Highlights of Zagreb & Krka National Park

After Ljubljana and Slovenia, it was time to move on to the next country: Croatia. Our first stop was Zagreb, the countries’ capital. Since our main goal was to spend time on the Adriatic coast, we merely spent only an afternoon here, to break up the otherwise long journey. The second stop before arriving at the coast was Krka National Park, famous for its series of seven waterfalls.

Zagreb

We stayed the night at an Airbnb on the northern side of Zagreb. Luckily, it was only a few minutes’ walk to the cozy city center. We entered the city center through Tkalčićeva Street, home to dozens of restaurants, bars, and clubs.

This street eventually leads you to the Ban Jelačić Square, dedicated to one of the military leaders during the Revolutions of 1848, where a large number of European nations fought for independence from the Austrian Empire. As we visited during the European Championships, there was a large fan zone for soccer fanatics to watch the games.

We left the square behind us and headed to the Stone Gate: the eastern gate that connected the Lower with Upper Town. In front, you can find the statue of St. George, a renowned dragon killer.

Now that we were in Upper Town, in medieval times known as Gradec, we continued to the main square. Here, you can find the impressively decorated St. Mark’s Church, built in the 13th century.

We headed back to Lower Town to complete our short, but interesting walking tour. We strolled through the center, did some shopping, and relaxed at one of the city parks: Park Zrinjevac.

Our last stop in Zagreb was the Cathedral of Zagreb. This structure stands 108 meters tall, and even though it was under construction, it looked impressive. Its two towers can be seen from anywhere in the city center, and in fact is the tallest building in all of Croatia. Just like the St. Mark’s Church, it was built in the 13th century, before being reconstructed around 1900.

Krka National Park

After our short stay in Zagreb, we planned to leave for Split and Dubrovnik. Yet, while we were reading up on Croatia, we noticed this country has much more to offer than just cities. The country is home to two National Parks: Krka near Split, and Plitvice Lakes located in the middle between Zagreb and Split.

Since we still had to make it to Split, we decided to opt for Krka, as it was very close to Split. The main attraction of this National Park are the seven waterfalls, which eventually lead to a lake where locals and tourists go for a cooling swim.

Around the lake, you can find plenty of space to lie down and get sunburned, or get some local and not-so local snacks at one of the many vendors around. After a long day of traveling, all we could think of was to cool off in the lake.

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