Zagreb

After a fun final evening in Belgrade to take in the sights (and a fun final night at a bar listening to an excellent funk band), I took the train from Belgrade to Zagreb – a ride that was reminiscent of earlier times traveling from Beijing to London by train. It was a pleasant ride, and I met a really nice young Serb woman who just returned to the region after living in the UK for the last 9 years. She has come back here to look for a job, now that there are good opportunities for English speaking IT experts near her home – a decision of one person, but it is indicative of the positive changes in the region.

Zagreb is a different world compared to Belgrade. Belgrade certainly has a trendy fun outer appearance, but I got the feeling there that this was a mirage and that if you just scratched the surface, you would see the other side. This feeling was supported by the hodgepodge of architectural styles in the city from Austro-Hungarian masterpieces to bombed out buildings to Soviet-style cement monstrosities. I actually got to see the other side of Belgrade in person as the train crossed over the Saba river. Next to the tracks was a Roma (gypsy) settlement that could compete in stature with any squatter camp in Africa. The informal town of maybe 1000 houses was comprised of roughly made brick buildings with corrugated roofs with no streets, no sewer system, no electricity and I’m sure no employment for most of the people. The government has set up a Roma settlement outside of Belgrade, but it is too far away for the Roma to be able to come into to town to try and make a living (often by begging).

I am sure that this side exists in Croatia, but there are no bombed out buildings (Zagreb was not bombed during the conflict). I have not seen any beggars on the street, and the city certainly feels more like Europe and any other former communist country I have ever visited. I am staying in the Westin across the road from the national theatre, a beautiful building (as I will demonstrate by a photo soon). It is ballet and opera season and I am planning on attending later this week. I keep having to remind myself that I am actually here for work in economic development!