So I've had a good start to the day so far: the clocks have changed and i didn't remember, i ran for my train with the full load of backpack Bob only to find that I'm an hour early, and i can't buy a direct ticket to Zagreb from any of the stops i have on the way there as its an international ticket. my quoted price of 3500 Forints for the whole journey soon turns into several payments totalling 7500f - hmmm - i feel like I'm being ripped off. i also don't have 7500f, its quite comical when the ticket inspector demands the payment for the final leg of the journey and i tell him i don't have enough money. imagine the scene where I'm rummaging through my bag giving him every little coin in every currency i could find - he just shook his head and accepted it. The thing is i had a load of euro notes in my hidden wallet :)
The first thing i do when i get to Zagreb is go to the cash machine, as I'm in the middle of doing this a girl comes up to me and starts asking me questions: do you speak English, do you know where the tourist info is etc. so I'm answering her questions, putting my money away and hearing this strange noise which is the cash machine swallowing my card because Ive left it there too long... in this place the card comes out last not first.
I check into a great hostel in Zagreb - there aren't many hostels, they are an alien concept in Croatia - mixed sexes sharing a room? so they are thought of more as brothels than a cheap place to stay. Its hard to separate your feelings for an actual city to the overall experience you have as a result of meeting people and staying in a good place. i liked Zagreb however and i met some great people - all of which i forgot to photo! believe me i do meet people!!
I think i was lucky in that it's off season, so there aren't too many people. theres a nice mix of open spaces, parks and squares although it doesn't have the architecture of Prague or Vienna. I went to a graveyard while i was there - a bit macabre i know. Halloween is all saints day and is a national holiday, most people go back to their home town and they put candles and flowers on the graves of their family. there is a beautiful graveyard just north of the city, i caught a bus there one evening, and wow...it was truly remarkable, an experience i will never forget. the graveyard was huge, it was pitch black, barely lit and the stars were out. everywhere i looked was a sea of candles. i of course hadn't taken a torch and i got completely lost in the maze of gravestones. i also got quite worried after 20 minutes of being completely lost, with no lights, and the stone statues of heads and people flickering in the candlelight scaring me half to death. it was great!
