The Santas of Zagreb

The Santas of Zagreb seem cheery enough, although we know beards provide shelter for so many dispositions.

Having helped the city win ‘Best Christmas Markets’ for the past three years, the Santas and their ilk must have been confident they’d slay the competition again this year.

They dutifully go about their business: chaperoning couples with a blanket over their knees through the park, in a horse-drawn carriage, and driving tram 6 around the city circuit to Trg Jelačića, Zagreb's central station.

If there’s a whiff of disappointment in the air you wouldn’t know it for the scents of cinnamon and tobacco that most commonly pervade.

But Tram 6 offers a clue to what lies beneath.

Ignore for one moment the fairy lights and the friendly driver in her red jarmies with cotton wool trim and you’ll notice a large advertisement trumpeting Zagreb’s achievement as host of the best Christmas Market for 2016, 2017 and 2018. ‘Neka carolija zapocne!’, the advert reads. ‘Let the magic begin’.

I’m not brave enough to ask the tram driver, or any of her colleagues who are available for photos in Trg Bana Jelačića (the main city square) if they feel they’ve dropped the bauble on this one. Nor do I want to ask Zagreb’s mayor, Milan Bandić, who has a considerable investment to protect.

But the truth of the matter is, Zagreb has lost its Christmas wreath to the KrisKrindl market in Leavenworth, which this year reportedly outshone its Croatian counterpart.

Leavenworth?

It’s in Washington, USA, apparently.

Croatians can be fierce fighters when they want to be. So much so that Napoleon once remarked: ‘If I had only 100,000 Croatians, I would conquer the entire world!’

Luka, a historian and guide from Limitless Balkan told us this earlier in the day, just after he showed us the site of “Bloody Bridge”, named after the frequent fights that erupted between those on either side.

So, given these townsfolks’ history and reputation, who knows how the Zagreb Santas might react to a smartarse who rings the wrong bell.

As Balkan Insight notes, Advent in Zagreb is the most important tourist event in the Croatian capital. Almost every street in Zagreb’s city centre has been decorated with Christmas trees, ornaments and lights. Tasty offerings are also plentiful: roasted chestnuts and mulled wine, boiled sausages too.

There’s a lot riding on this whole display. It was our duty, therefore, to either join the kids on the ice rink or hang out with the oldies and eat cream cakes at Vincek. We did what we had to do.