By , September 8, 2012 12:05 pm

I wasn’t expecting much from Zagreb.  From my experience, capital cities are usually busy, dirty, and smell like pee.  And as far as I knew, the places to see in Croatia are coastal areas, not inland cities.  Had it not been on the way between our apartment in Loosdorf, and our HelpX destination in Bulgaria, we wouldn’t have gone out of our way to visit Zagreb.

It took me less than a hour to realize I was wrong to underestimate this city (though it still has the classic eau de urine scent in more than a few places).  We picked up a great booklet  called “Zagreb Step by Step,” published by the Zagreb Tourist Board, at our hostel.  Broken down into the Upper and Lower Towns, then divided up into 19 smaller areas, this booklet served as our guide for a self guided walking tour of the city.  It even included several attractions outside of the City Centre that were worth seeing.

As we wandered the streets (and nearby mountain), the vibrant atmosphere and beautiful city sights impressed us.  Here’s a few of our favourite shots.

Post Office

Cathedral clock that stopped during the 1880 earthquake

The cathedral’s defensive walls, built between 1512 and 1521 when the threat from the Ottoman Turks was at its height

St Mark’s Church

Statue of Ban Josip Jelacic

Croatian State Archives building

Statue of St. George killing the dragon

Blackberries for sale at Dolac market

Dolac market

Maksimir park

Zagreb rooftops

Climbing Mount Medvednica (Zagreb is lucky enough to have this beauty right at it’s doorstep)

Our first Croatian wine and beer

About to enjoy our traditional post-mountain-climbing pizza

10 Responses to “How Zagreb Stole Our Hearts”

  1. Amy says:

    I loved Zagreb too! I wasn’t expecting much, but it turned out to have its charms.

    • Mike Lenzen says:

      These European cities are a stark contrast to all of those nasty capitals in Central America. It’s a pleasant change.

  2. kami says:

    I was in Zagreb once, 10 years ago, just for couple of hours. And even if it’s not your pretties capital I liked it and ever since I want to re-visit it. And now your post made me wanna go there even more!

  3. Andrea says:

    Great post fellow Canucks! I also didn’t expect too much from Zagreb, but had a wonderful 2 days wandering around taking photos and soaking up the city. I think it’s definitely worth a visit if you’re in Croatia, for sure!
    Lovely blog, by the way!

  4. […] How Zagreb Stole Our Hearts from Traveled Earth […]

  5. We just finished writing about our (short) time in Zagreb and have to say that we felt exactly the same way. The city just oozes charm, and the architecture is stunning. It was a really great way to end our time in Croatia, and one we weren’t expecting. Great post and love the site.

  6. Tanja says:

    It’s called “Dolac market” Youre spelling is wrong. 🙂
    Greetings from Zagreb.

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