Zagreb, Croatia

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I arrive in Zagreb via overnight train from Frankfurt. I was not knowing what to expect for this trip. I do not have much experience in Eastern Europe, and I also have never used the Croatian currency Kuna. I had to familiarize myself with this, but this really should not be an issue. It was sprinkling rain when I arrived, and I had to find my hostel from the train station. I knew the instructions said it was about a fifteen minute walk, so I tried to keep whatever covered and dry as I possibly could and away I go. The instructions say to go towards the cathedral, and I see it in the distance for it looks really tall, so that is the direction I walk in.

I make it to the cathedral, and the first thought was 'Wow". The cathedral was big first of all, but it was beautiful. Couldn't look too much at it right now for I had to find my hostel, and the rain was picking up. After about ten minutes of looking down the wrong streets and asking for directions, I find my hostel. Upon arrival, Adella, who worked at the hostel was really nice ,and she offered to me an umbrella to use while touring around. Seeing I could not check in yet, I stored my bag and took her up on the use of the umbrella. Off I go to explore Zagreb.

As mentioned, it was raining and most everyone walking around were sporting the umbrella. Couldn't really get a feel of the culture just yet, but I was hoping that the sun would come out eventually and could actually see people and the sights a little better. I decide the first thing I want to do is go inside the cathedral. It was literally right across the street from my hostel, so it was an easy and quick walk. I get to the front door and make my way in. What a beautiful extravagant place. I love going inside of churches and cathedrals because of their architecture and design. Unfortunately my photos are a little blurry. Most anytime I take pictures inside without a flash, they look blurry. A lot of churches or religious places I visit ask people not to use flash, and out of respect I do not. At any rate, the place was beautiful.

The city of Zagreb is divided into three parts: Upper Town which contains the Presidential Palace, the iconic St Mark’s Church, the Croatian parliament, and museums and galleries which are all set in cobbled streets lit by gas lamps; the Lower Town with its shops, restaurants, cafes, theatres and parks; and the modern post-World War II area of Novi Zagreb (‘new Zagreb’) which is full of high-rise buildings.

I decide to just walk around some of the streets off the beaten path, and I end up in an area full of little shops and there was a market full of people with tables set up selling their produce, little knick knacks, etc.. This was Lower Town, and was very hard for me to navigate around with all the people and me having an umbrella. I made do, but I am sure that I bumped into several people. I walk towards the center of town to see what I could see. I stumble across many beautiful buildings along the way, and I see a tram that takes you up to the upper part of town. I do not take the tram, but instead walk up the stairs. When I get to the top, there is a beautiful view of Zagreb. I take some photos here, and continue to walk around in the Upper Town. It was very beautiful, and just walking around was very peaceful. I walked for an hour or so, and it was time to head back down to check into my hostel.

I check into my hostel, clean up, get everything situated and stored in my locker, and back out on the town I go. The rain has subsided a bit, and I pick a café to just sit and watch people as they walk up and down the street. This was really relaxing, and I did this two or three times throughout the night. I would walk around, get a little tired and just crash at a café to people watch for a bit. The day went by really fast, and I had a very early train in the morning to my next destination, so I have to call it a night.

I awake, gather my things and head out trying not to wake my roommates. While checking in the prior day, I mentioned to Adella that I would be departing very early, and the hostel was kind enough to prepare me a breakfast with my name on it and put in the refrigerator. I get this and make my way to the train station. My schedule was very tight for this trip, and unfortunately I only had one day in Zagreb. I would not mind coming back again one day to explore further. I am sure there was so much that I did not see. One day just was not enough for me to fully take in the sights and culture, but when your schedule is limited, you do what you can and move on to the next destination.

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