Zagreb? Where the hell is that? Words that I’ve heard countless times about the narrow alleys and side streets that lay hidden just outside of the regular tourist’s tunnel vision. If you ask the average person, they probably have no idea where Zagreb is. In fact, they probably have no idea where Croatia is, and the only Dalmatia they’ve heard of comes in the 101 variety. Zagreb is not the standard issue city. It does not drown in the web’s bucket list. Even the name sounds fairly strange and distant.
This is a living city first and foremost. You won’t see the roving, multicolored gangs of tour bus riders. Instead, you see Croatians living their lives. You see them lounging in the park with their friends, or enjoying the numerous free nightly music performances. You’ll bump into them as they flood the quaint main streets for happy hour, and you’ll stumble across them watching a free movie in an old town square while drinking wine and eating popcorn. And while the city has seen its share of war and bombings and death, the Croatian people are resiliently carrying it forward into the modern age. And while you can feel the history throughout the city, Zagreb belongs firmly to the future.
