We're very excited to be getting married in Croatia over Memorial Day weekend! We'd love to have you join us, but of course we realize that it's quite a trip to make. Don't feel that we expect you to come just because we've invited you. On the other hand, we hope this information will help lure you to make the trip, or at least give you a chance to think about it.
1. Where is Croatia?
In Southern Europe, east of Italy (across the Adriatic Sea), south of Slovenia, Austria and Hungary. See the map.
2. Is there a war there?
No. Croatia broke off from Yugoslavia in 1991, and there was some real fighting in 1991-1992 and then some more in 1994-1995, tangled up with the rest of the fighting in Bosnia and Serbia. The end of the war there was negotiated by the Dayton Accords in 1995, and things in Croatia have gotten quickly more stable since then. Croatia was not affected by the conflict in Kosovo.
2a) Are there any land mines?
There were some land mines used during the war, and they have not all been cleared. The leftover mines are generally in parts of Croatia that we (and you) are unlikely to spend time in, and there are signs up in all the places where there is a risk of undetonated land mines. If you aren't going hiking in a remote part of Croatia, you probably don't need to worry about land mines.
3. Is it safe to visit?
Abbe's been there more than a half-dozen times, and feels as safe as anywhere else in Europe (in fact, probably safer than in New York or Washington, these days!) If we didn't think it was safe, we wouldn't be inviting you to our wedding.
4. Why would I want to visit?
Well, aside from wanting to see our wedding, it's a beautiful country with great natural scenery, hiking, rock climbing, a mix of mediterranean-style and Old European style architecture, delicious food, and wonderful people. The coast is really a mediterranean paradise - palm trees, blue water, and all. Zagreb is full of 18th-19th century Austro-Hungarian architecture, and lovely outdoor cafes and street markets.
4a) Was all that glowing praise of Croatia coming from bert's biased opinions?
No, actually, Abbe wrote most of that and she is just as biased. :)
5. How do I get there?
A bunch of major airlines fly to Croatia. Coming from Boston or New York, you take a flight to a major city in Europe such as London (on Virgin), Paris (on Air France), Amsterdam (on KLM/Northwest), or Frankfurt (on Lufthansa), a 5 to 7 hour flight depending on the city. Then you'd have a few hours' layover there before taking another flight (an hour and a half or so) to Zagreb. The second flight is usually on a Croatia Airlines plane, but it will have a Croatia Airlines flight number and one from the other major airline. The overall trip including waiting in airports will probably take you about 12 hours.
We're working with our favorite discount travel agent for Croatia who has quite good prices compared to anywhere else we've looked. It looks like it will range from $650 round trip from New York or Boston, around $800 elsewhere on the east coast if we don't get a further discount. You can call them at 1-800-352-0555.
We don't recommend using the usual web suspects (Expedia, Travelocity, etc) as we've never seen them find good itineraries or even remotely reasonable prices. If Pan Adriatic doesn't work for you, try your favorite travel agent, or even directly calling an airline. Also, remember that some people might be elible for youth and/or student rates.
6. I want to go somewhere else in Europe on the same trip. How do I arrange it?
A travel agent can probably help. Depending on how much time you're allocating, you might want to:
Croatia Airlines flies direct from Zagreb to Tel Aviv. It looks like current prices are around $500 round trip, and the flight is about three and a half hours.
7. I want to travel within Croatia while I'm there.
Depending on where you're going and how much time you have to spare, you may want to consider flying. Round trip flights from Zagreb to Dubrovnik and back, a 1-hr flight instead of a 10-12 hour bus ride, are usually on sale for between $60-$80 round trip.
Buses and trains are also affordable and efficient. A bus to the closer parts of the coast is around $20 and might take 4-6 hours.
We will arrange an itinerary out to the coast that we'll join folks on after the wedding; this will start with a flight from Zagreb to Dubrovnik.
8. I've never been to Europe before. Help!
8a) Passports
Don't forget that you need one! If you are a US citizen, you don't need a visa to visit Croatia; they simply stamp your passport when you arrive.
8b) Jet Lag
Your own body may vary, but Abbe's approach is to leave in the evening, try to sleep on the plane, and drink plenty of water. When you arrive, you will have lost part of a night, spent the rest of it on an airplane, and it'll be morning or mid-day in Croatia. Now, DO NOT take a nap. Force yourself to stay up till 8 or 9pm, go to bed, and hopefully you'll sleep a good long time and wake up feeling mostly adjusted. You probably want to arrive in Europe at least a day before the wedding.
8b) Travel tips
You might want to be more security conscious than at home, but you don't need to let it run your life. Yes, New York and Boston are big cities, too, but you aren't as often standing around on the sidewalk gawking and staring at maps as if to say "yes! rob me!". Pack important things in a few places, make copies of your passport, don't carry all of your cash on you at once, and keep half an eye out for suspicious looking people in places like train stations.
8c) Anti-Americanism
Some people may be concerned about issues that may arise from anti-American sentiment outside the US, especially given fear of terrorism, September 11, and the US's military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Overt triumphalism, such as wearing American flag t-shirts with slogans about how we kicked Iraq's butt and we will kick everyone else's, is obviously not recommended. However, while it is likely that people will be able to guess that you might be American, you can probably not expect people to accost you on the street with negative comments about Americans (unless you are wearing aforementioned t-shirts). People are pretty good at distinguishing the government from individual people, too.
9. Basics
9a) Electricity.
Yes, they have it. :) The outlets and plugs are a different shape. Both plugs and voltage (220V AC) are the standard European ones. Things you might need to bring (electric razors, cell phone or camera battery chargers, etc) will usually say whether they will run on 220V AC; if so all you would need is a plug adapter from Radio Shack, but do check before plugging in. If they don't run on 220V, you need a transformer, which is bigger and bulkier and also available at Radio Shack and similar stores.
9b) Plumbing.
Yes, there is modern plumbing, the water is safe to drink, etc.
9c) Phone/Internet.
If your cell phone is from T-Mobile or any other GSM-network provider, and is "dual-band" or "tri-band" (i.e. it supports the European GSM frequencies), you will even be able to use it in Croatia. Of course, you'll pay for the fact that your American phone is in Croatia, and you'll pay again to make an "international" call from your American number to any Croatian ones. If you plan to use your phone outside of emergencies, it might be worth it to buy a new SIM card from a Croatian mobile company (the two are HT-Cronet and VIPnet), which will give you a Croatian phone number (while it's in your phone) and the ability to make local calls. Make sure you buy the prepaid phone card variety, rather than signing up for a regular contract with one of the croatian cell phone companies. Or you could always leave the phone at home...
There are plenty of internet cafes in Zagreb and on the coast.
9d) Essentials:
You can buy anything you might expect to need - no need to stress more than usual about toothpastes, shampoos, cosmetics, forgotten clothing, etc. Some things are even cheaper! You'll probably even recognize brands so it doesn't matter so much if you can't read the packaging at the store.
9e) Language.
The language in Croatia is Croatian, which is written in the same alphabet as English, and is a Slavic language somewhat related to Polish and Russian. English is a common foreign language taught in schools. Abbe's estimate is that 1 in 8 or 10 people born before WWII speak English (and some others might speak German, French, or Italian), 1 in 3 people born after WWII but before the mid-1960's speak some English, and just about everyone in Abbe and Albert's generation or younger speaks some English. Anyone working in hotels or other parts of the tourist trade will know some English, and you should have no trouble finding some English speaking help from strangers while sightseeing, etc, especially if you are willing to try a few times. We don't promise to translate accurately any embarrassing stories told about either of us! :) Abbe's favorite phrasebook is Barron's TravelWise Croatian, available from Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0764103695/002-9682978-1321615?v=glance&s=books#product-details. We will have several copies available for lending/sharing before and during the trip.
Croatian is pronounced phonetically, so if you learn the alphabet sounds you can pronounce place names.
Major changes from English pronunciation:
9f) Money.
The currency is the kuna. Currently about 6 kuna equals 1 US dollar. Since the dollar has been falling, you may want to check here before you go. If you really can't do math in your head, you could get one of those currency calculators, or just memorize some basic equivalents like 600 kuna = $100, 300 kuna = $50, 30 kuna = $5, etc. ATM machines are common, and US-issued ATM cards work fine - you stick in your card, it even notices that it's from another country and asks you what language you want to use, and then spits out Croatian kuna and your bank charges you the right amount in US dollars.
9g) Getting around Zagreb
The airport is about a 30 minute drive from the city center. A cab will cost you around 200 or 300 kuna (ie, $35-50). There are also hourly or half-hourly buses to the main city bus station that are much cheaper. When you get to the main bus station, your next adventure will be to take the tramvaj (pronounced trom-vye) streetcar - Zagreb's main public transit system - to your hotel.
The wedding and reception are all right in the city center, and all of the hotels we recommend are also there (except the youth hostel). We don't recommend renting a car for this portion of your trip, though if you like to drive and want to independently tour the country, you might want to rent a car after the wedding. It's not necessary at all.
The tramvaj is a streetcar system on tracks. You buy tickets before you get on - any little newstand can sell you tickets, or there are official stands at many larger stops which are little blue freestanding booths with the ZET logo on them. "tramvaj karta" is Croatian for tram ticket. Once on the tramvaj there are little orange stamping machines at the front and back of the car. You insert your ticket and it stamps the date, time, and direction on it. You don't have to show a ticket as you get on or off the tramvaj; they discourage people from riding without a ticket by randomly sending inspectors to check for tickets in the occasional tramvaj. The ticket is good for about an hour after it's stamped for as many transfers as you want as long as you're still going in the same direction (A or B, marked on your stamped ticket and on the tramvaj itself.)
10. Who's going?
We don't entirely know. We're hoping that some of our friends will make it just because it's our wedding, that some others will be tempted by the thought of a vacation to an interesting country, and that the same will apply for Abbe's relatives. Albert's will of course have a lot less distance to travel.
11. Who speaks English among Albert's family?
Albert, his cousin Jeronima and her husband Marinko, and his cousins Sanja and Željko all speak very good English. His father Josip speaks some English as well.
12. Food
Croatian food is a mix of continental and eastern-European style dishes in inland Croatia and fish and seafood oriented Italian-influneced cuisine on the coast. Even not-so-adventurous eaters should do fine. The common coffee in peoples homes is Turkish, strong and with the grounds in the cup, and espresso is easy to get in cafes and restaurants and is delicious. You may not be as happy if you try getting American style coffee.
Food costs range from about a quarter for a loaf of bread from a bakery, about half US prices for fruits and vegetables at the vegetable markets, $1-$2 for anything to drink at a cafe (including beer!), $5-$10 each for lunch or dinner at a "normal" restaurant, and more like $10-$30 to go somewhere fancy, order the best food on the menu, eat at a big-name hotel's restaurant, etc.
12a) Kosher food
Food with explicit Kosher labeling will be hard to find. (There is a small Jewish community in Zagreb, and an Orthodox rabbi who is originally from Israel; the kitchen at the community center is certified Kosher by the chief rabbinate of Croatia, which seems somehow self-referential since he's it.) However, fruits, vegetables, and fresh fish are plentiful, and if you have kosher needs that require sticking to a hechscher please talk to us and we'll see what we can work out.
12b) Vegetarian food
Until recently, all good Croatians were expected to eat meat. That means it was tricky for foreigners to find vegetarian food. However, recently the trends have been changing. While we have no personal experiences with vegetarianism, it should be possible (although sometimes require a bit more work) to find vegetarian food. Outside of restaurants, non-meat pizza and cheese burek (burek sa sirom) should both be readily available from fast food places all over Croatia.
13. Of Jewish Interest
Shabbat services are held Friday evenings a the Jewish Community Center of Zagreb. They have a small waist-height mechitza, whether that's a plus or minus to you, and I don't know how large the usual attendance is.
If you're staying around Croatia for a bit you may also be interested in seeing the Dubrovnik Synagogue, the second oldest still standing synagogue in Europe. Dubrovnik is likely to be on our itinerary for visiting the coast after the wedding.
As mentioned in the travel section, Zagreb is about 3.5 hours by air from Tel Aviv.
15. Hiking
Croatia has lots of nice hiking. We might even organize a hiking trip if people are interested in joining us. Here's a little bit in English about mountains in Croatia. (Unfortunately, the page was recently re-translated into somewhat broken English, but it should be intelligible...)
http://www.croatia.hr/activities/content.aspx?idActivities=1
Here's the web pages about our favorite national parks for hiking:
Paklenica
http://www.tel.hr/paklenica/En/index_en.html
A park with trails running through deep gorges (and up the sides), relatively near the coast.
Velebit
http://www.np-sjeverni-velebit.hr/english/home.html
A beautiful park with a long multi-day trail and a great system of huts about a day's hike apart.
When hiking, it is advisable to stick to marked trails, and if in doubt, make sure the part of the country you're hiking in wasn't a place where land mines might have been laid. (The trails in the national parks are all safe.) You can find this out from the Croatian hiking society, who have a web page at http://hps.inet.hr/tr_eng/index.htm that lists their contact information.
16. Rock Climbing
Paklenica is also prime climbing territory. We have two books on climbing in Croatia, but as it's all lead climbing, we haven't actually found a way to try it out yet.
17. Sunning
Lots of sun on the coast. Wear your sunscreen and enjoy. We won't go into details about which coastal destination is best for you to enjoy the sun and water. You can check out a guidebook or online to read more about the coast. One thing worth knowing is that sandy beaches are not too common (most nice beaches are pebbles and rocks) - if you are a sandy beach connoisseur, you want to go to the island of Brač and go to Zlatni Rat.
18. Sightseeing
Zagreb has many museums, and picturesque places to walk around and shop or window-shop. There is a tourist information center in the main square (Trg Bana Jelacica) which is helpful. Again, we're not going to replace the guidebooks, but feel free to ask us questions.
