I got mooned!

One of my favorite things about Croatian people is their belief in nature around them and how to affects every day life. It really makes me feel better about myself. If I'm ever feeling down or depressed and I mention something to Tomislav or my Mother-in-Law, they quickly explain to me that there are Northern Winds coming, so that must be why! Or if I have a headache, the air pressure is obviously the cause of it. If anything else is ever feeling off, it must be a full moon. And last night, I couldn't sleep the whole night/morning. Tomislav explained it was because of the pressure in the atmosphere from the rain. (Of course, it had nothing to do with the heat and the fact that I'm desperately hoping we'll be moving to a new apartment with AC soon) I talked about this with fellow Zagreb expat blogger Elaine from Hungry Little Elephant yesterday and we both agree it's a big difference from how Americans usually react to the same sorts of statements! Next time you're feeling blue, don't worry, nothing is wrong with you, it must be the moon!
 

Photo: Noemi Kiss

 

 

I think we can all agree, this is the cure for everything.

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

The Many Seasons on a Drive Throughout Croatia

On Tuesday morning, I awoke to a wonderful surprise. It was St. Nicholas Day, which in Europe is also the day that I celebrate my Name Day! When I went to sleep the night before, I had totally forgotten about it!

I was shocked to see St. Nicholas had remembered to visit our place!

He even found my boot! I got a nice big chocolate and also a gold stick which represented that I had not been all nice this year. 

Tomislav had a business trip he had to take to Porec, Croatia on the seaside which I tagged along on. The drive to the seaside from Zagreb is incredible. First, we left the fog of Zagreb for the snowy mountainous region.

The picture does not do it justice. It looked gorgeous!

The snow brought our Christmas tunes to life!

When we arrived in Porec, T-Slav went to work while I got to relax near the sea.

It was warm and beautiful, once the sun set though, we had to move on.

Since T had to work in Rijeka on Wednesday, we drove down Tuesday night and were so happy to see such a beautiful, Christmas-y city!

The pedestrian zone in Rijeka is so long, I think even longer than in Belgrade and it really put us in the holiday spirit.

The best part of our time in Rijeka for me? Probably the hotel, for we had the best view we have ever had before here!

From the balcony, you could just see water all around, it was so beautiful.

I loved it!

Yay!

It was so peaceful

Thanks to the Best Western: Hotel Jadran for giving us the best view in the entire hotel!