There is a new spirit in Zagreb, a city that was regarded as a stopover rather than a destination as far back as the days of the Orient Express. No more. To be sure, Zagreb's attractions aren't as famous as Paris's, or as numerous as Rome's, but it's nonetheless difficult to experience all the city's delights on an overnight stay. It takes patience to discover Zagreb, and its soul. Zagreb has always played a pivotal role in the life of Croatia, mostly because of its location, at where Western and Eastern Europe meet. Today's Zagreb is far more tolerant and easygoing than it was when its forerunner settlements of Gradec and Kaptol were founded in medieval times, but it still is a dichotomy of old ways and new, of tradition and progress. This is not a glitzy city, but rather a city of history, culture, and purpose informed by war and natural disasters. Zagreb is still finding itself after nearly a millennium of foreign domination, but it is changing, growing, and emerging as a destination in its own right. In the summer of 2007 there was scarcely a square block in central Zagreb that didn't have scaffolding or construction shrouds covering a renovation in progress. Squares were filled with people speaking a variety of languages, including English. New restaurants, attractions, and entrepreneurial ventures were sprouting everywhere. In some ways, contemporary Zagreb's personality is in transition from dour socialist to carefree socialite and it is subject to being misu
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