Park Vjekoslava Majera

There is one more park close to Bundek in Novi Zagreb that I would love to tell you about. This is the park and a place where I had spent a lot of time of my life not just by playing as a kid but more importantly - hanging out with my pet every day.

The park is named after Croatian writer and storyteller Vjekoslav Majer who lived in the first half of the 20th century and is well known after his story called "The diary of little Perica" after which was also one of the most successful and popular films "Tko pjeva zlo ne misli" filmed.

The park is probably the most important place for numerous pet owners from the neighbourhood who use it daily for their walks or just as a passage to reach Bundek.

Location?

The park is situated between the neighbourhoods of Zapruđe and Središće and on the other side of the park is Utrina. People from Zapruđe claim it is a part of Zapruđe as the bigger road that usually divided the neighbourhoods (is between the park and Središće). The longer side of the park is the same as the one of nearby Zapruđe and Središće and end up with the road separating it from Bundek. So the area of park Bundek is the northern border.

How to reach it?

We have several options depending on your location and means of transportation.

• Trams

  Basically, you need any tram that goes over the river. You are lucky as all of them have the stop directly in front of the park. The name of the station you need is 'Središće' and then you just simply go through the pedestrian underpass (you can risk your life by trying to go over the road or get caught by the police) and within a minute you are in the park! To reach this you need to use the trams 7 (Savski most-Dubrava), 14 (Zapruđe-Mihaljevac) and 6 (Črnomerec-Sopot) whereas the number 6 and 14 will bring you there from the eastern bridge and number 7 goes from the western bridge (Savski most) and goes over the western into the city.

  All of these lines operate every day. The last line that might help you get there (and not the best solution maybe) is the line 8 (Zapruđe-Mihaljevac) which does not go to the station "Središće" but rather till the rotor under the bridge. You can then walk about 7-8 minutes until you reach the park or wait for any other tram to get you there. This line is unfortunately only available on the working days. On weekend and holidays it is out of the traffic.

  I should also mention you can leave the tram at the bridge (Most mladosti) which is one stop before the rotor-station under the bridge called Zapruđe. From there you can enter Bundek instantly or walk again ca. 10 minutes maximum until reaching Park Većeslava Holjevca.

• Buses

  There are several lines that go close by the park. I am not sure of all since most of Erasmus students do not live in Novi Zagreb but rather over the river in the centre (because for the western guys it's really cheap to find the accommodation in the centre... ).

  There are a few possibilities. One is the most popular one - the main railway station and the bus station in the centre close to Lisinski, the National Library and the square of King Tomislav (all around Glavni Kolodvor). Allmost all the busses that you take will drive you to the Novi Zagreb. Or yeah, all of them. You will have to leave then at Avenue Mall (huge shopping centre at the biggest crossroads in Novi Zagreb) and then take the tram 7 or 14 to get you to the park. Or walk about 10 minutes again until you are in.

  There is one line that goes directly from the Main railway station and that is 220 (Glavni kolodvor-Dugave) and then you will leave at the stop Utrina (or Središće). You will notice from the bus the park and to your left (the western side) when it goes at the crossing to the south and you can see the pedestrian underpass and the high school I. gimnazija. Again, within a minute or two once you go through underpass you are in the park.

• Bicycle and cars

  Bicycle would be probably the best choice and you can reach it by following the marked bike routs that goes through Avenija Dubrovnik (the main road and the soul of Novi Zagreb). Other way to approach it is to use the Dyke as there are no traffic lights, nor car or police to stop you. Once you are there though pay attention after getting down to Bundek (near the central bridge between Hipodrom and Bundek) and then follow the marked road on the side of Središće. You will reach the Park within 3-4 minutes by bike.

  As for the cars you can practically come from any direction. The parking lots are in Zapruđe, Središće and in Utrina so you really have lots of options.

What can one find there?

Let us start from the point you would mostly likely enter the park. You leave the tram and find yourself in the park after using the pedestrian underpass.

You are going to find yourself close to the children playground and a little hill with some toys. This used to be a very popular place back in my childhood when there was always someone playing there and especially in the winter we used the little hill to slide down. There are two playground on each side of the hill and the one on the northern side is the newer one. You can find also many benches there.

Since I like to have a systematisation of the locations I describe I would call this one the first part and the most vital one. Because hundreds of people use this way to go from Zapruđe to the pedestrian underpass to reach the trams and busses. There is also a high school, I. Gimnazija, on the other side of the road. Thus many people, including students, kind of travel here.

As the life is popular around the hill there are some benches you can sit on positioned around in the shape of circle enabling the interaction between the people sitting there. It is not only popular by the the teens who sit, drink and smoke here but the other visitors as well - largely consisting of the seniors and pet owners.

On our way to the other end there are not many interesting things too see or tell some stories about. I might add the eastern side of the park where you will see the long row all up until the end of the park consisting of many garages. All of them are painted and illustrated with graffiti. The entrance to them is from the road (Adamićeva) in front of the residential building. These garages also serve as a spot for gathering where friends organise so called "dernek" (a small party with food and drink for a group of people).

In the middle of the park there is a road connecting the parking lot between the garages and Zapruđe with Središće on the other side. Also used mostly for students and people going from the school in Zapruđe back home to Središće.

As we reached the other end you can have a nice view over the vast terrain of Bundek. But let's stay with our park. Now this is another "vital" part of the park because there is a mini-golf terrain (which we all devastated as kids jumping around and losing nervous with small tennis balls getting lots all the time or not hitting the hole). Besides the mini golf no one has been using for the past decades there is another playground. But for the seniors.

You can find the "balote", a popular game with the heavy metal balls that came from the south to Zagreb and used to be a very popular place for the elderly. Nowadays they do not play it there but just sit around the tables, sometimes bring food and drink for "dernek" and... greet me when I walk with my dog because they all know for either my grandpa from other neighbourhood or dad who's taking the role or mom... or sister... okay, everyone, students and youth passing through its southern part without thinking much or sitting in the groups in the evening and discussing the news from the neighbourhood.

And that's it folks.

In conclusion

This park is not going to be popular among the Erasmus students who will most likely visit Zrinjevac, Jarun, sometimes Bundek, Maksimir and Ribnjak. This park remains for the local population and belongs to the seniors walking and hanging out there, dog owners and the students and youth passing through its southern part without thinking much or sitting in the groups in the evening and discussing the news from the neighbourhood.