Bring on the Balkans...

In search of hotter weather, we left the UK and headed the the Balkans.  Geoff was eager to see Croatia and Beth was sure that the country had changed significantly since she was last there 25 years ago.

We arrived in Zagreb, Croatia's capital, to find a small but charming capital city.  Having been under the Habsburg rule for hundreds of years, it was not surprising to see Austrian influences both in the city's infrastructure (pastel coloured buildings (with a heavy use of yellow) in a gothic style) and public zoning (rounded streets and lots of public spaces).

Hotel Esplanade

We learned from our tour guide that our lodging, the Hotel Esplanade, was actually a historical site, having been built to house travellers taking the Orient Express from Paris to Turkey (and vice versa) for their needed overnight stay in Zagreb.  This certainly explained its close proximity to the train station and downtown core and made Beth imagine wishfully that we would be on a similar train the next day to Ljubliana.  As she elbowed past the hoards of backpackers to secure a seat on the train that was a touch too-graffittied for her tastes, she realized that this would not be the case.  

Zagreb is small in number with only 800,000 residents.  You get the feeling that they have a bit of a complex about being such a small capital city and want to prove to you that it is still worthwhile to visit.   The tour guide made several mentions that their cuisine was world class and they had all the shops of the bigger city.   Perhaps this is why they have so many museums (separate post on the more unusual ones).  But they really needn't worry - between the lovely public squares to sit and relax, the wonderful weather and some of the friendliest locals who just want to help, it has a charm and intimacy that is very compelling.

Although we won't be visiting the Mushroom Museum here anytime soon, we could certainly see coming back to Zagreb on our future travels.  

One of Zagreb's main squares.  It combines architectural styles from a variety of eras.