Those who play beach volleyball at Jarun Lake are very fortunate, because they have the opportunity to the water of the lake, which is often said to be ‘neither too hot nor too cold’. Among the fortunate ones is the volleyball team from the Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Science in Poland. They arrived to Zagreb on Tuesday after a nine hour bus ride and they brought several friends, who just came to relax and enjoy themselves in Croatia.
‘The road trip was a small price to pay for something like this,’ say the Poles while putting on sunscreen. After every volleyball match they splash in the lake. They added that they no longer care whether they win or lose; the real pleasure is in meeting new people and making new contacts with students from all over Europe. They haven’t had the opportunity to visit the city centre yet, but they will at the first opportunity they get. In addition to Jarun, they also visited Bundek for a bit of a change. They are surprised by the proximity of all the beautiful green areas in Zagreb.
‘You walk for twenty minutes and you enter a completely different climate,’ commented Stanislav on his way from the Athletes’ village towards Jarun.
‘I don’t understand why there aren’t more people from Zagreb at the lake,’ Stanislaw Szymankiewicz wanted to know. ‘The water is great, the weather is great, and the atmosphere is great, just the people are missing.’
His question will be answered when he visits Rijeka next week and sees the difference between the clean and clear blue sea and the Jarun Lake.
His friends who had come with him as tourists planned to watch the competitions and stay informed about the Games, but the lake and its charms disrupted their plans.
‘The last thing we expected from Zagreb was swimming in a lake,’ they happily commented.
The Polish volleyball players added that they were looking forward to visiting Rijeka, but that they would never forget the water of Jarun. We haven’t even finished talking to them and they were already rushing to join the rest of their team in the lake.
