A museum of emotions in a city with a million hearts
The movie had ended. I turned my television off, fixed the family room, fluffed the sofa pillows, and turned the lights off. As I climbed the stairs to my bedroom, holding my glass of water for the night, his voice, “Why love, if losing hurts so much (C.S Lewis)?”, from the movie Shadowlands, still resonated with me.
Perhaps he believed in it too and could never comprehend why people would visit a museum showcasing items from past love and loss. I remember my bewildered moment and thoughts about the meek hotel concierge, “I would not visit the Museum of Broken Relationships though; I find the idea melancholic”. His words were spoken quite randomly, and I noticed his eyes filled with a feeling of pensive sadness. He put together my itinerary with the ‘must see’ places.
We were having a chat in the foyer of the Hotel Esplanade. A charming hotel in Zagreb – it still has the historic charm of days gone by. The building was originally built in 1925 for the stopover passengers on the Orient Express. Although this luxurious train from Paris to Istanbul is long gone, the rail station is still there, a functional main rail-hub for the city even today (a scene From Russia With Love was filmed there with Sean Connery). I walk away from his desk. I know nothing about the museum. I did not know what to think of the museum then.
Zagreb, the capital of Croatia- a delightful timeless city with a tumultuous history, dating back to the middle ages - separated into the “Lower Town (Donji Grad) and the “Upper Town (Gronji Grad)”.
The Upper Town, Zagreb’s
historical epitome, is a quaint, cozy medieval town on the hill: meandering,
hilly, narrow cobblestone streets lit by gas lights, with Gothic and Baroque
style churches and cathedrals, bygone era courtyards, museums, art galleries,
cafes….away from the hustle and bustle of the busy Lower town (Donji Grad) - a
carefully planned lower town, the grandiose architecture of the Austro-Hungarian
period, elaborate stone-carved facades, some washed with yellow (the Habsburg
dynasty color), numerous museums, galleries, fountains and pavilions interlaced
with parks, shop and cafes. In the Lower Town, the streets are straight with the
same width, lined with beautiful Linden trees. In summer, the seductive scent
wafts in the warm air and the entire city smells of Linden blooms - I was told.
In my laid-back style, I saunter through the streets submerging in the city’s rhythm, exploring the architecture and its formal look along the crumbling buildings with graffiti, cafes spilling on to the streets. In my ears I hear the squealing noise of the blue trams zipping through the city. I see hiding in the corner at the turn of the street, a rustic alley, giving the feel of a small-town in a big city - Zagreb. I walk down the long stretch of Zrinjevac street – the sight of a door ajar, I peek into the courtyard and discover a hidden escape behind the tall doors and walls – a random, bustling “Archeology café” (an extension of Zagreb’s Archeology museum).
Tony’s friendly face and his twinkling eyes reveal unique characteristics of Croats – “their love of small talks”. He is a student of diplomacy in Zagreb university; at the time an intern at the Bulgarian Embassy. He tells me (in between serving other clients) all about the eclectic coffee culture influenced by three traditions. “Coffee culture is one of our city’s top highlights, you know that, right! Ottomans tried long to invade the country and introduced Turkish coffee, Italians brought the espresso machine to the city and we pair our coffee with fine cakes and desserts- very typical of the Viennese culture”. His spontaneous confession of their unique café culture – “we don’t drink coffee alone, but always in the company of others, talking, gossiping, exchanging, and doing nothing!”
I have no hesitation to admit my great regard for the hotel concierge who kindly constructed an itinerary for my city tour. But I did not follow it. I prefer to wander around the town on my foot; have a desire for stumbling upon local sights! That delights me. How excited I was when I caught a glimpse of a life-like bronze statue of a woman in traditional dress, carrying a basket – a symbol of the peasant who brings vegetables, colorful fruits, cheese, fresh flowers to the open-air market. Locals fondly call it “belly of Zagreb” - Dolac Market under a sea of bright red umbrellas with the striped motif (typical Croatian).
These red umbrellas have their own pretty romantic legend: “Years ago people of Zagreb were protecting themselves from the rain, using the sad looking black umbrellas. One rainy day, a young man and his lady were standing under a sad umbrella. Impulsively the young man opened his heart and confessed his love for his lady. They kissed, and, at the same moment, their boring sad umbrella turned bright red, with the colorful lines at the edges”. While travelling in distant lands I always like visiting their open-air markets: watching the interactions between market goers and vendors. I like talking to the vendors about their products (do not speak their language). Even though much of their produce is familiar, often there will be some serendipitous encounters, some unique items, and tales from their culture. They are my treasure troves- later I cherish them in my idle hours.
And from the Lower Town, in sixty-four seconds, Zagreb’s emblematic blue Funicular (the world’s shortest and oldest public transportation), would whisk me up on a hilltop – the “Upper Town”. The sky is blue, and with the sweet crisp air around me, I looked down in the distance to take in the breathtaking view of the Lower Town (Donji grad). A quietness engulfed me. I shared a bench with a statue of the Croatian poet Antun Gustav Matos, under the tall chestnut trees along the leafy Strossmayer promenade, although never rubbed my nose with his! Story has it - if you rub his shiny nose, soon you will meet the love of your life. And the thought impressed upon me while I lingered on in that peaceful spot up on the hill…..
The Museum of Broken Relationships
The simple museum located between Saint Mark’s church and Saint Xatherine’s in Zagreb’s Upper Town, my eyes are drawn to the words of the museum entrance - Roland Barthe’s in A Lover’s Discourse: “Every passion, ultimately, has its spectator… (there is) no amorous oblation without a final theater”.
When Olinka Vistica (a film producer) and Drazen Grubisic (a sculptor) fell out of their four-year romantic relationship, they did not want to destroy the mementos of their love, their experiences, and their time together; they came up with the novel idea of a space, where they could leave behind leftovers from their courtship days for public display, in a museum- a “temple of broken hearts”. They built their “Museum of Broken Relationships” in an early 20th century palace of a Croatian abstract painter, Count Kulmer.
The exhibits inside are rather mundane, from all over the world, symbols of loss although once these were symbols of the love of a lover, siblings, friend, parent; local culture and history accompanying with their short narratives. I quietly stare at them, reading the little narration framed next to each item, they are so powerful:
A 3-volume Proust, A small piece of pottery, A caterpillar soft toy, Mother’s personal belongings, A postcard-from a 70-year-old woman…..
And sometimes my intense emotion would run through me; the stories are sad, happy, and honest.
I was leaving the museum with my fondness, contemplating – how an odd concept turned out to be a very enlightening museum. Ordinary items from everyday life - so poignant, conveying messages of the broken hearts and the mysteries of the world in such an artistic way – that are very relatable!
…….
Now years after, I ruminate my travel to the city known as the “City with Million Hearts”, so much love, so many romantic legends and anecdotes in Zagreb’s air and the “Museum Of Broken Relationships”- symbol of love and loss. The stories are sad, the exhibits are quirky...…. I wish I could tell him (the hotel concierge) that there is far more than the seemingly surreal images that he has missed…..
“A broken relationship is as universal as love itself”.
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“these battered, sand-strewn volumes are emblematic
of a long love relationship which has recently ended.
Soon after I married my wife, we got into an addictive Proust habit…”
found on the beach in Sicily-a symbol of their future home.
They had a home, children and years after they drifted apart ….
years later no need for this small piece of pottery from the strand of Sicily.
“Every time we would see each other we would tear off one leg.
When we ran out of legs to tear, that would be the time to start a life together…..
the relationship broke and so the caterpillar did not become a complete invalid after all”.
My mom’s personal belongings
“We were like sisters. I would often be the one accompanying my mum, not my dad.
He was left out, I never learnt why…..
The shoes, she liked them so much
she never wore them so as not to destroy them in any way.
The dress, she was 18 when she made it herself; it fit her beautifully even on her 40th birthday party! The suit…. the purse, I found it only after she had died;
I loved it but still it is hers, not mine. It has to stay that way….”
“This is a postcard that was inserted through the slit of my door
a long time ago by our neighbors’ son.
He had been in love with me for three years.
Following the old Armenian tradition, his parents came out to our home to ask for my hand.
My parents refused saying that their son did not deserve me.
They left angry and very disappointed.
The same evening their son drove his car off a cliff.”
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