A useful summary on Zagreb and the young country of Croatia
Zagreb is a beautiful city of about 700 000 inhabitants.
I arrived late around midnight and luckily I had the address of a hostel near the station that I have reached in ten minutes. Question of the Down Town Hostel, a structure with a spartan bed in a dormitory with 6 beds for 20 euros a night, but very convenient central location just steps from the main square and from all points of interest.
The new Zagreb is located on the side of the river Sava, but not very interesting, I've realized over the past days when I tried to reach it, but I gave up quickly because it consists of fairly modern buildings left and go back to the communist regime Tito.
Fortunately, there are large green areas that mitigate the sadness of architecture boring bedroom communities. Only in the last day I took the tram, one of the many that make up the unique transport network based almost solely on blue trams that make up a network similar to that of the major metro cities, which takes place only at the surface and this is more pleasant if somewhat slower.
I took the tram to spend the last day, a Sunday, the lake Juran a pleasant artificial lake that has hosted the Universiade because it has modern facilities for rowing competitions in addition to various beaches and greenery around. The waters are cool and clean and there are a variety of dining, biking trails, forests, of which three islands connected by a bridge and I could also attend a commemorative march in honor of Terry Fox, a Canadian athlete who tried to cross the two shores of the North American continent to raise awareness on the issue of his disease, cancer, which led him away before the end of the march.
For the record back from that beautiful day at the lake, I stopped at another city park with an artificial lake where he was going the beer festival, Oktoberfest like a local with a lot of sheds, each representing different regions of Croatia with the various culinary specialties and wines. I stopped that because it had a Slavonian folk ensembles that performed a great upbeat music that reminded me of some Balkan country fairs where I witnessed during my childhood in Istria.
I spent the last four days visiting museums after recrossed the old town from the city park with its cloister music and couples dancing the tango, the square Jelav ... ... ... with the equestrian statue of the historical character first ousted and then reinstated, the nearby beautiful cathedral with its ancient walls and a tower near the market square with its cheerful stalls, another beautiful church with a bell tower with the top green-gold, the crowded pedestrian streets with many bars especially in the evening when zagrebesi come from all over the city to enjoy the peace of this ancient and relaxing part of the foot of the hill that climbs a flight of stairs or taking the shortest 64 seconds trenovia that connects the lower town at the top that houses the beautiful church with a roof painted with the coats of arms of Zagreb and Croatia, the Government Palace, Parliament and many museums as well as an ancient tower from which for centuries a cannon fires at noon next to an area called Strossmartre romantic, a name that blends the Montmartre in Paris with the bishop Strossmayer 800 patrons who did so much for the Croatian capital, for example, the construction of the important museum that bears his name and which houses an important art gallery of paintings mostly of religious paintings, and especially by artists Italian with a few minor exceptions related to valuable works of major artists.
On the hill there is also an old door with a protected image of a Madonna which miraculously escaped from a fire that destroyed the city in 800 and that is the goal of worship and pilgrimage of the very Catholic Croats.
The last day I visited the hill two very interesting museums: the naive art, a rich collection of the great Croatian artists, masters of the style associated with large and Generalic ... ... ... ... with about 80 paintings a more beautiful than the Then the museum of the great genius Croatian sculptor Mestrovic lived at the beginning of the last century and died in the U.S..
In his beautiful house that was home for many years has produced a rich museum which houses many sculptures impressive and valuable. Bronze statues are especially black, but also of white marble and wood with representations of women in erotic attitudes and people in distress.
Another museum that I visited in the days preceding the Mimar, a rich collection of about 4,000 pieces including paintings, statues, porcelain, carpets and everything beautiful rich Croatian who emigrated to the U.S. after having made a fortune, bought around the world and back home before his death, giving his precious collection to his hometown after many vicissitudes was able to find a worthy place in a building that houses very beautiful and very high level, a rich collection of works of art worthy of visit and appreciation.
Zagreb is a city in which relaxed the atmosphere is good for nothing polluted by low traffic eliminated from much of the city that uses its wonderful trams do not noisy and polluting.
There are large manicured city parks, one in front of the train station in particular, but also large green areas to the north of the nearby mountain ... ... ... .. which brings fresh air to the south and the nearby town of which I spoke of earlier modern .
What about at the end if that Zagreb was the final goal worthy of a great trip lasted three weeks, which allowed me to complete my knowledge of Central Europe