We had passed Zagreb a few times before on our travels in previous years and had never ventured in as from the outside it never looked appealing but we are now more comfortable with tackling all that city traffic can throw at us, so decided we should make the effort to have a look. It was an easy drive in along wide roads with good traffic flow, we only made one wrong turn but that was easily remedied and we were soon back on track to our destination.
Our research showed a secure carpark near to the old part of town, with the possibility of staying overnight. Before long we were all parked up, and it was only 9.30 am, it was going to be a hot day so it was good to get an early start on our sightseeing. The friendly man at the parking place gave us some information of the rates he charged and their phone number with a small map outlining where we were in relation to some of the landmarks, in case we got lost.
Our first impression was of a modern clean city, Zagreb was much nicer than we had imagined, easy to drive in, easy to find a park and easy to find interesting things to see.
The Old Town
To get to the old town we passed the main train station and turned right walking through gardens with attractive buildings and fountains. Arriving in the Ban Jelacic Square we discovered a folk dance and music display was taking place, so we stopped to look at one group of men who danced using wooden sticks which they would strike other dances sticks in an assortment of complicated manoeuvres. The tourist information office was also in this square where the helpful staff gave us a map and an outline of a walking tour. This we followed with a few diversions reading about the sights as we passed them.
The café crawl
It was a thirsty day as the temperature was over 35 degrees, and we had to keep our fluids up!! During the day we stopped at several cafes, the first being near the main square where we had an iced coffee which was exactly how we like it. Some places don’t seem to get it right. A few other times we stopped for beers and other cool drinks.
The Moovies
We spent the day walking, exploring and having some drinks finally getting back to the car park at about 6 pm. On the way back only a few minutes from the car park we spotted a cinema and we went to have a look and see what was playing in English. It happened to be Arnie in the new Terminator film. We purchased some tickets for the seven o’clock session. The ticket price was $6 Au which included a small can of apple cider [Strongbow]. There wasn’t a lot of choice of suitable movies, but the film was ok with plenty of action but it was good to get out of the heat.
Noisy Neighbour
When we arrived back at the carpark another motorhome was parked close next to us. This was ok except for the fact that he had a very loud generator making lots of noise. This, I was not going to put up with and knocked on the door and indicated that I was not going to put up with his racket. He got the message and moved across the car par where the generator noise was much quieter. At 11.00pm he finally turned it off.
Onwards to Slovenia.
Up early again we left the car park and headed out of Zargreb in the direction of Slovenia a place that we have to many times on our past trips. We are finally feeling that we have left Eastern Europe behind and are now in the west. Things are busier, the roads are better and the prices have gone up.
I have just spent the last hour reading your blogs from Veliko Tarnova on. We have revisited Bucharest, Sarajevo and laughed at your antics and especially your iced coffee descriptions. You have visited some amazing places that few Aussies would have or in fact few Europeans. Love the photos, videos and descriptions. Helen and John.