To Learn about Zagreb: This post and the next one include highlights of our second 4-week visit to Zagreb. If you’re not familiar with Zagreb, you may find a better introduction to the city in these posts from our previous visit in November 2021.
Why are we back in Zagreb for 4 weeks? We’re just Re-Visiting the Schengen Shuffle:
We thought we had Schengen figured out. I had my spreadsheet keeping track of our days in and out of Schengen, beginning in August when we landed in Lisbon for two days, just to start our “Schengen Clock.”
BUT: We recently learned that the Schengen restrictions do not work as we, and many others, have logically assumed they would. They don’t begin a Schengen Clock when you first enter and count 180 days forward. Rather, they look at any given day, and they count backward 180 days. You’re in violation if you exceed 90 days in Schengen within the previous 180 days.
Adjusting our spreadsheet, we discovered that we needed to get out of town – or get out of Schengen – to avoid being in violation. That’s why we left Vienna and headed back to Zagreb, Croatia. I still wonder why these Schengen countries don’t want us hanging around and spending our money, but we’re doing our best to comply. Croatia is already part of the EU, but it’s not scheduled to join the Schengen treaty until 2024. We’ll be sorry to see that happen, since Croatia has become not only our non-Schengen refuge, but also a favorite destination.
Our nine hour train ride took us from Vienna (Schengen) to Zagreb, Croatia (non-Schengen) with one switch in Villach, Austria, near the Slovenian border.
Two Air B&B’s in Zagreb: For our first two weeks here (1/3-1/17) we’re in an Air B&B in the lower town, on Dalmatinska Ulica. It’s a lovely flat with a large living area and bedroom, but only a half-size refrigerator and no oven or washing machine. In the courtyard behind us is the Café Trocadero, where locals enjoy a drink (and a smoke) while their children enjoy a playground.
From 1/17-2/1 we stay up near the Stone Gate, in the same flat we used back in November. It’s a little smaller than the place on Dalmatinska, but it has all of the amenities we want. So now we can enjoy looking out over St. George again and listening to the local busker serenade us in the afternoon.
The Nutcracker: Sara has wanted for so long to see The Nutcracker ballet, so when we realized that it was being performed at the Croatian National Theater, we checked it out at the main Tourist Information (TI) office. But they said there were no more seats available. Way back, when the tickets first went on sail, they sold out within five hours. We were disappointed.
But our Air B&B apartment was near the theater, so we thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Perhaps some had become available. We visited the box office, and – lo and behold – we got seats, very good ones. So, on our second night in Zagreb, we attended The Nutcracker ballet at the Croatian National Theater. It was a stunning, beautiful performance in the traditional style. Sara and I were enthralled from the very start. Tchaikovsky’s beautiful music, fabulous staging, beautiful costumes and fine dancers. This is the magic of live theater. And since it’s ballet, we faced no language barrier.
Advent Zagreb is still going when we return. It runs through January 6, which is, after all, the Twelfth Day of Christmas. While the entertainment has wound down a great deal, there are still Christmas Market stalls in Ban Jelacic Square and on nearby pedestrian walkways. We’ve indulged in sausage sandwiches and chocolate covered donut holes. After the sixth, the stalls slowly disappear, as the city returns to normalcy.
Live Nativity on January 6: This final highlight of the Christmas Season was held near the front of the Cathedral. It’s not great theater, not the Passion Play at Oberammergau, but it was a charming event involving many young locals, in their home-made costumes, as they lovingly presented their Christmas tradition with song and dance. They played to a large audience, a few hundred no doubt, who stood to watch and to join in the singing. Although we seldom knew the words, we loved the atmosphere of celebration and of good will to all.
Graffiti & Street Art Tour with Krešimir: Zagreb is a city full of graffiti, much of it ugly and unnecessary, yet some of it is quite beautiful. So we took a walking tour with Krešimir (KRAY-shee–meer), a “Graffiti Artist,” to help us understand and appreciate both graffiti and “Street Art.” Krešimir was a friendly and charming guide who opened our eyes to the history and variety of graffiti and led us to some of the most beautiful street art in Zagreb. He showed us his own work, drove us back to his own “studio” to see some of his projects, and showed us the books celebrating street art that he has compiled and marketed. He also generously shared his pelinkovac with us.
The Grounded Solar System: Pretty much in the center of Zagreb sits a large bronze ball, about two meters in diameter, and now featuring lots of graffiti. This is “The Grounded Sun.” This appeared first in Zagreb. Later the “Grounded Sun” would be accompanied by the orbiting planets, called the “Nine Views,” all in scale with respect to their size and distance from the sun.
We like a challenge, so we set out to find those planets scattered around Zagreb’s neighborhoods. First, we had to ignore the decoy, a great yellow ball down near the National Theatre, to find the real “Grounded Sun.” From there, it was pretty easy to find the smaller planets closer to the sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. But it took us a long walk to the east, through Zagreb’s neighborhoods, to find the larger planets, Jupiter and Saturn. Since Neptune and Uranus are so much further out, we decided against pursuing the quest further. Word is that Pluto, the most distant and smallest planet, probably less than the size of a peanut, has been stolen. Was that just some random kleptomaniac or an astronomer correcting things now that Pluto has been demoted from the status of a planet? We’ll never know. For more about the Grounded Solar System in Zagreb, check it out HERE.
Croatian Wine Tasting at Pupitres: Sara’s always up for wine tasting, so we signed up. We had our hostess and sommelier, Jelena Šimić Valentic, all to ourselves. We tasted several Croatian wines, learned about the wine regions in Croatia, and had a wonderful time with Jelena who is a truly a learned sommelier. Her Pupitres is as much about teaching as it is about selling bottles of wine. A few days later, we stopped by for a glass of wine, and Jelena graciously invited us to visit with her and her friends. We stayed for a couple of hours. This is exactly the kind of experience we love in our travels – the chance to visit at length and learn about life in different countries. Thank you so much, Jelena. http://pupitres.hr/pupitres-bar
More on Eating in Zagreb: We could eat at a different place every day in Zagreb, so I guess the special ones are those we visited more than once.
- Stari Fiaker: A highly recommended restaurant for authentic Croatian cuisine. Sara tried a meal of roast turkey with pasta “Mlinci.” Evan enjoyed the Croatian “sarma,” a stuffed saurkraut cabbage. Fine meals and great service.
- A Burger at the Submarine: We saw the yellow signs for “Submarine,” and mistakenly assumed we could get a hoagie, a long submarine sandwich here. When we finally checked it out, this chain does not sell hoagies, but very good burgers.
- Amfora Restaurant: Sara loved this tiny restaurant, right on the Dolac next to the Fish Market, for its fresh fish, particularly for the sandfish.
- La Struk: Specializing in varieties of struckli, this place became a favorite. We especially loved the Truffle Strukli.
Look Inside the Alleys and Courtyards: In American cities, vendors want a place right on the road where a sign and a storefront will catch the eye of anyone passing by. Not so in Zagreb. Some of the best places we’ve found are in alleyways or in courtyards not visible from the roadways. Some great “Cafe/Bars” are hidden from drivers.
The Lotrščak Tower in Gradec: The old town of Gradec sits on a hill overlooking the lower town of Zagreb. A 13th Century tower, part of Gradec’s original fortifications, it still sits along the Strossmayer Promenade. Sara climbed the tower to enjoy its great viewpoint over the city.
