This capital city to Croatia offered us a rude awakening and some wonderful food! Next stop, Zagreb.

Highway to Zagreb, Croatia — Highway to Zagreb

It is a another sunny and hot Thursday and the temperatures are hovering around 38 degrees celsius. Our last stop was Keszthely, Lake Balaton, Hungary and now, a short 75 km later we arrive at the Croatian border; it is 11:11 am.

We were pulled out at the border, assumedly because I am Canadian; within a painless 5 minutes of some questions and a passport check, they let us go again. A short distance down the road we had to take a toll ticket for highway use, which will be paid when exiting the road. The final cost for the toll was €6.41.

Highway Toll Ticket Booth - Croatia — Highway Toll Ticket Booth

By 12:30 pm we already arrived at our prebooked apartment. We phoned the guy who was listed as the contact, and then the problems started. If you want to read about where NOT to stay, read my review.

Cut to downtown Zagreb. We were desperately trying to find a place to park, but could not understand the system, largely because everything was in Croatian. A nice guy sees us trying to figure it out and immediately stepped in to help. So nice when you realize there are still good people out there! Basically, different colored parking zones indicate whether you can park as well as indicating various price levels. You find a ticket machine, buy your amount of time and place it in the windshield. Ticket machines are sometimes hiding ?.

Ilica Street, Zagreb, Croatia — Ilica Street

We immediately set about finding a place to try some traditional Croatian food. Almost immediately we stumbled on Gostionica Restoran Purger – you can read my review by clicking the name. After lunch, we went to do some sightseeing.

Sights of interest / Must see in Zagreb:
– Republic of Croatia / Marshal Tito Square
– Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography
– Museum of Arts and Crafts
– National Theater
– Roosevelt Square
– Mimara Art Museum

Saint George Sculpture - Croatia National Gallery - Zagreb — Saint George Sculpture

Now I will venture to say, we probably missed a lot of great sights, and our time was far too short. In above list is what we managed to fit in before hurrying our way out of the city.

Mimara Art Museum, Roosevelt Square, Zagreb, Croatia — Mimara Art Museum

3 pm, full bellies, once again in the car, exiting friendly Zagreb, destination Plivitza / Plitviče Lakes National Park. We have possibly spoke with the one and only asshole in Zagreb when we tried to get check in to our pre-booked apartment – thank goodness we met so many nice people.

Back on the highway, we pull another toll ticket. which costs us 73 kunas / €9.85 exiting the highway. What are we learning? Highway tolls add up very quickly.