On Croatian Relationships

There isn't a whole heck of a lot to do in Zagreb. The city is small and viewable in hours on foot. As the tourist information booth even recommended you could either go to the historial museum or the museum of broken relationships. So you could either learn about the history of Croatia or visit a museum dedicated to the poor demise of relations between Croatia and other worldy nations. Actually, that's what we thought too, but that word relationship had not been broken down its multiple English meanings. It's the actually the other kind of relationship. The girl and guy kind gone bad.

The museum is literally a colletion of what is left of a broken relationship. Clothes, phones, toater ovens, tooth brushes, CDs, keys, photos, you name it they've got it, each with a story behind the item. The items are even categorized into sections like Destruction, Sadness, Happiness, etc. The Ex's Axe was added to the Destruction collection in 1995 in Berlin by guy who had decided to let his guard down and let a lady move in with him. While away on business for three weeks, his new love had wept and said she didn't know how she could possibly make it through three weeks without him. Returning from his trip, his girlfriend confided she had fallen in love with another lady she'd met only four days ago. After asking her where this left him and their lives together, she was unable to provide the answers he needed so he kicked her out. She immedately went on a 14 day vacation with her new lady lover, in which time the guy went out and bought an ax. (It's okay everyone, no blood was shed, just some wood was chipped). He then chopped up a piece of her furniture she had left in his apartment for each day that passed. Returning to from her vacation to retrieve her things, the girl would only find her things neatly arranged into small heaps and fragments of wood. She took that trash and left his apartment for good. The axe was promoted to a therapy instrument. There are many other stories like this exhibited on the museum's website and on display in the musuem itself.

The museum's mission statement is "to offer a chance to overcome an emotional collapse through creation: by contributing to the Museum's collection." The idea is to embrace a lost love's legacy and to seek comfort in its demise through sharing its story though an item or items that are all that remain left of a person Even this prosthetic leg has a love story attached to it. Whether it's a death, divorce or break-up the museum is a place to reflect, embrace loss, offer therapeutic relief and celebrate the ritualistic process that follows demise. It is a beautiful collection of memories to share with the world. Or for curiosities sake, something to visit as a traveller if you want to unload some extra junk.

For clarification, the Museum of Broken Relationships is a travelling exhibition that embraces failed relationships (the girl and guy kind) an has nothing to do with Croatia itself, other than being conceptualized there http://new.brokenships.com/en/about.

The Limey