Well Known Croatian Coastal Store Studenac Arrives in Zagreb
May the 21st, 2021 - If you've ever spent any time on the Croatian coast, you'll have noticed a shop called Studenac. The popular coastal store Studenac has now taken to the continental part of the country and opened its doors for the first time right here in the Croatian capital of Zagreb.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes, the Croatian coastal store Studenac, one of the leading retail chains on the Adriatic, is continuing to grow and expand its business, for the first time opening the doors of one of its markets in Zagreb. With the opening of this first store at the address Kneza Mislava 1, the city format of the store was presented and then adapted to the needs of customers in such an urban environment. The opening of the next stores owned by this chain in Zagreb is expected by the end of the year.
The arrival of the popular store Studenac in the Croatian capital is an important business step forward in the market positioning and strengthening of this company, not only as the leading chain along the Adriatic but also as one of the leading retail chains in the country as a whole.
"The opening of our stores in Zagreb is a continuation of our expansion strategy, whether it's organic growth or acquisitions. We're especially glad that we're achieving these set goals thanks to numerous improvements and innovation in business, despite the economic challenges. We're bringing a touch of the Adriatic to Zagreb and a new level of service quality that keeps pace with world FMCG trends. I believe that customers will quickly recognise the value we represent, which is that we're a neighbourhood shop, we're small but we boast some rich offers, and that we provide everything you need in one place - one step closer to customers,'' said Michal Senczuk, the CEO of Studenac.
The emphasis is being placed on the store's extensive TO GO offer, Senczuk added, noting that will surely go hand in hand with the often hectic lifestyle of the capital's residents.
Studenac stores will more than likely bring many offers and benefits to the people of Zagreb, and back in April, Studenac presented an assortment of carefully selected products of private brands, which, with the label of a green basket and at attractive prices, is available only on the shelves of this retail chain. In addition, in all Zagreb stores, Studenac's customers will have access to an enriched TO GO offer, which offers a selection of selected hot drinks and baked products, as well as a selected range of dishes with the possibility to prepare them in store.
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Croats Plan Holidays as EU Digital Green Certificate Introduction Looms
May the 21st, 2021 - With the warm summer months rapidly approaching and with the vaccination rollout across Europe picking up its pace, plans are being hatched for a much needed holiday by the vast majority of Europeans. We might hear the most about the mass bookings the Brits and Germans are making, but what are the plans of Croatian travellers this summer? With the EU Digital Green Certificate introduction looming, arrangements are being made.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the tourist season is creeping up at somewhat of an alarming speed, and along with it is the EU Digital Green Certificate introduction and an easier regime for cross-border travel agreed upon by the European Union recently. As Croats, much like most other Europeans, scramble for the chance of a break abroad, trips to the likes of Portugal and Turkey are on the cards.
Along with Turkey and Portugal, Croatian travellers are also looking a bit further afield and showing interest in Morocco, according to a report from Dnevnik.hr.
The fact that Croats are busy looking for getaways as restrictions ease once again was confirmed by the president of the association of Croatian travel agencies, Tomislav Fain, who claimed that the number of bookings of foreign trips has increased, but it's still not much to write home about just yet.
“Now, if we were to compare with last year it would probably be 100 percent better than the way things were back then, but of course last year when we were practically in lockdown at this time is of course not comparable. We always have to go back to pre-pandemic 2019 or some other earlier year, when we still lived normally and travelled normally,'' Fain explained.
Normal travel within the European Union (EU) should also be made possible by the aforementioned EU Gigital Green Certificate introduction which is being negotiated at the European Union level.
"It's a certificate that will include those people who have recovered from the disease, been vaccinated and those who have tested negative, they will all be allowed to enjoy freedom of movement," explained Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.
For more, follow our travel section.
BREAKING FREE NEWS: Incredible Freddie Mercury Tribute by Čakovec Students
May 20, 2021 – Brilliant Queen and Freddie Mercury Tribute by Čakovec students boldly challenges prejudice, oppression and expectations.
When people think of Čakovec in northern Croatia, usually they're not thinking of a shockingly, progressive place. But, perhaps that's just why high school students of Josip Slavenski Gymnasium decided on this move. Certainly, the graduation photo of the school's 4 E class boldly counters all expectations.
Instead of the usual fun, frivolity and throwing of hats, the students decided for their end-of-term picture to challenge, provoke and confound everyone. The result is absolutely fantastic, 'breaking free' of all conformity.
In the Freddie Mercury tribute photo, the Čakovec students are all dressed as the iconic Queen frontman, as seen in the video to the band's unforgettable 'I Want To Break Free' single. In 1984, when the song was originally released, it caused quite the controversy.
Queen and Freddie Mercury 'I Want to Break Free'
In Europe, the release was well-received, the video adored and the song went to the top of the charts. But, in the USA, it was a different story.
Queen had not considerably troubled the charts in America since their breakthrough 1970s single 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. But, in 1984, the band released in the U.S. the American version of their multi-platinum 'Greatest Hits' album. A hit! Then, they followed it with a new single, 'Radio Gaga'. Again, a hit! After over a decade of releasing music, Queen were finally on the brink of breaking the most lucrative music market in the world.
So, what did they do? For their next song, 'I Want To Break Free', the band decided to appear entirely 'in drag', as women, in the video. Although transvestitism is completely unrelated to homosexuality, perhaps the least intelligent members of society presumed this to be the idea of the band's singer, Freddie Mercury, who was gay. Not so. The idea for the video actually came from Queen drummer Roger Taylor.
American music television simply didn't understand the video. They refused to screen it. When they did, American audiences were either mystified or horrified. Well, this is a country that once elected Donald Trump for president. The response to this brilliant Freddie Mercury Tribute photo from the students of Čakovec might be comparable, in the least progressive sections of society. You know, the places where people still point to the sky when a plane passes. Or where the music of Queen is considered 'new'. As, perhaps, is electricity.
4 E Josip Slavenski Gymnasium, Čakovec, Freddie Mercury tribute
And yet, with this outrageous Freddie Mercury Tribute, these Čakovec students have proved themselves to be the best of the future generation. Bold, confrontational, committed and outright funny. In the Freddie Mercury tribute, they stand in front of the banner for the Festival of Alternative Čakovec. It's a deliberately inclusive event, intended to draw all sections of society. Anyone challenging their sense of fun must simply be regarded as the most miserable, moany and backward of all among us.
Just as the band Queen confounded some with their 1984 release, so too today will these Čakovec students with their Freddie Mercury Tribute. Luckily, there are many more young progressive people in Čakovec and Croatia - and Queen fans - than there are miserable, moany voices. Bravo class 4 E Josip Slavenski Gymnasium, Čakovec!
KK Split Stays in ABA League 1!
May 20, 2021 - KK Split leaves Sarajevo without a chance in the final relegation game for the ABA League 1 - 90:60 (47:26).
The third game of the ABA League had to bring the final decision after Spars Sarajevo surprised everyone with a close victory in the series opener at Gripe last week to put Split under pressure. The Yellows then had to win in Sarajevo on Saturday to keep their chances alive for another season in the 1st division. KK Split did tie the series with a strong appearance and followed up by winning the opener of the national playoff semi-finals on Tuesday against Cibona Zagreb.
All eyes were on Spars' coach Modrag Kadija and his young talented squad to see if they could come up with a strategy to pull it off one more time against Split's large and experienced roster as a highly favored side. Big man and rising star Kenan Kamenjaš had to work hard for his 11 points tonight.
In Sarajevo and against Cibona the Yellows had massive support for their inside players from their outside shooters who displayed excellent marksmanship and pulled the opposite defenders far out of the zone to give the big men more space to play one on one.
Today it was team captain Mateo Kedzo who decided the game already in the first half by scoring 13 points in only 7 minutes and 23 seconds without missing any of his attempts.
The experienced leaders Kedzo and Ulić gave the team the necessary self-confidence which they had lacked in game one.
With the large lead at half-time, Split coach Mile Karakaš was able to rotate all his players through in the second half and the team did not lose any tension. Split's talent Perković, Bajo, and Čampara kept scoring for the favored team to further increase the lead.
The team was able to apologize for last week's loss to veteran Toni Kukoč who was honored before the game after having been nominated to join the Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this week.
Not being able to close the series in two games now puts the Yellows into a tight schedule, however. The second game in the national semifinals will be played in Zagreb tomorrow. The hosts objected to giving Split an additional 24 hours to rest. Quite a remarkable show of sportsmanship or better the lack thereof. But with Split having gained this much momentum during the last 3 games, it may well prove to have been the wrong approach by Cibona. The game will start at 18:00 at Dražen Petrović Hall.
Referees: Saša Pukl, Sašo Petek, Mario Majkić
Boxscore: https://www.aba-liga.com/match/3/20/8/Overview/q1/1/home/split-spars/
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Checking in with Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence – Marlee McCormick Interview
May 20, 2021 – Travellers from Texas visiting Dubrovnik is nothing unusual. However, a Texas digital nomad living, working, and making friends in Dubrovnik is not a very common occurrence. Meet Marlee McCormick!
Participants in the Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence program are a diverse group. They come from various fields and demographic segments. So, running into someone hosting a morning radio show in Texas shouldn’t be all that surprising. Still, it is hard to imagine anyone guessing one of the digital nomads in Dubrovnik is an on-air personality working for a Fort Worth-based country and western radio station. That someone is Marlee McCormick. Together with her husband, she made a trip from the USA to Dubrovnik to pursue a recent dream of remote work. The charming couple was forced to take their jobs out of the office due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But, once they realised they can change their place of work and still perform their tasks well, there was no going back. Aside from work, Marlee spends her days exploring southern Croatia. She enjoys living in the heart of the medieval city and making friends, a skill she has perfected.
Through Total Croatia News Marlee found out about the Dubrovnik DNiR program and applied. She didn’t think she would be selected, but the selection process was done well and the group is now richer for a very interesting perspective she brings to the table.
DNiR Program
The Digital Nomads-in-Residence program was created by Saltwater Nomads in partnership with Total Croatia News. With the Dubrovnik Tourist Board and the City of Dubrovnik in support of the program, the results will likely be very valuable. The program aims to create a strategic direction for the city. Through design thinking workshops the potential future of digital nomads in Dubrovnik will be described. It is one of the ways of moving forward on Dubrovnik’s path to a more sustainable tourism future.
The Interview
A sunny morning in the historical centre of the city was perfect for a chat with Marlee. She shared her thoughts on the program and Dubrovnik, but also about how it all started:
"About a year ago when things happened with my partner and I… the station decided to split us up, where one stayed in the studio and one broadcasted outside of the studio. So I made myself a home studio and spent most of my time broadcasting from my home over the last year. But, you know, that can get a little dull, when you are just at home, 24/7. So, I found out, being safe about it, being smart about COVID rules and restrictions, that I could go other places and as I said, with good Wi-Fi, do my job anywhere in the world. I just have to adjust to the hours a little bit."
Her working experience in Dubrovnik has been wonderful, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Getting to the city wasn’t all that straightforward. Some Wi-Fi issues in Dubrovnik and working hours of the co-working spaces were also a slight challenge.
The overall experience for Marlee and her husband Jeff has been a very rewarding one. She emphasized:
“I’m finding myself doing things that I haven’t done in so long, because I’m revitalised by this lifestyle.”
Do not miss the full interview with Marlee below.
Check out the full video below.
Saltwater Nomads' Tanja Polegubic on Dubrovnik Digital Nomad-in-Residence Program
Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Frankovic on Digital Nomads, US Flights, 2021 Season
Winners announcement video:
Learn more about the Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence program.
Milanović: Military Aircraft Procurement is a Major Project
ZAGREB, 20 May 2021 - President Zoran Milanović said on Thursday that the procedure for the purchase of fighter jets was very strict, but he would not reveal details of today's Defence Council meeting or the type of aircraft Croatia would go for.
"The process has been good so far. It hasn't been compromised, there have been no information leaks. Eventually, the cost will have to be presented to the Croatian public," Milanović told the press.
He said it was important that Croatia had the fighter jets by no later than 2024. "They have to be here by then," Milanović said, adding that Croatia should not be without its own resources even for a day.
Milanović said that this was a major project and that he hoped the government would take a decision on it before Armed Forces Day, which is observed on 28 May.
For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Pfizer to Produce Materials For Its COVID-19 Vaccine in Croatia, Says PM
ZAGREB, 20 May 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that Pfizer would produce materials for its COVID-19 vaccine in its pharmaceutical plant in Savski Marof outside Zagreb, which would put Croatia into the group of European countries that manufacture ingredients of certain vaccines.
Plenković informed his cabinet today that he had discussed this matter with Pfizer's chairman and chief executive officer Albert Bourla on Wednesday.
The Savski Marof plant will produce the DNA template for the COVID-19 vaccine. This is an investment of $10 million, and will create jobs for about 30 people.
Plenković recalled that the European Commission had announced that an agreement had been reached with Pfizer on the delivery of 900 million doses of the vaccine against COVID-19 plus an additional 900 million, which means 1.8 billion doses from December 2021 to 2023.
He underscored the fact that in Croatia one in three adults had already received at least one shot of the vaccine against coronavirus infection.
The target is to have at least 50%-55% of the adult population vaccinated by the end of June.
Plenković also informed the cabinet about the Defence Council meeting on the procurement of multipurpose fighter jets. The Council convened on Thursday morning.
He reiterated that providing the armed forces with such aircraft would be "the greatest and the most important procurement for the armed forces."
The procurement will make Croatia an important and credible ally within NATO and will enable the Croatian armed forces to participate in various international missions at a completely different level, he added.
For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border, and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and testing centers up and down the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and choose your preferred language.
Travel Agencies Facing Collapse, Urge Gov't to Help Them
ZAGREB, 20 May 2021 - The UHPA association of travel agencies has called on the government to urgently decide to extend its job-retention scheme and to compensate travel agencies for fixed costs, considering that so far this year they have seen a drop in turnover of more than 90%.
"For six months now we have been negotiating intensively with government officials about a compensation model to help salvage travel agencies. We have the support of Tourism Minister Nikolina Brnjac and believe it is high time to start with financial assistance for preparation for the season and for the normalisation of activities, as announced by PM Plenković," UHPA president Tomislav Fain said.
He noted that yet another crisis tourist season was about to begin and the only thing travel agencies could count on was the uncertainty of whether the pandemic would continue spreading, whether the epidemiological situation would be kept under control and what tourist movement would be like.
"Apart from job-keeping support, which as a measure of horizontal assistance has been introduced also by other EU countries, Croatia has not secured for private businesses in tourism any grant scheme, which is what other member countries, notably those whose GDP, like Croatia's, relies heavily on tourism, have done," said Fain.
For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Average Wage Earned in Croatia in March Totals HRK 7,138
ZAGREB, 20 May 2021 - Croatia's take-home pay in March came to HRK 7,138, rising 6.3% on the year in the nominal terms and five percent in the real terms, according to the data released by the national statistical office on Thursday (DZS).
The average wage in March rose by 1.4% in the nominal terms and o.3% in the real terms in comparison to February 2021.
The DZS says on its website that "the highest average monthly paid off net earnings per person in paid employment in legal entities for March 2021 were paid off in Information service activities and amounted to 13 237 kuna, while the lowest earnings were paid off in the activity Manufacture of wearing apparel and amounted to 4 387 kuna."
Median net earnings for March 2021 amounted to 6,000 kuna, while median gross earnings amounted to 7 728 kuna. It means that half of the people employed were paid less and the other half more than this net amount.
(€1 = HRK 7.5)
For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Croatian Mathematical Society (HMD) Has a New President, Dr. Vesna Županović
May 20, 2021 - Earlier in May, the Croatian Mathematical Society (HMD) elected a new president, Dr. Vesna Županović.
As Vedran Pavlić wrote for TCN back in 2016, Croatian students were then better in math than in 2011. Fantastic results were also accomplished in 2018 when Croatian students scored medals at the mathematical olympiad. Good results didn't go amiss in 2020, and initiatives for promoting science (such as the one of the Local History Museum in the central town of Ogulin that introduced kindergarten kids with quantum physics), appear all over the country.
Scientists do have their own professional associations, representing them and with more engaging, less engaging, with bigger, or smaller success, work on the promotion of their respective fields. Mathematicians are no exception, and it's worth noting that the Croatian Mathematical Society (HMD) recently has a new president, Dr. Vesna Županović. Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER) at the University of Zagreb reported on its website, an online assembly of HMD voted that Županović be the new president on May 14, replacing dr. Hrvoje Kraljević was the president for the past 14 years.
Vesna Županović, screenshot / Treći element
Apart from her new function, Županović is the professor at FER's department for applied mathematics.
Being the faculty that expects excellent mathematical knowledge, FER is quite happy with this decision of HMD, and they also explained the importance of the aforementioned society.
„HMD goal is to enhance and promote mathematical sciences, math education on all levels, math applying in other fields, as well as enhancing the social status of mathematicians in general“, said FER on their website while congratulating. Županović on being elected.
They added that HMD has five departments: education, scientific, engineering, professional, and student department, along with a youth section that gathers pupils on lower levels of the education system. Publishing scientific and professional magazines and books on math is in the domain of the organization too.
Before being president, Dr. Županović was the Head of the Engineering department on HMD. Born in Split in 1965, she graduated from Mathematical Gymnasium in Split and went on to Zagreb to study math at the Faculty of Science (PMF), University of Zagreb. Her competence in math includes Nonlinear equations, Bifurcation, Fractals, Limit-cycles, Nonlinear dynamical systems, and Spirals.
Croatian Mathematical Society stated on its website that they are organizing conferences, math competitions, participation in math Olympics and other international contests, summer schools, and more.
In 1994, HMD also started a Mathematical Foundation For Science with a goal to award young scientists for their contribution. The receiver of the award can't be more than 35 years old, and concluding with 2015; five awards have been given in total since the first award in 1996.
Learn more about Croatian inventions & discoveries: from Tesla to Rimac on our TC page.
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