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- Shelley Evans (all photos taken by @Sherievon)
Croatia experience with Equilibri Travel:
We had a good hotel within walking distance to town and we explored as much as we could in the short time we had available in Zagreb. Early on the first morning, we had organised a walking tour with a wonderful guide named Stanka Selendic – she was not only an excellent guide but was also very helpful in obtaining Phil’s meds in the pharmacy.
Stanka met us at the hotel and walked us past the striking yellow Art Pavillion and into Park Zrinjevac, a calming and pretty green space very close to the town centre.
We took a coffee stop at Cafe Johann Franck where Stanka talked to us about Croatian family life, religion, and the War – she was very interesting and articulate and I can highly recommend her as a guide. She also happily admitted that Croatians are a nation of coffee-lovers – it is considered therapeutic…. I am with them!
Refreshed and ready to roll, Stanka took us to The Kaptol, the square on which the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary stands. It is the tallest building in Croatia because of its towering spires. It is Neo-Gothic in style, having been restored after the devastating earthquake of 1880 (in which the Kaptol was largely destroyed). The tomb of the martyr Blessed Alojzije Stepinac stands behind the main altar. Also on Kaptol Square stands a striking fountain adorned with golden statues of the Virgin Mary and four angels.
Stanka had a treat in store for us after we walked through the colourful markets, where red seemed to be the hue of the day – red umbrellas and luscious-looking fresh products. There is something so enticing and exciting about local markets and this was no exception. It would have been so easy to linger there in the shade of those red canopies but we had more to do….
The aforementioned treat turned out to be a private tasting of Croatian truffles and Croatian wines – very nice thank you!
Saint Mark’s Square was a memorable stop on the tour as the Church has the most stunning tiled roof. Unfortunately it was closed (is it mostly is), but we took time to take in the remarkable roof as Stanka gave us some of the history. In its past it has been badly damaged by both fire and earthquake but was restored in its current neo-gothic form in the 1870’s. The blue and red reflect official colours in the city of Zagreb, red dating from the 18th century and blue from the 19th century.
Stanka had another surprise for us too – she took us to the Lotrščak Tower near the funicular just before 12 noon – and quickly warned us to cover our ears because there would be a loud boom from the tower above as the customary cannon was fired – wow! what a blast! While the tower dates from the C13th and was originally a defence post, it has also been a prison and is currently a gallery and shop.
The tower is close to the funicular, which offers a minute-long ride down to one of the main shopping streets. We enjoyed the steep ride down with just ourselves and Stanka in the car and we were soon saying goodbye to our wonderful guide in the large Ban Jelačić Square.
We managed find to a great restaurant for dinner when we went back into town later in the evening. The following morning we had a very nice Champagne breakfast in the hotel to celebrate Phil’s birthday, after which there was another dash back into town to buy the much needed suitcase to pack for our flight to Dubrovnik…
More of our clients sent us pictures of amazing times they had in their trips that were organizied by Equilibri Travel. Here are some of them…