A glimpse of Zagreb, Croatia

I recently visited the city of Zagreb in Croatia for a day of work. Zagreb isnt the most touristy or preferred part of a tourist's itinerary in Croatia - the beaches and Dubrovnik (of Game of Thrones fame) are. But I enjoyed exploring the little bit f Zagreb I saw - the experience of visiting a new place was and is still always enjoyable for me 😊.

The airport felt quite small and efficient. And they have Uber in Zagreb, so Croatian travel already felt very safe and easy to me! While driving towards the office, I passed by a lot of green and forested areas. And a lot of suburban and rural areas which were sparsely populated. Most of them had the typical red/orange roofs which have been shown in Game of Thrones in so many frames. There were also some small mountains nearby, including surrounding Zagreb on the other side.

The whole place had some kind of a warm feeling about it, a feeling of calm and satisfaction which is very difficult to explain. Its the feeling I generally get when I visit developing countries. Where things are not perfect, but they are always warm 😊.

Most of my day was spent inside the office. It was a great idea too as the weather had already gotten cold. I got some time to explore the city in the evening for dinner and then for an hour or so in the morning before taking my flight.

National Theatre

In the evening, I walked towards the old town which was about 10 mins from my hotel. It was like any other European town. Cobbled streets, cafes and restaurants and some grand buildings dotting the centre. The central city was quite empty which was surprising but given that it was a surpisingly cold evening in October, it might have been due to that.

Zagreb Cathedral

I walked past the National theatre, through the shops and cafes, up some stairs and towards the cathedral. They all looked yellow in the night lighting and pretty too but I was too cold to appreciate them fully 😜. I quickly walked past them, looking for a nice restaurant to eat. I was surprised though that some of the shops were open, even at 9 pm. I walked into a few which seemed to have interesting (and am sure cheap) stuff. But as I said, it was late and I was looking for a restaurant, so I did not explore much.

I finally found an Italian restaurant nearby, called Boban which surprisingly had a table available. It had an outside casual dining area and an inside fine dining area which was quieter. The food there was tasty and I had a nice dinner before going back to the hotel and working.

The red roofs of Zagreb

The next day the weather was gorgeous, just when I was ready to leave! It was sunny and 23 degrees! I ended up waking up late as I had worked late the previous night, but I did enjoy the skyline from my hotel room. The houses again had the sloping red/orange roofs, and I got a glimpse of a pre-cursor to Dubrovnik, perhaps.

Alleyway to Upper Town

I then walked to the old town again and it looked so much more brighter and colourful than the dreary night before. People were chilling outside, sitting in cafes and eating breakfast. And the city seemed so much better and welcoming in daylight 😊. This time, I walked up to the upper town through a narrow alley, enjoying the view and feeling like being back in old Europe.

St Marks Church

I walked to one of the touristy spots, the St Marks Church. It was a normal European church except the tiled roof which I found very unique. It had big colourful tiles engraved with the Croatian coat of arms. And the sun being out made it almost shine. I walked around that area for a bit, the upper town again was all cobbled and full of the typical grand buildings of old Europe.

Anyways then it was time for me to go to the airport, again admiring the rural countryside through the drive. It was a nice city break for me, mostly work but I liked what I did see of the town. Zagreb felt like a nice little European town, and the old town was fascinating, worth exploring more. I wish the weather had been better on the first day though rather than the second!

A day in Rome

I recently visited Rome for a day on work. And even though I was inside the office for most of the time, I tried to catch whatever experiences I could during the short time I had to be out. I have been to Rome only once before, about 10 years ago. And I still loved being there, experiencing a city not just from a different century or millenium, but even more than that. Its from the BC years!

Landing at Rome airport

The first view I remember is from the airplane. The airport is a bit far from the city, and next to the sea (I never realised that Rome was near the sea!). I could see the beautiful coastline laced by blue and green hues of water. And the mountains far away and beautifully coloured houses down below, shining in the winter sun. It was a nice welcome to a beautiful city 😊.

The city was about an hour drive from the airport and you continue to see the mountains far away as you drive in. Driving to the city center of Rome is like driving to a different era. You pass by the forum and old churches and walls, and remains of the glory of the Romans. There are so many old buildings everywhere, that even a normal taxi ride ends up taking you through a different world. There is so much history in every turn, it reminded me of how I had been fascinated by the city 10 years ago. And nothing much has changed, in me or the city 😊.

There are old historic buildings everywhere, and the sun and tourists around make the atmosphere even more vibrant. I had a full day of work but while driving back to the airport, I asked the taxi driver to pass by some of the sights of the city (so that I did not feel that I wasted the opportunity!).

Fontana de Trevi

The driver felt bad for me that I was leaving the city without doing any touristy stuff, and so he started telling me trivia about the places we were driving through. We drove through the Via Veneto which is one of the most posh and elegant streets of Rome. Apparently, the street had journalist offices calla pappa razzo which lent its name to the paparazzi. And the pizza margarita which was invented by a chef in Naples gave its colour to the national flag! (I wasn't able to independently check these tales on Wiki, but so what 😝)

The Colosseum

We drove through the National street, the republic square, the Vittorio Emanuele monument (which looked as grand to me today as 10 years ago) and so on. I also stopped at the Fontana de Trevi and the Colosseum for a couple of minutes. The Fountain was full of tourists but I managed to take a photo without any! Even with the crowds, there was a feeling of peace and calm there, maybe because of all the water flowing through... And the Colosseum was calm and quiet as usual, shining in the moonlight.

The streets were all busy with tourists. And they were still cobbled, giving it an aura of the bygone era. Since it was winter, the day had started hot but by the evening, had got a bit chilly but still enjoyable.

The smoking room at the airport!

I was in the airport in no time. On the way, I passed by a few more old churches with histories of their own, old gates to the city and so on! There is just so much history in the city, its amazing. Closer to the airport, I also saw a building which was built much later in the shape of the Colosseum and had been converted into a high-end shopping mall. It looked quite impressive from far. At the airport, I was shocked to see a smoking room. And a long queue outside it too 😜. I have anecdotally heard that Italians smoke a lot but never seen an example of that. Anyways now I did!

Anyways by then, it was time for me to bid Rome goodbye. But I felt good that I had spent at least some time visiting its famous sites, and not ignored its history completely 😊.