January 6, 2021 - An outstanding Croatian travel blog which has stood the test of time, Secret Dalmatia adds an enticing video component.

When I started writing about Croatian tourism over 10 years ago, the Internet was a different place, especially when it came to writing about Croatian travel. 

Whereas today an array of often banal vloggers and Instagram influencers flood social media fields with their 'discoveries' in Croatia, back then there was very little information about Croatian tourism destinations away from the coast and islands. As for quality content even about those popular destinations, it was pretty hard to find in English. It was one of the reasons that Total Hvar did so well when we launched in 2010 - we were simply filling a niche of information that many people were seeking. 

The blogging room was a lot less crowded back then. And - dare I say it - the quality was much better too. The bloggers writing about Croatia a decade ago seemed to be more interested in writing about the undiscovered experiences, rather than the Adsense clicks. 

And there was one blog back then that was certainly more interested in authenticity rather than clicks - Secret Dalmatia. 

I became a regular  reader, and it was an important part of my education about places all over Croatia away from my adopted island of Hvar. Indeed, Secret Dalmatia seemed to be averse to writing about the popular places, seeking out the road less travelled at every opportunity. 

the Secret Dalmatia blog came into my feed once more this week, more than a decade after our first acquaintance. After ten years of writing about Croatia, and having travelled all over the country during that time, my knowledge of Croatia is as good as many locals these days. 

But still not - it seems - as good as Secret Dalmatia, and I smiled to myself when the first two stories that I came across were both destinations which were new to me. 

As I have aged, so too has Secret Dalmatia, albeit perhaps a little more gracefully.  A video component has now been added to the newer blogs, allowing the complete experience - words, photos and videos of a Croatia even many locals are unaware of. Here are the introductions and videos of the two stories which caught my eye, below. For all the rest, check out parts of Croatia yet to be discovered by checking out the Secret Dalmatia blog. 

Ever since I first found out about Old Popovići, back in 2006. , I was curious to visit it. The village is located near Knin, in Biskupija and it is fairly easy to find. It is, basically, right behind modern day Popovići.

The village was founded in 1689. by a refugees from Turkish held Glamoč in modern day Bosnia. Turkish rule was not so easy on the Christians. All of 1600s were brutal in the territory of Croatia which culminated with liberation of most of Croatia by 1690. Of course, at that time, that was Venice and Austria. Popovići family escaped Glamoč to Venetian Knin area and founded the village. That explains fairly unusual architecture of Old Popovići village which was more characteristic for Bosnia than for the rest of Dalmatia. The village grew prosperous. The locals were well known and prominent members of Serbian/Orthodox community in Dalmatia.

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Petrova Gora and the numerous monuments found there has a special place in Croatia’s collective, national memory. After all, it was the place where last of Croatian kings was killed in the battle with Hungarians back in 1097. Ok, he was not really the king but just a feudal lord with pretensions to be the king but powerful Hungarian king Coloman the Learned (or Coloman the Book Lover) stood in his way.

But, it is also a place where a famous, now abandoned, partisan hospital from WW2 is still hidden.

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January 6, 2021 – The ski season is finally open. Platak ski resort, a popular excursion and winter site on the Snježnik mountain slopes, has opened its ski and sledding tracks.

This popular ski resort located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County is only 30 minutes away from Rijeka and about two hours from Zagreb. Also, it is only about ten kilometers away from the sea, so in the winter months, you have the opportunity to ski and sled on Platak on the same day, and then go down to the sea for lunch and a walk.

Platak is the only Croatian ski resort with a sea view, which allows visitors to enjoy two Croatian beauties at the same time – the mountains and the sea.

Platak on December 14, 2020. The sea can be seen in the background. / Source: Platak Facebook

As National Croatian Tourist Board reports, thanks to the new snowmaking system that the Platak Regional Sports and Recreation Center received last season, the Platak ski resort opened its doors on Saturday, January 2, 2021. Skiers can ski from 9 am to 4 pm on ski slopes Radeševo 1, Turistička staza (tourist track), and on a previously open track along the conveyor belt at the foot of Radeševo. Sledders can sled on one of several sledding tracks.

The ski season is finally open, and skiing and sledding enthusiasts have already occupied Platak. According to reports from the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, a total of 522 tickets were sold yesterday by noon, and a large number of visitors came to enjoy sledding and walking. Also, about 40 centimeters of snow fell last night, so visitors enjoy a real snow idyll.

Platak ski resort / Source: Platak Facebook

You can also ride ski bikes (snow bikes) and snowmobiles on Platak's trails and forests. In order to ensure skiing for up to 50-60 days a year, a new snowmaking system worth HRK 23 million has been introduced. It includes 14 snow cannons, a new accumulation lake with 50,000 cubic meters of water, an engine room, and cooling towers.

In its unique wooded environment, the Platak Regional Sports and Recreation Center offers a handful of other facilities that can be enjoyed throughout the year. Among those are hiking trails, promenades, bike routes, unexplored paths, barbecues for rent, sports fields such as disc golf courses, bowling alleys, football fields, basketball, beach volleyball, and badminton.

There are also nine bike trails, a bike park with two trails (downhill and flowhill), and the possibility of a panoramic cable car ride.

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January the 6th, 2021 - Podravka Chairman Marin Pucar (49) has sadly passed away following a long battle with an illness.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Podravka chairman Marin Pucar, who was a well known face of the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP) and was also one of the most prominent Croatian entrepreneurs, has died following a battle with a serious illness at the Koprivnica General Hospital, Vecernji list has learned.

Podravka Chairman Marin Pucar was born in the coastal Dalmatian city of Zadar. He graduated from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Zagreb, where he completed his studies in "Marketing Theory and Policy", and after that he obtained a degree in Retail Management at Leeds Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom. After graduating, he got a job at Croatia's famous Gavrilovic, quickly advancing to the position of product manager, and then even further to brand manager. In 2001, he began working at Podravka as the sales director for the Danica meat industry, after which he was promoted to the position of sales, marketing and development director. In 2003, he became the director of the company's meat programme sales, and not only for Croatia, but for all of Southeastern Europe.

At the end of 2003, he took over the position of market director for the Republic of Croatia, which he held until he was appointed a member of the Management Board in 2008. In 2012, he moved from Podravka to Zvecevo to work as the President of the Management Board, where he worked until September the 1st, 2016, after which he agreed with the company's owners to terminate his contract by mutual agreement in order for him to be able to complete his doctoral studies in Osijek. In 2017, he was appointed President of the Management Board of Podravka at the proposal of the Minister of State Property Goran Maric.

Marin Pucar leaves behind two daughters with his first wife Tihana, as well as his second wife, Renata.

January 6, 2020 - "For me, sharing is multiplication," says Dominik Markovic, a 31-year-old entrepreneur from 13 Kneza Mislava street.

Standing on the roof of the garages and looking at the Amazing Zagreb project's first fruits of his labour, murals full of Zagreb's flair, Dominik Markovic says: "I don't even know where to start, there's so much to mention… I just know that I wouldn't want the emphasis to be placed on me, but instead on the project itself and all the wonderful people working on it,'' he says with a bowed head, as each warm breath is outlined in the form of fog.

On his 15th birthday, Dominik Markovic ended up in a correctional facility in Zupanciceva. The two youngest children were taken from his mother, which was her greatest fear. Social services reacted because Dominik had 800 absences in seventh grade alone, which he eventually dropped out of. Two years after that, he ended up at a correctional facility and his mother passed away. He was angry with the facility, with the system, he stopped listening to anyone. He left the facility when he wanted to, so the police would have to go out searching him. At the age of 18, he left the facility and his studies at a mechanical engineering school, where he was in the third grade, although he had good grades.

Now he is talking about two projects that are part of the brand’s programme he's creating: Iza Zgrade (Behind the Building) and Saraj Ovdje (Paint here). The first is intended to beautify the lives of the citizens in this dilapidated, grey city; to adapt rotten, old yards, and draw attention to Zagreb in terms of tourism. Paint Here is a project with an educational intent with which they want to raise awareness of the public, highlight the vandalism over the facades of buildings, or paint those same facades.

© Amazing Zagreb

The Amazing Zagreb brand could also be presented as a movement for a better, more beautiful, and more prosperous city, which will positively impact tourism in the capital and probably all over Croatia. Dominik Markovic says he wants to unite all artists in one place, on a digital platform, which would be called centralisation. Here and there, he inserts a more serious word into the conversation to showcase his maturity in regard to entrepreneurship, as if people would not otherwise believe him. "We want to enable tourists to get authentic products, but also provide something for Croatian artists, alternative artists, for all those who do something with their hands and make art out of it," says Dominik, whose primary activity is tourism.

© Amazing Zagreb

Artists Kismo, Focus, and AtekOne were the first to join the project, and for the second year in a row, there were about ten. The plan is to paint or revive hundreds of yards in thematic ways to represent our counties, culture, history, people, as well as internationally recognised brands such as Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Transformers...

Painting a yard involves, in some cases, setting up scaffolding that requires a valid building permit, the smell of sprays covering quite a distance, and slightly louder music. For such a thing, the consent of the tenant representative is required. "There were a lot of obstacles, the police called us, people threatened me, etc. But I have a pure vision, an honest vision, and an honest heart. I want to do something for this city and something for these people. So nothing can and nothing could prevent us from doing what we are and what we're doing here."

© Amazing Zagreb

Just a few years ago, Dominik worked in a roastery, served in many cafes, and finally, back in 2013 in Novalja, something happened that changed his life for the better. He met Benjamin Croft through a mutual colleague. "I didn't know who Ben was and how he would affect my life. Back then I was without a high school diploma and a front tooth. I had kidney stones, disc herniation, gastritis, and I vomited every now and then,” says Dominik, who had no parents and couldn't rely on his older brothers, who were also only just surviving, because he was indebted to them and to the state.

After many years of being in a relationship, Benjamin's former girlfriend left him, and Dominik listened to his woes, just as Benjamin did for him. Although Benjamin was a successful man, for some reason, he didn't have any flip flops. He was barefoot for five days on an island full of glass. When he noticed this, Dominik took him to a nearby stall and bought him a pair of flip flops, even though he was not in a financial position to purchase personal belongings for others. "For me, sharing is multiplication."

That act marked their budding relationship.

"My wish was to repay my debts and buy apartments for my brothers. Ben told me that for something like that, I'd have to fix myself first,” says Dominik, who had come up with many different business concepts, written down business ideas, but none were financially feasible for anything long-term. He didn't know or understand any of the basic concepts, although they were as simple as finding a target group.

The following year, Benjamin arrived in Zagreb and began educating Dominik, and got him together with Peter Ryding, the owner of an online coaching platform that offers access to business coaches. "After all these conversations and all this education, and even attending Ben's wedding in 2017, which lasted nine days, I realised that I have to move more and be stronger. People from 36 countries attended the wedding, most of them businessmen," says Dominik, who at the end of 2017 went to a meeting at the Experta college.

He was greeted by the director, Ropuš, who listened to his story and told him that he needed three programmes: project management, digital marketing, and PR. "It sounded good until I heard the price. Then something in me died, and I thought: what am I doing here?!” says Dominik with his hands in pockets and his gaze fixated on the pebble he was gently rolling with his sneaker on the floor. "However, I received a huge discount, and he told me that my schooling would start tomorrow. I couldn't believe it." 

© Amazing Zagreb

He graduated from that high business academy and then had to start his business by renting out electric scooters. "But the yard was very dilapidated, and I thought I couldn't start that story in such a place and environment. I wanted to revive that yard, to bring a little love and colour to it. And so maybe something called Amazing Zagreb might begin to be seen today," says Dominik.

Two years ago, he brought together artists who were willing to come and, without compensation, thematically paint the house's facade in which he lives. "I said I didn't have the money, but I could give it back to them through PR," says Dominik, and it suddenly becomes clearer why he wants the emphasis to be on the project.

What was supposed to be just a beautifully decorated yard that would attract people to rent electric scooters became the beginning of a whole new story. At the beginning of last year, the Hendrix Bridge, the Croatian National Theatre, Cibona's Tower, Matos, the Zagreb Clock, and the Arena all sprang up. In that yard, everyone is welcome. Alternative musicians are also frequent guests, so then you have to take the guitar in your hands, whether you know how to play or not. You're expected to sing, even though you only know bits of the song. At least that's how it can be heard in the yard at 13 Kneza Mislava street. "The goal is to unite people, us little people, who could contribute to change together," says Dominik Markovic.

© Amazing Zagreb

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January 6, 2021 – Shaken by scenes from Petrinja, Sisak, Glina, and surrounding places affected by the earthquake, the organizers of the traditional holiday costume race Zagreb Advent Run organized a humanitarian action called "ZAR runs for Petrinja."

As part of the action, they call on all runners and other interested citizens to run the desired section anywhere in Croatia by January 10, 2021 and support the victims of the earthquake-affected areas with a paid donation.

Registrations are available on their website, and the organizers will donate all the money to help the victims in Sisak-Moslavina County.

To help all victims and reduce their pain and sorrow, the Zagreb Advent Run organizers, Millenium Promotion and Run Croatia, invite all citizens to contribute and show a big racing heart.

"Surprised by the unpleasant event that hit Petrinja and the surrounding areas, we immediately devised a way to get involved. We sympathize with all the victims, and by organizing the humanitarian run named 'ZAR runs for Petrinja,' we decided to act and show a big racing heart. We will donate all the funds raised in this action to help Petrinja and the surrounding places, and as a sign of gratitude to all runners, we will send a special ZAR digital thank you note," said the organizers.

They also invite all participants to share their photos and videos of the run on social networks with the hashtag #ZARtrčizaPetrinju.

To ensure that the funds get into the right hands, the organizers will pay the donations to a specially opened account in the State Treasury for this action. When the humanitarian action ends, the organizers will publicly announce the total amount of funds raised.

Donations can be paid to the following data:

Recipient: Državni proračun Republike Hrvatske/State Budget of the Republic of Croatia

Invoice for payment: HR1210010051863000160 I

Model: HR 68

Reference to recipient number: 5444-OIB-1

For payments from abroad - SWIFT: NBHRHR2XXXX

Source: Večernji.hr

For more on the Petrinja earthquake and to see how you can donate money, food, humanitarian, sanitary, and material aid, follow our dedicated section.

January 6, 2021 - After the ladies took on Sljeme on Sunday, a total of 55 male skiers competed in the first run of the Snow Queen Trophy in Zagreb on Wednesday.

The first slalom started at 12:15. The Croatia ski team has four representatives on Sljeme this year - Filip Zubčić, Istok Rodeš, Matej Vidović, and Samuel Kolega.

Croatia's best hope for a good result on Sljeme was in Filip Zubčić, currently eighth in the overall World Cup standings. He reached that spot by winning first and third place in Santa Caterina and 10th in Alta Badia in three giant slaloms. In the slalom this season, his best result is 20th place from Madonna di Campiglio.

Zubčić achieved his best slalom result in his career on Sljeme. He was 15th in 2015, and the victory went to Austrian Marcel Hirscher.

Hirscher has the most victories on Sljeme and was even proclaimed king of Sljeme five times. Last season, Frenchman Clement Noël won the competition. This season, the biggest favorite is the Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen, the leader in the overall slalom standings after two races. In Alta Badia, Swiss skier Ramon Zenhäusern celebrated, and in Madonna di Campiglio, it was Kristoffersen.

Kristoffersen was the first to start in today's race, while Croatian skiers Filip Zubčić started at number 16, Istok Rodeš at 33, Matej Vidović at 52, and Samuel Kolega at 53.

And what a great first run it was for Croatian skiers. 

Namely, Zubčić had the 10th best time and is 49 hundredths of a second behind a place on the podium!

The great performance of Rodeš gave him a high 18th place, while Samuel Kolega also qualified for the second run in 30th.

Finally, Matej Vidović, Croatia's final skier in the first run, also qualified for the second run with the 21st best time! This is a historic day for Croatian skiing, as all four Croatian representatives will perform in the second run for the first time! 

In the second run, which was scheduled for 15:30, three Croatian skiers achieved the result of their career in slalom - Zubčić finished fifth, Vidović 12th, and Kolega 15th place. Rodeš finished in 23rd place.

Source: Index.hr

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ZAGREB, 6 January, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has said on Wednesday that the extent of the damage caused by the 29 December earthquake is bigger than it seemed immediately after the disaster.

Plenkovic, who gave an interview on Tuesday evening after he again visited the quake-stricken towns of Sisak, Glina, Petrinja and their environs, said that the extent of the damage made by the magnitude 6.2 tremor had been bigger than it seemed immediately after it had happened.

He also said that it was unrealistic to expect things to get shipshape in Sisak-Moslavina County within a few days after such an earthquake, thus dismissing claims about a lack of coordination of efforts to deal with the aftermath of the quake.

Plenkovic also praised the Croatian people for showing solidarity with Sisak County's inhabitants and for the full engagement of all services on the ground.

Medved: Nobody will be left alone

The head of the task force to deal with the aftermath of the December 29 earthquake, Minister Tomo Medved, told the Croatian Radio on Wednesday that nobody would be left alone in the quake-hit area. He called on the people in the affected area to have patience and trust in the institutions of Croatia.

Our services will visit all the families in the area and we are seeking solutions for their accommodation, Medved said reassuring them that the authorities were redoubled efforts to expedite the provision of container homes.

Croatian Mountain Rescue Service (HGSS) head Josip Granic said the service had stepped up its activities in the region due to the inclement winter conditions.

He said that the situation was stabilising lately.

ZAGREB, 6 January (Hina) - A consequence of the 29 December quake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale was also the shifting of the city of Sisak eastward by about 10 centimetres, and Petrinja shifted between 15 and 20 centimetres eastward, Jutarnji List reported on Wednesday.

Mapping prepared on the basis of satelite images provided by the European Space Agency show that the devastating quake caused shifts of soil with an amplitude of up to 70 centimetres. The biggest shift was registered in the forest area near the settlements of Slana, Glinska Poljana and Gora, says Jutarnji.

Researcher Marin Govorcin, a professor of the Zagreb-based Faculty of Geodesy, was quoted as saying that Sisak has shifted with less intensity than Petrinja.

"Preliminary, Sisak shifted by 10 centimetres and Petrinja between 15 and 20 centimetres," he said.

A team of researchers is now in the region hit by the quake and they have not yet detected any first-tier effects such as surface ruptures on the fault line.

Seismology expert Josip Stipcevic was quoted as saying that if they find any surface rupture this could help them to assess where the fault line is and other features of the fault-line concerned.

The newspaper recalls that the earthquake occurred in a fault-line in the direction from northwest to southeast and passing through the Pokuplje region near Petrinja and Glina and that fault-line is between two different tectonic blocks: Dinarides and Pannonian basin.

For more on the Petrinja earthquake and to see how you can donate money, food, humanitarian, sanitary, and material aid, follow our dedicated section.