I left Budapest when it was still dark out, headed for Zagreb, Croatia.  My time in Zagreb was really to visit Plitvice National Park.  I had gone back and forth so many times between staying in Zagreb and staying at Plitvice.  Staying in Zagreb meant it was easier to leave once my Croatia stay was over. Staying at Plitvice meant it was easier to get to the park.  In the end, I opted to stay in Zagreb.

I boarded the train at Keleti Station and found my seat.  Someone was sitting in it. I try and show him my ticket and he will not acknowledge me.  Fine, I’ll just sit across from you. His body language told me my presence annoyed him.  Well feel free to move…out of my seat….

My train was one of those trains that had cabins with six seats in each cabin. I don’t like these trains. I don’t like facing someone, being locked in a cabin with a stranger.  Well okay you aren’t LOCKED inside a cabin with a stranger, but that’s what it feels like. I had just really wanted to sleep for the bulk of my six hour trip, but having this person directly facing me inside a locked cabin (okay again, not LOCKED) made it awkward.

At some point, the train stopped and a very menacing man in a uniform came and barked at us in a language I did not understand.  Turns out we were crossing into Croatia and needed to show our passports.  Yay!  Croatia stamp in my passport!

Finally “guy in my seat who hates me” leaves the cabin.  I am alone! I can sleep!  I put my headphones in and start blasting The Loved Ones, relaxing and then…ugh.   Mere minutes later, I am interrupted again. There is construction on our train line so we are being transferred to a bus, and then back to a train after the construction.  This makes me very anxious.  The woman who was called into my cabin to explain this to me as the conductor didn’t speak English, tells me that this happens all the time. It is no big deal.  But I’m still anxious.

We get out of the train and find the bus we are supposed to take.  It’s like…right there.  A very hot bus ride later, we reach the train station.  We are only five minutes later than we would have been if the train had run straight through.

We board and continue to Zagreb.  Once we arrive at the Glavni Kolodvor station, I have another one of those “I’M IN EUROPE!!!” moments.  I stopped to grab something to eat.  The guy behind the counter didn’t speak English and I did not speak Croatian. He was kind enough to write down the total on a piece of paper for me. I then bought a tram ticket and outside I went.

Trams in Zagreb are free within a certain distance around the train station.  My hotel was not an actual hotel; it was an apartment house just outside the free zone. I had to buy a ticket.  Once again, I was pleasantly surprised at how the tram ride went absolutely smoothly.  I had made myself a list of tram stops between the train station and my hotel.  One by one, we passed the stops in exact order and I got off where I was supposed to.  It needs to be said over and over again.  I live in New York City.  The subway system here is thought to be the greatest in the world.  It is not. It is constantly being repaired, it never runs where its supposed to.  It skips stops and trains are moved to other lines.  People who live here often find themselves in places they didn’t intend to be.  Yet in Croatia, I had zero problems.

Taking the bus back to Zagreb – the “bus stop” is a tiny little shack about the size of a NYC bus shelter. There is no bus station.  Before leaving, I had read that as you wait for the bus, so many busses will pass.  Do not be paranoid if they do not stop.  They are simply not your bus. There’s a bazillion tourist busses passing by here.  My bus showed up a little bit late, but it showed up.  I got on and passed out and had to be woken up by the driver when we got back to Zagreb.

I would love to make it back to Plitvice in the winter time and see all this beauty frozen into solid ice. It is definitely on a “to do” list for my future.

Once back in Zagreb, I was completely worn out from my day at Plitvice.  I walked around a bit just looking at things before I was just too tired to stay out any longer.

Dinner was purchased at a supermarket where I spotted this tasty gem. Being that I am mentally twelve years old, I found this hilarious.  In addition, I also found it odd that this package (pun intended) was in English.

I spent more money on tram tickets than on anything else in Zagreb.  Of course, I never once got asked to show anyone a ticket.  But I feel wrong if I don’t buy one.

Next stop, Slovenia!