Hrvatska!

Zagreb, that small capital, full of energie, good vibes and full of hidden corners ready for you to discover.

How I went to Zagreb, was by far, the most random thing I could do.

By this time, in the year of 2016 (yes during my Erasmus in Hungary, a lot of adventures happen during that time), I was in this Regional Platform (of ESN - Erasmus Student Network) in Pécs (a southern city of Hungary, really worth to see). Since I was a member of this student organization I attend this eastern platform in order to gain more knowledge and to meet new people, so I applied to make part of the organizing team of this event.

Since I was the only Portuguese in the organizing team, of course I had to become friend with the most southern country in that event, the Croatians. And OMG, we instantly start to be friends, and they were really friendly, and somehow really similar to the Portuguese.

But focusing on my trip to Zagreb, everything happened because since a couple of years ago I “discover” this amazing country, and I literally fall in love. But, before continue, let me explain you way, so you can understand the why of all this random choice.

My first choice to go on Erasmus was Zagreb. But after all I finished in Hungary, and right now I don’t regret at all. So as this point you already can imagine how much I wanted to visit the capital of Croatia, and it was on the top of my “to do list during my Erasmus”.

During this event in Pécs I talked with the croatians, and I told them that one of my biggest dreams was visiting Croatia. They were so nice, and they told me not to worry about it, because they would help me, and I could come back after the event with them to Zagreb.

So it was! When the event finished we catch the train. I remember that I bought the ticket in the train station, so it was a little more expensive, more or less 20 euros. It was an amazing travel, we went in one of the oldest trains from the eastern Europe, with compartments and hung windows, it can of reminded me of Harry Potter’s films. The trip lasted about 6 hours, but I swear that it passed so fast. It was more or less 10 Croatians, 1 Serbian girl and a Portuguese, so of course it never got bored.

We arrive in the middle of the night to the Train Station of Zagreb, and from their I went by car with one Croatian girl to meet her friend that was going to host me. After arriving to her friends’ house, we order something to eat and we went to sleep, because travelling 6 hours can be really exhaustive.

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Before start talking about Zagreb and my visit to the city, I’m going to tell you some useful informations.

Money:

Despite belonging to the Union European the current coin isn’t the euro, but instead the Croatian Kuna. Converted, 1 euro is more or less 7 kunas. The coin Kuna is just like Euro, there are the ones from 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 1, 2 and 5 (the only different, because in euros is a banknote).

Language:

The official language is Croatian, but in my opinion they all have a good level of English, maybe because it was the capital, but I didn’t have any problem. And, at least, compared to the other eastern countries, in here it’s much easier to get around.

Living Cost:

As you can imagine, because of its location, the living cost in here is quite cheap, specially for the ones coming from the North of Europe, it’s a huge range of prices. For Portuguese people I would say that the prices are more or less the same, there isn’t such a big difference. For example, for half of a kilo of bread it’s less than 1 euro, check this Webpage: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Zagreb -   to see the current prices. But don’t forget that in where is like the other coaster countries, because if you go to the south, or to the city by the sea, the prices are much more higher, e.g. Dubrovnik, that is the most expensive city in the country.

Weather:

I went in the end of October and it wasn’t that cold. Of course I was wearing winter clothes but I wasn’t freezing. Usually, during the Winter time it gets really cold, because Zagreb is also known for its snow days. But they have a really nice Spring as well Summer, and since it’s so close to the beach you can go for a getaway during a weekend to the beach.

Transport System:

In Zagreb doesn’t exist a subway, they told me it was because they have a lot of problems with water infiltrations, so they can’t built a metro system. So in the capital the most used transport the is tram, and covers all the city, and Zagreb lies within one zone. Besides the tram you also have the buses and the funicular, and their ticket prices are all the same. Here you have the Webpage from where I took the following information: https://www.croatiatraveller.com/Zagreb_region/Travel/Trams.html

The ticket price for a 30 minutes ride: 4 Kn;

The night tram costs: 15 Kn;

For a day card, with unlimited travels for a day: costs 30 Kn;

A three-day card, also with unlimited travels: 70 Kn.

The schedule of the day tram is from 4 am. until midnight, and run every 5 to 22 minutes (depending on the line, the day and the time). The night trams run every 30 minutes.

Monuments:

Zagreb is a small city, at least when compared with the other capitals in Europe, so you will find all the sites of interest and museums close-by and in the city center.  

The places that you can not miss in Zagreb are:

The Upper Town:

• Definitely one of my favorite places in the all city, because this is a hill where you have a fantastic viewpoint to all the city, besides that you have the perfect view to the Cathedral. Being the oldest part of the town you can find a piece of history in every corner. My favorite place, by far, is the St. Mark’s Church, is an iconic place in Zagreb, and it’s amazing, a really characteristic site, known for its roof tiles, where is insert the symbol of the city.  The Upper Town is the place where you have the funicular, the shortest one in Europe. Another thing that really surprised me was all the street art, but I’m going to talk about it in another point.

The Maksimir Park and the Zagreb Zoo:

• These two places are close to each other. The park is one of the most iconic sites in the city, truly worth it for its own beauty, where you can relax, breath fresh air, enjoy the surroundings and the nature.

Dolac Market:

• This Market is located in the city center, between the main square and the Cathedral. Is a place to meet the locals from the capital, where you see all the typical products being sell, where you can try the authentic gastronomy (always fresh products) and even find some souvenirs. I really loved this market, because its colours, the smells and its authenticity was something that really fascinated me.

Zagreb Cathedral:

• If I’m not mistaken, besides the St. Mark’s Church this is most known monument in Zagreb. The Cathedral is a symbol of the place and a visit is mandatory. A funny history about this place, is by the time that we went to visit, there was this old man,  responsible for the vigilance of the place, that started to speak with us, since we were speaking in English he become interested. So, he asked us from where we were, my friends answered Zagreb, and I sayed from Portugal, and damn, out of the blue he started to speak with me in Portuguese. It was a really funny situation, I wasn’t expecting at all, and of course I couldn’t say a single word in Portuguese, it was a really unexpected situation. Returning to the Cathedral, is a magnificent monument, with a wonderful architecture work. At its top, has two towers, but unfortunately one is really damage, because of the weather, and even being repaired every year, it’s a work that will never be finished, specially because of all the money that is need to keep its manutence. The Cathedral is from the gothic style, and is a must see from the architecture and art lovers.

The King Tomislav Square:

• A majestic square in the city center, with an amazing building, the Art Pavilion, that remonts to the 19th century. I only saw it during the night, but still its beauty and archectonical features really impressed me, but I’m a huge fan of old architecture.

Ilica Street:

• This is the main street of Zagreb, always full of well-dressed people, different shops and coffee shops, everything gather up with the tram running by. I remember that we went to a coffee shop, unfortunately I don’t remember the name, but it was so delicious. In my mind I like to call it the chocolate coffee shop, because it had a chocolate cascade, and everything was with chocolate, since cakes, drinks, basically everything that you can think of.

Museum of Broken Relationships:

• A different and curious place is the Museum Of Broken Relationships, I guarantee you is nothing that you have seen before. It’sdedicated to failed love relationships. Its exposition include personal objects left over from former lovers with brief descriptions of the history. Is the most known museum in the city and really worths to see just because how different it is.

Street Art in Zagreb:

• This is something that I can’t let you know the exact spots, because what better way to discover the art in a city that for yourself?! I love this part of Zagreb, it was something that I wasn’t expecting and gives another vibe to the city. Another thing that I loved, is that the street art represents the Croatian culture, some of them typify the things that croatians discover, symbolize important figures (like artists or scientists), shadow art, and mostly have a deeper meaning.  I found this Webpage, that is really really good, and explains everything about the street art in Zagreb, and even nominate the places where are the most important draws.

Food:

One thing that I regret is that I didn’t have the chance to try any typical food, specially because this country is known for its great food, and everything look pretty different from what I have tried so far. But I guess, looking at this in a more positive point, is just another excuse for me to come back, and how bad I want to come back.

To go out:  

When I was visiting the city I went out with my friends, to drink something, to get to know a typical night out in Zagreb and also to see the our other Croatians friends (that I meet in the event). There is this street, that is the typical place to start your night, called “Tkalciceva street” and is perfect. A street full of bars, young people and a really nice vibe. I remember that we start for drinking a beer in a bar, and then we moved to another one where we went to drink the typical croatian shots, I don’t remember their names, but they were all from different flavours (like fruit flavours), really tasty and different from everything that I drank before.

To buy souvenirs:

In Zagreb’s downtown you will see different places where you can buy souvenirs. I looked for the cheaper place to buy a snow globe (because I have a collection of it), and in my opinion the best one to purchase it was the one close to the Dolac Market. Coming from the Main Square you will see the Market in front of you, and this shop is in the end of the Market and you will see it on your left side, to enter you have to go down a staircase.

Coming back trip:

Sadly, I had to leave Zagreb, but the good thing was that I was coming back “home”, to my lovely city, Eger. On the coming back trip I went by bus, and I had to go to to Zagreb Bus Station, which address is:Avenija Marina Držića, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia. And from here I was going to get a bus toward to Budapest, and then from Budapest to Eger. The travel lasted around 4 or 5 hours, and the ticket price (I don’t remember how much I paid), I checked online, and it’s around 15 to 20 euros, with the company FlixBus (a really good one and I highly recommend it). During the coming back trip something really funny happened (although in that moment wasn’t funny at all). In the border Croatia-Hungary, the police officers ordered to the bus stop.  It was really scaring, because they were speaking in Croatian, half of the bus couldn’t understand, and they order everyone to get out of the bus and to show their identification document. Then they order for people to split in two queues, one EU citizens and the other for the ones that weren’t from Europe. The Europeans ones, after sowing their card, were led to get in the bus again. And then the bus started to go, and the others were left behind. In that moment I was so worry, you can not imagine. But after a few meters it stopped again (like after crossing the border) and open the doors, and some of the others, that were left behind, started to get in and then the bus just went. Two years have passed and I still don’t know what happen….

But enough of weird travel histories. I hope you like this article and I hope this can help you getting around Zagreb if you decided to visit the city. Zagreb is not a big city, so if you’re not a fan of smaller capitals, I advise you to come without expectations (it’s always better). However, to me, Zagreb was wonderful, the time passed so fast, and I was never bored or disappointed, it’s a small capital but has everything for a getaway weekend.

Thanks for reading!

by: Rita Cruz