What do I do when I get to the airport?
Well, first you get to go through passport control and say "dobar dan" to the passport control guys who will stamp your passport. Then you get to wait for your luggage, and walk through customs into the main part of the airport. You can take a bus to the main bus station in Zagreb (running every half hour or so) and then catch a streetcar (tramvaj) to either hotel. Or you can take a taxi to your hotel. If you take a taxi, you'll want to have the hotel map sheet handy just in case the driver doesn't know much English or in case you mangle the pronunciation of the hotel's name unrecognizably. :-)
What about money for the taxi or bus?
Yep, you will need some money before taking transit from the airport. There are ATMs in the airport. Check with your bank on fees they charge in foreign countries (FleetExBayBankBoston used to charge something like $5 per transaction, but our nice local friends at Cambridge Trust charge us $1, same as for using any other non-SUM ATM), but your card should definitely work. Getting Kunas in the US before you go is hard or impossible, though if you'll feel better with a few Euros in your pocket in addition to dollars, you can get those ahead of time. They still won't be very useful in Croatia. The currency exchange offices in the airport can certainly exchange money to kuna, but the rate at the airport will never be good.
Money
Presumably you will also want money later on in your trip. Again, ATMs are prevalent pretty much anywhere in Croatia, and I have never had a problem with mine working. If you're more comfortable with travelers' checks or cash it should be easy to exchange either at a bank or exchange bureau . Credit cards are accepted in some places, but definitely not in every single store or restaurant as they are in the US.
Hotels
They'll speak English at the hotel desk when you check in. For the Hotel Ilica, you will need to pay for your room in cash (though presumably not until you check out.) The Hotel Dubrovnik should be able to handle cash or credit cards.
Things you might want
We've arranged to have a small "lending library" of a few things we thought our guests might appreciate. This includes several copies of a phrasebook called "TravelWise Croatian" that Abbe really likes, as well as assorted guidebooks to Croatia. (Feel free to bring your own, too!) In addition, we'll have a few plug adapters for whatever you forgot wouldn't be able to plug in that doesn't need a voltage converter. We'll also have printouts of various maps, and hopefully of some useful phrases as well, available for everyone.
Weather and Clothing
The weather in Zagreb has so far been in the mid 60's to low 70's, generally lovely spring weather. It might get hotter (addendum: the new count adds two days in the high 70s or low 80s and a few in the mid-80's, but also a few gray days in the low 60's), and it could be a bit cooler on a gray day. Generally, bringing some clothes you can wear if it gets hot, a light spring jacket, and light-to-mid-weight spring clothing is a good idea.
For the wedding, you don't need formal eveningwear (after all, it is in the afternoon), but we expect most people will feel like they are dressed appropriately in a suit or a nice dress.
The rest of the time, people in Croatia tend to dress a little bit less casually than in America. It's less common for people to wear shorts around town, but still common at the coast, in athletic settings, etc. Sneakers and jeans also are more common for the younger generation (up to and including Abbe and bert's generation, but not our parents'). It's all about feeling comfortable in a social context with what you're wearing, though - if you feel like wearing jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers, no matter your age, it is not a social faux pas, but probably does makes you look more like a tourist. And who knows, you could be one of those people in our parents' generation who can wear jeans and come off looking like a fashion conscious Italian who gets away with a youthful look, instead of like an American tourist.. There are no particular social mores about dressing extremely conservatively (heck, there is a current perfume ad campaign that features Naomi Campbell's bare breasts on billboards...), women don't need to wear long skirts or cover lots of skin, etc. However, extremly skimpy dress such as shorts, bathing suits, and flip flops are frowned upon when touring the insides of churches.
What to bring / What not to bring
We brought a lot of stuff with us. Thus, if you want to give us a gift and it occupies some volume, we would prefer if you find some way to get it to us in Somerville rather than schlep things to Croatia.
You probably don't need to bring as much stuff with you as we did. (Chuppah poles make great checked baggage! But hey, they made it!) Pretty much what you would pack for any trip should be fine (See discussion of clothing above.) If you plan to try to do something like hiking or rock climbing, bring appropriate gear. If you hope to rent a bike and care about helmets, you might want to travel with your own. If you forget something useful like toiletries or stockings or socks, none of them are hard to buy in Zagreb.
Maps
In addition to the map of the center of Zagreb showing the hotels and wedding sites, we've stuck up a few maps that are fairly detailed but not especially tourist oriented. (These turned up on a google search, from a map collection at the university of Texas, and as best as we can tell the maps were produced by the US military and contain great detail on what the city would look like from the air and what would make good and bad bombing targets. But anyway, they are detailed maps, and here they are.)
Language reminders
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 during the trip.
Croatian is pronounced phonetically, so if you learn the alphabet sounds you can pronounce place names.
Major changes from English pronunciation:
| Dobar dan! | (doh-bahr dahn) | Hello! |
| Hvala. | (h-vah-lah) | Thank you. |
| Molim. | (Moh-leem) | Please. (said with a question inclination, this can be "I beg your pardon?") |
| Oprostite. | (oh-proh-stee-teh) | Excuse me. |
| Govorite li Engleski? | goh-voh-ree-teh lee eng-leh-skee? | Do you speak English? |
| Ne govorim Hrvatski. | Neh goh-voh-reem Hur-vaht-skee. | I don't speak Croatian. |
| Gdje je WC? | (G-dyeh yeh vay-tsay?) | Where is the bathroom? |
| Gdje je Hotel Ilica? | (G-dyeh yeh Hotel Ee-lee-tsah?) | Where is the Hotel Ilica? |
| Gdje je Hotel Dubrovnik? | (G-dyeh yeh Hotel Doo-brov-neek?) | Where is the Hotel Dubrovnik? |
| Koliko? | koh-lee-koh? | How much? |
You can find more language information including a printable mini-guide at: http://www.visit-croatia.co.uk/croatianfortravellers/
Things to do in Zagreb
Aside from the wedding on Sunday, here are a few suggestions of things you might do while you're in town.
We are setting up a tour (probably just walking around) on Friday afternoon of some of the city sights, and we'll pass along details when we have them.
We don't have anything else specific planned yet and can't promise what we'll have time to do in the few days preceding the wedding, but people are free to get together for meals, etc, among themselves.
There is plenty to see in the immediate vicinity of the hotels, much of it marked on the hotel map. The Dolac market and the cathedral (uphill from Jelacic place, the square where Hotel Dubrovnik is located), random streets in the upper town (just walking around up the hill a bit), Trg Bana Jelacica (also called Jelacic Plac, pronounced Yelachich Plats), Zrinjevac park (just south of Jelacic Place), Lotrscak tower, and Markov Trg (uphill a few blocks west of Jelacic Plac) are all good things to see while walking around.
If you plan on doing any shopping while you're in town, bear in mind that most retail (non-food) stores close early on Saturdays (usually by 3 or 4pm) and nothing but the occasional bakery or grocery store is open at all on Sundays.
Contacting Us
Now that we're in Zagreb, we are still trying to keep up with our email (abbe at alum dot mit dot edu and bert at alum dot mit dot edu). You can also reach us at 385 1 370 3116 (if anyone is there it will be us) or at 385 1 370 3118 (across the hall at bert's parents, where you might get his mom or his dad and have more difficulty on the phone if we're not there. To dial those from the US, dial 011 385 1 370 3116 etc To dial them from Croatia, just dial 0 1 370 3116.
Other questions on logistics have been answered in the earlier, longer, FAQ.