Delicious Wine and Enlightening Conversation: Review of Two Nights in Zagreb, Croatia
A terrific wine bar where I enjoyed learning about Croatian wine and life in the country! Photo by: Evan Berman
The review of my time in Zagreb is part of the Eastern European Experience. For more information on the trip, follow these links:
Flight: United Economy Class B737-800 CHS-ORD-SEA
Centurion Lounge, The Club SEA, and United Club: SEA Lounges
Flight: Turkish Airlines Business Class B787-9 SEA-IST
Istanbul Airport’s Famous Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge and IGA Pop Up Lounge
Flight: Turkish Airlines Business Class B737 MAX 8 IST-BUD
Hotel: Ramada by Wyndham Budapest City Center
SkyCourt Lounge, Plaza Premium SkyCourt, and Platinum Lounge (Schengen): BUD Lounges
Flight: Lufthansa Economy Class A321-200 BUD-MUC and MUC-ZAG
Lufthansa Business Class Lounge MUC
1.5 Days in Split, Croatia, the Beauty of the Adriatic
Hotel Vestibul Split, Small Luxury Hotels of the World (Hyatt Partner)
Flight: Croatian Airlines Economy Class Dash 8 and ATR 72-600 (Twin-Prop Plane) ZAG-SPU-ZAG-SJJ-ZAG
2 Nights in Zagreb: Wine Tasting and Learning about Croatian Outlook (This Article)
2 Days in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Restaurants in Sarajevo
Hotel Aziza Sarajevo (AABooking)
Business Lounge SJJ
Air Serbia Premium Lounge and Business Club: BEG Lounges
Flight: Swiss Airlines Economy Class Embraer E190-E2 and A220-300 BEG-ZRH-LJU
2 Amazing Days in Ljubljana, Slovenia
Food Scene in Ljubljana
Day Trip around Slovenia: Postojna Cave, Predjama Castle, Bled Castle, and Lake Bled
Hotel Emonec Ljubljana, Slovenia (Rocketmiles)
Flight: Air Serbia Economy Class ATR 72-600 and A319-100 ZAG-BEG, LJU-BEG-SKP
1.5 Days in Belgrade, Serbia
Restaurants in Belgrade
Hotel: Hyatt Regency Belgrade (Hyatt)
3 Hours in Skopje, North Macedonia
Primeclass Lounge SKP
Flight: Wizz Air Economy Class A321-200 SKP-MXP
14 Hours in Milan and Monza, Italy
Hotel de la Ville Monza, Italy, Small Luxury Hotels of the World (Hyatt Partner)
Sala Montale and Emirates Lounge MXP
Flight: Emirates First Class A380-800 MXP-JFK
Conclusion
Trip Summary:
Zagreb is often overlooked by tourists when visiting Croatia. Dubrovnik and Split are on the Adriatic Sea and are beautiful, but the capital city is well worth visiting. I spent two evenings in Zagreb, heading into the city during multi-hour layovers. As such, unlike other city recaps, there will be no hotel review and the food and drink section features only the review of my time at the wine and beer bars I visited as I did not eat dinner on either occasion. I experienced the following:
- Sampled excellent Croatian wines and tasted local draft beer
- Visited several amusing museums
- Rode one of the world’s shortest funiculars!
Flight Info:
I flew Croatia Airlines Economy Class from Split to Zagreb on flight OU 380. The flight was just over 40 minutes from takeoff to touchdown and was uneventful except for the beautiful views near Zagreb.
Read more details about the flight from Split to Zagreb as well as the overall experience flying on Croatia Airlines here.
Price: The one way flight from Split to Zagreb cost $71.47
Points Earned: 357 AmEx Membership Rewards Points (5x on Flights with the AmEx Platinum Card)
Lodging Info:
N/A, I did not spend the night in Zagreb.
Airport Details:
As mentioned above, I flew into ZAG, the airport serving Zagreb. This international airport has 25 gates in 1 terminal. The terminal is split into domestic and international gates with the former taking up gates 1-6 and the international gates are 16-34. Overall, I was very impressed by the airport as it is quite attractive for a modern airport.
I will review ZAG in a separate article. While not as dependent on cruises and other seasonal tourism as Split and Dubrovnik, the time of year similarly impacts how many people fly to and how many flights from Zagreb Airport there are. Per Flight Connections, there are 21 airlines that fly to Zagreb. While Croatia Airlines has a hub there (with 19 destinations), Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair leads the pack with a whopping 31 destinations. Eurowings (3), Lufthansa (2), Tway Air (2), Norwegian (1), Aegean (1), Air Transat (1), Qatar Airways (1) have presences as well. In addition, there will be many new routes starting this summer on several different airlines as the airport looks to surpass 4,000,000 passengers for the first time this year. In total there are flights to 60 international destinations in 21 countries and 6 domestic destinations.
There is only 1 lounge at the airport, on the international side near gate 23. The Primeclass Lounge is part of Priority Pass and while the food was lacking, I enjoyed the alcohol selection and more importantly the peace and quiet! I review the lounge in detail in this article.
Transportation Details:
Uber is available in Croatia. As with my time in Split, I took an Uber everywhere as public transportation is quite lacking compared to Germany. As the airport is significantly closer to the city of Zagreb than SPU is to the city of Split, the prices were much lower. The ride from the airport to the city center on the first night was 17.20€ ($18.40), while the return was 17.94€ ($19.19). On my next visit to Zagreb, the ride from the airport was 19.42€ ($20.95) while the return was 20.48€ ($22.14).
I walked around the old city the rest of the time and did not have further need for an Uber.
Price: 75.04€ ($80.68)
Points: 242 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points (3x on Travel with Chase Sapphire Reserve)
Food & Drink:
As mentioned in the trip summary, I was only in the city for parts of two days and did not have time for dinner. My drinks– both the wine-tasting and beers– on the other hand were excellent!
Time 4 Wine Bar:
Wines:
The owners of this restaurant and wine bar sold the restaurant and are now solely focused on wine tastings. That said, the cellar where the restaurant was located was very charming and the wines were excellent. I decided to stop in after wandering the city. I had originally intended to have a glass of wine then continue onward. That is until I saw the wine flight and decided to make an evening of it!
I ended up sampling 6 wines– Plavac Mali, Merlot, Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc, Graševina, and Malvazija Hrvatska. While I assume most are familiar with merlot, rose, and sauvignon blanc, I’ll explain a bit about the others. Plavac Mali is a cross between Crljenak Kaštelanski (which is ancestral Zinfandel) and Dobričić, a traditional red wine grape grown on the coast of Dalmatia. This wine, the 2019 varietal from the Grgurević family, was my favorite. It is very complex, high in tannins, and unfiltered. A perfect wine to accompany a hearty steak!
Graševina is by far the most popular Croatian wine. Unlike many of the others that I tried, this grape (and the particular bottle I sampled) comes from inland, in the Slavonia and Danube regions of Croatia. The grape is also known as Welschriesling, though it shares only a common name with Riesling– the two are not related. This wine was crisp and tasted of fruits such as apples and pears. I can understand why it is so popular in Croatia– I’d take this grape over a Chardonnay in the summertime any day!
Malvazija Hrvatska, a member of the malvasia family, is the Croatian name for a popular full-bodied white wine that can be found in sunny islands where wine is grown such as the Canary Islands, Madeira, and Istria, off the coast of Croatia. This fruited wine would be the perfect pairing for seafood, the white counterpart to the Plavac Mali– appropriate to serve with a main course.
All 6 of the wines were terrific though I enjoyed the Plavac Mali and Malvazija Hrvatska the most. In total, the wine tasting was 37.20€ ($39.79).
Conversation with Locals:
One of the highlights was speaking with Burim, the owner of the restaurant. I was the only customer and as such got the opportunity to ask all kinds of questions, about the wines and about Croatia. Unlike my waiter in Split who was in his early 20s, Burim is in his 50s. As you might expect, the two had very different perspectives on the problems and opportunities that come with living in Croatia. Both men spoke of the changes they have witnessed as Croatia becomes more “western” and is increasingly a part of the European Union. Croatia joined the EU in July 2013, 10 years after first applying. A decade later, on January 1st 2023, the euro was officially adopted.
As someone who majored in econ, I will avoid waxing poetic about the benefits of adopting a common stable currency and instead note that adopting the Euro is good for:
- Increasing investments (easier to obtain the euro and as it is more stable than a local currency, investors have more confidence that their money will hold its’ value. For example, Chile has much higher rates of investment than Argentina!),
- Growing the GDP (stable currency reduces the risk of inflation which is helpful for steady growth as well as avoiding conflicts that follow countries with unstable currencies), and
- Attracting tourism (no need for wealthy western European tourists to have to worry about a different currency and the prices will be much lower than what they are used to, especially when comparing a vacation to the sea.
- Croatia is much less expensive than the South of France, the Greek Isles, and so forth). However, with that comes higher prices, especially in the cities that are major tourist attractions, which hurt locals greatly.
- On the other hand, by adopting the euro and being a part of the EU, it is easier for the younger generation (who generally speak at least 2 languages: Croatian and English as well as some who speak Italian, German, or French) to study elsewhere and get higher paying jobs in the other countries of the EU with more highly developed economies.
With that background, Burim was quick to point out how much the prices have risen in Croatia in recent years. The fixed exchange rate (at a time where the Euro was fairly strong against the Dollar, Pound, and Yen) means prices increased overnight, not including the continuous upward trend that comes from catering to wealthy tourists. He noted that people from the UK, Germany, and other places used to come to Croatia and live much easier lives given the lower costs.
I asked about the increased opportunities for the younger generation that the server in Split had mentioned and he didn’t answer. In his defense, someone in their 50s with an established career in hospitality has a much different perspective than a recent graduate looking to avoid the traps that he has seen others around him experience, namely having to work in the hospitality industry as it remains the option for a consistent paycheck, even though the winter months are quite lean.
My takeaway: change is always scary, especially when it is coupled with financial uncertainty. While in the long-run it is almost certain that joining the EU and adopting the euro will prove beneficial to Croatians (just look at the note in the airport section about how quickly Zagreb Airport is growing and think about the implications of a seemingly endless growth of tourism on the country’s GDP), it can be challenging for the older generation, many of whom have built successful careers in industries that require less schooling and more hard work and dedication. Sound familiar? We certainly experience the same hardships in the US and most of the western world with the growth of technology in the past few decades!
Price: 37.20€ ($39.79)
Points Earned: 119 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points (3x on Dining)
The Treehouse Caffe Bar:
On my second layover in Zagreb, I wanted to try out the beer of Croatia given that I had almost exclusively experienced the wine scene. I headed to The Treehouse Caffe, a lively beer bar with live music most nights. While I was not there on a day with live music, the beer selection was solid and the clientele was a nice mix of all ages, both locals and tourists. I opted to sit outside as the weather was lovely and the bar is located on one of the main streets for walking about in Zagreb. Everyone from students to senior citizens came walking by it seemed!
I had two Croatian beers from brlog Zadružna Pivovara, a brewery in Zadar. The first was a nice refreshing Blonde Ale, perfect to sip on during the waning daylight hours. The second was a hoppy red ale that was complex and tasty. While I prefer draft beer, I appreciated that on both occasions, I was given a glass from the brewery into which I could pour the beer I was drinking. Overall, I had a great time and enjoyed the mild hustle and bustle of Zagreb down the cobblestones of the street Ulica Pavla Radića.
Price: 7.83€ ($8.45)
Points Earned: 25 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points (3x on Dining)
Activities:
One of the highlights of Zagreb is the beautiful Zagreb Cathedral, a Gothic Roman Catholic cathedral that is the second-tallest building in Croatia. Unfortunately, it was damaged during a 2020 earthquake and it appears renovation is still underway, more than 4 years later. 🙁 I didn’t suffer too much, as you will see!
Museum of Broken Relationships:
There’s a fine line between only going to the touristy locations and making sure you don’t miss some of the most interesting sights a city has to offer. Is the Museum of Broken Relationships (featuring almost all English displays) designed for tourists? Of course! Is it worth visiting? Of course!
I won’t spoil the fun as you should definitely visit when in Zagreb but suffice it to say there are relics from past relationships that run gamut of emotions. From hilarious (breaking up with someone and taking the toaster just to spite them?!?) to sincere (keeping a doily your mother made despite the pain in her fingers from severe arthritis), mementos abound in this museum. It was free to enter and I spent nearly 40 minutes reading the stories of love lost, devotion to seemingly random items, and much more! What a fun idea! You can even send something to the museum with a note about the meaning behind it and be in consideration to have it displayed in the museum.
Price: Free
Points Earned: N/A
The Funicular:
Zagreb is relatively hilly and the Old City is split into two distinct parts: Lower City and Upper City. While there are 165 steps that lead from Lower Zagreb to Upper Zagreb, I opted to pay the princely sum of 0.66€ (cash only) to endure the 1 minute and 4 second ride to the top! The blue cable cars are popular with the locals as it is as much a part of local history and culture as it is a fun thing to do when visiting.
It was not close to being full when I went– I was one of four people including the conductor– but 28 individuals is the maximum capacity– 16 sitting and 12 standing.
Price: 0.66€ ($0.71)
Points Earned: N/A, paid cash
Zagreb Cathedral:
I am a huge fan of Gothic Architecture. I am immensely grateful that I got to see the inside of Notre Dame before the fire. As such, when I read about the beautiful Zagreb Cathedral I was excited to visit! Alas, after an earthquake in 2020 hit Zagreb, the cathedral was one of the casualties. The above picutre is nice, but it sure would have been better to see the inside!
Price: N/A, unable to enter
Points Earned: N/A
Photo of the Trip:
Total:
Price:
Food and Drink: $48.24
Transportation: $80.69
Flights: $71.47
Hotel: N/A
Activities: $0.71
Total Price: $201.11
Points Earned:
Food and Drink: 144 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
Transportation: 242 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
Flights: 347 American Express Membership Rewards Points
Hotel: N/A
Activities: N/A
Total Points: 386 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, 347 American Express Membership Rewards Points
Recap:
I had a great time in Zagreb. While I spent only parts of two nights there, it is clear to me that this is a must-visit city when you are in Croatia. I loved the beer and wines that I sampled and enjoyed getting to learn more about the Croatian perspective. Next up: my wonderful time in Sarajevo, a city full of rich (and unfortunately dark) history!
Glad to have you back!