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PART 1 |
Sunday 22 May 2011
Rotterdam - Amsterdam - Vienna - Zagreb: 2:45 hrs flight, 7 hrs journey
A taxi comes and collects us
at
7.20am. The driver is not in his best of spirits and keeps
communication to a bare minimum. We arrive at Rotterdam Central Station
before 7.30. We could still have caught the regular InterCity train, but we decide
to wait for the high speed Fyra service of 7.53. After the InterCity has
left at 7.46 a 15 minute delay is announced for the Fyra. "Goodbye to an
early arrival" we think. But the delay turns out to be only 7 minutes and we
arrive at Amsterdam Airport around 8.30. There, an enormous queue awaits us
at the Lufthansa/Austrian baggage
drop-off counter. All in all we have to wait for almost an hour. We still
have enough time to reach the departure gate in time, if only just. Boarding
starts at 9.40. The flight itselfs goes well and smoothly and we arrive in
time at Vienna Airport at 12.05. We have to hurry to the departure gate for
our connecting flight to Zagreb.
Boarding starts within minutes after we get there. A bus takes us to the small
turboprop aircraft operated by Austrian Arrows
.
The connecting flight leaves at 12.55pm and takes only 40 minutes and before we know it we land at Zagreb. At the airport a rental car is waiting for us at Last Minute rent-a-car. We have pre-booked it through Sunnycars and ANWB (Netherlands AA). We have booked an Opel Astra or similar, but they give us a Suzuki SX4. The car's boot (trunk) is very small indeed. Only one of our suitcases fits. We complain and get that Astra in the end, which is big enough for both our suitcases.
We drive to the Arcotel Allegra guided by our Tomtom navigation device. In the hotel we have an executive room with all the trimmings. After a short break we walk towards the city centre to have a look at the cathedral. It is a beautiful construction, built in the 19th century after an earthquake destroyed a previous church in 1880. Later that evening we go and look for restaurant Agava on night life street Tkalciceva in the upper city. We get fine Croatian dishes. During dinner a thunder storm starts to make itself noticed so we have to rush to a tram stop in order to get back to the hotel without getting too wet.
Weather: 25 degrees (77°F) and sunny. Thunder storm in the evening
Monday 23 May 2011
We have breakfast in the hotel restaurant. The buffet offers everything
we need. After breakfast we take the tram to the central square. For this we
buy a day ticket at the news stand inside the central railway station for
25Kn each.
From
the central square, called Trg bana Jelačića, we walk again
up the
Tkalciceva and sit down for coffee. After the coffee break we continue to
the Gradec district in the upper town. This is the oldest
part of the city. We walk uphill and enter Gradec through the Kamenita Vrata
or Stone Gate. It is actually more like a tunnel with a shrine inside for a
madonna picture which is attiributed with curing capacities, because it once
survived a city fire unscathed. It is very busy with believers, all deeply
into prayer. If you want there are candles available for lighting. Once in
the old town we head for the Jesuit church of St Catherine. It is not open
yet. We continue towards the St Mark Square with the
church with the same name. Its tiled roof is adorned with the coats of arms
of both Croatia and Zagreb. 
Next
to it is the parliament building and the government seat. We carry on towards
the studio of the sculptor
Mestrovic, but it is closed on Mondays. We make a tour of Gradec and end
up at the burglars tower. It is a defence tower, in which a bell was rung as a
signal to close the city gates protecting the city against burglars and the
like. I climb the tower to enjoy the views. Half way up there is a smal
canon that is fired every day at noon, as a sign for the bell ringers of
Zagreb's churches. After having enjoyed the view we take the funicular to
the lower town (same ticket as trams and buses). We have a drink on a
side walk café and have lunch at Kerempuh restaurant near the fruit market.
The market is very busy and underneath the umbrellas lots of strawberries
and cherries are being sold.
In the afternoon we go for a stroll through the lower
town called
Donjin. We first have a look at the National
Theatre, followed by the
Ethnographic museum and finally the
state archives,
which was originally built as a university library in 1913 done in Art Nouveau
style. Unfortunately we are too late for the tour of the old reading rooms.
The tram takes us back to the hotel. I then go out to
buy a SIM card for mobile internet on my netbook. I get one at the
VIPnet store near the central square.
Late afternoon we drink a cocktail on Tkalciceva before
we take the funicular up to have dinner at Pod Grickim
topom - named after the noon cannon - where the food is great, but the view less
than promised. When we arrive they are in the middle of a power cut, but the
electricity is back on before we finish our starters. 
During dinner a heavy thunder storm rages over town. When the rain stops we go down town and have a drink at an outside pub until it starts raining again. Then it is time to call it a day and go back to the hotel.
Weather cloudy with sunny spells. Up to 27 degrees (81°F). Thundery rain storm in the evening.
Tuesday 24 May 2011
Zagreb - Varaždin - Ptuj: 146km (91 miles)
After breakfast we take the motorway towards
Varaždin.
Part of the route is toll road. We draw a ticket and pay 23 Kuna when we turn
off the motorway at a pay booth. When we arrive at Varazdin we have a look
at the old town. It is a baroque town, with lots of churches and a fine
castle. Inside the castle , dating back to the 16th
century, is an exhibition of applied art and weaponry through the ages. The
castle was once owned by the Eidödy family, who ruled these parts for
centuries. We have a look at the castle. One of the curators takes care of
us and shows us around "his" castle. The castle also holds the St Lawrence
chapel. After the chapel we take a look at the rest of the town. It is
neatly preserved and immaculately clean. The Ursuline church has recently
got a new pink look and has a conspicuous onion shaped spire. A bit further
down is the St Nicholas church with a big yellow-grey tower. We cannot
actually go into the church itself, but from the front porch we can peek
inside through a grille. Probably a measure against looters or vandals or
a way to economise on the verger's wages. Through the Gunduliceva Street we walk
in the direction of the 17th century Franciscan church and from there on to
the Tomislava square lined with café's and outside tables leading up to the
16th century town hall.
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