So, I wrote a great update yesterday about my first day in Zagreb, but I hit something on my phone when I was holding it and doing something else, and I deleted it by mistake. So that's why I haven't posted in a bit, but I will attempt to recap a very full two days in Croatia now! Be ready for a really long post, because I have lots of time on this 3.25 hour train ride out of Croatia.
I arrived in Zagreb, Croatia on Thursday morning after an exhausting night train from Germany. I was so tired, but determined to enjoy my day exploring Zagreb. I basically had zero expectations coming to the city, because everyone I have ever talked to says Zagreb is just a "pass through city" and not a place that you really spend time in. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I really enjoyed the city a lot, and I'm really glad I went.
Right after I arrived I withdrew some kuna (exchange rate 1 usd = 6 kuna) and took the tram to my hostel, Hobo Bear Hostel. I wasn't supposed to be able to check in until 1pm, but since I sat there for about an hour attempting to recover from my lack of sleep the lady at the reception desk saw that my bed was ready, and I got to check in just before 11am. After putting my things in the hostel I set out to explore the city.
I basically just walked around and did a little shopping while stumbling across cool things like the cathedral, the market, and the main city square. It was a national holiday, so some things like the museums were closed, but luckily there was still a lot to see. When I was at the cathedral there was a service going on, so in hopped in for a bit to observe. The inside of the cathedral was beautiful, and it was cool to see it in action. Near the cathedral was the market, where I bought some cherries (that went moldy over night, wow that was fast. I never got to eat them!).
By the time I was done wandering it was around 2pm so I went back to the hostel for a rest. I hung out in the lounge area for about an hour and then took a lovely and much needed hour long nap! After forcing myself out of bed, I got myself together and headed the two blocks down to Roosevelt Square to meet the bike tour I had signed up for in the morning. The group was pretty small (me and two Germans who live sort f near Neckartailfingen!) so that made the tour pretty awesome. Our guide own the company with her husband, and they are Zagreb locals, and have been their entire lives. This made for some interesting stories, especially about the state of socialism in former Yugoslavia, and the war before it dissolved. I also didn't know that Croatia had never been independent until Yugoslavia dissolved! Anyways, she had interesting stories and showed us the most important parts of historical Zagreb over the 2.5 hour bike tour. I had a really great time, so if anyone is visiting Zagreb, look up Blue Bike Tours online! They also gave us the traditional souvenir of Zagreb at the end, which was a little heart with a small mirror that has something to do with reflecting beauty.
After the tour I planned on getting dinner, but I went back to the hostel for a second and never ended up getting back up! I hung out with a few people also staying at the hostel and we talked with the tv in the background. We unintentionally ended up watching Passion of the Christ, which I must say is gruesome and graphic. It wasn't in English, so I didn't understand anything, but I know enough to say that I probably will never watch the version with the English subtitles! I ended up calling it a night around midnight since I had to get up early and I was totally exhausted.
The next morning (Friday) I woke up and headed back to the Roosevelt square area to catch a bus to the Plitvice Lakes (Plitvička Jezera in Croatian). The hostel hadn't told me that the entrance ticket for the national park wasn't included in the bus price, so I frantically had to change a few euros at the last hotel we stopped at, but it all worked out! The bus ride to the park was fine, and the randomness of the radio station rivaled the randomness of the radio in Ireland. On the same station I heard 'CallMe Maybe' by Carly Rae Jespen, Michael Jackson, 'Tell Her About It' from forever ago, Disco music, Adele songs, 'It's Raining Men' by the Weather Girls, and more things that never usually go together. I was really tired, so luckily I fell asleep for much of the ride, and I woke up about 30km out from the park.
When we got there we were on our own, and had 5 hours to do as we pleased in the park, so I set off and began to hike! The lakes we're just as beautiful as I imagined, with their crystal clear waters, flowing waterfalls, and amazing blue colors. You could see straight down to the bottom of many of the lakes, and it was so cool. I didn't expect to see the number if waterfalls I did, so that was a lovely surprise. I walked around the enormous park along the numerous trails (and up and down my fair share of hills sine there are cliffs above the lakes and some of the trails are up there) and enjoyed being in nature. I got to see a lot of the lakes and the beautiful scenery, and was exhausted again by the end of the day! We met the bus back at 4:30pm and headed back (and I fell asleep again).
When I arrived back in Zagreb, I did a little more shopping around and went to the Museum of Broken Relationships. Now that museum is one of the strangest places I have ever been. The things being hold on to are quite bizarre. The museum started back in 2006 as an art exhibition. The exhibition traveled around the world and eventually about a year and a half ago they decided to make the exhibit a permanent museum in Zagreb, there were items from all over the world, including San Francisco where my favorite piece actually came from: a love letter glued to a mirror and then shattered). they had everything from books, to stuffed animals, to sex toys, to clocks. It was very bizarre, but I'm glad I saw it. After the museum I stop at a local brewery to have dinner and watch some of the Russia-Czech Republic Euro2012 match. I had a goulash, which I didn't really like that much, but it sufficed.
When I got back to Hobo Bear I hung out for a bit, stressed on the phone with Mom about interior decorating yet again, and got all my things together. I had a hard time sleeping because it was pretty hot, but eventually I was able to finally get some rest. This morning I left Zagreb to head to Slovenia to play at Lake Bled! I'm so excited, but unfortunately it started to rain. Hopefully it stays light and doesn't last too long, because this is my most anticipated stop on my trip. I got two more stamps on the way out of Croatia (thank you for not being in the EU yet! They join July 1, 2013).
I just arrived in Bled and can't wait to explore!
I arrived in Zagreb, Croatia on Thursday morning after an exhausting night train from Germany. I was so tired, but determined to enjoy my day exploring Zagreb. I basically had zero expectations coming to the city, because everyone I have ever talked to says Zagreb is just a "pass through city" and not a place that you really spend time in. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I really enjoyed the city a lot, and I'm really glad I went.
Right after I arrived I withdrew some kuna (exchange rate 1 usd = 6 kuna) and took the tram to my hostel, Hobo Bear Hostel. I wasn't supposed to be able to check in until 1pm, but since I sat there for about an hour attempting to recover from my lack of sleep the lady at the reception desk saw that my bed was ready, and I got to check in just before 11am. After putting my things in the hostel I set out to explore the city.
I basically just walked around and did a little shopping while stumbling across cool things like the cathedral, the market, and the main city square. It was a national holiday, so some things like the museums were closed, but luckily there was still a lot to see. When I was at the cathedral there was a service going on, so in hopped in for a bit to observe. The inside of the cathedral was beautiful, and it was cool to see it in action. Near the cathedral was the market, where I bought some cherries (that went moldy over night, wow that was fast. I never got to eat them!).
By the time I was done wandering it was around 2pm so I went back to the hostel for a rest. I hung out in the lounge area for about an hour and then took a lovely and much needed hour long nap! After forcing myself out of bed, I got myself together and headed the two blocks down to Roosevelt Square to meet the bike tour I had signed up for in the morning. The group was pretty small (me and two Germans who live sort f near Neckartailfingen!) so that made the tour pretty awesome. Our guide own the company with her husband, and they are Zagreb locals, and have been their entire lives. This made for some interesting stories, especially about the state of socialism in former Yugoslavia, and the war before it dissolved. I also didn't know that Croatia had never been independent until Yugoslavia dissolved! Anyways, she had interesting stories and showed us the most important parts of historical Zagreb over the 2.5 hour bike tour. I had a really great time, so if anyone is visiting Zagreb, look up Blue Bike Tours online! They also gave us the traditional souvenir of Zagreb at the end, which was a little heart with a small mirror that has something to do with reflecting beauty.
After the tour I planned on getting dinner, but I went back to the hostel for a second and never ended up getting back up! I hung out with a few people also staying at the hostel and we talked with the tv in the background. We unintentionally ended up watching Passion of the Christ, which I must say is gruesome and graphic. It wasn't in English, so I didn't understand anything, but I know enough to say that I probably will never watch the version with the English subtitles! I ended up calling it a night around midnight since I had to get up early and I was totally exhausted.
The next morning (Friday) I woke up and headed back to the Roosevelt square area to catch a bus to the Plitvice Lakes (Plitvička Jezera in Croatian). The hostel hadn't told me that the entrance ticket for the national park wasn't included in the bus price, so I frantically had to change a few euros at the last hotel we stopped at, but it all worked out! The bus ride to the park was fine, and the randomness of the radio station rivaled the randomness of the radio in Ireland. On the same station I heard 'CallMe Maybe' by Carly Rae Jespen, Michael Jackson, 'Tell Her About It' from forever ago, Disco music, Adele songs, 'It's Raining Men' by the Weather Girls, and more things that never usually go together. I was really tired, so luckily I fell asleep for much of the ride, and I woke up about 30km out from the park.
When we got there we were on our own, and had 5 hours to do as we pleased in the park, so I set off and began to hike! The lakes we're just as beautiful as I imagined, with their crystal clear waters, flowing waterfalls, and amazing blue colors. You could see straight down to the bottom of many of the lakes, and it was so cool. I didn't expect to see the number if waterfalls I did, so that was a lovely surprise. I walked around the enormous park along the numerous trails (and up and down my fair share of hills sine there are cliffs above the lakes and some of the trails are up there) and enjoyed being in nature. I got to see a lot of the lakes and the beautiful scenery, and was exhausted again by the end of the day! We met the bus back at 4:30pm and headed back (and I fell asleep again).
When I arrived back in Zagreb, I did a little more shopping around and went to the Museum of Broken Relationships. Now that museum is one of the strangest places I have ever been. The things being hold on to are quite bizarre. The museum started back in 2006 as an art exhibition. The exhibition traveled around the world and eventually about a year and a half ago they decided to make the exhibit a permanent museum in Zagreb, there were items from all over the world, including San Francisco where my favorite piece actually came from: a love letter glued to a mirror and then shattered). they had everything from books, to stuffed animals, to sex toys, to clocks. It was very bizarre, but I'm glad I saw it. After the museum I stop at a local brewery to have dinner and watch some of the Russia-Czech Republic Euro2012 match. I had a goulash, which I didn't really like that much, but it sufficed.
When I got back to Hobo Bear I hung out for a bit, stressed on the phone with Mom about interior decorating yet again, and got all my things together. I had a hard time sleeping because it was pretty hot, but eventually I was able to finally get some rest. This morning I left Zagreb to head to Slovenia to play at Lake Bled! I'm so excited, but unfortunately it started to rain. Hopefully it stays light and doesn't last too long, because this is my most anticipated stop on my trip. I got two more stamps on the way out of Croatia (thank you for not being in the EU yet! They join July 1, 2013).
I just arrived in Bled and can't wait to explore!
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| St Marks church. Coolest roof ever! |
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| The oh so sophisticated lock on the bathroom door near the cathedral |
Sounds like Zagreb was a good stop! The museum of broken dreams sounds nicer than the museum we went to in Estonia! Wish I could have done that hike around the lakes!
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