A glimpse of Croatia

Rab not that Fab

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Rab is a Croatian island just off the Istrian coast in the Adriatic Sea, it is in the region of Primorje-Gorski. It was one of the Croatian islands that I had not visited until recently, so we decided to check it out for a few days last year.The island was first mentioned by the Illyrians in 360BC, it was part of Liburnia and later the Roman empire, the Romans built a city around the town of Rab and also named it Municipium. The rest of the history is not a lot different from any Istrian or Northern Croatian places, it switched ownership between the Venetians, Byzantines, Hugarians, Croatians, French and spent a hundred years under the rule of Austria from 1815 to 1921. The founder of San ...Read More

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Zagreb (General)

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Zagreb the wonderful capital of Croatia is one of my favourite European cities, cold in the winter and warm most of the rest of the year, it's a great place to spend afternoons outside the cafes and bars that line the cobbled streets. The city which has become popular with tourists in recent years has seen numerous budget options pop up in the form of hostels and the days of having to stay in the dour HI hostel nicknamed "The Prison Hostel" for its miserable staff and lack of light has long gone.To compliment the wonderful choice of places to wine and dine is a fine selection of magnificent buildings and statues from the stunning National Theatre through to the horse statue on Trg Jelacic ...Read More

Zagreb the wonderful capital of Croatia is one of my favourite European cities, cold in the winter and warm most of the rest of the year, it's a great place to spend afternoons outside the cafes and bars that line the cobbled streets. The city which has become popular with tourists in recent years has seen numerous budget options pop up in the form of hostels and the days of having to stay in the dour HI hostel nicknamed "The Prison Hostel" for its miserable staff and lack of light has long gone.

To compliment the wonderful choice of places to wine and dine is a fine selection of magnificent buildings and statues from the stunning National Theatre through to the horse statue on Trg Jelacic (Jelacic Square), the tourist information is extremely helpful to tourists and well-prepared. Zagreb has three other very worthy districts the arty streets of Tkalciceva, the historic museum and church filled area of Gornji Grad which is very quaint but a little bit too busy with tourists sometimes. Last but not least those with power left in their legs should climb up to Mirogoj, a cemetery at the base of Mt Medvenica with a stunning range of well sculptured tombs and an impressive wall. This is a very peaceful area and rates as one of the best cemeteries in Europe, even if you're too lazy to climb - at least hop on the 106 bus.

For nightlife buffs, the choices are excellent - visit the restaurants and hip pubs of the oldy worldy Tkalciceva, the dance clubs around Maksimir Park which really get very lively on summer nights, the factory come alternative music venue of Tvornica which is massive with two stages and cheap beer in plastic cups.

Zagreb roads are often being re-built but that shouldn't let you be put off by exploring the outskirts a little bit, there's numerous parks with fountains which make a shady change from the blinding summer sun. Dinamo Zagreb's stadium on the way to the zoo is home to some very interesting graffiti, as is the road between the train station and the bus station (although it's looking a bit worse for wear of late)

Public transport in Zagreb is fairly modern with a new range of trams and buses, it is forbidden to take dogs but there are not many inspectors so it is likely that the driver will only ask you to get off, if you are travelling with one.

There are numerous residential areas which seem a little seperated from the city by small country lanes, they are still considered part of the city and many of them are always under construction. This is because during the Balkan War, there was a large population exchange with people swapping houses and land to get out of a country they would be in trouble in - ethnic croats moving out of bosnia and serbia and vice-versa. The houses or land they have inherited often had little in the way of infrastructure, so are continuously updated when the owner has the money - the fact that some people are doing better than others is evident in the size, colour, progression and designs of the houses.

I find Zagreb fascinating and relaxing but at the same time it manages to remain a working and student city. This is why I find it better than the average Croatian tourist destination. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on April 22, 2009

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Dubrovnik (General)

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Until recent years Dubrovnik had lived a fairly happy life, initially living under the protection of the Byzantine Empire until it was a sovereign state under the rule of Venice and later Hungary, Dubrovnik and its surroundings then known as the Republic of Ragusa was completely independent for 4 centuries, it was a wealthy state and abolished slavery as early as the 15th century and accepted many Jewish refugees from the Iberian countries, the Republic had good diplomatic relations with pretty much everyone and did well as a sea-faring nation and even set up settlements as far away as India and the USA with their merchant navy, bringing back their findings. It suffered an earthquake badly in the 16th...Read More

Until recent years Dubrovnik had lived a fairly happy life, initially living under the protection of the Byzantine Empire until it was a sovereign state under the rule of Venice and later Hungary, Dubrovnik and its surroundings then known as the Republic of Ragusa was completely independent for 4 centuries, it was a wealthy state and abolished slavery as early as the 15th century and accepted many Jewish refugees from the Iberian countries, the Republic had good diplomatic relations with pretty much everyone and did well as a sea-faring nation and even set up settlements as far away as India and the USA with their merchant navy, bringing back their findings. It suffered an earthquake badly in the 16th century which has destroyed the majority of the renaissance buildings. Napoleon attacked the Republic at the turn of the 19th century and Ragusa eventually succumbed to the French Illyrian Provinces which were eventually handed over to the Austrians. After the war, it became Yugoslavia and Dubrovnik took much of the brutal bombing from neighbouring Serbs, just about everyone there has lost a relative of some sort.

Dubrovnik is a fine looking city, whilst the outskirts consists mainly of shoddily new built housing, it's unllikely you'll be spending much time there other than if you are staying there. The city is relatively small and it's possible to walk everywhere, including to the hill behind the city from where you get a magnificent view over the city and the bay. The old town is done to perfection, every building inside the wall is in tip top condition and has a typical ancient Mediterranean feel with cobbled streets, an impressive fountain and narrow side streets which almost always lead you to the fortress wall eventually. Views from the fortress windows (not sure if that's what they are really called) leading on to the rocks or the sea are great fun to peer through and the city is exceptionally clean. Where Dubrovnik wins marks is that it manages to combine the magnificence of an Italian or Greek styled town with cheaper prices.

Croatian food is usually of a pretty good standard but the prices have creeped up over the years and it's no longer a case of not being able to spend your money for the grub.

Accomodation is likely to come to you with people actively looking for people to rent rooms at the bus station and ferry terminal in particular. Prices are relatively dear now but should never be more than 30 euros for 2 people and can still be had for 10 euros per person. The days of picking up a room for 5 euros per person are long gone though. The HI hostel is crap because they have a curfew and it's always fully booked during the summer months anyway!

The downside of the city for me is that the prices are high by regional standards and the city over the least 8 years has gone from people thinking that they are still at war to droves of tourists on the street, in particular Italians, Irish, British and Germans. The former are irritants in the clubs and the latter 3 tend to block up the roads by walking like sloths (never quite understood that phenomenon - everyone seems to be able to walk perfectly well at home.) It's really a bit too much for me when teh streets are so packed and if you feel the same - then it's worth heading here out of season and hoping for a bit of nice weather! As far as an attractive old town goes, Dubrovnik definitely tops the list in Croatia but I personally prefer Split and Zagreb. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on April 21, 2009

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Karaka

Attraction | "Rocking on Heaven's Door"

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I don't make a habit of visiting Irish bars when I'm travelling unless I'm seeking out a football match, I can't even use this excuse here though! What I do tend to look for is a rock orientated bar and I was travelling with someone who was partial to an expat bar who somehow managed to persuade me that Karaka - the Irish bar in Dubrovnik was the place to find rock music.To be fair, he wasn't far wrong. Located in a busy little side-street, Karaka seems far too small for the amount of custom it manages to draw in. I suppose that part of the charm of this pub (which doesn't really resemble an Irish bar other than some tat on the wooden walls inside) is getting their early so that you can gr...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on April 22, 2009

Karaka
Navicula d.o.o. - Molunat 73
Dubrovnik, Croatia
+385 20 358 108

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Rijeka

Attraction | "Rijeka Rejects Ya"

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Ok that was probably the worst title ever in retrospect! Travelling with our dog in the summer of 2007, proved fun, interesting and occasionally difficult. Whilst Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary was a breeze. Slovenia average and Croatia awful - in regards to travel possibilities with a dog and without a car! Having left Postojna in Slovenia around 2 on the train to Rijeka, on arrival we walked the short distance to the bus station because we weren't intending to stay in Rijeka but instead head straight for the island of Cres, a short journey by ferry but mostly by bus. The bus driver was having none of it though, so we unexpectedly ended up staying in Rijeka. Rijeka is far more hectic...Read More

Ok that was probably the worst title ever in retrospect! Travelling with our dog in the summer of 2007, proved fun, interesting and occasionally difficult. Whilst Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary was a breeze. Slovenia average and Croatia awful - in regards to travel possibilities with a dog and without a car!

Having left Postojna in Slovenia around 2 on the train to Rijeka, on arrival we walked the short distance to the bus station because we weren't intending to stay in Rijeka but instead head straight for the island of Cres, a short journey by ferry but mostly by bus. The bus driver was having none of it though, so we unexpectedly ended up staying in Rijeka. Rijeka is far more hectic than any other Croatian town, the main road runs straight through the middle of the town, it's noisy and polluted - particularly of course at the small disorganised bus station. Mooching around working out what to do, we were offered accomodation and it seemed like the simple answer to stay for the night and work out a Plan B, the landlord's wife worked at the bus station and he was there visiting her with his little daughter who immediately took to our dog.

The ground floor flat we rented, had a kitchen, bathroom and two beds and the landlord was cool with the dog staying, it was about a kilometre or so from the station but he drove us up there anyway. We paid 200 kuna (which was about £20 at the time), a bit on the dear side perhaps and I'm sure we could have got it a bit lower but basically couldn't be bothered after hours in a bus station and were getting a bit hungry and could do with an ale!

I found Rijeka to be a bit of a grubby port city, it was obviously pretty industrious and the sights were limited to a very small area in the centre. Major roads running through the centre of the town makes for lots of waits at traffic lights and doesn't give it a very pedestrian friendly feel. That is of course from the cobbled centre which has a few nice buildings but is a standard high street really. The area around the Roman Gate is the nicest and there is a handful of buildings one can appreciate but I wouldn't say they were that much to write home about. The boulevard down near the harbour has bars dotted on either side, we had a few beers there whilst waiting for the boat we eventually took, the bar we found was ok but they were by enlarge rather expensive by Croatian standards.

One of the sights we missed out on due to time difficulties was Trsat Castle overlooking the city from a hill, I kind of regret that! Overall, Rijeka is a decent transport hub but has little going for it. Read Less

Member Rating 2 out of 5 on April 21, 2009

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