretched out on a computer. It’s one thing when they’re painted like that on the pavement, where everything appears distorted to the driver because of the angle, but doing this on a sign should be a crime.  An electoral campaign ad: “Milan Bandić, Our Mayor!” The would-be mayor is pictured trudging straight through the shit on the ground wearing a suit and patent leather shoes while constituents in coveralls huddle on the sides, afraid of getting dirty. A brilliant creative idea.  The reader might reproach me for not showing anything interesting in my story about Zagreb. Dear reader, let me assure you: there’s nothing more interesting in Zagreb. |
