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rijeka’s secrets: when your wallet screams but your soul whispers

@Topiclo Admin3/24/2026blog

i just rolled into rijeka after a 12-hour train ride that cost me more than my monthly rent and the wifi worked but only if you whispered to it. the moment i stepped off the platform, this place smelled like old cigarettes and regret. not the romantic kind of regret. the i-should-have-taken-the-ferry-to-dubrovnik kind. but here i am, sitting on a bench near the port with a croissant that’s probably gone stale by now and a map that shows me as lost even though i’m literally in the center.

so here i am. warming up with a latte from that tiny cafe where the barista looked like they’d rather be a traveling cartoon character than serving humans. the temperature outside is 14.81 degrees celsius, which is basically the city’s way of saying ‘i don’t care about your dreams, just survive.’ the forecast says it’s that weird in-between spring fog. not romantic, not really anything. i checked and it’s…there right now. holding its breath. hope you like that kind of thing.

walking around, i kept thinking about the disillusioned consultant Stereotype they gave me. like, why am i even here? the city feels flat, like a spreadsheet that someone forgot to format. but then i saw this graffiti on a wall-someone had spray-painted a giant apple with a sad face. it looked like it was judging me. i took a photo and it’s now my phone’s wallpaper because why not.

the neighbors? the ones sitting outside their apartments blasting polka music at 7 a.m.? they’re probably the same people who warned me this place is full of pickpockets who hand you a rusty key instead of your wallet. i didn’t believe them. i was wrong. twice. and now i’m wearing a swim trunks that doesn’t belong to me. it’s a story for another day.

someone told me that the old city walls are haunted by a guy who used to sell contraband. i didn’t believe that either until i saw a guy in a trench coat staring at the bricks for 10 minutes. i asked him what he was doing and he just mumbled something in croatian and pointed at a pigeon. either he’s psychic or the pigeon’s been waiting for him. who knows.

reviews here are all over the place. one yelp comment says, ‘rijeka is a city that naps during the day and wakes up to scream at tourists.’ another says, ‘if you get bored, zagreb’s just a short drive away.’ but then i saw this review on a local board that makes zero sense: ‘the tap water tastes like regret. bring your own,’ and it was written in english by someone who clearly never lived here. i kept reading it because it felt like a warning from the city itself.

i found this old map shop near the dock and bought a torn page for 5 euros. the guy behind the counter had a map of the world made from chewing gum. i asked him what it was for and he said, ‘for people who think the real treasure is in the stains.’ i didn’t ask why. i just took it.

the weather lady at the post office mentioned something about a lineup of people wanting to buy umbrellas. i’m not sure if it’s because it’s raining or because everyone’s giving up on basic human interactions. i asked if it would clear up and she just shrugged and said, ‘it’s rijeka. it’s always doing that.’

i took a walk to the market square and bought a bunch of olives that were probably illegal. the vendor didn’t care. he just gave me a bag and said, ‘don’t let the government see these.’ which is probably true. i also bought a postcard that said, ‘visit us when you’re not expecting anything.’ which is either profound or a scam. probably both.

i checked the weather again and realized it’s still 14.81. feels like 13.5. which is either a weather anomaly or the city’s way of saying, ‘we’re not faking it for you.’ i didn’t mind. i liked that it was real. raw. unpolished.

i ended up staying out until midnight. the streets were empty except for a couple of old guys drinking rakija at a street corner. one of them started playing a harmonica and immediately everyone started singing. i didn’t know the words, but i joined in because it was 2 a.m. and i was too tired to pretend i didn’t care.

if you’re thinking of coming here, skip the guidebooks. trust the people who hand you suspicious keys at 3 a.m. and the ones who sell you overpriced trinkets while muttering curses. and if you get lost, which you will, just look for the apple graffiti. it’s a reliable beacon. or not. either way, it’s part of the mystery.

i didn’t sleep much that night. either because of the noise or because my brain was too busy asking why i chose to spend money on a city that feels like it’sadek. i don’t know. maybe next time i’ll pick a different adventure. or maybe not. rijeka has a strange way of sticking to you. like a headache you can’t shake.

p.s. if you’re visiting, check out this spot: https://www.tripadvisor.com/r/rijeka for the best coffee. and maybe avoid the tap water. https://www.yelp.com/biz/rijeka-market has ‘authentic local gossip’ reviews. and for the brave, https://rijeka-local-boards.com is where the real secrets hide.

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About the author: Topiclo Admin

Writing code, prose, and occasionally poetry.

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