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Zagreb Photos

A 90 Minute Dash Around Zagreb

Trip Over to Croatia

After arriving in Zagreb and checking into the super luxe Esplanade Hotel on a cloudy, but warm, spring day, we immediately set off to explore. In keeping with my plan of slow travel, and knowing we had 3 days, on day one we had a look around the area of our hotel, up through Josipa Jura Strossmayera Park to the main square. The park forms the eastern side of what is known as the ‘Green Horseshoe’ a U-shaped section of parks all beautifully looked after by Zagreb City.

The next day, again under cloudy skies, we set off walking further afield, then the rain set in, it rained all night and most of the next day, but still we persevered, with me whingeing and whining about the dismal white/grey sky ruining my photos.

I woke up on our last day in Zagreb, and looked out the window, of course – beautiful blue skies, the building opposite that houses the offices for the Croatian Railway was bathed in sunlight – it was a cool crisp morning and we weren’t being picked up until 2.30pm for the drive to Ljubljana in Slovenia. After breakfast I set off, at speed, to re-take all the photos I had taken the previous few days, and get back to the hotel in time to check out at mid-day, and of course, have a delicious lunch in Le Bistro……….

I had a plan to do a huge lap of Zagreb taking in everything I could, while keeping an eye on the time. Starting at the Botanical Gardens just up the road from the hotel, the rather drab pond now sparkled in the sunlight. The little bridge was reflected in the pond, the grass was all green and long after so much rain and all the blossoms were out. I raced on through the Gardens, coming out on the far corner near the State Archives building, a very interesting looking building with huge owls on the corners of the roof. This set me up to walk up the left side of the U-Shape of the Green Horseshoe or parks and gardens. Sitting in a park outside the front of the Archives building is an enormous sculpture of Marko Marulić, a Croatian poet at Renaissance humanist who lived from 1450 to 1524. Behind Marko, you can look across to the Museum of Arts and Crafts, which is actually far more interesting than the name implies, a great place to visit on a rainy day. Then in even more beautifully manicured gardens is the Academy of Drama and the Croatian National Theatre.




At the top of the Green Horse Shoe, in the gardens opposite the front of the National Theatre is a lovely sculpture by Croatian artist and architect Ivan Meštrović. The Well of Life, a bronze sculpture created in 1905, depicting the various stages of human life.

Now it was time to head up into the upper city. From the Well of Life walk towards the city and turn left into Gunduliceva Ul, when you reach the end of this street, turn right into the main shopping street and cross of the road, just along here is the shortest funicular in the word. It might not cover a great distance but it is a life saver. Desperately hoping I hadn’t just missed one, they run every 10 minutes, but today I didn’t have 10 minutes to wait – I would have had to walk up the steps as we did the day before, it’s a killer! Fortunately I got there just as one was ready to leave and leapt on………..at the top of the funicular is a 13th century tower, Lotrščak Tower, built to protect the city. Everyday at noon a cannon is fired to allow all the clocks in the city to be synchronised.

I wanted to get a few more photos on Strossmartre, but it was break time at the high school there and all the students were out enjoying the sunshine. I will write more stories about Zagreb showing photos in this area. I went straight up to St Marks Square dominated by the much photographed Church of St Mark, built in the 13th and 14th centuries with the Coat of Arms of Zagreb and Croatia inlaid in the roof tiles.

From here I ran down to the Stone Gate, one of the original city gates dating back to the 1200s, destroyed many times by fire, still covered in soot from the last fire in 1731, it is now a very tiny church after a painting of the Virgin Mary survived the fire. You can walk through as it is the main pathway through to Radiciva Street, there will often be people lighting candles and praying.

Emerging from the Stone Gate you come to the statue of St George on his horse standing over the slayed dragon. After the slaying St George has his head bowed and helmet in hand, while his horse looks down at the dragon.

There are lots of small interesting shops on Radiciva St on the way down the hill back to the lower city, I passed a tour guide telling her group about an astronomically priced tie bought there by Barrack Obama, apparently everyone now wants one……!?!

At the end of this street you come to Jelačić Square, the main square in Zagreb, often full of market stalls. There is an impressive statue of General Josip Jelačić remembered for his military campaigns during the Revolutions of 1848. I turned to take a photo looking back into the square, in the background is the hideous modern building with an observation deck on the top, I did go to the top on a dismal day, on a clear day with more time that I had now, the view would be quite impressive. I think there must have been a special deal on hair dye worn by the two ladies in the foreground, I saw a lot of ladies sporting this coloured hair!!

Now it was time to race down through the other side of the Green Horseshoe and back in the direction of the Esplanade Hotel. At the top of Petrinjska St is a statue of a rather portly gentleman, in a very Churchill type stance, Stjepan Radic was an important Croatian politician in the early 1900s, founder of the Croatian People’s Peasant Party. Continue to walk down this street, then turn right and you will be at Zrinjevac Park.

Zrinjevac Park is yet another example of Zagreb’s beautiful flower beds, the park is set out with benches to sit and chat with friends, or read in the sun, a few statues, fountains and gazebos, the National Art Gallery is at the end of the park, and across the road is the main railway station. The Esplanade Hotel was built for guests travelling on the Orient Express though to Istanbul. We visited the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul a few years earlier, and loved it. This is what gave us the idea to stay at the Esplanade in Zagreb – we were not disappointed, it is magnificent.

I arrived back to the Esplanade Hotel with 20 minutes to spare, so I could quickly pack up in time to check out. Then relax over a lovely lunch before being picked up for the drive to Ljubljana in Slovenia.

Book a tour on your Trip Over to Croatia

Itinerary for Trip Over to Croatia and Slovenia

Qantas flight (Emirates code share) to Zagreb from Sydney via Dubai

Stayed in Zagreb for 3 nights at the super luxe Hotel Esplanade

Private Driver from Zagreb to Ljubljana in Slovenia

Stayed in Ljubljana for 10 days in an Airbnb

Private Driver from Ljubljana to Split, via Plitvice Lakes National Park.

3 night boat cruise from Split to Dubrovnik.

2 nights in Dubrovnik staying at the Pucic Palace Hotel

Fast ferry from Dubrovnik back to Split for a couple more nights in our Airbnb

Private Driver from Split to Zagreb, via Zadar

Qantas flight (Emirates code share) to Sydney via Dubai

After a bit of window shopping and a long walk through Hyde Park to Kensington Garden, it rained, it was windy, the sun tried to come out, then it got really cold. I went to the 'Dress Code' exhibition at Kensington Palace, the Palace is in the middle of a major conservation project have all the sash windows replaced so the whole building is covered in scaffolding......#hydepark #hydeparklondon #kensingtonpalace #kensingtongardens #fortnums #oxfordstreet #solotravel #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #seeeverythingdoeverything
The public gardens in Taormina on land that was once owned by the same lady who owned Isola Bella in the late 1800s, Lady Florence Trevelyan, a distant relation of Queen Victoria who was exiled from England for having an affair with the future King Edward Vll (why wasn't he exiled for the same issue??) She moved to Taormina and bought Isola Bella, later marrying the Mayor of Taormina. Together they created the public gardens, which are beautifully looked after to encourage various plants and birds to live there..#oarcotreveltan #publicgardentaormina #taorminasicily #taormina #walkinthepark #solotravel #seeeverythingdoeverything #solotravelinitaly #traveltheworldwithme #solotrip #madeinitaly #madeinsicily #sicilytravel
Different story today, they forecast sun and it happened 🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞 finally!! #stleonardspark #northsydney #blueskyandsunshine☀️ #walkinthepark #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #sydneyweekend
This seems to be all it does in Sydney these days, although there is a fine day forecast for tomorrow 😊 As I walked through St Leonards Park this morning on my way to work, there was everything from torrential to drizzle. Most of NSW north of Sydney has completely gone under in floods, so the rain in Sydney is nothing compared to what others are going through 😒#stleonardspark #rainfall #waterwaterandmorewater #morningcommute #walkinthepark #northsydney #northsydneyintherain
It's quite mesmerising watching the man in the clock resetting the time every minute, just outside Paddington Station, London. Sorry about all the camera movement as people wanted to get past me!! #manintheclock #Paddington #paddingtonstationlondon #solotravel #solotrip #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #solotravelinlondon #traveltheworldwithme #seeeverythingdoeverything
A big day of wandering all over Palermo. It's a grubby, gritty city, everything needs a good wash, but you get over that pretty quickly!! Easy to get around on buses and walking, the Ballaro Markets are quite an experience, all the vendors shouting, very crowded, seafood sitting out in the sun, cooking various gizzards to put on bread rolls (no thanks!!) Then I escaped to the calm of the botanical gardens....#Palermo #palermosicily #ballaromarket #mercatoballarò #botanicgardens #sicilytravel #solotravel #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme
St Thomas' Bay in Marsaskala out on the east coast of Malta is really pretty, I walked all around the harbour and came across St Thomas' Tower built in the early 1600s to repel the invading Ottomans, they were sent packing once they saw what the Maltese were made of!! There were salt Pans along the way, and as usual for Malta, a lookout bunker on every headland..#marsaskala #stthomasbaymalta #stthomastower #maltascats #exploremalta #solotravel #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #neverstopexploring #traveladdict #traveltomalta #visitmalta
A short train trip from Syracuse, then a walk up the hill to Noto. A town with more churches per square inch than I've ever seen!!!!.#noto #notosicily #sicily #sicilytravel #solotravel #solotravelinitaly #solotravelinsicily #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #neverstopexploring #seeeverythingdoeverything #madeinitaly
I'm in planning mode getting ready for my next Trip Over The World. Read the new post about my planning process by clicking the link in the bio...#tripplanning #tripplanningtime #malta #sicily #solotravel #solotrip #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #neverstopexploring #traveltheworldwithme
On my way to the bus stop the other day, I noticed the row of trees on the main road are all this weird yellowish colour where the bark has peeled off, is this normal??? Certainly not my favourite colour!!.#sydneystreets #neutralbay #sydneynorthshore #yellowgumtree #aftertherain #myhometown #onthecommute #treesinsydney #crossingtheroad #treeschangingcolour #walktowork #sydneylife #sydneynativeplants #sydneyaustralia #sydneylocal #seetheworldthroughmyeyes
Flying into London, it's been a while since I have flown in during daylight hours, without low cloud or fog to get a few pics from the air!! It would have been better with full sun 🌞 maybe next time....so lovely to walk through St James's Park🥰🌺🥂#London #Thames #riverthames #buckinghampalace🇬🇧 #kensingtonpalace #stjamespark #stjamesspalace #solotravel #solotrip #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #traveltheworldwithme #solotravelinlondon
When I was in Mdina a few days ago, I could see the giant domestic of the Mosta Rotunda off in the distance (have a look at that reel). So I caught the bus to Mosta! The Rotunda was built in the early 1800s, so quite modern by Maltese standards! I walked up 75 steps of the narrow stone spiral staircase into the dome, then back down to check out the WWll air raid shelter underneath, and the bomb that landed here but fortunately didn't explode..#mosta #mostarotunda #mostarotundachurch #maltalife #malta #solotravel #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #seeeverythingdoeverything #traveladdict #exploretheworld #exploremalta
My adventure begins!! Leaving Sydney for London, then Malta, then Sicily 🥂🌞🌞🌞.#Sydney #sydneyaurport #Qantas @qantas #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #nextadventure #traveltheworldwithme #londoncalling #upintheair
In Westfield shopping centre in Sydney CBD, all sparkled up a ready for Santa 🎅🎄🥂!!#sydneyaustralia #sydneylife #sydneycbd #Sydney #sydneychristmas #sydneychristmaslights #shoppinginsydney #christmasinsydney #christmasready #westfieldsydney
Right in the centre of Taormina is this over grown 2000 year old Roman Baths, inhabited by stray cats. There is a sign pointing to it, but it's a bit of a mess.....then on the other side of the square is an old Roman theatre, also dating back to the 1st century..#romanbaths #romantheatre #taormina #taorminasicily #solotravel #solotravelinitaly #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #seeeverythingdoeverything #solotravelinsicily
Went on an excursion through the centre of Sicily to the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento near the south coast, then remains of Greek Temples built on the 5th century BC! Then we went down to the coast to look at Scala dei Turchi, the natural formation of step like ridges in the rock. Ottomans Turks found shelter here, giving it the name.#valleyofthetemples #agrigento #agrigentosicily #scaladeiturchi #Sicily #solotravel #solotrip #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #neverstopexploring #seeeverythingdoeverything
Flowers exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea..#flowers @saatchi_gallery #kingsroadchelsea #London #londonart #londonstyle #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #solotrip #solotravel #traveltheworldwithme #seeeverythingdoeverything #traveladdict
Manoel Island, just next to Valletta in Malta, was the Royal Navy Base prior to 1964. Fort Manoel is apparently being renovated to make it safe to visit. But all the other buildings that were used by the Navy have just been left to fall apart. It is the strangest place, all the buildings would have been functional, but have just left derelict for the past 60 years..#manoelisland #Malta #derelictbuildings #valletta #solotravel #traveltheworldwithme #neverstopexploring #seeeverythingdoeverything #solotrip #seetheworldthroughmyeyes
The things you see just ambling around Valletta, sometimes I take the long route around to avoid more really steep and uneven steps, but this always leads to finding more things to see..#valletta #vallettamalta #vallettastreets #malta #maltalife #streetsofvalletta #solotravel #solotrip #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #traveltheworldwithme #neverstopexploring #seeeverythingdoeverything
Had a great time exploring the city of Palermo, it's been quite an adventure!! Off back to London today.....#Palermo #palermosicily #solotravel #solotrip #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #traveltheworldwithme #seeeverythingdoeverything
The Chanel Christmas window at David Jones in Sydney CBD. It's been sooooo hot lately, adding snow to pics in Sydney really helps!!😉🎄☀️🎄☀️🎄#christmasinsydney #christmastree #christmasdecorations #christmasiscoming #sydneystreets #davidjones #chanel #chanelChristmas #hotinthecity #sydney #sydneystyle #sydneylife #sydneystyle #sydneychristmas #sydneyaustralia #sydneycbd #sydneylocal #lunchtimewalks
Caught the bus down to the seaside today, the pebbles were bigger than I've seen on any beach anywhere, it was like a rock quarry!! How people were sitting on it was a mystery! Then to top it off it was high tide and I was ill equipped to walk thigh deep through the water to get to Isola Bella. Now I know what to prepare for, I'll have another go later.......#taorminasicily #taormina #isolabella #isolabellataormina #sicilianbeach #solotravel #solotravelinitaly #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #seeeverythingdoeverything #solotravelinsicily #downbytheseaside
Walking all around Valletta, so many steps to go up and down!! Sunrise across Grand Harbour....Upper Barrakka Gardens and all around that area. .#valletta #upperbarrakkagardens #tritonfountain #malta #solotravel #solotrip #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #traveltheworldwithme #neverstopexploring #traveladdict #maltalife
This parade has been going up and down Cirdo Umberto in Taormina all afternoon!! Lots of drums, dancing and horses wearing more flowers than any horse is meant to!! I'm still not sure what it's all about - but is that important??.#taorminasicily #taormina #cittataormina #solotravel #solotravelinitaly #solotrip #solotravelinsicily #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #traveltheworldwithme
Big day yesterday, out and about on Malta's buses, so far so good, with my 7 day ticket in hand, went off to Tarxien, Marsaxlokk, Sliema and back to Valletta..#malta #marsaxlokk #fishingboats #maltalife #solotravel #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #neverstopexploring #traveladdict #seeeverythingdoeverything
I started the day by walking a couple of kms up the coast, then came back and walked all around the edge of Ortigia visiting castles and forts along the way. At least Syracuse and Ortigia are relatively flat!!! .#syracuse #ortigia #ortigiaisland #ortigiasiracusa #italianhistory #solotravel #solotravelinitaly #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #neverstopexploring #madeinitaly #traveladdict #italytrip
Today I set off on the #51 bus from Valletta to Mtarfa in central Malta, in search of the hospital my brother and I were born in. I had read is was now a college, but it seems to be all closed up behind locked gates. I climbed up on walls so I could get a photo of those magic words above the entrance, "David Bruce Royal Naval Hospital". A few days ago I found the house we lived in in Tarxien, not far from Valletta. We moved back to England when I was 6 weeks old, so memories are a bit sketchy!! .#malta #whereiwasborn #myfirsthome #mrarfa #royalnavalhospital #maltalife #neverstopexploring #backwhereitallbegan ##solotravel #seetheworldthroughmyeyes ##traveltheworldwithme
Caught the fast ferry from Valletta to Gozo, had a wander around Victoria, then went all over the Island on top deck of a bus!! That was quite an experience - a double decker bus negotiating streets designed for a horse and cart!! There were times that there was only inches to spare either side!..#gozo #gozoisland #hoponhopoffbus #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #solotravel #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #seeeverythingdoeverything #traveladdict #neverstopexploring
Looking out from Cremorne Point on Sydney's North Shore, watch ferries go by, sailing boats, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, it's all there 🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🥂..#sydneyharbour #sydneyharbourwalks #sydneystyle #seeeverythingdoeverything #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #traveltheworldworldwithme #outonthewater #boatsboatsboats #sydneyweekend #sydneylocal #myhometown #sydneyaustralia #sydneynorthshore #sydneybythesea #sydneyinsummertime
Beautiful weather to walk around Cremorne Point....finally.....for weeks it has been too hot, too humid, too stormy, too windy, too just generally unpleasant - then today...Perfect, just right 🌞🌞😍!..#sydneyharbour #sydneyharbourbridge #sydneyoperhouse #sydneyharbourwalks #perfectday #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #boats #outonthewater
All the action out on Sydney Harbour last weekend🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞, this weekend it has done nothing but rain, or rain more🌧🌧🌧..#sydneyharbour #sydneynorthshore #sydneyharbourwalks #sydneyaustralia #sydneylocal #myhometown #sydneylife #sydneystyle #seeeverythingdoeverything #traveltheworldworldwithme #outonthewater #boatsboatsboats ##sydneyferries #cremornepoint #cremornepointwalk
A beautiful spring day in London, cool, crisp, but so much warmer than I was expecting 🌞 St James's Park was in full bloom🌼🌷⚘️🌺.#London #stjamesspalace #stjamespark #magnolias #pinkblossoms #walkinthepark #traveltheworldwithme #solotravel #solotrip #seetheworldthroughmyeyes
It was hot, then it got very humid, lots of cloud.....maybe rain later, but there was a nice breeze on the harbour. I'm ready for summer to end....#sydneyharbour #sydneylife #sydneyharbourwalks #lookingforthebreeze #cremornepoint #sydneylocal #sydneyoperhouse #sailingonsydneyharbour #nativeaustralianflowers
Martin Place Christmas tree in Sydney CBD, seems to be a slight change from the usual covered in red and green beach balls, this year I think there are less of them, and a few pink ones have been introduced!! Come on Sydney, can we please have a new design? 🎄🥂🎅🎄🥂🎄#christmasinsydney #christmastree #martinplacesydney #martinplacechristmastree #sydney #sydneystyle #sydneylife #sydneycbd #sydneychristmas #sydneylocal #sydneyaustralia
All the flowers are still looking fabulous on the walk around Cremorne Point on Sydney's North Shore..#pinkflowers #purpleflowers #yellowflowers #cremornepoint #sydneylocal #sydneylife #sydneyharbourwalks #sydney #walkinthepark #seetheworldthroughmyeyes
Christmas is coming to The Stand Arcade in Sydney, same decorations every year, but they always look good here 🎄🎄🎄#strandarcade #strandarcadesydney #christmasatthestrand #christmasdecorations #christmasinsydney #decorationsup #shoppinginsydney #myhometown #sydneylife #sydneystyle #seeeverythingdoeverything #sydneyaustralia #sydneychristmas #sydneycbd
To get a better shot of the Cannon firing, I waited in the freezing cold at Upper Barrakka Gardens to I could secure this spot, the crowds were 10 deep behind me!! .#vallettacannonshot #vallettasalutingbattery #cannonfire #cannonfireinvalletta #Malta #maltalife #solotravel #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #solotrip #seeeverythingdoeverything
Walking to North Sydney to catch the Metro into the city in the morning..#northsydney #walktowork #pinkflowers #sydneyharbourbridge #sydneylocal #sydneystreets #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #morningcommute
A lunchtime walk in Hyde Park today, the Archibald Fountain has been all cleaned up, the flowers are blooming and the bin chickens are loving it!!..#archibaldfountain #hydeparksydney #sydneylocal #sydneylife #sydneycbd #binchickens #binchickensofinstagram #flowersinthepark #lunchtimewalk
It's all about eating.......🎄🥂🎊🎄!!#christmasinsydney #eatingseason #festivefoodandmood
Made it back across the Grand Harbour and up on to my terrace in time to watch the 4pm firing of the cannon from the Saluting Battery.#cannonfire #valletta #salutingbatterymalta #solotravel #solotrip #malta #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #traveltheworldwithme #seeeverythingdoeverything #maltalife #grandgarbour #grandharbourhotel
All the decorations are nearly down as Sydney marches into 2025, walking through @theqvb on my way to work is a beautiful way to start the day, especially as it's been soooooo hot and humidity, or raining lately, a bit of air-con helps!!!..#sydneyafterchristmas #qvbsydney #queenvictoriabuilding #queenvictoriabuildingsydney #shoppinginsydney #dailycommute #walktowork #streetsofsydney #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #sydneystyle #sydneylife #sydneystreets #sydneycbd
All the wildlife came out to see the end of 2024, before their habitat gets taken over by human wildlife all looking for a fireworks watching spot for the big show at midnight on Sydney Harbour. Further around Cremorne Point the "No Alcohol" signs were all being put up, Porta loos were being put in place, home owners were putting up signs to ask people not to climb on the fences and garden walls - the price you pay to live in this beautiful area, one night of hell to start off every new year!!#cremornepoint #cremornepointwalk #seeeverythingdoeverything #sydneywildlife #sydneynorthshore #sydneystyle #sydneylife #sydneyaustralia #sydneylocal #sydneycoastalwalks #lizards #kookaburras #sydneybythesea #sydneyharbour #sydneyferries #boatsontheharbour
Having arrived in London really early, my hotel room wasn't ready, so I left my luggage there and went to the Victoria and Albert Museum to see the Naomi Campbell exhibition while I waited. Love it when a visit to London coincides with a great exhibition @vamuseum #naomicampbell #vanda #victoriaandalbertmuseum #London #londonfashion #londonstyle #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #solotravel #seeeverythingdoeverything #solotravelinlondon #traveltheworldwithme

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