#TouristsOfZagreb: Get a Taste of the World Cup Madness in Zagreb!
Heather and Aaron are newlyweds from the USA that we met on their second trip to Croatia. Here are their impressions of Zagreb.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from and how did you choose to visit Croatia and Zagreb?
We are 28 and 32 years old, both originally from California but now living in Maine to study and practice medicine. We enjoy international travels, especially learning about other cultures, meeting new people and experiencing different food. One of Heather’s friends from university recommended visiting Croatia and Plitvice Lakes, and so in 2017 we traveled to Dubrovnik and Split, as well as Krka National Park, but had to shorten our trip due to a family emergency and made plans to return this year. We were married on July 7, 2018 in California and traveled to Europe for our honeymoon, and when Croatia won the World Cup semi-finals against England, we changed our itinerary and went to Zagreb for the finals.
How long were you in Zagreb? Where did you stay?
We arrived in Zagreb on July 15, 2018, and left to visit Plitvice Lakes on July 18, 2018. During that time we stayed at the hostel ''Rooms Zagreb'' on Supilova Street which was very near the bus station and within walking distance to most of the places in the city we wanted to visit.
Which places did you visit in the city?
We visited the Ban Jelačić Square to watch the World Cup finals and also for the parade to welcome home the team the following day. We walked through the area surrounding the square while following an audio walking tour we had downloaded. We visited the Zagreb Cathedral and St. Mark’s Church and went to the Museum of Broken Relationships which we both found to be very interesting and emotional.
What were your first impressions of Zagreb?
Especially because of the World Cup, the city was full of excitement and happiness. It was very easy to go around the city on foot, and the people were helpful and welcoming. Plus, the architecture is beautiful!
Zagreb and all of Croatia that we’ve visited is very different from where we live in the United States. Our cities are built primarily for cars, rather than pedestrians, and there are very few old buildings and structures built centuries ago. Of course, the language and local food are different, as well.
Have you met some locals while you were here?
We had the opportunity to meet and talk to a lot of people from Zagreb on our visit, all of whom were very welcoming and kind. They were excited to talk to us, and they were thrilled to learn that we were cheering for Croatia in the World Cup! We enjoyed seeing how parents included their children in the celebrations and how others were careful around them rather than annoyed. It was also interesting to see popular fashion in Zagreb compared to the clothing styles we have back home.
As you already said, you were in Croatia during the football World Cup. How did you like that experience and can you maybe compare it to anything back home?
It was unbelievable! We have never seen anything like it. In the US we have an unofficial group of fans of the US soccer (football) team called the American Outlaws, which has smaller chapters in many cities across the country, but other than that we have relatively few occasions when the whole country is enthusiastic about supporting our national sports teams.
We sort of expect the US teams to do well in the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years, but even then we all have different sports we are particularly interested in. Most Americans pay closer attention to our baseball, basketball and American football leagues, with our own favorite teams from different cities, so there is really no time that we all rally around our country’s team doing well in one particular sport.
Even before we reached Zagreb, there were Croatians on the bus talking about the game and watching highlights on their smartphones, and when walking down the streets, you could hear every TV in every building was watching the game. Most of the people that we talked to were surprised to hear that we were cheering for Croatia to win, and were happy to take pictures for us and sometimes with us!
It was surely a disappointing result, but we talked to many Croatians in Zagreb who were not sad about the loss but instead said they were happy to have made the finals and grateful to finish second in the World Cup, the team’s best result.
Watching the finals in Ban Jelačić Square was very exciting, but the parade the following day was even more overwhelming. There were so many people, and all were so very kind! I told my wife that I had never seen such a polite crowd. Even when I walked through the square to see the stage and different places there was not a lot of pushing or yelling or objects being thrown. We both saw the police officers who were there to make sure there were no problems, but they too seemed happy to be there and even allowed visitors to take pictures with them.
Would you come back and visit Zagreb and Croatia again?
Absolutely! Throughout our trip, we’ve also visited Zadar and Skradin and will go to Split, Hvar, and Brac. We have talked about wanting to return to our favorite sites and making a list of the friends and family we will recommend traveling to Croatia. This is the first country we’ve been to twice so far, and we will definitely return!
To see more of Heather and Aaron's honeymoon adventure, you can follow their Instagram account here.
Header image credit: J. Duval, TZGZ