European Peace Walk: Day 15 & 16: Update and Varazdin Cemetery, Croatia

Note: My adherence to the itinerary of the European Peace Walk went off the rails on Day 13.  Any information after this day may loosely follow the EPW guide.

I was somewhat startled when I saw this picture which has not been photo-edited. Rainbow sunbeams or something else? Varazdin Cemetery, Croatia

Senja and I decide to book even one more night in Varazdin, Croatia while the rest of the group carries on by foot or by bus and train.  No walking for us, except around town.  Tomorrow we will take a bus to Croatia’s capital, Zagreb (not on the EPW route), and then we’ll take a train the following day to meet up with our group (hopefully) in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

A highlight of my time in Varazdin is visiting Varazdin Cemetery, which is considered one of the most beautiful cemeteries in Europe.  Burials began here in 1768, when Queen Marie Theres banned burials within the city walls (smart woman).  In the early 1900s, the cemetery manager, Herman Haller, planted thousands of trees and bushes to make the cemetery a world-famous monument of garden architecture.  Thousands of thuja trees (an evergreen conifer) are manicured carefully around headstones and pathways making this a beautiful and interesting place for a stroll.

Thank you to an anonymous donor for sponsoring today’s experiences and this post.

Photos of Varazdin Cemetery in Croatia (click to view):