On my second (and final) day in Zagreb, I decided to venture a little bit further from the city center, heading ironically to “New Zagreb” (the area of town primarily built during the Socialist period from 1945-1990, which is “newer” than the medieval and Austro-Hungarian parts of town in the center of the city). In order to get there, I had to go to the center of the “Old Town” to transfer trains, so I figured I’d do slightly more exploration and then ultimately make my way south after lunch. Up first, I visited the lovely Market Dolac, which is an open-air market with stalls for every fruit, vegetable, spices (so much lovely paprika!), all sorts of grains, and a small warehouse where you can step inside to purchase fish and shellfish.

After the market, I headed through the “Oktagon” which is Zagreb’s answer to a luxury shopping area with a beautiful glass dome overhead.

I also passed a couple interesting statues, including one of Nikolai Tesla.

Then, I continued to meander, stopping for coffee at Quahwa, where I ordered a “traditional” Croatian coffee made with brohni, a local candy. I did not realize it was also made with rum or some kind of local liqueur, so that was an unexpected surprise. I then proceeded to my final stop in the “old town” area before heading to “New Zagreb” – lunch!

Along the way, I passed some other interesting sights in Zagreb, including their famous meteorological tower and the beautiful Park Zrinjevac, with its many manicured flower beds.

For lunch, I went to GOSTIONICA RESTORAN PURGER, which was a lovely little restaurant set alongside an unassuming street. I was greeted by a kindly older gentleman and despite the language barrier, managed to ask if they were open for lunch. A few moments later, I was shepherded to my table where I proceeded to enjoy an incredible meat of wienerschnitzel with potatoes (apparently the entire head of garlic they used on this platter of food made it ‘Croatian’ but I have to say, it was by far the best I’ve had!), a lovely green salad, and incredibly fresh bread (perfect for sopping up all the garlicky deliciousness).

Even with a glass of wine and a coffee, the total was 21 Euros! Then, I started to make my way southward, which required a ~30 minute ride on a tram that just would not come. While waiting, I stumbled on the Asian Food Festival, which was primarily just cocktails and small bites. Finally, I saw my tram approaching – it didn’t stop at the marked stop, so instead I sprinted the four or so blocks to the train station in order to make sure I didn’t have to keep waiting. After the rum coffee, the glass of wine and the heat (it was almost 100 degrees!), it was not the most pleasant or sweat-free ride, but at least there was a small breeze once we started moving.

Once you exit the city itself, you definitely start to see more of the architecture that you would expect from former Yugoslavia.

The primary draw in New Zagreb from a tourist perspective is the Museum of Contemporary Art, which did veer a little far on the experiential and absurd for my tastes, but had an interesting collection nonetheless. It also had some interesting pieces reflecting on the Yugoslavian war, which is the first and only time I’ve seen it referenced (I could not find any museums, formal memorials, etc. in Zagreb otherwise).

I had planned to venture further out to see a couple of the churches and neighborhoods off the back streets, but unfortunately it was just so hot and it’d taken so long to get through the city that it didn’t feel worth the time spent. So, I headed back into the city, finding 4 different ways to not succeed in catching the tram before finally finding the correct underground path that would enable access.

Upon arriving back in Zagreb “Old Town”, I proceeded to the “Design District” (which seemed quite similar to the other areas of town, but definitely with more bistros and cute little wine bars), wandering through more apartment parking lots and courtyards to find my next stop: Mr. Fogg. Initially I thought it was part of the Mr. Fogg brand that has a variety of Victorian and steampunk-themed bars throughout London, but instead it was just a bar of the same name with a suspiciously similar steampunk theme. It was definitely cool inside (vibes-wise, there was sadly no air conditioning as with everywhere), but absolutely filled with smoke as all reviews had mentioned, which ultimately became too much.

Ultimately, I headed back to the hotel before dinner to cool off and freshen up and headed back out into the 87 degree heat (although that legitimately felt “cool”) to try one final restaurant: Boban. Also on the Michelin guide, it purports to be “Italian” although in reality it just has many specialties from Croatia (including the Dalmatian coast) in addition to some basic Italian classics. I tried the baked eggplant with local cheese, the handmade egg noodles with truffles, and a delicious tiramisu flavored with a bit of orange.

Overall, a fantastic end to my time in Zagreb! Next up, on to Slovenia for a couple days.