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| even on a cloudy day the red umbrellas cast a rosy light on the market |
50yearsinItaly hosts a guest writer for the first time this week.
Douglas Ambrose takes us to visit Zagreb's weekly flea market.
On weekends, the market at Britanski Trg
in Zagreb becomes a giant flea market/antique fair/social event. The enormous
snowstorm last weekend disrupted business, but the vendors were back this
weekend, offering Christmas shoppers a dazzling array of goods.
There is lots of loose silverware for
sale. The nice woman, who, like many of the vendors, is
older and does not speak much English, offered the set to me for $35.
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| silver plate |
This tempted me. It's from the
old socialist days and was awarded to firemen after ten years of service. The
vendor had a few more, one of which was for a 20-year veteran . He wanted 50
kuna (about $9).
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| a tailor's iron used to press overcoats |
My
mother would have enjoyed this. She had a small collection of old irons, but
she didn't have one like this. Note the little door on the large end; you open
it up and put coals in it. It weighed a ton. One of those items that, if I were
rich, would have been coming home with me.
This vendor was engaged in a
typically animated discussion with a customer. Somehow, his leaning on the slot
machine while haggling seemed apt.
Lots of military stuff. It's
sometimes difficult to determine if the material is genuine or not, but I think
the helmets are the real deal. Note the irons on the right--my mom would have
loved these.
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| Nazi ring (?) |
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| A vendor takes advantage of a lull in business to catch up with the Sunday paper |
Another great collection--I loved the "arrangement" of items
Oh, how I would have loved to
have purchased this, although I knew better than to ask the price (which
probably would have tempted me even more).
The artwork reminded me of our
daughter Augusta's style, but I was also charmed by the Christmas eve fish
dinner and the family portrait on the wall. Sretan Bozic means "Merry Christmas".
I will have
our landlord or a colleague at the University translate the poem/song.
This potato "ricer"
caught my eye. It was in excellent condition, and the ceramic bowl and plunger
gave the item character. I actally asked how much this was: $62.
This vendor was selling some
nice silverware. Here he is checking the purity of the silver. It was stamped
"800," or 80% pure, a standard quality for tableware.
Many tables feature pins from
the old Yugoslavia. These two feature the date "29 November 1943."
The vendor reminded me that Democratic Federal Yugoslavia, which soon became
the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, was established on that date. The
"JNA" is the Yugoslav National Army.
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| military pins "snatcki" |
A parting shot of the square
from the southeast corner. I can't wait to return next week with my children to
discover new treasures and hear more stories about this country, its people,
and their stuff.
Douglas Ambrose, a native of New Jersey, teaches American history at Hamilton College in upstate New York. As recipient of a Fulbright, Douglas is teaching American Studies at the University of Zagreb,Croatia this year . Along with wife Sheila and their children, they are enjoying the discovery of this city and Croatian lifestyle.
Have you visited this city? What other special places are there to see?
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