CROATIA

PHOTOS
VIDEO

MONDAY 8/10: Intend to get up early again, but don't, again. Have breakfast. This time I have to ask for the champagne to be opened! Use the internet room in the lobby because our room internet is not working. Take nap, intending to go back to The Regent by 3:00p to try and meet U2. We are running late and just as we are leaving our hotel room we get a text from Eleonora that U2 already came out. Apparently U2 signed some autographs except Larry only shook hands and the Croatian crowd, including media, was said to be very pushy. See video of what we missed. (Note, there is a couple with a heart-shaped globe. They also have a U2/Zoo Station sign, so they must be the culprits of hanging those signs at bus stops!)

I become very annoyed that we were so close to meeting them. Twenty five years of following U2 and I only have one autograph--ironically Larry's--who is the hardest to pin down. Nick consoles me as we walk to town for lunch. We decide to treat ourselves to Restaurant Agava, which we spotted the other night (taking a photo because it was so cute) and it has outside tables on two levels. We score a table on the top level which gives a birds-eye view of the old town. I order penne pasta with smoked ham, cherry tomatoes, and cream sauce. Nick orders dalmation stuffed steak with gnocchi. And we get cold beers (not warm like it is sometimes served here). We are SO thrilled with our dishes that we feel like yelling "COME UP HERE!" to all the passers-by who are taking pictures and contemplating whether to eat there.

Back to room to change on our way to the tram.

U2 ZAG 2
(Brono #70, Nick #41)

Get beers. Try just walking in the Inner Circle, past security, and it works! But we decide to leave and get stamped to come back later because the crowd is too pushy and walking back and forth constantly. Before the show, the crowd does a "wave" over and over. The waves before U2 concerts in Europe have been incredible! We enjoy sitting on the Red Zone steps and running down to the Inner Circle only during songs where the band comes to the catwalk at the back and side of the stage.

SUNDAY 8/9: Another complimentary breakfast, this time with champagne! Have a leisure morning since it is super hot. Check the beautiful Regent Hotel for U2 but don't see any fans. Tram to venue to see our friends (Eleonora, Brad, Joe) in line. Tram back to The Regent and this time see a few guys with a video camera. Ask them if they're there to see U2 and they nod and tell us they were a news team. So we decide to stay and try to meet U2. Meet a fan named John who has made an unpublished book of U2 photos. He has made four different books with a different bandmember on the cover and has everyone's autograph except Larry's. See Brad's partner, Jaynie, as they are staying at The Regent. Have a martini with her at the 1925 bar inside The Regent while Nick stays outside in case there is a U2 sighting. No U2 by 6:00p so we give up.

Change at hotel. Tram to venue. Enjoy late-in-the-day crowd. Tram ends at sooner point than usual and the street is closed so fans can walk freely. Bars are blasting U2. Eat quickly at McD's.

U2 ZAG 1
(Brono #69, Nick #40)

U2's first time playing in Croatia! Buy beers at venue. Get let in Inner Circle by security guy who called us over! We are so relieved since we could have waited in line with our friends but skipped it because of the heat and trying to meet U2. During No Line on the Horizon, Nick sticks his tongue in my ear during the lyric "then she put her tongue in my ear, oh ohhhh" which is funny since I usually have ear plugs in. Nick and I feel a bit bored tonight at the show. But at least we got to see Joe after the show while we were all still in the circle. See second to last PIC on Joe's U2 Queue page!

Walk out via street still closed. No tram so have to walk all the way home with everyone. Our feet are killing us, as usual. Go back to The Regent. See too many fans waiting for U2. Decide to leave because we are hungry and tired. See Brad and Jaynie on our way out.

SATURDAY 8/8: HAPPY 48th BIRTHDAY, THE EDGE!

Wake up at 6:00a. Get off train by 7:00a (half hour delay) in Vienna. Cab to other train station. Realize that we could have transferred at another train station without taking a cab! Have seats in cabin with others for 6-hour ride. Toward end of ride, realize a guy (Philippino Joe from Canada) in our cabin is following U2 also. Check out his blog.

Walk to Best Western Premier Astoria two blocks from the train station in Zagreb. Appreciate showering(!) and walk to town. It is hard to find a place which offers more than drinks! Have soup, salad, pizza, and beer. Take romantic walk and kiss in beautiful 30 Celsius (about 85 degrees Fahrenheit). Get ice cream.

Use internet in room. I fall asleep around 11:00p. Nick not to be until about 3:00a.