To show the color there's in the city center. You see a street at the end is part of a colorful chucrh visible. On the sides are yellow and white plastered houses. There's an olds mobile car parked on the side of the street. Afternoon in Zagreb.
City,  Croatia,  summer,  walking

An afternoon in Zagreb

To show a small chapel in the middle of the city, the christian side of the city. Afternoon in Zagreb.
A chapel in the middle of the city

We only spent one afternoon in Zagreb, but loved the inner city. We have to go back someday to explore more of this beautiful city. It doesn’t have the laid-back vibe Ljubljana has, but it has it’s own old city with surprises around corners vibe.

To show how it looks outside the trainstation. A square with in the middle a statue of someone on a horse, ready for battle. Behind a yellow large building with a dome.
Outside the trainstation

Arrive by train for an afternoon in Zagreb

We pitched our tent on a campsite on the outskirts of Zagreb. We went into the city center by train. Which is a perfect way to arrive in the city. First you see all those gray monoliths, colossal buildings housing people. This gave the idea of a gray, boring city. But this isn’t the way the city is at all. Once you’re out of the old train station and walking around you realise this.

To show how the train looked to Zagreb. Cosette and Yuri each sitting on a chair in a train. Afternoon in Zagreb.
Us in the train to Zagreb

Exploring

To show the yellow building from closer. A big yellow building with a dome, behind a line of trees and a grass field.
A beautiful building close to the trainstation

We had one warm afternoon in Zagreb, so we strolled around looking at all the wonderful buildings and statues in the city center. This is a perfect way to visit this beautiful city. We roughly followed the walking tour from our National Geographic guide book. The city is perfect to stroll around. For one afternoon there is enough in walking distance of each other. There are lots of statues to be found in the old city, like the one from king Tomislav and from literary masters of Croatia. The biggest surprise however is the Saint-Marcus church with it’s colorful roof. This isn’t the only beautiful building you come across, but it’s the most colorful one, it really stands out. You have to see this square around Christmas time! Zagreb is with reason one of the best places to celebrate Christmas around the world, since it has one of the best Christmas markets in the world.

To show the Saint-Marcus church. Afternoon in Zagreb.
The colorful Saint-Marcus church
To show up close the colorful roof of the Saint-Marcus church. You see the roof of the nave of the church. Blue, red and white tiles. Two coats of arms.
The roof of the Saint-Marcus church
To show how beautifully decorated the Saint-Marcus church is. You see a wooden door, with carved out figures above it.
Saint-Marcus church

Divided city

To show the beautiful view on downtown Zagreb from the Strossmayer promenade. You see buildings woth red roofs and flats.
The view on downtown Zagreb

The city is ‘divided’ in a upper and downtown part. There is Gornji Grad and Donji Grad which is linked with a cable track. From the Strossmayer promenade you have a beautiful view over the downtown part.

To show the cable track comnnecting the upper and downton parts. You see a steep track, in the tunnel is just visible the back of a blue train cart. Surrounded by green trees and a building on the left. Afternoon in Zagreb.
The cable track to the upper part of the city

Yuri loved that Zagreb had free wifi in the city, so we also had a small Pokemon hunt until my phone battery died.

To show something of the green of the city. A street with a sidewalk. On the sidewalk is a 'show' of pictures. Behind it a small park with trees and grass.
There were a lot of pokemons to be found here

Next to all the beautiful buildings and statues we found this place with delicious pies and macarons. It was crowded and popular. We loved Vincek.

To show what we had at Vincek. 3 plates, two with a slice of cake (different cakes), one woth macarons.
Cake and macarons at Vincek

Sadly on our afternoon in Zagreb we didn’t get to explore any of the buildings inside or the museums, which there are plenty of. Until next time Zagreb!

When exploring the Balkan further on road trips, and there’s enough to explore, don’t leave out Bulgaria and it’s cuisine.

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