Zagreb

Zagreb, Croatia 

I think Zagreb might be my favourite city so far. It's a pretty small city, not too much bustle, but I had no problem filling my day and a half there. Although I think you wouldn't want to spend much more then that, especially if you are into the nightlife aspect, of which, I've heard there is very little. 

When I arrived, the hostel was only a 15 minute walk from the train station, which was nice, and it was right on a main square. The hostel reception was really nice, they told me where to get some cheap eats, and gave me a book with the important sites to check out. So I headed out and got some margirita pizza for 10 Kuna, and sat in one of their many lovely parks to eat. Then walked around lower town a bunch, which was nice. The city is divided into the lower town and upper town, upper town being older, and the lower town being more planned and built in the late 18th century and 19th century. I wandered to Dolac Market, which was really nice, I bought a peach, and got some free (waspy) watermelon. Everyone there was super nice. I also walked around the Upper Town, which was cool.

I checked out the Zagreb history museum and the Croatian History Museum's exhibit, "The Homeland War" 

I won't repeat all the history that I learned, but you should "wikipedia" about the Civil War in Croatia, it's quite interesting. Especially how recent it is, like, this was happening in my lifetime and I knew nothing about it, even if I was about five. But it made me think about how everyone my age and older that lived in the areas of Croatia affected, lived through war, which is something that I just can't imagine. 

The history of Zagreb museum touched on history that was much older, and also, was interesting. The receptionist there was also the only person I met in Zagreb that was not friendly. A lot of the history had to do with the church's influence on the city and the Kaptol settlement, which was a religious town, centered on the Catherdral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The area around the Catherdral is really nice, I couldn't go into the actual building though, because when I went it was late at night, but the outside was impressive enough.

The next morning, I slept in a bit to be able to catch a 9:55 train to Budapest. 

After the museums I wanted to check out botanical gardens, but unfortunately they were closed early on Tuesdays. So I walked through the lower town a bit more before heading back to the hostel again.