The Most Unusual Garden
One of the most unusual cafe bars in Zagreb is located at the address Horvacanska 3. When you go along the street, at first, it is not that easy to spot it. But then you see a whole side of the house painted. It is clearly written 'The most unusual gin garden', with a huge lemur that looks directly into your eyes, and a lot of details that you will find out later if you decide to enter the magical garden. Although it looks somehow mystified, you can hear a lot of people talking, drinking, and having fun on the other side of the fence.
A tree house
Image credit: Josipa Zizic
Once this garden gets your attention, you look up to the sky and you get to see – a tree house. In the middle of the cafe there is a tree, and around it, there is a real tree house. We all know how we dreamed of a tree house when we were kids. It could be the smallest one, as long as it is high upon the tree. And now you see that house, and you just can not believe it. Someone really had its childhood dream come true. Whatsmore, it is not an ordinary house. Rather, it looks like a fairytale castle on a few levels.
The magic of the garden
When you enter the garden, all your senses are heightened. That's because the garden is full of strange details, sculptures, colours, and plants. You just don't know where to look first. Also, you don't know where to sit. It is an area of 140 square meters and every corner of the garden is so special. First, you have a terrace that is covered with grapevine giving you a sense of south, sea and the Mediterranean environment. Then you can sit on a wooden platform with intense yellow chairs. There is a huge picture of an old mill in the wide field. Probably representing the countryside.
Image credit: Josipa Zizic
If you keep walking through the garden, you will notice a path covered with white and black tiles. It has instantly reminded me of one of my favourite childhood books - Alice in Wonderland. I felt like one of the characters in an upcoming adventure. To find another hidden part of the garden, you need to walk under the tree house. Its floor is also covered with tiles. But the strange part is that house floor holds items upside down, for example, a chair. Gosh, I really couldn't stop my brain demystifying these details. On the left side, there is a smaller area containing few tables and a giant cactus in a bathtub. Yes, you've read it correctly. And I'll show you a picture.
Image credit: Josipa Zizic
Last, but not the least, there is a bigger space that has tropical looking bar with surfboards on the wall, and a yard with artificial grass on the floor, white benches, and wooden chucks to sit on it. What is important is to say that this garden has a real artistic soul. There are many sculptures all over the place, some of them are really nice, and some are pretty much freaky.
Indoor surprise
Cafe's interior is situated in an antique house. It completely reflects the outside area of the garden. Its design is antique, strange, and mystic. There are artistic drawings instead of wallpaper, old wall clocks, lamps, couch, and benches. Everything seems like it is from another time. An interesting fact is that most of the drawings and sculptures were made by students of Art Academy while furnishing was made by small domestic companies. Another mystery is that all clocks are stopped and they show exactly the same time -a 4:36 am.
Image credit: Josipa Zizic
(Un)usual philosophy
As I have previously said, all the clocks are stopped for one simple reason. They represent the moment when the time has stopped. It reflects upon nowadays lifestyle in which we always hurry. It invites us to stop, get some 'me time', to rest and contemplate. We can also spend good quality time with our friends or beloved ones. It is important to have life in its full meaning. We work all day, fight with deadlines, bosses, we want to upgrade our careers. But what is really important is to have a healthy balance between job, family, friends, and health. This garden sends us into another dimension. Here, everyone can bring their own clock and stop it. Once you do that, it is time to order a house specialty – Hendrick's Gin Tonic with fresh cucumber and allow yourself to be free and present in the moment.
Header image credit: Josipa Zizic
Author: Josipa Zizic