Travel in the Time of COVID: Europe 2021

Croatia: Zagreb

The top 5 reasons to visit Zagreb (and make it part of your European tour)

1. It’s a vibrant city, with active nightlife and music
2. Its budget friendly (nice hotels and AirBNBs in central locations for $50-75/night, most meals for two for less than $30 including wine or beer, public transit for 75cents per 30- minute ride)
3. Clever/ unusual museums 
4. The people are friendly and most seem to like tourists. There is even a free walking tour – the kind that generally costs $25/pp – that leaves from the main square at 11AM daily, and is informative and entertaining. 
5. Its resilient – the people here went through turbulent times in the 20^th century, including the civil war that tore Yugoslavia apart into five countries from 1991-1996, along with two earthquakes in 2020 – in March a 5.5 magnitude, followed in December by a 6.4 with an epicenter in nearby Petrinja. 

Zagreb was a pleasant surprise. We had planned our few days here before moving along to the seaside area of Split. It is the capital of Croatia, and situated about halfway between Salzburg and Split, so we planned to do laundry and see what had been part of former Yugoslavia. We arrived late, after being grilled by passport control on the train (we had all of our paperwork in order, so the grumpy customs officer reluctantly stamped our passports and moved on), and arrived at the train station at 9:40PM. A friendly fellow passenger let us use a hotspot from his phone to get directions to our AirBNB, but it was further away than we thought, so not walkable (especially carrying luggage). The train station had free wifi, so after getting the local money – the Kuna (about 6.3/dollar)- from an ATM, John ordered an Uber. This time, we had good directions on where to meet it. There are not a lot of streetlights, many are only motion activated, so the apartment block was dark and looming. But once we finally got into the apartment – it was beautiful and modern. The owner had put in a lot of effort with many high-end touches, including body jets in the shower and a cabinet fronted refrigerator. But we were hungry, and it was after 10PM. A friendly bar owner, who was closing for the night, pointed us in the direction of restaurants “a 10-minute walk away” – we didn’t find them that night, but if we’d gone a few more blocks, we would have hit upon the vibrant central city. Our first night’s dinner was a bag of popcorn from one of the many Tabak shops.

Our AirBNB had a small washer – one with a maximum of 4.4kg (about 9 lbs) per load. We took advantage and started laundry before venturing out for breakfast. We quickly discovered that many of the cafés here serve only drinks – coffee/ cappuccino/ beer (some folks had more than one of the above in front of them), often located near a bakery. We finally found a bakery that had an espresso machine and a few seats in the window. 2 pastries and 2 cappuccinos cost just under $5. Next, we went in search of the tourist information center. Along the way, we walked past the impressive opera house and eventually into the main square. The friendly tourist office agent was fluent in English. She directed us to the free tour, which would be starting in about 10 minutes, and said to return after the walk. 

Our guide, the local Luca, was raised in Zagreb, and old enough to remember the bombings that devastated the city in the early 1990’s. He remembered playing soccer with his father on the street, the sound and vibration, and his father carrying him to safety.

He is proud of his city and the work that went into its reconstruction and its pathway forward, embracing the 21^st century (there are plenty of public WiFi hotspots found throughout the historic portions of the city). He was also knowledgeable about the city’s origins and past. How two small cities, divided by a valley with a river, one town run by the Catholic Church, the other a secular one- eventually became the city of Zagreb. 

Croatia is a modern old country. The original Croatia dates back to the 500’s, as part of the Roman Empire, then becoming a recognized nation in 879. During the middle ages, it merged for a time with Hungary, became independent again,

then was absorbed into the Austro-Hungarian Empire for defense against the Ottomans. In 1918, the region was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, then fascist under the Nazis, followed by Communism under Tito (which was the longest government they saw in the last century). After Tito’s death in 1980, ethnic divisions led to uprisings and economic upheaval, and finally war in 1991. Yugoslavia eventually broke up to its member states (Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzogovina, Macedonia and Slovenia), each becoming their own country. Modern Croatia was “born” in 1995 as a democracy. It took its seat in NATO in 2009, and formally became part of the EU in 2013 (though does not yet use the Euro). It is now in its second longest running government of the last hundred years. The youth are hopeful, and the country has the energy and feel of an up-and-comer.

The four generations of upheaval has led to a certain dry sense of humor and creativity, as seen in their museums. My favorite was the “Museum of Broken Relationships”. Most are about the end of romantic relationships, but some are sweet-sad stories of loss, others horrifyingly funny, and well worth the $10 entrance fee.

Another fun one was the Museum of Illusions (there is also one in Split) where you get some really entertaining photos. 

The food and wine are inexpensive and good. Grasevina white, grown mainly in the Slavonia region (not to be confused with the country of Slovenia) is readily available. It’s not an unpleasant wine, but lacks the smoothness of a pinot grigio or the body of a chardonnay. Its predominant flavor is unripe pear with a hint of citrus, and pairs easily with most meals. It does grow on you. Food is hearty, but there are many options for vegetarians as well (I had an amazing beet risotto with grilled goat cheese at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Market). 

Cost of living is very reasonable. I did a quick search, and a 2BR, 1 bath apartment within a mile of the city center runs about $600/month. With available, inexpensive trams and buses going to most main areas of the country, you could live without a car. 

Make sure to add Zagreb to your travels.