Nikolina Demark (1989)

Zagreb is packed with various bakeries, ranging from big chains like Pan-Pek to little independent ones, so it might seem a bit hard to pick your favourite.

Since I’ve moved here, I’ve been to every bakery – well, to the ones in the city centre, which is what probably interests you the most. So, when you see my curvy figure, it gets pretty obvious that I know a good pastry when I find it, and believe me – Dinara is the place where you want to buy your pastries. Or bread, bagels… any other thing you crave at the moment. 

Situated a few streets away from the Jelacic square, the Dinara bakery offers a wide range of delicious products. Remember how I once said it’s one of the smallest shops in Zagreb? Well, recently they’ve expanded a bit – now you can even have a bit of personal space while waiting in line but the staff quality remains the same – the nice kind ladies behind the counter work really fast and they’ll always give you the freshest things, warm and tasty, just taken out of the oven.

If you’re looking for a place where you can have a drink during the day and dance to some good music at night, check out the Boogaloo Club.

More than once I’ve seen this place half-empty during day hours; you’ll probably find a few groups of students, as the club is situated between a couple of colleges. However, in the evening it quickly gets packed with people, especially on concert nights. If there’s a tribute band having a gig in Zagreb, most likely it’ll take place here. There have been music tributes to famous Croatian bands, but also the widely popular musicians and bands as Guns ‘n’ Roses, Nirvana, The Doors, Bob Marley…

Even if you’re not into the whole tribute thing, Boogaloo won’t let you down – you could get a chance to listen to well-known rock and metal bands, let yourself go a little crazy on disco nights and dance to techno/electro music until the early morning hours. No chance you’ll be disappointed – this club is a place worth visiting.

When you’re visiting a foreign city, especially if it’s the capital, it would be a shame not to go and see its greatest galleries and museums. I know it’s a pretty conventional tip, but as I’m an art historian in the making, it’s the first thing that comes to my mind.

One of my favorite places of that kind in Zagreb is the Modern gallery – the best place to go if you’re into modern art. It’s situated in the city centre, halfway between the Central train station and the Jelačić square.

The collection, composed of some 700 pieces, covers a period of two hundred years of Croatian art, from 1800 to 2000. You’ll find a number of great Croatian artist from Vlaho Bukovac to Edo Murtić. The names may not mean much to you, but if you’re an art lover you will surely have a positive reaction when you see the paintings and sculptures. Don’t be intimidated by the ‘modern’ part – even if you’re not into avantgarde and abstract art you’ll find something you will like, as the collection consists of works created during several art movements.

The part on the first floor mostly covers the 19th century and is a bit more traditional and classic. It’s on the second floor where the colors and lines go wild.

If you have an hour or two to spare when sightseeing in Zagreb, please take my advice and go give our great national art some love.

The core of student life in Zagreb is the Student Centre, popularly known as SC (pronounce it as S-Tzay, otherwise people won’t get what you’re talking about). I’ll be honest – the main reason people go there is to eat, as it’s the biggest student restaurant in the city. But don’t give up on SC so quickly – there’s a bunch of structures besides the cafeteria where you can have fun, and you don’t have to be a local to do so.

First of all, there’s Teatar &TD, an experimental student theatre that gives quite attractive shows. Not your thing? Go see a movie or a photography exhibition – you can find your way through the complex using the legend on the big map hanging above the entrance.

My favourite part of everything this place has to offer are the concerts. The SC has brought a number of great bands to Zagreb, such as The Young Knives, Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band, Handsome Furs, Animal Collective… nothing mainstream, but fantastic music.

The slogan of the SC is the one mentioned in the title – the culture of change, and that’s exactly what they do. Through good movies, alternative music scene and various amazing cultural festivals, they’ll do their best to open up your mind and show you there’s more to this society than you can see in the newspaper and on TV.

When you want to see a film classic in Croatia, and by classic I mean something other than American production or older than… well, 2008; most often you have nowhere to go. Even if you try renting a dvd, you’ll have trouble finding something that doesn’t have ‘Hollywood’ written all over it. Thankfully, there are a few cinemas in Zagreb where quality is more important than glamour; the most alternative one being the Tuškanac cinema.

There’s nothing posh or capitalistic about this little gem. They don’t sell popcorn and there are no glossy posters, but they’ll give you a chance to watch the best that European cinematography has to offer. As can the Asian, American… You got it – good movies from all around the world. There are famous names like Truffaut and Bertolucci, but also less known producers from countries ranging from Ukraine to Peru. You name the state – at one point you’ll get to see a weekly programme including a dozen of its great movies.

They have the cheapest tickets in town – sometimes the screenings are even free. If you’re fed up with popular blockbusters, the best thing you could do is to visit Tuškanac cinema and treat yourself to a good piece of art film.