Novi Zagreb Zagreb – All our local tips

Oh, boy… It took me a while to find enough courage to grapple with this place because it’s just so vast and rich in details and experiences that no newspaper/magazine/web article could ever do it any justice – you simply need to see, hear, smell and touch it!

The area is basically divided into three main parts:
1)    The used cars fair
2)    Clothing and hardware
3)    The Rest.

1) It all started with used cars some four decades ago and soon it attracted everything else that goes with the lifestyle. If you plan to buy a car, this is the largest car and motorcycle fair in Croatia, so set up your alarm clock to 5am and make sure to get there at least by 6 in order to get a fair deal.

2) Stalls, stalls and lots of stalls selling various clothes (mainly from Turkey – typically either fake brands or brand look-a-likes) and hardware (not computer hardware but Wild West hardware stuff like grills, mowers, hoses, faucets, axes, spades, car tires etc.)

3) The Rest. Name 10 things that pop up to your mind. They got it. Everything, from pins to tractors, from scratched CD’s to porcelain dolls, from used electromotors to old unopened letters (?), from furry muffs to VHS porn. Half of the goods is used but useable, a quarter is new, and the rest is just garbage. However, this is the most interesting part of the fair, since you can see the cross section of Croatian society – the poor, the elderly, farmers, Arts students praying on a book, a record or an so-out-of-fashion-that-it’s-fashionable-again garment etc. If the day is sunny, make sure to wear sunscreen, because most of the time, you’ll be watching in amazement the stuff displayed on the ground, and become a red-neck

Four mandatory things to do at Hreliæ:
> buy something – it’s impossible to leave the place empty-handed
> take photos – take extra batteries and a huge memory card
> eat something – the food there is incredibly cheap, unhealthy and delicious
> haggle – (ever seen the movie ‘Life of Brian’?)

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Hrelić Flea Market | Shopping, Snacks | Fake Adidas tracksuit Kn 100.00
Sajmišna cesta | Novi Zagreb
Wed – Sun sunrise to afternoon | Car fair on Sunday only

Peaceful and tranquil, this body of water has a magic appeal to human beings trapped in the city. Located in Novi Zagreb (New Zagreb), on the southern bank of Sava, this place used to be one of favourite bathing places in Zagreb in the 60-s and 70-s. During the 80-s and 90-s people kinda forgot about it and it turned into a swamp and a thicket, a small jungle in the city centre. Luckily, the whole place was rediscovered and refurbished in 2005 and has ever since become favourite location for pleasant festivals and relaxing events, or just spending an afternoon chilling and BBQ-ing.

For the sportsmen types, there’s a running/cycling track, a fishing pond and a beach volley court. When you get tired, you can sit in one of the two cafés and enjoy the view. If it’s hot, take a swim in the lake. And when the sun sets, its BBQ-time. In the grove around the lake, you can find wooden gazebos and nearby BBQs the use of which is free of charge, you just need to get there in time and claim your spot. You can even rent a grill (however only on Saturdays and Sundays, and they have to be returned by 19:00) for free, bring your own or ask someone to use theirs.

In the middle of the lake, there is a floating platform for bands and performers. Each year there is a FloraArt flower festival in May and a four-day Summer fireworks festival in June – when you get to listen to Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra in open air and later lie on the grass, watch fireworks and nibble on delicatessen from the nearby fair.

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Lake Bundek | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Relaxing | Beer Kn 15.00
Lake Bundek | Novi Zagreb
24 hours daily