By IBIP Program Coordinator Lauren

In the flurry of our final free day in Zagreb, we did not assign a student to write the final blog post. I hope anyone still following this blog will appreciate one final entry on our exciting final day in Zagreb.

Due to flight chaos, we were able to stay an extra night in the capitol city of Zagreb, and students were given complete freedom as to how they scheduled their last day in Croatia. After two weeks in-country, they all had their sights set on what they wanted to do with that last bit of freedom. With the hostel being right in the downtown walking zone, many students spent the day shopping or enjoying the many festivals on offer, including a delicious pizza fest and a circus/street performance festival.

On their own initiative, several students in the group found out about and organized tickets for a football game with the local professional club- GNK Dinamo Zagreb. With tickets only being 4 Euros, over half the group decided to partake in the fun! Students organized the tickets, transport, and fun all by themselves, and many of them even showed up to the match in Dinamo Zagreb official attire- much to my surprise. It was a good choice, as almost everyone in our fan section was clad in the home-team blue.

It turned out to be a very important championship game, and the atmosphere in the stadium was electric! Students got to experience the classic “call and response” chants common in European football matches, complete with flares, arm movements, and more. Luckily the home team won, and so the last night in Zagreb was a very happy one indeed.