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Zagreb, Croatia meeting

Date of the meeting: January 26-27, 2011

Final program available here

The location of the meeting is the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER) of the University of Zagreb,  Unska 3, Zagreb, Croatia.

Local Organizer: Maja Matijasevic [maja dot matijasevic at fer dot hr]

About Zagreb

Zagreb is a central European city with a charming combination of Western European business style and Mediterranean informality. Zagreb is also one of Europe’s oldest cities and one of Europe’s youngest capitals. The city has a population of about 800 thousand, and the metropolitan area of more than 1 mil. Still, the city center is best explored on foot. Every visitor will find a favorite street, park, or square, be it behind the well-preserved walls of its romantic Upper Town, or in a daily hustle and bustle of cafes and stores in its Downtown. Also available are excellent restaurants, museums, theaters, and sports facilities. Further on, the wonderful coast of northern Adriatic, as well as the exceptional Plitvice Lakes National Park, are just a few hours’ drive away.

Useful links about Zagreb:

Accommodation for TMA-ers

There are many hotels in Zagreb to suit any taste and budget.

Recommended hotel:

A special deal has been made with the Hotel International (4*), Miramarska 24, Zagreb,  located right across the road from FER, at the rate of 600 HRK per SGL room / night, and 800 HRK per DBL room / night, plus 7 HRK city tax per person / night to be added to the room rate. The room rate includes breakfast. The hotel also has free wireless Internet access.

To reserve a room you need to fax the this hotel reservation form [Hotel_resv_form_FER_TMA_Meeting_ZG] by January 19, 2011 (follow the instructions in the form). After that date the hotel does not guarantee the reserved contingent of rooms.

Other hotels within walking distance include:

You can also find other accommodation options at:

Note: Prices vary widely based on category and location. Location is very important – we advise you to stay in or close to the city center, from where you can reach the university, as well as other city attractions, on foot or by tram. Public transportation in Zagreb includes trams, buses, metropolitan area trains, and taxis. All except taxi are relatively inexpensive.

Travel to Zagreb

Some useful information on how to get to Zagreb by plane, car, train, or bus are listed below.

Arriving by air

Zagreb is serviced by the Zagreb Airport, locally known as Pleso (IATA airport code: ZAG). It is located 17 km from the city center (about 25 minutes by car or bus).

Useful links:

  • Zagreb airport – Zagreb Airport web site.
  • Croatia Airlines – the Croatian national airline company is a member of Star Alliance (partner airlines Air Canada, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, bmi, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Spanair, TAP, Thai Airways International, United, US Airways and VARIG).
  • low cost airlines flying to Zagreb are Germanwings and Wizzair.

Transportation to/from the airport

The cheapest option to get to the city is by public transportation. There is an airport shuttle bus, operated by “Pleso prijevoz”. Please note that public transportation fares are only payable in Croatian Kuna (HRK). A one-way ticket costs 30 HRK and may be bought from the driver. (The approximate exchange rate as of July 2010 is 1 EUR = 7.2 HRK.)

The bus has two terminals, one located at the Airport, and the other located at the Main Bus Station in Zagreb (Autobusni kolodvor, Avenija Marina Držića). It also makes a few stops (on request), one in New Zagreb and one close to the “Lisinski” concert hall.  (If you are staying at the International Hotel, or coming directly to FER from the airport, this is where you should get off the bus – just ask the driver to let you out at “Lisinski” – this is about one block away and the hotel sign is already visible from there.)

[click on image to enlarge]

The bus terminal at the Airport is located just outside the airport building. Buses run at half-hour intervals for most of the day. See bus schedule.

Once at the Main Bus Station bus station, there is a taxi station and a tram station right in front of the building.

If you decide to take a tram, a single tram ticket costs 8 HRK when bought in advance (kiosk or newspaper stand – “Tisak”, “Duhan”), and 10 HRK when bought in the tram from the driver. Night fares cost double. Remember to validate (stamp) your ticket once you get into the tram (look for an orange stamping machine). Stamp the ticket only once. The ticket is valid for valid for 90 minutes when traveling in one direction.

The tram ticket can also be purchased via SMS – a singe SMS ticket costs 10 HRK and it is valid for 90 minutes regardless of the direction of travel. [Do NOT use trams without a valid ticket - if caught, you pay a fine of 200 HRK on the spot.]

A more comfortable and more expensive option to get to the city from the airport is to take a taxi. The taxi terminal at the Airport is located just outside the airport building.

Arriving by car

Zagreb has excellent road connections to the rest of Europe. For planning your route, try ViaMicheln.com. For current road conditions and web camera views along Croatia’s highways, check the web site of the Croatian Auto Club.

A valid driver’s license, car papers and all relevant insurance documents are necessary to enter Croatia with a vehicle.

If you decide to arrive by plan and rent a car for local travel, you can do it at any major airport, as well as in the city, but it is generally a good idea to make your reservations in advance.

Croatian National Tourist Board has more information.

Arriving by train or bus

Useful links:

Visa requirements

Nationals of most (but not all!) COST countries do not need a visa to enter Croatia, just a valid passport is required.

Citizens of some countries need an entry visa for the Republic of Croatia. Current visa regulations are given at the Web site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. You can find out whether you need a visa to visit Croatia (under Visa Requirement Overview, please select your country). Also note that during the tourist season (1 April to 31 October 2010), there are also some exceptions to the usual visa regime for holders of valid Schengen residence permits and nationals of some countries for which a visa is normally required.

If you need a visa, make sure to apply well in advance.

University of Zagreb, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER)

FERThe University of Zagreb, founded in 1669, is the oldest Croatian university and also the oldest university in South-Eastern Europe. It comprises 33 higher education institutions (29 Faculties, 3 Art Academies, and a University centre for Croatian studies), as well as several related institutions, such as the University Computing Centre, the National and University Library, and two Student Centers (in Zagreb and Varaždin).  [more about the University of Zagreb...]

The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb (FER) was founded in 1956 (under the name of Faculty of Electrical Engineering). The Faculty comprises 12 Departments, namely: Applied Physics; Applied Computing; Applied Mathematics; Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering and Measurements; Electric Machines, Drives and Automation; Power Systems; Telecommunications; Electronic Systems and Information Processing; Control and Computer Engineering in Automation; Electroacoustics; Electronics, Microelectronics, Computer and Intelligent Systems; Radiocommunications and Microwave Engineering. The Faculty buildings (43308 sqm) include classrooms, laboratories, offices, a congress centre, teleconferencing room for distance education, computing centre, a library, a restaurant, and sports and recreation facilities. As of June 2010, FER has about 500 professors, assistants, lecturers and administrative and technical staff, and about 2,500 students. [more about FER...]

FER is located in Zagreb, Croatia, street address Unska 3. For some reason, Google seems to have a problem with mapping Unska street, so you may use the map prepared by M. Vukovic for FER’s Dept. of Telecommunications. [Go to Google Maps]

Weather forecast

You can check the latest weather forecast for Zagreb here.