Meet the People of Zagreb: Boris, Tamburica Player, Account Manager, Tourist Agency Founder

1. Hi Boris, could you tell our readers something about yourself?
Hi! My name is Boris Zatezalo and I’m a Senior Account Manager at Degordian marketing agency. My motto in life is Try to be a good and a fair person and it’ll all come back to you. Even though the world we live in is rough, I believe that this is the right way.
I founded the Wayoudo tourist agency and we’ve been doing business successfully for several years now. I’m also into Croatian folklore and I play the tamburica in The Zagreb Folk Dance Ensemble Dr. Ivo Ivančan.
I love all kinds of sports. I follow American Football, the NBA, NHL, as well as sports clubs from Zagreb.

2. Tamburica player is not something you hear about every day, was there any particular reason you decided to start playing that instrument in particular?
I actually have no idea. My parents enrolled me in Music School, I wanted to play a string instrument, and so I chose the tamburica. I found out later that my dad had danced at the Ivan Goran Kovačić Folklore Ensemble (they’re my current ensemble’s main competitors actually), so maybe we have his positive experiences from concerts and travels to thank for encouraging my playing. Other than that, no one in my family is a musician, so I don’t know where I get it from.

3. Do you like living in Zagreb? What are some positive and some negative sides to living here?
I love Zagreb, it’s a beautiful city to live in and work your way up in your job, at least in my case. My family and friends are here, both the seaside and the mountains are easy to reach, the city is calm and clean and there’s no noise. Wayoudo agency which I started with my friends brings people to Zagreb and gives them a first-hand Zagreb experience. My love for the city has been a big motivation for me to try and give something back to it, and I’ve been pretty successful at it so far. 🙂

4. What are some of your favourite places in the city?
Definitely Sljeme, I try to go there a few times a month. Another place I love is Kino Europa, I love live music, the Vuger creek in front of my building where I run, the Upper Town…

5. There’s been a boom in the restaurant and café scene recently; do you prefer older, more typical cafés and restaurants or new ones? What are some of your favourite places to eat and drink coffee and why?
Cafe bar Leone is my favourite, it’s a phenomenal place with the best coffee in town, on Kvaternikov trg. I also like the new Boutique Cinema in Kaptol Centre, Pivana and Maksi pub. As far as food places are concerned, I like eating at Mundoaka and Basta, Papas has great burgers and Kralj kobasa has amazing pulled pork sandwiches. The staff at these places, waiters and cooks, they’re all brilliant, and the music is awesome as well.

6. Favourite day and place to go out and have drinks?
Friday afternoon, after work. I like Swanky hostel, Vinyl and Mr. Q, but I honestly don’t have any preference as long as there’s live music playing.

7. Do you think that the city has changed in the past 10 years? In which way, if yes?
Absolutely, the city’s changed a lot, and I’m mainly referring to the tourist offer. The city’s become a great destination, more and more people are coming, new museums, restaurants, hostels, hotels and bars are opening, there are more concerts and sports events. I feel like people intentionally visit Zagreb, they don’t just stop here along the way.

8. You’re into tourism as well – could you tell us how you got interested in tourism and something about your tourist agency?
My colleagues Jura, Augustin and Luka and I got the idea of opening our own tourist agency in 2013 because we realized that the moment is right and that it would be a great opportunity. We spent two years developing it and coming up with different concepts, and we were open for business in 2015. We had 12,000 tourists last year, which is a pretty big deal and a great incentive for a small tourist agency, and it also shows that we’re doing something right. You can read more about our projects on www.wayoudo.net.

9. And finally, you know the city both as a local and as a tourist guide, what are some of the spots in the city you think most tourists miss?
Pod starim krovovima, a genuine old-Zagreb bar in the Upper Town and one of the first cafés in the city. Then there’s Grič Tunnel, the Green Horseshoe, Tuškanac, Cmrok, and the lakes, Jarun and Bundek.