Arrival
Zagreb airport is deserted. I’m not sure, is it due to covid, or just a size of the airport is to blame. There is approximately one arriving and one departing flight each hour, which means that the rest of the time there are no people around. I decide to stay at the baggage claim area, take a seat, pull off the mask (as there are no people around), and enjoy the free internet access (and finish one more review). Mr. M arrives in 2.5 hours, and I want to meet him the moment he lands, not half an hour later, which would be the case if I decided to go to the AirBnB apartment instead of waiting in the airport.
I will skip description of my emotions when I finally spot him on the stairs, distinguishing his frame and his walk despite my sight deficiencies and wrong glasses. Sufficient to say: this is the reason I came there, and this is the moment that made me survive these 15 months.
For the first two nights we have booked an apartment between the Kaptol (the Center of Zagreb) and Maksimir park. The apartment was lauded in the AirBnB as the best experience in Zagreb the specific guests have had. Have no idea about general supply of apartments in Zagreb, but the apartment was overall nice. Quite spacious, the host had left some snacks for us (2 small bottles of wine, croissants, dried figs, strawberries), which was a nice gesture and made us feel welcomed. However, the very house was under reconstruction – we lived in the middle of scaffolding. The latter prevented the use of two small balconies the apartment had. The building reminded me of pre-war houses in the Riga, so I did not catch its charm (have lived in one, and still live in one).
The neighborhood is nice, like Kuldiga (a small town in Latvia) on steroids. Somehow the architecture seems seen and known – ex soviet feeling is somewhere behind the facades. We decide to explore it the next day: this day has been long and exhausting, both physically due to flights, and emotionally. I have to touch him every few minutes, just to be sure I’m not hallucinating. Yes, we are together and the person sitting next to me is him.
I will skip description of my emotions when I finally spot him on the stairs, distinguishing his frame and his walk despite my sight deficiencies and wrong glasses. Sufficient to say: this is the reason I came there, and this is the moment that made me survive these 15 months.
For the first two nights we have booked an apartment between the Kaptol (the Center of Zagreb) and Maksimir park. The apartment was lauded in the AirBnB as the best experience in Zagreb the specific guests have had. Have no idea about general supply of apartments in Zagreb, but the apartment was overall nice. Quite spacious, the host had left some snacks for us (2 small bottles of wine, croissants, dried figs, strawberries), which was a nice gesture and made us feel welcomed. However, the very house was under reconstruction – we lived in the middle of scaffolding. The latter prevented the use of two small balconies the apartment had. The building reminded me of pre-war houses in the Riga, so I did not catch its charm (have lived in one, and still live in one).
The neighborhood is nice, like Kuldiga (a small town in Latvia) on steroids. Somehow the architecture seems seen and known – ex soviet feeling is somewhere behind the facades. We decide to explore it the next day: this day has been long and exhausting, both physically due to flights, and emotionally. I have to touch him every few minutes, just to be sure I’m not hallucinating. Yes, we are together and the person sitting next to me is him.
In Zagreb you can use both Uber and Bolt apps. We observed that the prices for Bolt rides were lower. Maybe just a coincidence.
Our apartment (hosted by Vanja who was responsive and gave answers to our questions about Zagreb): https://www.airbnb.lv/rooms/14386955
Our apartment (hosted by Vanja who was responsive and gave answers to our questions about Zagreb): https://www.airbnb.lv/rooms/14386955
