European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 19, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday april 19 2007 stars and stripes Page 27 know go getting around at 6 Kuna to the Dollar a Zagreb card Good for 72 hours costs about and if s honoured on every kind of municipal transportation Flash it at museums and Many other attractions for discounts on admission tickets i never used a taxi except for Airport transfers the 25mile cab ride from Down town to the Airport costs about plus tip a bus from the Central depot is one Way trolley tickets Cost about at kiosks and on Board i found the streetcars most useful for getting from one District to its easy to walk almost anywhere in Central Zagreb that part of town is quite compact and Street scapes Are rarely Dull sleeping there i chose the hotel Palace try j j Strossman Era 101000 1 4899 600 for a sense of old Zagreb if s an elegant but casual place with lots of dark polished Wood in the Public areas and Fine leather furniture in the lobby upstairs my single room one of 123 rooms and suites followed the european single room Stan Dardie cramped still comfortable enough and it had a nicely accessorized but tiny bathroom with a Shower Only Price to plus tax and including full breakfast i also spent a night at the 360unit Sheraton Zagreb hotel Arneza borne 21000 1 4553535 to rub shoulders with the expense account set on the outside if s All gloss and Glass while the grand lobby tips its hat to tradition my room was spa Cious and modern a definite break from the european Claus tradition not a budget selection at to a night there Are several other choices most naturally on the the associated and stripes expensive Side eating there i stay at the fabulous Regen Tesla Nade hotel Milano Vineva 1 10008005454000 1 4566021 com but i did have a dinner in its Zinfandel dining room after Days of food on the run the pizza is i hungered for a lingering repast in the kind of place where White Linen huge vases rippling fountains and a tinkling piano All set the tone i ordered from the croatian specialities Side of the menu and ended up with a wonderful salad populated by squid octopus scallops and prawn the roast Lamb served with broiled vegetables May or May not have been cooked the croat Ian Way whatever that but it was delicious nonetheless note prices often Are quoted in euros and euros Are readily accepted almost everywhere in Zagreb the Cooks at Boban Sajeva 9 1000 1 4811549 demonstrate that croatians have Learned the secrets of Fine pasta from their neighbor across the Adriatic food is served in a quiet cellar below the far noisier bar i had a simple tasting menu of three pastas and three sauces including salad at Kaptolsky Klet Kaptola 5 1000 1 4921307 let i ate with members of an English speaking bus tour group who were out for a Good time we enjoyed dancing Folk singing and platters of meat and stuffed dumplings in an old world set Ting reminiscent of a German rathskeller the food was hot and the attitude of the staff was boisterous and warm information croatian nation Al tourist office 800829 4416 Zagreb tourist Board or Robert Cross s n act a Streetcar takes on passengers at Zagreb main Square Bana be Macica a bustling shopping District Zagreb from Page 26 Art which is splashed with the colors of a Long croatian tradition around the Corner Walerija Klo Vicevic Dvorki has transformed a former Jesuit monastery into a lean contemporary space for travelling Art exhibits that was just a slice of the old part of town i walked a Short Block to a Point where i could look Down at the new Zagreb and its Orange tile rooftops and old Vienna style institutions the Vista sprawled toward Infinity More than a million people live in the metropolitan area i know Many of those streets were made for walking and Long deep breaths of atmosphere there fore cd have to miss a lot and savor what Little i could a funicular connects upper and lower Zagreb i stood Only a few Yards from the upper station this is a Symbol of the City a funicular attendant told me symbols Are Best seen from a distance and i chose to descend on the Steep zigzagging stairway getting a peek at tiny backyards and perched terraces during the descent the list of museums in the lower City is overwhelming and sometimes i was forced by time constraints or opening hours to Settle for a Long look at their exteriors an aesthetic feast rang ing from byzantine to Art Deco the Renaissance style arts and crafts museum the Art Nouveau Art Pavilion and baroque croat Ian National theater for exam ple Are wonders to behold i did spend a Good chunk of an afternoon wandering through the museum Mimaran it was nearly empty except for Crews preparing for some kind of big event thanks to the thousands of donations tendered by collector Ante topic Mimaran i found treasures in abundance archaeological pieces from the Middle East and Europe antique furniture Tex tiles Fine examples from the Ateliers of Rubens Van Dyck Rembrandt Velazquez Renoir and Delacroix and of course much More by the time i returned two Young men were working at the cloakroom counter one of them explained that Story Magazine would be taking Over the museum that evening for its big Annu Al Bash Story might be described As a croatian celebrity Slick its ads on the trolleys shout Cafee lifestyle cocktail party Point Click go exotic travel for soot imm it Stravs Morocco South Africa Edinburgh military Tattoo Baltic capitols Egypt Nile cruise Moscow St Petersburg Moscow St Petersburg Malta Egypt Nile cruise India Egypt Nile cruise 81 5 May 1829jun 1 21 7 aug 1 7 oct 61 3 oct 1 421 oct 30 oct2 nov 41 1 nov 81 4 nov 1 724 nov 1725 nov 2229 dec 059 059 269 229 1 69 269 429 Atlanta Chicago Kansas City Miami new York Orlando san Francisco payment plans Avail Washington roundtrip flights subject to availability applicable taxes please Contact 8tt for additional destinations child discounts full details available reservations available at wrwwrt7travelcom across from the hotel Palace in one of the Par like plazas that ring Zagreb Central District i visited the stros Mayer gallery of old masters if s named for the 19th Century Bishop Josip Juraj stros Mayer a Leader of the movement to unite the coun try and an avid Art collector the gallery sits two floors above the croatian Academy of arts and sciences founded by the Bishop in a series of Wood angled rooms again i found myself alone As i took in the Gil framed italian dutch French and croatian artists from centuries past and again the building itself was Beautiful a Neo Renaissance pastry with a tall Ivan Mestrovic statue of Bishop stros Mayer looming Over the backyard the galleries were Fine but so Many streets seemed to Beckon some led disappointingly but unattractive apartment blocks others took roundabout ways Back to Capitol or the main downtown Plaza on one of those strolls i came upon an unusual statue of poet August Senoa a life size and stylized figure in Black Granite casually leaning against a match ing Kiosk Marija Ujevic finished the work in 1986 my Guidebook said but the Book had provided no directions to the spot aimless wandering has its rewards i sought out the cites botanic Garden walking West from the magnificent Esplanade hotel on a Street filled with imposing government buildings and Pri vate apartments those business like blocks cried out for Green Relief and the gardens appeared at just the right moment before plunging into the near by museum Complex and the Bustle of City life i could walk around Flower Beds and stands of Trees Cross a Broad Lawn and pause on a Graceful Little Bridge fit for a Monet Lily Pond i saw a few Young men and women lounging on the grass obviously with Romance on their minds at that Point clearly they had come to the right place not just the botanical Garden but Zagreb As a whole
