ZAGREB, 24 Oct, 2021 - The Croatian Ministry of Agriculture put a HRK 30 million (€4m) aid scheme for sugar beet producers to public consultation earlier this week.

The scheme will provide financial support to sugar beet farmers facing a slowdown or complete suspension of economic activity caused by the coronavirus pandemic. It should help them recover from losses, provide liquidity, restore the pre-pandemic level of primary production, maintain the present level of employment and prevent disruptions to the food supply chain. 

The ministry said that the pandemic has hit hard nearly all sectors of the economy, including agriculture, and that in the case of cropland it has resulted in a strong decrease in areas sown with sugar beet.

Only 10,200 hectares of land was sown with sugar beet in the pandemic years 2020 and 2021, down by 20.3 percent compared with the pre-pandemic average for 2018-2019 and by nearly 48 percent compared with 2017.

The value of the scheme is HRK 30 million (€4m) and the entire amount will be provided from the state budget. The aid will be allocated in accordance with the Temporary COVID-19 Framework, the ministry said.

For more on business, follow TCN's dedicated page.

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

ZAGREB, 24 Oct, 2021 - Germany added Croatia and Bulgaria to areas high-risk for Covid-19 on Sunday, triggering a minimum five-day quarantine for unvaccinated or unrecovered travellers arriving from the two countries, the dpa news agency reported on Sunday.

On Friday the Robert Koch Institute announced that Germany had decided to add Croatia to its list of COVID-19 high-risk countries, which means that people who have not been vaccinated or have not recovered from COVID-19 will have to self-isolate for 10 days on arrival from Croatia. Travellers arriving from high-risk countries will be allowed to end their self-isolation after five days if they present a negative test or a vaccination certificate.

 The institute also noted that the decision came into effect on Sunday.

"Three other European Union members - Romania, Lithuania and Slovenia - were already on the list overseen by Germany's Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for disease control," the dpa news agency reported today..

"Globally, some 70 countries are classified high-risk Covid-19 areas by Germany. Anyone who has not recovered or been fully vaccinated and returns to Germany must go into quarantine for 10 days. This period can be shortened if they test negative after five days," dpa says.

In addition to Croatia and Bulgaria, Cameroon, Singapore and the Republic of the Congo were added on Sunday. Kenya, Kosovo, Iraq and Honduras were removed.

For more on COVID-19, follow TCN's dedicated page.

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

October 24, 2021 - The Croatian Tree of 2021, and which will also represent the country in the European Tree of the Year competition, has been chosen and is the giant sequoia of Slatina, in Slavonia.

The tree of the giant sequoia, also called ''mammoth'', located within the EPIcentre Sequoia Slatina, is about 130 years old and was chosen as the Croatian tree in 2021. This Centennial Giant was protected in 1967 as a monument of park architecture, and today it has been chosen as the Croatian Tree of 2021, reports Turističke Priče.

The story of the giant mammoth in Slatina tells us about this tree as the only protected specimen of this species in the Republic of Croatia and one of the oldest specimens of this species in Europe. Following the horticultural trends of the 19th century, it was planted by the noble Schaumburg-Lippe family, at the same time as the oldest redwoods were planted in England, outside their natural habitat.

These are trees that are naturally distributed in the western part of North America, more precisely in the central part of California (Sierra Nevada) above 1,500 meters above sea level. In Croatia, as in the rest of Europe, redwoods were planted as an ornamental species, but European trees are much smaller than American ones.

Croatian tree in 2021, a candidate for the European tree

In 2021, the Croatian Tree was chosen by as many as 67,231 voters, and the Century Giant in the heart of Slavonia won with 11,042 votes. The second-placed Last Lady of the Podgorica Park had only 99 votes less, and the Brijuni Old Olive and Bricin Hrast from the Lonjsko Polje Nature Park took more than 10,000 votes.

The winner of the national competition Croatian Tree 2021, Public Institution for Management of Protected Areas of Dubrovnik-Neretva County, on behalf of the Republic of Croatia will run for the finals of the European Tree 2022, composed of winners of national competitions of partner countries in the Tree of the Year project.

The organizers of the competition invite all citizens throughout the Republic of Croatia and beyond to get involved in the promotion of biodiversity of the Republic of Croatia, participating in the vote for the European Tree of the Year to be held in early 2022, on World Forest Day (March 21), to declare the winner of the European competition.

So far, the Republic of Croatia has been represented at the European Tree of the Year competition by Platana in Trsteno na trg (2018) with seventh place, Gupčeva lipa (2019) with the eleventh place, Zaljubljeni Ginko from Daruvar (2020) with second place and the oldest Medulinka - Chocolate tree of our memories (2021) with tenth place.

For more on lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 24 Oct, 2021 - Over three billion kuna will have to be spent on a ten-year project of the construction land survey across Croatia, and currently there are only a score of businesses licenced to perform that job, the Jutarnji List daily reported on Sunday.

According to the daily, the construction land is large about 600,000 hectares.

The newspaper says that this will be the job of the century for licenced land surveyors, and that the project, which should start on 1 November, will cost more than the building of Pelješac Bridge, for instance.

The Croatian State Geodetic Administration will be in charger of the implementation of this project which should be completed in 2030.

For more on business, follow TCN's dedicated page.

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

ZAGREB, 24 Oct, 2021 - The Ministry of Justice and Public Administration sated on Sunday that the campaigners who are against Croatia's plan to switch to the euro have to collect at least 368,867 valid signatures for their petition for the referendum initiative "Let's Preserve the Kuna".

One of the conditions for calling a referendum is that at least 10% of eligible voters sign the referendum petition, and on 24 October, the ministry established that there were 3,688,671 eligible voters in the country's electoral rolls, which means that the 10% quota is 368,867.

The organising committee for the referendum initiative on the preservation of the kuna as the sole legal tender has already announced the start of its campaign to collect signatures for the referendum petition. 

Currently, the euro (€) is the official currency of 19 out of 27 EU member countries which together constitute the Eurozone, officially called the euro area.

For Croatia's latest news, CLICK HERE.

ZAGREB, 24 Oct, 2021 - European Commission Vice President for Democracy and Demography Dubravka Šuica said on Saturday that there was a gap between decision-makers and citizens, and European institutions were thinking of the inclusion of general public on a permanent basis in discussions on EU-related topics.

We have noticed that there is a gap between decisions-makers and and citizens and we want to lessen that gap. It is the reason why we are organising this Conference (on the Future of Europe), Commissioner Šuica told a press conference in the European Parliament on Saturday after a session bringing together EU representatives and ordinary citizens.

The European Parliament on Saturday started a plenary at which 80 EU citizens were presenting conclusions of discussions on different topics held by 800 randomly chosen citizens in September and October.

Technology has changed the world and we must change, too, said Šuica adding that she did not believe that the Conference on the Future of Europe would remain a one-off event.

We are thinking about a permanent mechanism, although we have not yet decided on it definitely, she explained.

The European Commission says on its web site that "the Conference on the Future of Europe is an unprecedented, open and inclusive democratic exercise, with a Multilingual Digital Platform, where all Europeans are invited to have their say on how to shape our shared future on various issues."

The citizens involved in the Strasbourg gathering are expected to prepare a final document and forward it to the European Commission in December.

According to the EC information on its website, Šuica stated that "this is a historic moment where, for the first time, citizens deliberate on a par with their elected representatives at all levels."

"Bringing citizens to the core of European policymaking will reinforce our representative democracies, as we set sail towards our common future."

Guy Verhofstadt, a member of the European Parliament and a co-chair of the Conference on the Future of Europe, was quoted as saying that "the enthusiasm in the Citizens' Panels is great, expectations are high, the formula is working."

"Now the Plenary has to find answers to the issues raised, in the form of a shared vision of Europe's future and concrete deliverables on how we reform the European Union. EU politics have to rise to the occasion."

He also advocates the organisation of conferences of such format every five years.

In August, 70% of the respondents in a survey conducted by the Ipsos pollster in the European Union said they were dissatisfied with the way the EU was working at present.

For more on politics, follow TCN's dedicated page.

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

24 October 2021 - This year the Biograd Boat Show celebrated it's 23rd show with 21 years of continuous record breaking shows, a unique accomplishment with so many boat shows around the world. Held at Marina Kornati in Biograd na moru, this is Central Europe’s largest in-water boat show and has gained international popularity amongst both exhibitors and visitors alike. Industry events held within the Biograd Boat Show  include the 5th HGK (Croatian Chamber of Commerce) Nautical Days (20th-22nd), the Croatia Charter Expo (21st-22nd) and the Biograd B2B business networking event.

The first day was opened by the Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds, Nataša Tramišak.

Stretched out across four marquee halls and three piers spanning the northern and western wings of Marina Kornati, the Boat Show offered visitors the chance to peruse over 300 registered exhibitors across all aspect srelated to the marine industry, including apparel, solar energy, boat charter agents, food products , chandlery and textiles. A highlight for many visiting the boat show, there were also up to 300 boats on display, with many of them open to the public to look through and inspect. 

Of course, in these COVID times, safety measures were in place such as RAPID testing available at the entrance for 50 kuna per person for anyone who did not have a COVID passport (required to enter the event.) There were also many sanitizer stations laid out all over providing many opportunities for both exhibitors and attendees to ensure that they were abiding by the COVID guidelines.

Some of the new vessels that were introduced to the Croatian market included:

• Seamaster 45 Fortuna - Presented by Angelina Yachting, this is the largest motorboat from the Seamaster range, with a 13.5m flybridge. contemporary design and luxe interior. Available for charter with Angelina Yachting.

• Flammifer FFB 640 F-RPA compact firefighting boat - Made domestically in Croatia, this powerful machine is designed to emit jets of up to 45 meters, useful for its’ purpose of fighting fires in marina’s, on ships and in coastal areas where access is only by sea.

• Bali Catamaran in sizes 4.2 and4.6 - Bali is known for its’ unique catamaran designs maximising on lounging space and open living areas. Their 4.2 and 4.6 models are already popular in the charter industry here in Croatia. 

• Agena Marin solar ferry boat - With it’s clean lines and retro design, this lightweight 8.5m long vessel has a maximum of 12 passengers. Equipped with a solar panel with a capacity of 1800 W that constantly charges the batteries, the boat can sail constantly from 5 to 8 hours, depending on the load.

• See below for a quick walk-through of the Bali 4.6 with 45D in their Biograd Boat Show vlog. Charter a Bali catamaran with Croatia Yachting Charter HERE  

A few other noteworthy exhibitors were: 

• EcoFlow - A compact and highly attractive portable solar power system, boasting the worlds fastest portable power stations.

• Big Green Egg - A bbq with a distinctive name and appearance, it comes in three different sizes and is made in Croatia!

• Lampuga - Premium, electric, emission-free surfboards.

A Biograd Boat Show favourite returned this year as well. Christian Buchair, also known as “Rocket Man” took to the air with his Flyboard Water Jet Pack. Christian is also associated with Efun Waterways, who were also at the Boat Show showcasing their luxury water toys! Efun maximized on being at the Biograd Boat Show and premiered the Messestand, their new German-made carbon electric surfboard from WaterRebels. 

Every evening of the event was closed with live entertainment from local artists, such as Three Little Birds, Mate Skračić band, The Dreamers and a special performance on Saturday night from Freeway “Unplugged”, a band consisting of local nautical workers! 

For more detailed information and some great articles relevant to both the Biograd Boat Show and nautical tourism within Croatia, check out the Biograd Boat Show Croatia Yachting magazine here.

Photo credit: https://www.facebook.com/BiogradBoatShow

If you have questions on anything sailing in Croatia, feel free to ask below in the comments or check out Total Croatia, Sailing in Croatia: Your One-Stop-Shop for Everything Sailing.

For more about Travel in Croatia follow TCN's dedicated pages - Digital Nomads | Travel.

When a certain place has you sidetracked several times on the way to a wine festival, you know you have something special on your hands. A recap of an afternoon spent exploring the charming Savičenta in central Istria

What do you do when the forecast calls for a sunny weekend in October? A road trip, of course. We headed to Istria for a day and decided to stop in Svetvinčenat, a town in the south central part of the region.

Named after Saint Vincent, the town is more often referred to as Savičenta by the local population, and is also called San Vicenti in Italian. I prefer the local name myself, and in the interest of making everyone's lives easier, will be using it in this article. 

There’s a lot to see and do in this quaint little town - and we’ll get to that in a bit - but the main reason for our trip this time was the Young Wine Festival that took place on Saturday, October 23rd.

It’s a tradition for winemakers and wine lovers alike to gather in Svetvinčenat this time of year to present and taste the first wines of the season. While the custom has been around for over 40 years, the event has officially been taking place for 15 years and is known to assemble winemakers from all parts of the Istrian peninsula. 

This year’s festivities kicked off with a cycling race in the early afternoon, and the wine festival was to start at 5PM and last well into the evening. We arrived a few hours early, but not being especially apt at cycling, decided to skip the recreational part of the event and take in the local sights instead. We had no idea what wonders lay within the castle walls. 

Even though its origins date much further back in history, Svetvinčenat is mostly known as a Renaissance gem. Its picturesque landscape is dominated by the gorgeous Morosini-Grimani castle and the parish Church of the Annunciation overlooking the large public square. 

The Morosini Grimani castle is the biggest edifice in Svetvinčenat and one of the best preserved castles in Istria. The estate changed hands several times throughout history and owes its name to two noble families that had the biggest impact on the town’s development in the early Modern Era. 

This stunning historical monument has been through a lot in its lifetime: it was pillaged, conquered, burned down repeatedly, and left on a brink of collapse after World War II. In the last two decades, however, it has undergone a thorough restoration that was completed last year and is nowadays abuzz with visitors. 

The main attraction beyond the solemn fortification walls? I’m sure everyone’s heard of and possibly even took part in a few escape room games. Well, Escape Castle Svetvinčenat takes that up a notch with a variation of the classic puzzle game that is played all over the castle instead of a single room. 

We couldn’t possibly leave without giving this a try. The game starts with a tale of a knight who once won a tournament and left the main prize behind which is now yours to claim. That is, if you solve all the puzzles. They’re based on Istrian legends and scattered around the castle grounds; the game had us scurrying along the fortification walls, exploring a dungeon, three watchtowers and the armoury. We even had a close encounter with the infamous Istrian vampire Jure Grando. 

The challenge isn’t too hard to complete and will be enjoyed by all generations, but it’s not absurdly easy either and it will attempt to trick you once or twice. The historical setting is what makes it a one of a kind experience, and it’s also a fantastic way to explore various areas of the castle. The game can be played by up to 35 players at once, split into smaller groups - a nice idea for a teambuilding if you're in the region.

A premium piece of real estate: the torture chamber offers a nice view of the dungeon below. 

This game alone gets an A+ for the castlefolk, but we weren’t done yet, as you’ll want to stick around and see more of the place. The five-floor palace nestled in one corner of the castle houses a conference hall, a tasting room and a lovely souvenir shop, among other things.

Our favourite? A superb multimedia exhibition, presenting an overview of the area's history in a refreshingly engaging way. If you’re expecting yet another litany of historical facts or dusty display cases, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.  

The moment we started looking around, we were hooked. There’s only a handful of exhibits and the display looks deceptively simple when you first walk in, only to find out that the content is incredibly interactive, immersive, easy to use, and most of all, fun. The last three exhibits are literally games. 

There’s a VR game that will have you tilting at the ring as a competitor in a traditional chivalrous tournament... While riding a model horse, sort of. (The horse has a name. I found the whole thing hilarious.) 

You get to become the lady of the castle for a few moments, sitting on a real throne while discussing daily affairs with your virtual advisor.  

There’s a pillar of shame, a virtual forgery to master, and a siege to stop. I won’t get into too many details nor share photos so as not to spoil the experience, but we found it to be an absolute joy. And we learned quite a few bits about history along the way. 

A well thought-out detail at the end rounds up the entire visit: most exhibits are equipped with cameras and if you so decide, you can have a few photos taken as you participate in the activities. When you’re done with the tour, a recap with the pics is sent to your email address. It can be shared on social media or simply kept as a reminder of your visit. 

The staff was also very helpful, communicative and kind even though we lost all track of time and had to be gently reminded it was past the closing time. 

There’s more to see in Savičenta, both within and beyond the castle walls. There’s the House of the Witch Mare, a visitor centre where the local cultural heritage is presented with the use of modern technologies such as VR, AR and 3D mapping. Or the medieval theme park Sanc. Michael in the nearby village of Rapanji, a great destination for a family trip. 

The town is also known for three big annual events: the Dance and Non-Verbal Theatre Festival, the Medieval Festival, and the Cheese Festival. I've since found out that the last one involves this:

Yes, I'm easily amused and yes, I’m definitely going to the cheese fest next year. 

This time around, with only one hour remaining to spare, we headed to the wine festival. 

This year’s event saw fifteen renowned Istrian winemakers showcase their first wines of this year’s harvest: Babos, Baćac, Tomaz, Vivoda, Matić, In Sylvis, Černeka, Radanović, Familija Matošević, Marčeta, San Martino, Franc Arman, Sirotić, Fuhtar, and Kalavojna.

The event aims to promote and position Istrian wine as one of the region’s most recognisable products, writes Glas Istre. It promotes dialogue and cooperation between local winemakers, but also encourages a bit of healthy competition as a means of continuously raising the bar when it comes to quality and promotion of wine in Istria.

Entrance was only allowed with a valid Covid certificate or a negative antigen test result obtained in the last 48 hours. Testing was made available on site at a price of 30 kuna, with results ready in 20 minutes.

The event was well attended, and the venue started to fill up slowly but surely as soon as the doors opened at 5. We purchased our tasting glasses and off we went to sample the offer, stocking up on Istrian prosciutto and cheese along the way. It was a great ending to an overall amazing visit, and a nice example of how to effectively liven up the postseason.

Total time count for our afternoon in Savičenta? Three and a half hours. We’ve seen, done and learned quite a lot in a short time span, and the town has so much more to give. The only thing we regret is not getting there earlier and making it a full day trip, but it’s nice to come across a destination you immediately want to return to.