Just some 140km separated the 2 cities of Ljubljana in Slovenia and Zagreb in Croatia
After
watching marathon movies onboard SQ, I finally arrived in Munich for a 3-hour
transit to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.
The experience onboard the Croatia Airlines’ 2-propeller small plane was much better than expected although a
little noisy. The cabin was clean, neat
and comfortable and they even served refreshment and snacks on the 1 hour
10-minute short flight!
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| I don't understand why some passengers had to collect their luggage on the tarmac while the rest of us could pick it up in the arrival hall... |
I
wanted to check out the ATM in Zagreb and tested it by withdrawing the local
currency (kuna or HRK) using my DBS ATM card.
The rate was good, about S$1 : 5 kuna. The transaction fee is S$5
regardless of the amount withdrawn anywhere in the world as long as the ATM
machine displays the Cirrus Plus logo.
This is better than and different from using the credit card to withdraw
in local currency, which is considered a cash advance service and interest rate
will be levied upon the amount withdrawn.
For urgent need of cash, utilizing your local bank ATM card to withdraw
in the local currency is most convenient and efficient
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| You can withdraw local currency anywhere in the world with your personal ATM card as long as the ATM machine displays the Cirrus Plus logo |
I decided to exit the
terminal building to recce the small park on the opposite side. It was cool, about 21 degrees Celcius and I
settled down to download the maps on my Garmin navigation system which usually
takes about 5 minutes or longer to download the entire country’s map 1st
time.
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| At the small park opposite the airport |
Happy that I could navigate to all
the addresses which I had pre-entered into the system, I started to take some
pictures of the surrounding areas and munched on some snacks. Feeling bored, I decided to go back to the
airport terminal to pick up the car first so that when my friends arrived we
could zip off immediately. It took a
long time as the service was slow (there was just one customer ahead of me) and
I also requested the staff to accompany me while I tested out the car and had
it parked a distance away from the airport where the parking is free (just 5-6
minutes walk away).
I left my luggage in the boot and went back to the arrival
lobby to wait for my friends only to discover that their flight had been
delayed by 30 minutes. Was really glad
to see them after clearing the customs. By the time they arrived, there was a queue
at the exchange bureau counter and it took probably about 30 minutes for all 3
of them to secure some kuna. Though
Croatia is part of the EU, Euros are not commonly accepted and at places where
they are accepted, the exchange rate is much lower than that at the airport
bureau exchange. So do remember to buy
your kuna at the airport!
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| There are 2-3 exchange bureaus at the airport but the state bank offers the best exchange rate |
Back at the car, we quickly headed for downtown Zagreb after
loading up all the bags. It took just 25
minutes to reach the city but it took us another 30 minutes to look for the apartment as there were 2
apartments with the same name.
What followed next was a heart stopping experience! We paid 10 Euros to have our car parked overnight in the compound of our apartment
which was considered cheap in the city of Zagreb. Parking lots are hard to come by in Zagreb
and the parking rate, expensive.
The entrance to the carpark was a
mere 2
metres or so from the road-cum-tram track and what aggravated the problem was
the width of the gateway to the carpark which had just 1-2 cm clearance on both
sides of the 2 wind mirrors. We had to
watch out for the oncoming trams and quickly reversed then steered the car
through the gateway, which was an almost impossible task at the time having to
struggle with a manual gear transmission vehicle which the driver had not
driven one for eons! A pat on our driver’s shoulders for passing with flying
colours despite him breaking out in cold sweat!
The apartment building is old but well maintained and
the interior, charming. Our “driver”
liked it so much that he was contemplating buying a unit there if available!
|
Thou
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| The kitchen-cum-dining area |
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Creative use of the black board 
We had a brief rest then headed off for a walk to the
heart of the town which was a 10-15 minutes’ walk from our apartment. As it was a public holiday (Labour Day), the
entire downtown area was pretty deserted, with very few shops opened.
The architecture of the buildings in downtown Zagreb is
supposed to be of a mixture of Austro-Hungarian elements but somehow they reminded me more strongly of Prague……
Our apartment is the dark brown building on the right
 
Zagreb Cathedral or Church of the Assumption Trg Josipa Jelacica
Opposite the Church of the Assumption
Trg Josipa Jelacica
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The Stone Gate serves as a separation between the
Upper and Lower town and is also a chapel.
The locals come here to light candles and pray to a painting of St Mary
and Jesus which was saved from a fire in 1731.
We did a leisurely stroll from the lower to the upper
town and back to the lower town for dinner, starting from Trg Josipa Jelacica
to the Cathedral of the Assumption or Zagreb Cathedral, the 13th century
St Mark’s Church atop a hill, the small Jelacic Square with several museums and
the lookout point next to the Zagreb Funicular which offers a peek at the city
scape. The blue funicular is the shortest in the
world intended for public transport with railways of just 66 metres taking 64
seconds to complete one-way. It is the
first mean of public transport in Croatia, the oldest and the safest (accident
free).
Colourful tiled roof of St Marks Church
We found the Croatian restaurant as recommended by the
staff of the apartment and settled down for our 1st Croatian meal
which we felt were quite similar to European food, and the taste was nothing
outstanding or memorable. While on the
way back to the apartment, we bought some buns for breakfast as we intended to
set off early for the 175km drive to Plitvice National Parks, the highlight of
this trip.
It was slightly easier driving out of the carpark onto
the main road and off we sped towards the crown jewel of Zagreb.
As I have a dedicated blog on Plitvice National Parks (http://youwanu1.blogspot.sg/2015/05/a-pictorial-journey-through-stunning.html) ,
I will now fast forward to our 8th and 2nd last day (8th
May) in Croatia, when we returned to Zagreb from Istria via Slovenia since Slovenia
is almost equal distance from Porec and to
Zagreb (about 140km each). After about
1.5 hours of highway driving, we arrived at the customs crossing, but just metres away from the border crossing,
we stopped at a gas station to buy a vignette sticker (15 Euros for 7 days) that
is required of foreign vehicles entering Slovenia. The fine is a hefty 300 to 800 kuna for
vehicles found driving on the motorway without a valid vignette. Vignettes are sold at petrol stations in Slovenia and neighbouring
countries and at branches of the national and foreign automobile clubs, at post offices in Slovenia and at some magazine stands.
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| The 7-day, 15 Euros vignette sticker |
Our immediate impression of Ljubljana was that it is a
very happening and vibrant metropolis compared to the Zagreb we saw on 1st
May. We
crossed the Ljubljana River, took pictures of the key sites including The
Triple Bridge (Tromostovje) and the Preseren Square and surrounding vicinity
then sought help from the tourist information centre for recommendation on
where to have lunch.
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| Distant view of The Triple Bridge |
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| Preseren Square, named after Croatia's most famous poet |
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We dined alfresco style not far from Castle Hill. The servings were huge. I opted for soup and a vegetable pie while
one of my friends was adventurous enough to try the traditional blood pudding
which looks like a black sausage
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| Zagreb Castle on Castle Hill |
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| The blood pudding which looks like a sausage |
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| Open Market in the city square |
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| On the opposite bank of the Ljubljana River which is behind the open market |
1.5 hours later we were back in Zagreb. This time round, we were in the heart of the
city, just 2 blocks away from the eye-catching glass encased Hotel Dubrovnik. The 2 gentlemen spent a long time looking for
the apartment while we waited in the car by the side of a road. As it turned out, the signages are so tiny and
inconspicuous! If the owner had not
waited for us and took over the wheels, we would never have guessed that the
walkway is passable to car as there were more leg traffic than any car in
sight! Recalling the scary experience a
week ago in Zagreb, we asked the owner to drive the car to his apartment while
we walked the 50m or so to the building.
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| The owner driving our car along this stretch which looks more like a pedestrian walkway than a road |
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| Reversing into the small private car park |
I like the spiral staircase and the cosy apartment
which has 2 large sofa beds that are comfortable and very easy to set up in just
2 steps. In particular I love the lacy curtain
which looked like cut-out paintings when the lighting was right or good.
We did not linger long in the apartment this being the
last night in Croatia. Besides, we
noticed that downtown Zagreb was pulsating with night life, so different from
the 1st night we were there, which was almost void of human traffic.
While we liked alfresco dining, we did not like to be
passive 2nd-hand smoker. We
took a long time choosing a place to have dinner and it was the gelato in a bar
restaurant which won us over. I had
desserts for dinner, a cake and 2 scoops of gelato!
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| Our apartment is just 2 blocks away from Hotel Dubrovnik in downtown Zagreb |
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| The rotating display of gelato caught our attention and we decided to have our dinner here with the ultimate objective of having the gelato after dinner |
Though it was still quite early, we decided to return
to the apartment after dinner as we had to shower and packed up for our journey
to the airport the next day.
As our flights were in the late afternoon, we decided
to have brunch before heading to the airport.
We set off for the lower town and
were surprised to see numerous open markets selling flowers, fruits, vegetables,
souvenirs and knick knacks. There is a
seafood market too (indoor) which looks very much like our wet market. We bought some souvenirs and fruits and had
burgers and salad for brunch.
Soon it was time to bid farewell to Zagreb. After bidding adios to the apartment owner, we
had a smooth ride to the airport and spent a while waiting for the staff of the
car rental company to attend to us.
We were to discover that the staff was not very
honest. While he scooted off to check on
the vehicle without informing me, I patiently
waited for him at the counter. By the
time I decided to head back to the car to check out if he was there, he was in
the process of getting out of the car. He
pointed out to me that we broke the front left fender that was partially hidden
under the car. We had no idea that the
fender was loose, or in his words, broken.
Later, I learnt from my friend who happened to be in the line of vision
of the car that the staff did not even look around to check the car except to
check the gauge for the gas tank! It was
obviously a pre-condition which I wasn’t aware of at the time of
collection. We therefore believed that
the staff could have used this pre-condition to claim compensation from unknowing
customers who did not buy insurance with
them at the time of the car collection, or like us earned from our
excess coverage and could either use it to repair the broken part or repeat the
whole process again with other customers. Whatever was the truth, we were glad
that we need not cough up a cent more except to sign some document to enable
them to make the claims from the insurance company. The daily insurance
coverage we paid was about 16 Euros a day!
This incident kind of tainted our otherwise happy
holiday in Croatia. The next time I collect
a rental car, I will remember to peek underneath the car!
Yet another final episode took place while my 3 friends were at the airline counter
to check-in their baggage. To their horror they were told that because they did
internet check-in, their luggage cannot be tagged all the way to Singapore as
they will be flying Croatia Airlines followed by Air France. That meant that they had to collect their
luggage at CDG in Paris and recheck-in their bags there. This would have been fine if they have a long
transit time in CDG but they had only 1.5 hours barring unforeseen delays! And at CDG some 2 hours later, one of my
friends’ luggage went missing-in-action!
He had to file a report while in Paris and double-checked again in
Changi Airport to no avail. Luckily it
was dispatched to his home the following day!
Fortunately for me I did not do internet check-in and secondly, after my
exhausting saga with SQ back home, they managed to resolve this issue of
claiming and recheck-in the luggage in Frankfurt. In fact I don’t believe in doing internet
check-in as it doesn’t save one much time and you still need to check-in your
luggage at the airport. More important
to me is the ability to select my seat….
Minus the hiccups, it was a nice whirlwind visit to
the twin cities on one single trip/holiday.
For me that would suffice, as I am not a city folk but one who prefers exploring
the outdoor and nature.
http://youwanu1.blogspot.sg/2015/06/enjoying-dalmatian-coastal-cities-of.html
http://youwanu1.blogspot.sg/2015/05/a-pictorial-journey-through-stunning.html
View & Like the full album (Twin Cities) on Facebook (click here) (Zagreb & Ljubljana) 1st, 8th & 9th May 2015
View & Like the full album on Motovun, Groznjan, Novigrad & Brtonigla on Facebook (click here) 7 May 2015
View & Like the full album on Rovinj on Facebook (click here) 6 May 2015
View & Like the full album on Pula & Bale on Facebook (click here) 5 May 2015
View & Like the full album (Plitvice album 1) on Facebook (click here) 2 May 2015
View & Like the full album (Plitvice album 2) on Facebook (click here) 3 May 2015
Note:
1) Remember to dispose/sell your remaining kuna or HRK at the bureau exchange in the airport before you clear customs for departure as the kuna is not available or accepted outside of Croatia unless you don’t mind keeping some as souvenirs
1) Remember to dispose/sell your remaining kuna or HRK at the bureau exchange in the airport before you clear customs for departure as the kuna is not available or accepted outside of Croatia unless you don’t mind keeping some as souvenirs
2) There
is free airport wifi access but only for 15 minutes per equipment, ie mobile
phone, tablet and PC. I only discovered
this while playing with my tablet and smartphone while killing time in the departure
lounge after my 3 friends had left. On arrival day, I wasn’t aware of this
possibility of getting extra time by using different devices and had to delay
using the free 15-minute wifi till closer to my friends’ arrival time in case
of urgent need for last minute communication!
3) It
is better to eat before you arrive at the airport as there’s only one cafeteria
before customs and another one in the departure lounge area and they sell very
basic food and beverage only.
