After a five hour bus ride (longer than anticipated due to 40 minutes sitting at the border), Trisha and I made it to Zagreb, Croatia. We found our flat, which was by far the largest and nicest we had stayed in, and promptly left to find food.
Those five hours were without much sustenance for either of us and we were both starving. I was tired of eating heavy food and found a well-reviewed Italian restaurant off the main square called Boban. It turned out to be a wonderful meal in a beautiful setting. To get to the restaurant we walked through Zagreb’s main square that has a picturesque gazebo situated in the middle of a grove of ancient sycamore trees. We found the restaurant and ordered local Croatian pinot gris. We shared a meat and cheese plate (this time with real cheese instead of kraft singles), and I got simple grilled chicken with fresh pesto and grilled veggies. It was DELICIOUS. It was so nice to have a really tasty meal that also was light and fresh. Trisha had these amazing homemade raviolis with truffle, which were also delectable. Two glasses of wine each, an appetizer and a full entre and the whole thing with tip cost only $36 each. Not too shabby. We went back to the flat and made it an early bedtime as we had to be up very early.
The next day we were to meet the World Chicago team, Peggy and Angela, at the Zagreb airport at 8:40 am. From there we’d be transported to the smaller town of Varaždin where we’d meet the rest of the group and where we’ll also be giving our talks at Voogle tomorrow for 200+ people.
We got to the airport and found the ladies. We were waiting on one more, Roland, a longtime partner and home stay host for the program. While we waited we had a wonderful latte and even a gluten free brownie from Café Nero. It was a great start to the day.
Once Roland arrived, we packed into a van and drove the hour to Varaždin. Varaždin was once the capital of Croatia, until a devastating fire forced the relocation of the capital to Zagreb. In fact, it’s one of Europe’s most intact baroque centers (after Prague). Varaždin feels like the best kept secret in Croatia. It doesn’t get a lot of tourists outside of a few summer festivals so the streets were basically empty as we wandered. It’s easy to imagine you’ve been transported back in time as the pastel, dreamy buildings look as if they’ve been untouched for centuries. Old town looks like a story book come to life complete with the white washed Stari Grad castle and cobblestone streets.
Our little group got to explore Stari Grad and had it essentially to ourselves. We poked our heads into every nook and went up every stair, each door leading to yet another room full of domed ceilings painted in pastel pinks, yellows and blues reminiscent of meringue.
After the castle we found a little restaurant where I tried a shopska salad for the first time. A delectable blend of tomatoes, cucumbers, red and green peppers with the saltiest, most mouthwatering feta ever. I paired this with a simple grilled chicken breast and it was exactly what I needed.
After lunch we returned to our hotel where I sit in my very own room, overlooking the park where cherry blossoms dot the landscape. It’s a gorgeous hotel and it is quite nice to have my own space to spread out and decompress from the last week of pretty intense and non-stop travel. I have a few hours to rest before we meet up with the group again for our “secret dinner,” where our Croatian hosts take us to an undisclosed location and a personal walking tour of the city. The theme is witchcraft, so should be interesting and entertaining!
2025-02-10