Zagreb: capital of Croatia

The countryside from Split to the capital city Zagreb was a complete change of scenery. We left the beaches and rocky terrain and entered a lush landscape of ferns and forests. I caught glimpses of a timber industry as the train moved through the region. Logs stacked a couple of stories high and mills were a common sight along the tracks. The train ride was longer than expected and we nodded off here and there along the way. There is something about the rhythmic rock of the train on its tracks that acts as a natural sedative.

            We met a man named Pero Dzelalija who works as a sound engineer for the national television station based in Zagreb. He seemed eager to practice his English and we were eager to understand all about Croatia – it was a perfect match. The last twenty five minutes of the ride we talked with Pero about Zagreb, his family and the culture in Croatia. When I told him he was a photographer he said that he liked photographers because they “have a picture in their head.” I thought this was an interesting and accurate observation that many people don’t understand. Instead of having a vision in your head of how you want the shot to be, many rely on a combination of camera + computer to tell them what the picture should be. He also told me that I don’t look like the typical American. I didn’t know quite how to respond to that until he told me that I seem more German.

            Pero had decided that he would be our guide and show us around Zagreb. He looked at the address we had for our hostel and told us he knew where it was located. With Pero in the lead, we boarded the number 6 tram and headed toward the center of town. Students sat in the many parks and people were bustling about their day as we arrived at the center of town. A small market was active and vendors were selling homemade crafts and trinkets in conjunction with traditional Croatian dancers that were preparing to perform in the center square. We found Fulir Backpacker’s Hostel and walked up the stairs and through the door.

The chef pulls the meat out of the oil and puts it between two pieces of bread that resemble inch-thick Pita.

The meat and bread is then passed to another guy who puts all the fresh toppings on: corn, jalapenos, lettuce, tomato, mayo, spicy mustard, ketchup, pepperoncini, pickles and onions.

            A fluffy-headed Croatian guy greeted us and asked us for our names. He stared at his computer screen and typed on his keyboard. Then he asked us for our reservation number. Carolyn pulled out here phone and showed him the number. He stared at his screen again and looked perplexed. Pero was waiting at the entrance to the hostel smoking. The Croatian receptionist let out a big sigh of relief. He explained that he thought there had been some mistake and that they hadn’t received the reservation email but he found it – the only problem was that the reservation was for the 20^th and 21^st of October and not July.

            Carolyn looked at me and I was dumbfounded. I wasn’t sure how in the hell I booked and confirmed a hostel for October. Something must have happened on the booking screen that changed the month. Carolyn looked annoyed. We had traveled more than six hours on a train and were excited to unload our packs and head out with Pero to get something to eat. The receptionist gave us directions to another hostel closer to the station and cancelled our reservations for October. We lost the $14 deposit on the cancelled room. We had the receptionist put us down tentatively for the next night in a six-person dorm.

Vendors in the open market in Croatia allow bees to feast on a piece of their fruit to show the buyers how sweet the fruit is.

These ads are hilarious. And I think they'd be more funny if I could understand the words and not just the image.

            We walked back down the stairs and returned to Pero with another map. We told him that if he wanted we would find our way and he could go about his day. He insisted on coming with us and grabbed Carolyn’s bag. We marched back down to the center with Carolyn mentioning more than a couple of times that she would be the one to book our lodging from then on. After taking the number 6 tram back the way we came we got off and looked for our new hostel. We found it not far from the station and walked up another flight of stairs to the reception area. Pero waited downstairs again and started another cigarette.

            Mirna, the young girl at the front desk, looked surprised to see us. The guy at the first hostel has supposedly called her and asked if there was room. She acted like she had been the one he had called and after showing her the map, she nodded her head at the circled area and said that was where we were. She led us to a room and picked out sheets for us, towels were not included and there was no wifi. We walked up to our room and it was silent. There wasn’t another person in the building except for Mirna. When the receptionist had called from the first hostel, he had said that there were a lot of people staying there and that there were five stories of rooms. We had booked the wrong place. We decided that it wasn’t worth changing places at this point and that we’d make it work.

Thistle-like flowers of all different colors were sold in the flower market in the central square of Zagreb.

            We descended the stairs and met the waiting Pero. He led us downtown to a place called Pinguin. It was a small booth on the side of the road and was filled with several young men, one of them was working a grill and the other was putting fresh ingredients between bread. I ordered a Zagrebacki sandwich and Carolyn ordered a vegetable burger. The food was delicious. My sandwich had a piece of meat at its center that resembled a combination of chicken-fried steak and a cordon blue. It was a steak, wrapped in ham with cheese in the center and then chicken fried. We wolfed down our food in record time and Pero then decided that we must have ice cream. We put up no resistance to the offer and followed him to an ice cream shop called Vincek. After finishing our ice creams we said goodbye to Pero and decided to head back to our hostel and make some plans for the evening. We had noticed earlier that there was a cinema by our hostel and that Harry Potter was playing. We entered the theater and looked at the times and chose one that wasn’t playing in 3d. The lady at the ticket counter was very helpful (as was another English-speaking girl in line) and we bought our tickets and actually got to choose our seats on a small screen on the counter. We found our way up to our theater and Carolyn got a large soda and large popcorn for $4 US dollars and the tickets were $10. It worked out to be cheaper to see the movie in Croatia than it would have been in the States. The crowd was much quieter and weren’t talking on cell phones or letting little children cry or run around the inside of the theater like my usual theater experience in America. The only disadvantage was that the theater didn’t have symbols on the bathrooms. You actually had to know the Croatian word for men and women. Not having a very good understanding of the Croatian language I waited and waited for someone to exit one of the bathrooms so I could determine which one I should use. Nobody exited. There was a guy waiting and I thought he might be waiting for someone to finish using the bathroom. When I motioned for him to go in front of me, I understood by his reaction that he was waiting for someone, probably a girlfriend. I chose the door opposite the one he was waiting by and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw urinals.

The left tower of the cathedral in downtown Zagreb. The right tower (not pictured) is under construction that should be completed in 40 years.

Downtown Zagreb.

            The next morning we showered, dried ourselves with our sheets and said goodbye to Mirna. We checked in at the Fluir Backpacker’s Hostel and found our room and made our beds up with clean sheets. Lunch consisted of the exact same routine as the day before -- sandwiches at Pinguin followed by ice cream at Vincek. In fact, a blonde girl at the ice cream shop recognized us. We sat in the park and watched people for a while and then went to the small market in the town center and looked around. Carolyn bought a 18^th century replica of traditional Croatian ring and we got pendants in the shape of a stylized acorn. The acorn for that period represented the family, because it grew into a large oak. It was an interesting analogy and I was reminded of how something so large and complex could begin with something so small and simple. After shopping we returned to the hostel and Carolyn took a nap while I updated my travel blog.

            The town of Zagreb has been my favorite so far. There was a perfect blend of old and new and the populace was young and active. The transportation in town was quick and efficient and not overly crowded. Many people there spoke English and seemed happy to have English speakers there. Zagreb was less touristy than Split and the temperate was more moderate. It rained twice for a couple of hours while we were there. The land surrounding the capital was lush and green and it reminded me of somewhere in Washington State. We went out with Pero one last time that evening and then came back to the hostel and made our plans for the next day. We booked a place in Bled, Slovenia which is known for a castle that overlooks a lake.