A walk in the woods

As a continental town Zagreb has no beaches, but it has a green mountain range, Medvednica. It doesn't really make up for the lack of a sea, but it offers a bit of coolness in this exceptionally hot spring. When I went hiking in Medvednica, on the 10th of April, it thought it was pretty warm already, but today's 30 degrees make April feel like a mild winter.
Nature was in full bloom, and even mankind in Croatia had undergone a remarkable change. After seeing "Maintenance in progress. Sorry for the inconvenience", I think Croatia is indeed getting ready for EU entry.
The fact that the message it in English only, shows that warnings and excuses like these are alien to the Croatian spirit, but let's not be too critical for a change.
Then follows the tradition chaos at Črnomerec, a bus station that looks like it could be anywhere from Vladivostok to Skopje to Warsaw.
After you get off from the bus (in Gornje Vrapče, at the foot of Medvednica) you quickly realize time passes slower here. Sometimes you get the feeling you are witnessing a scene that fits a horror movie.

The hiking trails are sometimes in good sometimes in bad condition, but what's really tricky are the terrible road marks. Judging by the condoms on the ground, open spaces in Medvednica are a favorite spot for youngsters.

The many brooks that run along the slopes Medvednica down to Zagreb are an excuse why Zagreb still doesn't have subway. Currents beneath the surface would render building an underground impossible. The real reason, of course, lies in the lack of money and skills, but blaming a brook is easier.
After a nice walk the outskirts of Zagreb reveals themselves, as do the large estates of Zagreb's upper class. Knowing that Croatia's coast is only a good hour driving from Zagreb, one marvels at the diversity of this small country.
Unfortunately, no one is paying for these nice words. I just feel like being on the Mediterranean coast now, sipping wine under a palm tree and eating fried squid rings.



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