Erasmus Experience in Zagreb (Croatia) by Elisavet

Plitvice National Park covered in snow.

A totally different point of view. Plitvice National Park in summer.

In spring and summer, you can improve or develop your kayaking skills at the Jarun lake!

The big lake of Maksimir Park. The best place for an afternoon beer!

The city

Why did you choose to go to Zagreb, Croatia?

To tell you the truth, I chose Zagreb because I wanted to live in a cheap capital. Also, it is not a popular tourist destination so I wanted to explore a not so "famous" city. Moreover, I have never been to any country of former Yugoslavia although they are very close to my country. The history of the Balkans is so fascinating and I wanted to visit a place that is in Europe, but doesn't look European. When you walk around the streets of any of these countries, you can still feel and see the remains of the war.

For how long is the scholarship? How much money do you receive to help you with the living costs?

The scholarship that I receive is for one semester, and the money that I get, 450€ per month, is more than enough to rent a decent house, to cover the living costs and also to travel around Croatia and the countries around.

What is the student lifestyle like in Zagreb?

The university is pretty much strict; there are a lot of obligatory classes, presentations and essays. However, the professors are very helpful and there are a lot of English courses so it makes it a little bit easier. In this case you won't have any problem if you are not familiar with the language because the professors are able to speak English fluently and they provide you with a lot of material in English. Finally, if you attend the courses regularly and write the essays or presentations, you will get a good grade at the end because the exams are easy.

Would you recommend the city and the University of Zagreb to other students?

I would recommend it because it is not a common cosmopolitan capital. It is a small city so you can get around very easily and by foot and you don't have to spend money and time on transportation. Also, the university provides a lot of English courses of which the majority is very interesting.

What is the food like?

Food is very cheap. There are a lot of cheap options to eat outside, from fries and pizza to home food and a traditional meat meal called "cevapi". Don't miss out trying Burek, a traditional pie stuffed with cheese or meat or spinach; it is delicious, cheap and you can find it in every bakery of the city. Finally, the students restaurants, which are located all around the city, provide very delicious food for just 1€.

If you enjoy cooking at home and you like fruits and vegetables, there is an everyday market in the city center. It is located just beside the main square and it is called "Dolac Market". It is open from early in the morning until 2 or 3 in the afternoon and you will find all kinds of fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables as well as meat and fresh fish and cheese. The prices are very good and the quality is definitely way better than in the supermarkets.

Accommodation

Was it hard for you to find your accommodation in Zagreb?

No, actually I found my accommodation over the internet. The only difficult thing about this is that most of the landlords want a contract for a whole academic year, so you have to convince them to rent you the flat for as long as you'll stay.

How much does it cost to live in Zagreb?

The accommodation costs about 200€ without the expenses and with the bills it will go maximum 250-260€. With another 150-200€, you will be able to cover the food, drinks and miscellaneous costs. Also, travelling by bus from here is very cheap so with this money you can also travel once per month.

The language

Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there any language courses available at the University?

The language is not easy, but everyone, even old people, are able to speak English fluently and are very helpful. Also, the university provides Croatian language courses. In my opinion, the best way to learn some Croatian is to interact and hang out with Croatian people. They are very friendly, willing to teach you the language and the culture and they will help you practise it.

How to get there

What's the easiest or most economical way to travel to Zagreb from your city?

The easiest way to travel from Thessaloniki is by plane to Budapest and then from there by bus. You can find a one-way ticket for less than 30€. Usually, planes tickets to/from Zagreb are expensive so most of Erasmus people who come here decide to come by bus because it is the cheapest way and you don't have to worry about how much luggage to carry with you. However, if you don't like travelling this way from far away, you can search for plane tickets with low cost companies as Easy Jet, Ryanair or Wizzair to Budapest or Milan or other cities which are not so far from Zagreb, and then take a cheap bus from there to Zagreb.

Recommendations

Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Zagreb?

My favorite place to go out here is a cultural place with a lot of events and live concerts called "Medika". It usually has parties every weekend and there can be two different ones since it has two floors and three or four different rooms. You will need to pay an entrance (usually it costs 20 kuna for one place and 30 to enter all the parties), but the money is for a good cause, that is, to help refugees etc. Also, there is a bar, which also has a lot of concert nights, called "Vintage bar". Moreover, the best club in Zagreb is called "Katran" and it is an old factory with four floors and every kind of music to satisfy all the tastes.

Tkalčićeva street, which is located just over the main square, is a street with lots of bars in a row, most of them working all day until 2 a. m. So, if you want to go for a quick beer or coffee, just walk along this street and you will find a bar for you. On this street, there's also a bar called "Tomato" - you will recognize it by the tomato sign on the outside. Every Thursday there are karaoke nights there and plenty of Erasmus people join this event to have fun and sing, or just have some beers. If you like karaoke, you will love this place!

Kset is the student's cafeteria/ bar of the faculty of electronical engineering. It is located in Unska Ulica 3 (you can take the tram nº13 to Zitnjak and stop at Sveučilišna al. ) and it is a very beautiful and cosy place where you can drink your coffee for just 3 kuna (less than 0, 50€) and study. This place also organizes all kind of events; the best of them, in my opinion, are the "Lip Sync" battles where you just go on the stage and perform whatever song you want. These events are not so common so I suggest you to follow Kset on Facebook and when you see the event, go and have fun!

If you like rock music, but you can't afford to go to big lives, there is a bar called "Vintage Industrial Bar" which has almost every week one or two live tributes to famous bands. Don't expect the best performances, but still the atmosphere of the bar is very nice, it is big and you will also hear songs of your favourite bands performed live just for 10 kuna.

Finally, don't miss to go to Ziraffa. It's a students bar, with really cheap alcohol and there are four or five around the city because they are crowded every night. And a street above the main square, which has more than 30 bars in a row to choose.

What about eating? Can you recommend some good restaurants in Zagreb?

This is a difficult question for me because I like cooking since the supermarket is very cheap and I prefer it. Most of the students eat almost home-made food at the students restaurants (Menza) and there are so many of them that you will find one close to your home for sure!

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

There are a lot of interesting museums to visit in Zagreb: the Museum of Broken Relationships, the Museum of Illusions, the Museum of Torture etc. Also, there are a lot of beautiful churches for which you don't have to be religious to like them! I recommend that you visit the zoo too and to combine it with a walk at the Maksimir Park where the zoo is located.

Is there any other pieces of advice that you could give to students going to Zagreb in the future?

If you come in winter, bring warm clothes, it gets really cold! And I would also recommend to choose the summer semester because there are a lot of beautiful places in the coast. Also, a little bit outside of the center, there is the lake Jarun. When the weather is good, it's the best place to go for a walk or for jogging (if you want to stay fit). Rent a car and drive along the Dalmatian coast line. You will see a lot of beautiful cities: Pula, Zadar, Split and, of course, the famous Dubrovnik. If you choose to go during winter, in February, and you like carnival, visit the city of Rijeka, which celebrates the biggest carnival in Croatia, and as many say, the third in the entire world!

And what's more important, visit the Plitvice lakes twice, at least: Once in winter when they are frozen and once in summer when everything is green and you will see one of the most amazing places ever!