We've been asked more times than I can count, “what is your favorite country?” For the record, Italy is our first choice. But Croatia is a very close second.
This is our fifth visit to that beautiful country. We’ve been to Dubrovnik twice (thankfully before the Game of Thrones takeover). We’ve also been to Split and the island of Hvar twice. We sailed along its coastline in a Gullet (a sort of Pirate ship) for a week, and we’ve spent time in Zadar and Skradin, where we stayed on an Airbnb boat for two weeks. That also happened to be during the 2018 World Cup when Croatia was in the finals. That was when we truly fell in love with Croatia and its people.
Michael was a happy member of the Croatian fan club when we were staying in Skradin during the 2018 World Cup Finals, Croatia vs France.
This time, we are exploring the Istrian Peninsula - known as the Tuscany of Croatia probably because it was part of Italy for a time. But first, we spent four days in Zagreb, the capital city. Zagreb is often overlooked by tourists who are making a beeline for the coast, but we found it had a lot to offer.
Let me share the story of the journey before I sum up Zagreb. We left France very early on August 1st by train from the village of Bois-Le-Roi to Central Paris. From there, we zipped to Charles de Gaulle airport on an RER train. Michael checked our detailed itinerary and announced we had about a 30-minute walk from the platform to LOT Airlines, Poland’s national fleet check-in counter.
Does this bag make me look fat?
We headed for Terminal 2E, a recently refurbished wing of the sprawling CDG complex. During our walk we passed dozens of stores full of bling; boulangeries, a champagne bar, a store dedicated solely to macaroons, and distractions of all kinds. And I am easily distracted due to my “shiny squirrel” syndrome, so Michael had to make sure I was following. Sadly, the further we went towards our destination, the fewer the distractions.
In fact, our destination was the farthest end of the farthest hall. And when we finally arrived, there was no indication that LOT Air existed. There wasn’t a sign above a desk or even a human to ask. We did see a few people milling about so we asked and they, too, were looking for LOT. Michael left me with the bags and trotted off to find an official-looking person. And he did. We were to wait where we were and at 9:00 sharp the check-in team from LOT would hang out their shingle and get us checked in. It was 8:45, two hours and 15 minutes before the flight. As it turned out, we would need all of those minutes.
A good thing this Covid-19 rating was three stars out of three and not five stars. It was a safe trip.
A line formed and we wound our way to the counter. Thank goodness we arrived early because the line behind us grew to what looked like two hundred people! We determined the person checking us in did not actually work for LOT - there must be a cadre of staff that work for multiple airlines because our fellow wasn’t sure what was required in the way of Covid documents to enter Poland (we had a layover in Warsaw) but he had a big binder to flip through…and came up with proof of a negative test taken within the last 72 hours. Check! We had those.
The line for security clearance was massive. It was almost impossible to stay two feet apart, let alone six. Masks were mandatory - but how they were worn seemed to be up to the individual. The whole process was stressful and took over an hour to get through. The second-longest walk of the morning was to our gate. I did manage to swing through Duty-Free - the only chance I get to slather on $200 anti-wrinkle-cream from the tester jars. We had just enough time to buy two croissants before boarding.
About halfway through the two-hour flight, we were given forms to fill out. They were two-sided and dense with multiple questions that had to be answered by putting each letter in a box. It looked liked the NYT Crossword puzzle. There was also a sworn statement to sign that we did not have any Covid symptoms or had recently kept company with someone with Covid.
Does anybody read these things once you turn them in?
After a 2-hour layover in Warsaw, we boarded our flight to Zagreb. We were given another set of fill-in-the-box forms for entry into Croatia. I am not sure anyone ever looks at the reams of paper that pile up after a flight, but there’s no getting around them.
Once we were in the Zagreb airport and in the immigration line we were asked to scan a QR code and fill out yet another Covid related form, this time on our phones. We showed our negative test results at the counter and we were in! Voila! No one asked to see our vaccine cards.
The weather outside the airport looked ominous. Rain clouds were forming, and we were doing our best to find the UBER pick-up zone. With some help from two kind strangers, we found our ride and beat the rain just as we found our Airbnb. The building was old and drab - but often times a beautiful Airbnb is hidden inside a neglected exterior. And even though the place was a bit shabby around the edges, and the host seemed a little flighty, the place was comfortable and we were happy to be “home”.
Zagreb has a long, colorful history that I can’t do justice in a blog. In fact, I just searched for a “Short History of Zagreb” and there is no such thing. You have to go back to at least the Middle Ages. Croatia has been sliced and diced and conquered and rebuilt a dozen times. And Zagreb has seen it all.
It’s hard for construction work to move forward in Zagreb because anywhere they start to dig another layer of history presents itself.
After looking at my search results, I recommend this site if you are interested in the regional history. It is a pretty fascinating part of the world. https://www.petersommer.com/blog/archaeology-history/history-of-croatia
Michael often sidles up next to our walking tour guide because he has burning questions about history, politics, and most likely, football (soccer).
Meanwhile, we took a free walking tour from Free Spirit Tours with Luka, the company founder, and our guide. He was great. In a little over two hours, he shared the checkered history of the city including the very recent Homeland war, and the fact the modern necktie has Croatian origins. He also offered tips on where to have dinner, the best bars, how to use the transit system, and sites to hit and those to miss.
Because we are interested in Post World War II history, and definitely about the breakup of Yugoslavia, we took a second, much longer walking tour with Luka the next day. It was a deeper dive called the World War II and Homeland War Tour. It is a paid tour and costs 180 Kuna (the euro is coming soon) around $30 USD. It is well worth it if you interested in the tumultuous history of the Balkans.
The Homeland War Tour was eye-opening. Croatia has only been an independent country since 1991 and it was sobering to have our young guide tell us his father volunteered to fight for their freedom.
Once we finished the first tour of the city we realized our Airbnb location was perfect. We were close to the Upper Town (note the word upper) where many of the city's most interesting sites are. And if we wanted to get to the the lower part of the city we were just across the street from the functioning WWII bomb shelter tunnel that cuts through the “upper” hill. The main square and outdoor market are at the other end. We still had a hill to climb to get home, but there’s nothing wrong with that.
The view towards the Cathedral from Upper Town where we were staying.
It’s good to be back in Europe where you can find a very-important-man-on-a-horse in every major city. This happens to be Zagreb’s founding father.
Another option to get up our hill…ride Europe’s oldest and shortest Funicular. Just 64 seconds to the top.
Our kitchen was modest. As in not much to work with, but the good news is Croatia is still a very affordable place to eat and drink. So we did. Croatian cuisine is a mixed bag - which makes sense with so many intersecting cultures. Zagreb itself is famous for Strukli - a pastry filled with cottage cheese and sour cream. Michael has an aversion to both of those, so we didn’t end up trying that. Instead, we had decent burgers at a neighborhood place called Submarine, and then just foraged throughout the day. They make some delicious craft beer in Zagreb and there is a whole street dedicated to serving it. And since Croatia was once a thriving part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire - the pastries and coffee are top-notch.
The pastries and coffee in Zagreb are really good. The Austrian influenced architecture is sweet, too.
In the small world category our good friend ReAnn in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico has a good friend Jasminka in Zagreb Croatia. We met for coffee and spent a very nice day together. Several sources recommended a stop at the Museum of Broken Relationships - a private gallery dedicated to break ups. Jasminka joined us as we wandered through rooms filled with mementos matched with stories of heartache, lost love, and revenge. Items ranged from a destroyed garden gnome to a hefty ax, and a 50-year-old lost love letter that would have made all the difference in one young woman’s life. It was really well done.
There were many interesting places to visit in Zagreb and it had a “hip kids” vibe similar to Berlin. We were happy to see a lot of tourists of all ages, because Covid hit this city with a wallop. And just days after a mandatory lockdown in March 2020, the biggest earthquake in 140 years rattled the city and three people were killed. Buildings are slowly being repaired, but there is visible damage and some sites are closed.
The colorful and iconic Church of Saint Mark, built in 1880 is still closed due to damage.
Another highlight, at least for me, was the purchase of a dress. Normally, that wouldn’t newsworthy, but my Senior Nomad wardrobe was getting so tiresome that buying something new (not from Value Village, our favorite thrift store) became a mission. And of course, once you start looking - there is nothing to be found. But on the last day, I found an affordable, washable, colorful dress with a feather print. I like feathers - in fact, I have a beautiful one tattooed on the inside of my right forearm. Because of that, I declared I would never buy an article of clothing or jewelry featuring feathers. I did not want to be that "feather fanatic." But the dress is perfect - so just this once I’ve made an exception.
I guess if I’m going to match my tattoo with my dress, I might as well match my glasses, too.
After five days filled with history and hill climbs, we left by bus for the ancient port city of Pula. It is our first destination on the Istrian peninsula - a part of Croatia we haven't explored.
Thanks for following along,
Debbie and Michael Campbell
The Senior Nomads