Zagreb, Croatia: A Tourist-Friendly Destination

We just left Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia, and are heading to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Hercegovina on a 10 hour train ride through the country.  

Here are some reflections on Zagreb and Croatia as a whole.  First, gotta love a language that makes full use of the letter "Z"!  Never seen so many words with "Z" in it.  

Not having done much research on Croatia in advance, it has been a fun week discovering new things as it unfolds.  For example, who knew that the necktie originated in Croatia?  Yup.  The Croatian army sported red ties called cravats, as part of their uniform.  When the French saw this, they immediately loved it and took the tie as a fashion statement (go figure).  The rest is history.  Apparently, the ballpoint pen was also invented by a Croat.   Akiko, being sort of a pen connoisseur, appreciates this little fact.  Truffles are also abundant in Croatia.  We got to sample some in our dishes, but this would've been a moment where we wished we could actually buy souvenirs to take home.  They sold many truffle related food products such as truffle oil, truffle paste, truffle essence, truffle salt, etc. 

Zagreb, the capital city, was as tourist-friendly as it gets...except for the cabs!  There were plenty of cabs to go around, but apparently, there are 2 price structures.  One for the tourists and a cheaper fare called "new rate".  We were only made aware of this after paying double what it would've normally cost to get to our lodging from the bus station.  Our host informed us that the radio taxis with a blue sign on the side of the door (and hanging inside the front right of the car) charge the "new rate", but only if you ask for it or know that you are a local.  Our host wrote down, "Nove Cijene! Hvala" to show the cab driver so we would get the "new rate".  Sure enough, the cab meter magically started at 1/2 the cost.  Good grief.  

Zagreb has an extensive tram system; however, the cost of riding the tram was comparable to taking a taxi (with the "new rate", of course), so we ended up taking the cab instead.  

Although there were plenty of hostels in the heart of Zagreb, our research revealed that most of them were dormitory rooms, no private rooms, and less than stellar reviews.  So, we found a nice "apartman" called Celic Arts Apartman in the eastern edge of Zagreb in a residential neighborhood, about a 10-minute cab ride into the central square or 15-minute tram ride.  For $50/night, the place was just like an apartment.  Although the kitchen was very tiny and not well-stocked, we made full use of it one night by just "staying in".  Believe it or not restaurant food gets old real quick.  

We stayed "in" one night.  Grocery store finds for a very under stocked kitchen.  Instant soup, canned butter brand and corn, fresh tomatoes (excellent), and grilled cheese sandwiches, washed down with a bottle of Croatian Merlot.

The actual city center of Zagreb where old town meets new town is in a compact area that is very walkable and can easily be explored in less than a day.  However, you may want to plan on more time to visit many of the national Croatian museums, which we didn't do, except we did go the quirky Museum of Broken Relationships - a contemporary museum dedicated to artifacts representing people's various broken relationships, be it romantic break-ups, divorces, business and political relationship divides, death of a loved one, etc.  Weird, huh?  

One story that left an impression at the Museum of Broken Relationships was a certain love letter written by a boy, donated to the museum.  The boy met a girl while being stopped at a border crossing for 3 days when their families were trying to flee Croatia by car from the war in 1992. They exchanged music tapes.  He wrote a letter professing his love to her, but was never able to give it to her because suddenly, after 3 days, the border opened up and they were gone.   The most poignant part of the story?  He gave his most prized Nirvana tapes to her.  So ironic.  Croatia. War. Nirvana. 1992 - doesn't seem like these words go together, but that was this country's reality.  My naïveté could have never imagined that war refugees were also listening to Nirvana as I was. 

St. Mark's Church with Croatian, Dalmation, and Slavonian coat-of-arms on roof.

Gothic Cathedral of Zagreb.

Overall, our impression of Zagreb was a hip and cosmopolitan city full of lively college students, some backpackers, some tourists and very kind locals; surrounded by a mix of medieval gates/walls, Austrian architecture, and a little reminder of the bygone communist-era with the drab grey concrete buildings.  We enjoyed the activities and people-watching while we hung out on Tkalčićeva street with the numerous outdoor cafes and boutique shops.  The lego-esque roof of St. Mark's church during our stroll through the medieval upper town was a treat.  The imposing gothic cathedral was hard to ignore.  Akiko drooled over all the colorful fruits, vegetables, and flowers at the Dolac Market, the largest in Croatia.  

We couldn't believe all this was going on, in light of Croatia's war of independence only 2 decades ago.  Clearly, they have recovered and are making strides to be one of the most cosmopolitan and advanced nations in this region.  

We think a vacation to Croatia would be well worth your time getting here.  Between the pristine coastline of the Adriatric, beautiful national parks, tourist-friendly charming cities, and the hospitable people, we absolutely fell in love with Croatia and hope to return again soon! Sounds like we're getting paid by the Croatian Tourist Board....(we're not, of course, but wouldn't decline a good offer!). 

Wonderful Croatian dinner at Agava on Tkalčićeva Street, highly rated on TripAdvisor also (although we didn't know it when we went there), and very popular.  We had steak with Istrian wine and truffle sauce; Croatian pasta with truffles.