This part of the world has never heard of the Americans with Disabilities Act, nor does it have a local equivalent. There are stairs everywhere and you'd better be prepared to climb 'em. The sidewalks, where they exist, tend to have the wheelchair ramps at corners but the tourist attractions are not for the mobility-impaired, or whatever we now call the halt and the lame.
Today we took an excursion up toward the borders with Hungary and Slovenia to the town of Varazdin, known for its old world charm and actually a former capital of Croatia until it suffered a big wildfire, after which it was rebuilt in mostly baroque style while the capital was moved to Zagreb. The DrsC felt the town could be mistaken for a German or Austrian town if you didn't read the signs.
Varazdin has a castle/palace that didn't burn, as it was surrounded by a real, wet moat. The castle is an interesting visit as today it is a museum of early furniture, glassware, weapons, etc.
I found the building itself more interesting than the contents. It began as a pre-firearms fortification and was rebuilt by an Italian military architect to withstand cannon fire. He surrounded the castle with earthen berms, kept the moat, and converted the square keep into a round keep as round bounces off cannon balls. Of course in addition to being a fortification it was also a residence and a rather elegant one for the period and region.
The town was full of children of about age 9 who appeared to be there on field trips. It was abundantly clear that a baroque town is lost on children of that age. They were noisy and a little rowdy, paying little attention to the architecture and culture. Furthermore, I saw no one trying to interest them therein. I suspect the main thing they will remember is the ice cream cone they had.
Croatia is a Catholic country in the same way Spain or France is, but more so. A religious difference with the Orthodox Serbs was one of the issues in the recent (early 1990s) war of independence. It is an issue that binds them more closely to Catholic Austria and Germany and western Europe generally while Serbs share the Orthodox faith with the Russians.
I haven't mentioned that the Pope is coming to Zagreb tomorrow. A visit from the Pope is a big deal here. Some folks in our group are to fly out tomorrow at roughly the same time as the Pope arrives - that could be a nightmare. Most of us continue on to Slovenia to visit Ljubljana and Bled.
