Great first impression on the RUMOBIL train ride
An amazing beginning of an interesting story! The first tourist train started its operation on the Zagreb – Ozalj – Zagreb route on Saturday, March 25, 2017. This was one of a total of 8 RUMOBIL project pilot activities carried out by the Croatian partner, HŽ Putnički prijevoz, with the user, the Town of Ozalj.
More than 150 tourists took the train on that Saturday to participate in the event entitled “Tesla’s light leads to the paths of Slava Raškaj”. “Tesla’s light”– refers to the first hydroelectric power plant in Croatia built in Ozalj, and “the paths of Slava Raškaj“ refers to the Croatian painter Slava Raškaj (Ozalj, 1877 – Zagreb, 1906), who was born and lived in Ozalj. The landscapes of Ozalj frequently featured as motifs in her paintings. Train tickets sold out a week before the departure thanks to groups of Zagreb pensioners, and among them a group of amateur painters, watercolours lovers and Slava Raškaj works.
The youngest train passenger was a five-year-old girl Nera, riding the train for the first time, and the oldest, a 70-year-old passenger Dora. The mayor of the Town of Ozalj welcomed passengers at Ozalj station, and then she took them for a tour of Slava Raškaj’s painting locations, together with other important historical and cultural sights. The tour was led by a professional guide and a young girl who was dressed as Slava Raškaj. On the terrace of the Old Town of Ozalj, located on a high rock as castles usually are, many local products were presented by local farmers. Visitors could buy honey products, home-grown vegetables, meat products, wine and souvenirs at popular prices. On the beautiful terraces of Old Town Ozalj, the visitors could enjoy the view of the Kupa River and the surrounding landscape, as well as local food and drinks.
It is hard to say who was more enthusiastic about the whole event: guests or hosts. The hosts organized great events during the whole day, and were glad to participate and went home with bags full of food, drinks and souvenirs, which they bought at the stands. The HŽ Putnički prijevoz and the mayor of Ozalj got the highest mark for organization!
“Everything, really every minute was priceless”, “the organization was perfect”, “after this excursion, we feel more closely connected to this region and the painter”, “great impressions”, these are only some of the comments made by happy passengers on the train back to Zagreb.
HŽ Putnički prijevoz as the organiser and the Town of Ozalj as the user, have raised the bar on the first RUMOBIL Zagreb – Ozalj – Zagreb tourist train. We believe that each next train to follow will be as successful as the first one, because 34 more of such tourist trains will operate from Zagreb to Ozalj until August 2018, transporting passengers to different events, such as Wine Days, Honey Days, Strudel Days, etc.
The Town of Ozalj is located in the north-western part of Croatia, 15 km from the City of Karlovac. Its population is 6,800 inhabitants (38 inhabitants per 1 square meter), and it is one of several Croatian cities with bad demographics, but with a rich cultural and historical tradition, which is why it was chosen as the RUMOBIL project user.
