Zagreb, Croatia

The train ride from Ljubljana to Zagreb is very picturesque and a very easy 2 hours or so. Sit on the right side of the train, there is much more of the landscape to see than on the left. We arrived at the border for Croatia and were swarmed by police, i had thought it was a raid but it was just immigration. Here they board the train with bluetooth devices, calling in the names of non EU passport holders into little headsets before stamping and moving onto the next. It was like a military operation and was remaniscent of old war time movies.
The shame of the whole EU merger is the loss of all the weird and wonderful country stamps but the upside is if you are the holder of a EU passport there is no security check, very easy should yoube on the run. At the rate the EU is growing you could pretty much be on the run forever.

I treated myself and booked into a little designer hotel called the Arcotel Allegra near the train station, i have Sigmund Freud bed sheets.

After checking in i strolled into the Dolac region which is pretty much the center of town. Zagreb at night is very safe and very walkable although the tram system is excellent. Watch out as they come by fast and furious, waiting for no man or woman.

Starving, i stumbled upon a place that was packed with locals outside. I ventured in and found it was this sandwich bar that i had read about on some blog. It,s basically Croatian fast food, sandwiches, the Croatians absolutely love bread. It must come from the time of the conflict as bread is so simple to make, much as it was popular in British war times. Bread is with everything. The sandwich though was amazing, so much so that i went back today for lunch before my 4 hour train ride to Riejka. Last night i had the classic breaded pork with cheese in a Pita bread with lettuce, tomatos and some kind of dressing. So fresh and i was completely stuffed for 20 Kuna.
The Kuna as me just plain confused. Already coming from the states to the UK i am constantly converting between US and Sterling. Now i am converting the Kuna back to Euro back to Sterling back to dollar to get an idea of what i am spending. Currently it is around 7 Kuna to the Euro. So last nights sandwich at 4 Euro was good value...i think.

The shame of travelling solo is not sampling all the nice restaurants. I dont feel like sitting down to a 3 course meal alone. Zagreb is very socialable and cosmopolitan, much of its layout and architecture of some buildings reminds me of both Madrid and Mexico City. Id like to come back for a weekend perhaps although after today like Ljublana, i think i have covered it in 24 hours although as with Slovenia, id like the opportunity to go inland and do some hiking.

After my walk last night i ventured back to the hotel to use as many facilities as possible, namely the wellness spa which boasted jacuzzis and saunas. They werent lying and at first like with many hotels i though i was the only one using them. I wandered in and the place was silent, noone around, and then i saw a man laying on chair in a robe. We swapped Dobar Dans (Hello) and i went back to change. At first i believed he had thought i had left because when i returned he was standing butt naked outside the steam room. I quickly apologized for walking in on him and closed the door for a moment, as he put his robe back on. I then went into the steam room, wearing a swimsuit, this is a hotel for gods sake not a nudist colony. As i lay there perspiring away all my youth hostel dirt from the night before, in he walks completely balls naked and sits down on the bench, my eyes in direct line with his dangly bits. I dont know how i didnt burst out laughing. Have i mentioned the guy must of been in his late 50s to 60s, white hair...collar and cuffs! Well i remained cool and stayed for 5 minutes, before leaving, as i left he said ˝i hope i did not scare you ˝ i wanted to tell him ˝ not with that, no˝ but i didn't.
Instead i went to one of the jacuzzis, how awesome that they had personal jacuzzis that you start with your room key, it sprays in detergent and cleans it before filling with water and starts the jets. It was fantastic, lights went on in the tub and calming music played. Definitely what i needed.

Today i walk around town, went to Zagreb Kathedral, my first place of worship on this trip but not my last i am sure. Actually i followed it up by going to St Marks church which has god awful tiling that form flags on the roof and then to a stone gate. I then went up a path that lined the city and gave sweeping views of its rooftops and spires.

I stopped by the market in the Dolac, starting first with the flower market, the smell of lavender was intoxicating, this was then followed by all the fresh fruits and vegetables and the women selling their cheeses, The area was brimming with people at outdoor cafes and what i really like is that these people are older but what is odd to see is rarely are these groups of mixed gender. The older generation certainly seem to socialise with their own. Women outside cafes drinking lattes and wine, the men smoking cigars across the street, cold beer in one hand cards in the other. Everybody watching each other.

Zagreb in fall is lovely. Still warm and sunny in the day, cool at night. The leaves are starting to leave the trees and the streets are full of conkers which streetside vendors roast and sell in the evenings. I have only ever seen that in England before so it made me smile.

Iwent back for a sandwich at Pingvins, this time a seabass in ciabatta with lettuce, tartar sauce and tomatos. I am not a sandwich fan but these were nom nom.

Now, i run for a train to Riejka, the gate way to the coast and where i swap trains for boats.


Listening to: Alexi Murdoch - Time without Consequnces (great trainride soundtrack)

Watching: Charlie,s Angels - The drew barrymore movie. Hadn´t seen it before, somehow i think the subtitled version is better.