It's Official- Less than 2 Months!

Our wedding is coming up in a couple of very short, quick months so we're getting into serious planning mode! There are still a bunch of things that need to be done but right now all I'm dreaming about is the seaside. Anyway before I get to the seaside, I wanted to mention a couple of things.

Accommodations:

If you're coming to Zagreb (for our wedding or for any other occasion!) rather than rent a hotel, we recommend you rent an apartment instead. Especially if you're traveling with more people, it's much more affordable (not to mention comfortable!) to stay in a flat in the city. It's also much more common to rent apartments (or houses) rather than hotels all over Croatia. Hostels are another good option (especially if it's just for one or two people).

The best website I know for finding quality apartments to rent all over Europe is AirBnB. I'm not getting paid or anything to write about the website, I just wanted to let you know that Tomislav and I have had GREAT experiences with this site and renting apartments in Western Europe and there are so many options for not only Zagreb, but also Dubrovnik and most other European cities! For example, this place is a luxury apartment 10 minutes from the center of Zagreb, accomodates six people (very comfortably!) is $135 per night in June (the week of our wedding). $22.50 a night per person! Great deal indeed :)

Getting Around the City:

Tram Map of Zagreb 

(the Main Square, Trg bana Josipa Jelačića, is circled)

The tram and bus system in Zagreb is easy to use and readily available. It can take you all over the city so you can see all the best sites. You can buy tickets for the tram at any kiosk but to be honest, I am a "Schwarzfahrer" most of the time. I don't ride the tram as much as I used to (since we have a car). The trams aren't controlled that often so I usually keep a tram ticket in my wallet and if I see a controller coming, I quickly stamp it at the front of the tram, or just get off at the next stop. I'm being totally honest here but honestly, I've seen controllers so rarely that this is the way I choose to ride!
There are also many new taxi companies, like Cammeo, which make it much more affordable to travel around the city (like if you'd rather take a cab than a bus lugging suitcases from the airport or so on).

Communication:

Using your American cell phone plan in Croatia is über expensive. I wouldn't recommend for anyone to sign up for an international calling plan unless you're super rich and don't care but if you're on a budget like me, the best thing you could do is get an unlocked phone. If you're phone is unlocked, you can put a sim card in it from any provider and boom - it works! The old school, bar phone nokias are excellent for this. If you have an old one lying around, it's probably unlocked and for about $5 (25 kuna) you can get a sim card and start up package for calls and text messages.It's affordable and so much easier to communicate this way with friends who live or are staying in another part of the city. Check and see if your phone is already unlocked! It may be!

The Seaside and Traveling Around:

After our wedding, we are planning on going down the coast and I'm sure many of our guests as well as anyone coming to Zagreb will plan on doing. Absolutely anywhere you go on the coast is bound to be gorgeous. Keep in mind, most places in Croatia don't have sandy beaches, instead there are small pebbles or big boulders to lay on. I hope I never take the views for granted, swimming in the sea and looking at huge mountains is so unique and beautiful, I can't wait for all of my family and friends to see it! Also, any Game of Thrones fans should make their way to Dubrovnik since the second season was filmed there and you can see how amazing it looks in real life. There are tons of buses in the summer that go from Autobusni Kolodvor (the main bus station) in Zagreb to all different cities on the coast. You can get there pretty cheap, although the bus takes longer than it would with a car since it makes some stops. Renting a car is another option. For more info about things to do and see while you're in Croatia, we invite you to check out our wedding website which can be found here!

 Blue Cave on the island Vis

Go to your happy place...

Tomislav and I did a lot of things this summer that we never thought we'd get to do. The best part of everything was probably that we got to do it together. After spending the last 3 years going back and forth between Philly and Croatia, I'm really glad that I've gotten to spend so much time in Cro Cro. ;) We got to travel so much and one of our favorite places to go is Dubrovnik, Croatia. It's about 600 km from Zagreb, but the drive is really not that bad. Especially driving like this:

 Yep, it was me :) It was only on the highway though!

So, if you've ever been to Zagreb, you know that Croatians take their coffee very seriously. The coffee culture in Zagreb is awesome. Instead of meeting with their friends for happy hour, a beer, or a cocktail like we tend to do in the States, Croatians like to meet up with friends for a coffee. There are tons of cafes to go to and I think it's really nice that they like to sit down and really enjoy that cup of coffee. So imagine my shock and surprise when I realized that it's almost impossible to find coffee to go anywhere! You know, like Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks or somewhere where you can get a to go cup of coffee! We finally got one at a gas station rest stop.

That was this big.


Anyway, the drive down to Dubrovnik is actually really beautiful.

This was the view from a reststop. I'm holding a piece of fresh lavender in my hand because lavender grows wild there! It smells amazing!

Also, because of the way the road is built, you have to cross the border into Bosnia at one point and drive for about 20 minutes through Neum, Bosnia. Luckily, the views of the sea are fantastic from there!

Dubrovnik is amazingly beautiful. The sea is a gorgeous, clear blue. The one thing that really stands out about Dubrovnik is the fantastic service you see everywhere. Because there are so many tourists that visit the city, the service in bars and restaurants is excellent and they really make you feel at home.

Lapad Beach

I really highly recommend you plan a visit to Dubrovnik next summer (you can start daydreaming about it already). June is a great month to go in since there aren't that many tourists yet. You can get the freshest seafood there, especially at the restaurant Orhan:

and Sesame:

 This is the most delicious salad of fresh figs, prosciutto, and shaved parmesan. Seriously fresh and fantastic!

 This is the view inside the city and city walls (I'm eating delicious lemon ice cream, my absolute favorite)

 

You can see a bit of the city walls here and the orange trees behind us!

Our favorite beach in Dubrovnik is a short ferry ride away from the Old City to the island behind me called, Lokrum. The ferry takes about 20 minutes and the view of the City Walls and sea is great. The beach is unlike any other, since it is on a cliff and you lay on giant boulders relaxing in the sun.

Don't forget the sunblock ;)

By night, the city is very romantic. The mix of music, ancient culture, and gorgeous architecture puts you in great spirits. It's no surprise at all that they're filming the next season of Game of Thrones here and that so many celebrities come to vacation here too.

All in all, by the time you leave Dubrovnik, you'll be sad to go but you'll be feeling like this: