Our last stop on our way back to Istanbul was two nights in Zagreb, capital of Croatia. We stayed at the opulent Esplanade Hotel that dates back to the Orient express days and it had it’s heyday in the 1920’s and 30’s when Europe was in the throws of change for the worse and it has only been restored in the last 10 years to it’s former glory. The whole city is much the same with some fabulous buildings from both the turn of the century, the 30’s and then back to the Austro Hungarian Empire times of the 19th century. there is still a lot of restoration work to be done but there is a good vibe in the city and they are on their way. We did lots of exploring in the limited time we had in the old town and New town areas
The Art Nouveau and Deco period building rival those in Budapest and Prague.
The Grand esplanade hotel located next to the stunning 1900’s railway station is back to it’s glory days.
And of course like all great European Cities of the 19th Century they had to have a stunning Opera House.
The stunning staircase and Foyer of The Grand esplanade Hotel