Balkan Discovery Trip. Day 1: Kuala Lumpur to Zagreb, Croatia

Hi! Following nearly three years of border closures and travel restrictions due to Covid-19, we embarked on another journey! In the post-pandemic era, they called it endemic, where travel restrictions across borders were eased in some parts of the world, with face masks and hand sanitizing practices strongly advised.

We joined a private group trip to the Balkan region organized by Zafirah Travel to visit five countries: Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, and North Macedonia. I remembered from an earlier post that I wouldn't visit multiple countries in a single trip! For now, I will make an exception.

We were granted permission for Nu'man to skip class three days earlier than the scheduled week-long school break so that he could avoid contracting the virus. We should try our best to avoid infection, even though it may create hassle and those countries have dropped Covid entry requirements. We hoped for a smooth journey.

As we took TK-61's Turkish Airlines flight at 11pm to Croatia, the plane made a stop at Istanbul airport almost 11 hours later. We just had a little time to wander around the brand-new airport that started operating in mid-2019 before the journey continued for another 3 and a half hours to Franjo Tudman International Airport.

Harap mamat balkan faham

Ashman sedih kena tinggal

A brief stop at IST airport

Bought some Turkish sweets

Arrived at Zagreb

It's almost ten o'clock in the morning. Mr. Akin, a local tour guide from Bosnia, greeted us and accompanied us for 10 days throughout the Balkan region. After boarding the provided bus, we made our way to downtown Zagreb. We began our city tour on the first day. The first thing we noticed was that locals rarely wore masks, which made me feel alienated.

Then, we were introduced to Zagreb city guide, Ivana. She led us on the tour for an hour and another 45 minutes spare for our own time. We explored and ticked off Zagreb's old-town must-sees as suggested in the itineraries. She informed us that Croatia will transition to the euro currency in January of next year. They used the Croatian kuna as their official currency.

The tour starts at Vlaška Street, heading to European Square, where a city replica is situated. After a short explanation of the upper and lower towns, we were taken to Ban Josip Jelačić Square. It is easily recognized by the enormous statue in the middle of the square.

Then we continued north to the Dolac Market, passing through the Harmica. That was where we were recommended to change our money to kuna. A small amount was enough, as we only spent one night in Zagreb. Since it was still early, there were not so many shops, but we had plentiful choices of fresh fruits with very reasonable prices. We also bought some Zagreb souvenirs.

In the middle of Vlaška street

European Square

This is a 3D model of the old town of Zagreb.

Manduševac, a natural water resource on Ban Josip Jelačić Square

1 kn is approximately MYR 0.60

The Cathedral of Zagreb

Nuzli Mohamad Anas...

Our local guide, Ivana

In our spare time, we were intrigued to try the shortest funicular in the world. With the length of 66 meters, we headed to Tomić Street once Ivana ended the tour at the square. Best part, we were able to visit several interesting tourist spots in the area of Donji Gard. Let the pictures do the storytelling.

The Zagreb's funicular

The view from Donji Gard

In front of the Lotrščak Tower

The Austro-Hungarian architecture

The Stone Gate is the most significant oath site in Zagreb

Patron came to light a candle and pray for health, happiness, good luck, and love.

The statue of Saint George

Loved the atmosphere along the cobblestone street.

Getting some reasonable price of fresh grape

The statue, hence the name of the square

I was searching for an essential Croatian dish back then, and zagorski štrukli is a must-try. La Struk is among the popular restaurants offering the traditional dish, situated less than 100 meters from the Dolac Market. We popped in to the restaurant; however, the dish was made to order and takes almost 30 minutes to be ready. Albeit we found another shop that sells ready-made štrukli, which we bought in plain and cheese flavors.

Nu'man with štrukli

We had lunch in the Zagreb Central Mosque around noon and were served with salad as an appetizer and grape rice as a main course. The grape juice was delicious, and I believed it was freshly squeezed. We stayed at the Westin Hotel for the first night. My friend told me that it was a posh hotel, but I doubt so :P. Later that evening, we were taken back to the Central Mosque for dinner/supper.