Zagreb, Croatia

Melissa Enderle

Introduction

In March 2005, I traveled with a large number of the faculty from ISB (International School of Belgrade) by bus to Zagreb for the annual CEESA (Central and Eastern European Schools Association) conference.

This was my first time to Croatia, one of the countries formed from the breakup of former Yugoslavia. Located inland, Zagreb (population 777,000) is the capital city of the country which boasts a long stretch of coastline along the Adriatic coast, medieval cities, and some of Europe's finest Roman ruins. I hope to visit some of these coastal areas while teaching in Belgrade, Serbia.

To view my Zagreb travelogue, click here.

Countryside

Once outside of Belgrade, the hills gave way to flat land. The open rural land was a stark contrast to the city of over 1,500,000 people. Although the temperature was spring-like, the brownness and bare trees still reflected the recent winter snowfalls. Water was standing in some fields that likely were covered by snow just a week earlier. When I remarked that some of the fields were already plowed, the local teachers remarked that this was unusually late, due to the “long” winter. If only the winters in Wisconsin were that short! A few small tractors worked up the rich land. Small villages dotted the land, with their terra-cotta tiled roofs and orthodox spires emerging from the skyline. Although I spotted a few sheep, their small numbers and absence of olive trees was evidence that I was not in Tunisia.

On to Zagreb >> Architecture

The countryside on the road between Belgrade and Zagreb is very flat