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Zagreb, Croatia

Zagreb, Croatia

One of our friends, Addy, visited us at the end of March 2007. I took 3 days of and we arranged some free days for Yde at his school. We were doubting about our destination, Greece or some former Yugoslavian countries. We decided for the last because this would give both us and our friend a better insight in similarities and differences between Croatia and Bosnia Hercegovina compared to Serbia.

Zagreb was our first destination. Easy to reach from Belgrade by the E70 which is by now nothing but 4 lane highway. On the Croatian side, which is the longest part, they finished working on this road last year with a very good result. Compare the Croatian part with 'peage' highways in France, perfect tarmac and electronic road signs. The Serbian side is ok but not in perfect condition. Both countries charge toll. Payable in local currency, euro's or with credit card at the Croatian side (for Serbia I am not sure). In total it is around 390 kilometers.

We arrived in Zagreb around 17.00. There are plenty of clear signs so finding the city center is easy. Just drive around a little bit in the center in order to get an idea in which hotel you want to stay. Closer to the center is more expensive but we would advise this to everyone. The center is really worth walking around at both day and evening time. Zagreb is not a small city so if you take a hotel at the outskirts you depend on tram or taxi if you also want to enjoy nightlive and some drinks.

We took the Best Western Premier hotel Astoria, perfectly located between the central train station of Zagreb and the Bana Jelacica square (or Trg BAna Jelacica). Two minutes walking from Tomislav trq, Strossmayerov Trg and Subica Zrinjskog Trg. What kind of Trg's am I talking about? Just look at these pictures and you will see why Zagreb is definately worth visiting and why we think it is a beautiful city.

It was a little bit cold the first evening so after some exploring we found a nice restaurant called Ivica and Marica. They claim to serve ancient Croatian dishes and we pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food, wine and service. Maybe Christina will write a separate restaurant review. This restaurant is for sure not the cheapest in town but they do offer nice music, local but not that nervous violin fiddling you sometimes get in restaurant. Furthermore the waitresses are wearing traditional clothes (that's what they claim) and again, good food. Just try things like the traditional appetizer plate from the past, whole wheat noodles, turkey, fresh trout.

After diner we went back to our hotel, and I tried one (or two?) local beers. Nice beer, this Ozusjko beer. I think that the Serbian Jelen Pivo is better but it's a close call.

The next morning we went back to the Bana Jelacica square for some more pictures. We visited the Green market and the Fish market which is located next to the green market. Very nice vendors selling good quality vegetables.

Dolac market

Our first impression of Zagreb: relaxed and pleasant with great buildings and architecture. We will go back to Zagreb for sure, some people might tell you that it's a little bit dull but I don't care. We are still impressed by the great squares, nice shops and friendly people. (posted by Jitze, 01/04/07)

Jurisiceva street, with of course McDonalds

Jurisiceva street, with of course McDonalds

More information:

Zagreb tourist information

Croatia according to Wikipedia

Zagreb according to Wikipedia

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