Croatia 10 - Zagreb 4
Our flight was in the early afternoon, which gave us enough time to have a breakfast, take a walk and do a last minute shopping. It was pretty dark and foggy around 7am, when we stepped out to get a breakfast. The Christmas illuminations in the city were still on. What a wonderful surprise!
While we were enjoying watching the magical lights on the way to our breakfast place (Boogie Lab, again!), suddenly all the lights got turned off! I guess the lights turn on and off based on a pre-set timer or the brightness level. It was a joyful twinkling that lasted about seven minutes.
At Boogie Lab, I had a plain croissant, freshly squeezed juice (grapefruit, lemon, ginger) and earl gray. The croissant was fine - crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. J enjoyed the same savory pastry.
Since we liked their pastries, we bought a loaf bread to take home with us. The lucky bread was a corn bread and became our breakfast of the next day. It was a very nice sourdough with sweet corn flavor. We loved it!
It was a Monday morning; many commuters were around the central railway station. Have a nice day!
The city of Zagreb had lots of parks. It would look more beautiful when it's covered in greenery.
We stopped by a small grocery store and picked up a pack of Dalmatian prosciutto (pršut) and some savory and sweet pastries. Dalmatian prosciutto is typically smoked with hardwood, which gives it a rich aroma and deep flavor, then matured for 12-18 months, distinct from non-smoked, sweet and delicate Italian prosciutto.
Then we explored the far western area of the city center...
It was time to go back to our Airbnb to check out. On the way, we had a chance to say a good bye to the Croatian National Theatre.
After checking out, we still had an hour or so before heading to the airport. We decided to have an early lunch at Pithos, a Croatian restaurant close to our Airbnb. They serve three options of breakfast as well as three options of lunch every weekday. The three lunch dishes are "no overthinking, just good, homemade food like our grandmothers and mothers used to make." One of them is always a hearty stew. That sounded proper for our last meal of the trip.
We chose the stew of the day - a bean stew. It was very tasty and definitely hearty. J's stew was with sausages. He ate it all up!
The 10 days were fantastic! Visiting both the coastal towns and inland Zagreb was a great idea to get to know Croatia better. Especially, traveling the Dalmatian region in December allowed us to enjoy the historic towns at our own pace without bumping into the crowds of tourists. Fortunately the weather was cooperative; we were very active every day. The trip was my biggest holiday 2025 gift from Santa J! Thanks a lot!
