ARE YOU GOING TO VISIT ZAGREB IN CROATIA? You don't know what to see or what things to do in Zagreb? Here are some great tips, recommendations and advices to make your stay a great experience!

Zagreb souvenir- Licitar hearts, photo by Carly Ro

Zagreb is a capital city of Croatia and in 2011 is pronounced as one of the most boring city in Europe! ZAGREB IS NOT BORING!!! Here we will show you the funkiest side of Zagreb!

Sightseeing in Zagreb

Ban Jelacic square is the main square and it is also the heart of Zagreb! From there you can already see beautiful towers of Zagreb's Cathedral, one of the most important symbol of christian religion in Croatia. Zagreb's cathedral is built in neo-gothic style and it's a must see in Zagreb!

Zagrebs Cathedral, photo by Robert Karabaic

St.Marko church, Zagreb by Rob

In the upper town of Zagreb there is lots of sights to see and tourist attractions. St. Marko's church is very unique with Croatian symbols on the roof, it is also a symbol of Zagreb.  The Lotrscak Tower dates from 13th century and don't miss to visit it at noon, when the cannon is fired every day! One of the most attractive and romantic walking paths in Zagreb is the Strossmayer's promenade located at the upper town of Zagreb. From there you can see all of Zagreb and take a photo with a sculpture of our well known poet  A.G.Matos, who is sitting on the bench at the Strossmayers promenade.

The Zagreb Funicular is connecting Ilica street with Strossmayers promenade in the upper town of Zagreb. The Zagreb Funicular is one of the shortest public-transport funiculars in the world! It was built in 1890 and today ride cost only 50 cent! You can have a break from sightseeing in the most famous bar street in Zagreb- „Tkalca“. Tkalciceva street is also known as a creek street, because in the past there was a creek flowing  thru! In the past it was also well-known bordel street where one of the world's oldest job was taking a place! At Tkalciceva street no. 52 is our „Funk club“ where all guest can enjoy their free welcome rakija shot!

Croatian National Theater is situated at lower town of Zagreb. It is one of the most beautiful buildings in Zagreb. At the entrance of the theater is located the famous  wall fountain „The Source of Life“ , designed by Croatian artist Ivan Mestrovic. Downtown parks in Zagreb are a part of Lenuci's green horseshoe. Parks consist of many fountains, benches and sculptures, so you can relax and enjoy in Zagreb's history!

Museums in Zagreb

Zagreb is the city with the most museums in the entire world!  Zagreb, also known as the city of museums, is a home of many different museums, but the most unique and interesting one is Museum of Broken Relationships, situated in the upper town of Zagreb. Every year there is Night of Museum around Croatia, when all entries to museums are free!

Museums in Zagreb: Archeological museum, Croatian Architecture Museum, Croatian History Museum, Croatian Naive Art Museum, Croatian National History Museum, Croatian School Museum, Croatian Sports Museum, Drazen Petrovic Memorial Center, Etnographic Museum, SculptureMuseum of the Croatian Academy od Science and Art, Hunting Museum, Ivan Mestrovic Museum, Museum of Artsand Crafts, Museum of BrokenRelationships, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehnical Museum, The Mimara Museum, Zagreb City Museum

Zagreb

Nightlife & clubs in Zagreb

Zagreb is one 10 the best cities in Europe to enjoy cheap drinks! Normal price of 0,5 l of beer cost around 2 € and shot of traditional rakija cost around 1,5 €.

rakija is traditional shot in Croatia

FUNK HOSTEL:

                - 0,5 l beer: 1,5 €

                - rakija shot: 1,2 €

FUNK LOUNGE RESTAURANT & BAR:

                - 0,5 l beer: 1,5 €

                - rakija shot: 1,2 €

FUNK CLUB:

                - 0,5 l beer: 2 €

                - rakija shot: 1,2 €

Zagreb is a hometown to one of the best European music festivals- Inmusic festival! Inmusic festival is an open-air music festival which is happening every year in June on Zagreb's lake Jarun. Zagreb also has hundreds of bars and clubs all over the city. Most popular bar street in Zagreb is „Tkalca“, where our Funk club is situated. The best clubbing is definitely on the lake „Jarun“.

ALTERNATIVE CLUBS IN ZAGREB:

- Funk club

- Medika

Funk club in Zagreb, Tkalciceva 52

- Purgeraj

- Kset

- Mochvara

- Tvornica

ELECTRONIC CLUBS IN ZAGREB:

- Aquarius

- Boogaloo

- Sirup

- Lemon

- Masters

HIP-HOP & R'N'B CLUBS IN ZAGREB:

- Mansion

- Gallery

- Gjuro 2

- Shamballa

- Hemingway

- Groove

Restaurants & food in Zagreb

Funk Lounge hostel's restaurant - traditional Croatian food

Croatian cuisine is not world famous but you will be surprised how good we eat here! Dalmatian smoked ham (prosciutto), skewers „raznjici“, octopus salad, Zagreb's steak,  stewed beans, Croatian fish dish „brodet“ or amazing „pasticada“, excellent desserts like „kremsnita“ or „strukli“ are a must when you are in Croatia!

If you want to try delicious and cheap traditional Croatian food, Funk Lounge restaurant is a perfect place for you! Funk restaurant menu consist of a classic Croatian food and a varied mix of global cuisine, designed to satisfy travelers from around the world.

Traditional food in Zagreb restaurant is pretty cheap, of course it depends on what you are eating. Food price range is from 3,5 €- 10 € per meal. But In Funk restaurant you can find our fresh and daily offer of delicious dishes from 2 €!

Outdoor activities in Zagreb

During the summer (from May- September), when temperature in Zagreb gets high as 35'c, you can relax and take a swim in one of the two beautiful lakes in Zagreb- „Jarun“ and „Bundek“. On the lake „Jarun“ is the best nightlife & clubs in Zagreb, and during the day you can sunbath on one of the terrace of many Jarun's bars & clubs.

Skiing & snowboarding in Zagreb on mountain Sljeme

During the winter (from December-February) you can go skiing or snowboarding on Zagreb's mountain „Sljeme“. It only takes 20 min by tram to get fom the city center of Zagreb to the mountain. From that point you have to take bus or a chairlift to get to the top of the mountain „Sljeme“. Zagreb is the only capital city that hosts World Championship Skiing Race, know as Snow Queen Trophy.

When visiting Zagreb you can take a break in one of the many Zagreb's parks. Most beautiful and most famous park in Zagreb is „Maksimir park“, situated only 10 min by foot from our Funk Lounge hostel.

Film festivals & culture events in Zagreb

Croats love good movies and Zagreb is a home to many film festivals: Zagreb Film Festival, Human Rights Film Festival, Jewish Film Festival, Animafest, ZagrebDox, One take film festival, Fantastic Zagreb Film Festival, 25FPS, Subversive Film Festival, Screen on the Green, Pssst!, Festivan of Croatian Animated Movie, RAF- Amateur Movie Festival, Croatian Movie Days.

Every year in November there is a special night in Croatia, it is Night of Theaters when all plays are free and all theaters welcome their guests. Zagreb hosts many theater festivals and the interesting ones are: NuWrite Festival, Zagreb Theater Festival, Gavella's nights, TEST- International Festival of Student Theater and Eurokaz. Other interesting festivals in Zagreb are: Zagreb's Time Machine where you can have a chance to see how people lived in Zagreb many years ago, Orient Fest is a festival of oriental dances, Urban festival is international multimedial festival of contemporary art, Week if Contemporary Dance, Cest is d'Best is a international street festival, Summer on stross and many more!

Sport & recreation in Zagreb

In 2009. Zagreb hosted the World Handball Championship and for that purpose Arena Zagreb was built. Now there are many sports events and concerts organized in Arena Zagreb. Zagreb is also the only capital city that hosts World Championship Skiing Race, known as the Queen Snow Trophy on Zagreb's mountain „Sljeme“.  Zagreb Indoors is famuos international tennis tournament. Zagreb Meeting also known as „Hanzek“  was held for the first time in 1948. Blanka Vlasic is a trademark of Zagreb meeting.

On Zagreb's beautiful lake „Jarun“ many races are organized during spring and summer time. Hiking on the Zagreb's mountain „Sljeme“ will also be a nice training and you can also enjoy the fresh air, breathtaking nature and beautiful view from the top of the mountain. There is many ways of recreation in Zagreb. You can explore Zagreb on a bike, you can cheaply rent it form Funk hostel and Funk Lounge. Zagreb is a perfect city to explore on bike and riding a bike to the Lake „Jarun“ and around it will be amazing experience.

UTSH competition in Zagreb

If you like jogging, Sava river bank is a perfect place for it, specially in the sunset! You can also ride roller blades all over the city and specially on the lake „Jarun“. If you are aggressive roller or skater you can find many places in Zagreb to satisfy your need for good run. Popular places for skateboarding and in-line skating in Zagreb are: main ban Jelacic square, in front of Mimara museum, in front of Zagreb's „dzamija“, Zagreb outdoor skate park on the lake „Jarun“, outdoor skate park on „Spansko“, Zagreb indoor skate park and pool in Student centre. You can do lots of adventures sports in Zagreb like sky-diving, bungee jumping on the lake „Jarun“, climbing (indoor and outdoor), indoor carting arena on Zagreb's Fair, paintball for only 8 € per person, snowboarding on Zagreb's mountain „Sljeme“ from December-February.

Shopping in Zagreb

Radiceva street in Zagreb

There are many shopping malls in Zagreb, as well as many shopping streets . In Zagreb you can find all sorts of shops and brands. The best shopping center in Zagreb is Arena Zagreb. Other very popular shopping centres in Zagreb are: Avenue Mall, Importanne center on the main train station and the newest Garden Mall.

Ilica street is the longest street in Zagreb and also famuos shopping street, where you can find from handmade jewelry and brand shops to souvenirs shops. Some of the most famuos souvenirs to take home from Zagreb or Croatia are „licitar“ hearts, neck-tie, mechanical pen, exquisitely decorated cake of honey dough and „Sestine“ umbrella.

There are many farmers open market where you can buy fresh fruits, vegetables, fish and meet at daily basis. The most famuos open markets in Zagreb are“Dolac“, situated next to the main square, „Trešnjevka market“ situated 10 min by foot from our Funk hostel and „Kvatrić“ open market is located only 10 min by foot from our Funk Lounge hostel. Second-hand stuff at very low prices you can find at „Britanski trg“ every Sunday or „Jakusevac“ also every Sunday. You have to go there early in the morning and you will find some amazing antique gifts or souvenirs from Zagreb!

Funk hostel in Zagreb, Croatia

by Anja, www.funkhostel.hr 

BICYCLE ADVENTURE!

This is an interview with Alper Konali, great traveller, great person and great friend. He has been hitchhiking for 8 years all over the Europe and Turkey, but now he found a new way to travel. In a few days he is going on a bicycle from Croatia to Turkey! I met him in the funkiest hostel- Funk hostel in Zagreb!

Anja: Where are you going, how are you traveling and how long will it take?


Alper: I'm gonna go to Turkey. I think I'm gonna go to the coast from here, to the coast of Croatia and then i'll pass Bosnian border and then i'm going to Montenegro which will going to be so hard, it's the hardest part! And then i'm going to Kosovo, Macedonia, Bulgaria and then Turkey. I think it will take 30 days, well I have to rest somewhere for two or three days.

Anja: And you are going with your bike?

Alper: Yeah, I'm going with my bike!

Anja: Why bike, why not hitchhiking ?

Alper: I've been hitchhiking for three months (in one piece) and I've been hitchhiking for eight years now. I prefer hitchhiking while travelling, in Turkey and Europe I did a lot of hitchhiking. I like hitchhiking because you meet so many people on the road. During my last trip I had a lot of beautiful experiences. But now it is cold and I don't want to wait for people to go somewhere, that is why I decided to buy myself a bike and I decided to travel that way. In that way I'll go whenever I want to go, I'll move whenever I want to move, so that is why I'm doing that. And also because I want to have healthy life, I don't want to smoke these cigarettes, cause I'm going to need those lungs eventually!

Anja: Are you ready for it, physically and mentally?

Alper: Actually, I think that you are never ready for travelling. But every time that I've stayed in one place for two or tree days, my body gets used to this comfort and my physically and mentally conditions get used to that comfort, so before I'm going to hit the road i feel like I don't want to go. But as soon as I hit the road, step outside of a room or a place, I know I'm gonna do it! I'm not ready physically or mentally. It will be hard to ride a bike to Turkey, but I have to do it! When I'm on the road I feel I have to do it, my body is like... sometimes when you are scared your body gets adrenalin...and I'll survive any conditions because I get this adrenalin in my body.  "How will I do it, I'm not really strong guy?", sometimes I asked myself. But your body makes yourself prepared for these conditions and then you are going, it is going to be like that. I know it will be so cold, so hard, it is going to rain, it is going to snow and I'll be on the road trying to go home. And when I'm feeling like I'm freaking out, and I'm feeling like "I can't do it, I can't do it!", and then all of the sudden- " I can do it, no problem, I'm going to do that! I really want to do that!"

Anja: What do you think will be the hardest part for you?

Alper: Well, if it rains! I had experience this one time and I regretted travelling because of that. I was near Ljubljana, in Slovenia. I had to hitchhike somewhere during dark time, after 6-7 p.m. It started to rain, I was at the highway and there was no way I can go anywhere by walking! I had to put out my tent, because I knew that nobody would stop to take me at that time at the highway. And I put out my tent. Because of the rain I couldn't do it perfectly. I put everything in, my backpack, my stuff, I was trying to go to sleep so I can get up early in the morning. In my sleep, I woke up because of the sound of the wind, and the rain. My tent was shaking and I had to put my legs and bags and hands all over the tent to keep it together, because it was blowing so hard and raining so hard. And I thought, I wish I was in my bed. That was the first time I regretted my decision. And then I tried to go to sleep, I tried hard, I put earplugs in my ears so that I don't hear the rain. In the morning when I woke up I felt alive! I packed my tent, started to walk somewhere. While I was walking, two police officers stopped me and said " You can't walk on a highway!", I was like " Ok! Take me and drive me to the nearest town.". And then they were like " We can't take you but you can't walk on a highway!". I was like "WTF?!" So I think that if I'll have situation like this it would be the hardest thing, trying to sleep like that... If I try my best I can survive any condition and may regret my decision all the time or I can hate myself to have those kind of decisions, but eventually if I survived it becomes beautiful memory and beautiful experience!

Anja: Have you ever stayed longer than one month in one place?

Alper: Well, I stayed in this farm in France for more than three weeks. Here in Zagreb was the longest stay that I have done! Because I like it here, I love this place and the people! For me, it is the people, I don't love to go to the museums, historical places or other stuff, I don't like city tours. For me it is like, if I'll go to some city or some town I have to see the night life, I have to meet people, talk to them and see their aspects of life, to listen what they think. And that is also why I prefer to work in the hostels!

Anja: Have you ever had a bad experience hitchhiking?

Alper: Oh yeah! One was in Turkey! When I was trying to go back to Ankara from Istanbul, one guy asked me to have sex with him. He didn't really asked me, it was weird! He asked me why I hitchhike and I said that I enjoy it. Then, he asked me what else I enjoy. I said, " Lots of thing I enjoy, man!". He asked me, "Do you enjoy men?". I answered, "No, I prefer woman!". And then, he asked, "Do you enjoy behaving like a women?". "No man, I enjoy to have sex with them!", I said something like that, I went to that level. He asked me "where are you from?" and I said "I'm from Kocaeli " and I asked him back "Where are you from?". He said, "I'm from Erzurum." And than he said that all people from Erzurum are fagots. I said that I don't have an idea, that I have never been to Erzurum and that I don't know anybody from Erzurum. And then he asked me, " Haven't you ever sleept with a transvestite?" I was like, "No! I told you you man I'm doing it with girls!". And he was like "Wow! How can you do it?". And then I said to him to pull over, that I have to get out here so it would be easier for me to get to Ankara.

Anja: What are the best memories that you have from your trip?

Alper: I was trying to go to Berlin from Lausanne, Switzerland. I thought that I can get there by hitchhiking in one day but I couldn't, it took me three days. Second day, I met these amazing cousins and they were going to Würzburg. I have never heard anything about Würzburg. They said they are going to meet their family there and then they are going to some concert. They asked me "Would you like to come, because we have an extra ticket?". And I was like "OK, what kind of concert is that?" It was Mark Knopfler, Dire Straits! And I went to their parents' place and I have met their whole family and relatives because they were celebrating birthday. That was a gift for their father because they went there all together, family and relatives and I was there too with them! So who said that hitchhiking is dangerous?? :o)