The Balthazargrad Baths open on July the 18th as part of the Rijeka 2020 programme which was greatly enfeebled by the coronavirus pandemic on the popular Grčevo (Šestica, Pajol) beach in Pećine.

As Morski writes on the 17th of July, 2020, this is one of ten installations that are being opened in various places along the coast in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County as part of the Lungomare Art programme, under the supervision of curator Michal Kolecek. The Balthazargrad Baths will open in cooperation with the Children's House programme, and the opening is an integral part of the Toboggan Children's Festival, which is currently underway.

Students of the Academy of Applied Arts in Rijeka, Antonela Brenko, Klara Dujmović, Katarina Kožul and Gea Rajić, under the mentorship of artist and professor Igor Eškinja, designed and created works of art that will adorn the area of ​​Grčevo beach, all within the spatial practice course established precisely for this opportunity and funded through the Rijeka 2020 European Capital of Culture project.

The young artists were inspired by the theme of Professor Balthazar, and as such, their works invite both interaction and play. Grčevo beach, which is known for being not only a popular place for swimming, but is also used as a gathering place, a forum for discussions and cultural events, is now becoming the official city beach of ''Balthazargrad''.

The opening programme includes a musical performance by Marin Alvir from the band "Marinada" and the Kastav painter Saša Jantolek, the authors of the "Barbajol" picture book, which will be presented on the beach with a concert and illustrations.

The band "Marinada" will perform songs from the picture book itself, so the audience will be able to hear how their vision of children's music sounds in reality.

The protocol part of the opening of the swimming pool will follow at 19:30, followed by a concert by the aforementioned band at 20:30, which will present a repertoire of songs from the band's career, which has lasted for seventeen years and is adorned with musical experimentation.

The Academy of Applied Arts in Rijeka is the main partner of Rijeka 2020 in the Balthazargrad Baths project.

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As Morski writes on the 18th of July, 2020, the first competition evening of the 54th Dalmatian Klapa Festival in Omis for this year, given the name the Evening of New Compositions, was held on Friday, July the 17th, at Stjepan Radic Square in Omis.

At the very beginning of this year's Dalmatian Klapa Festival, with the sounds of the song Na omiskoj stini (On the rocks of Omis), the official anthem of Omis, the Dalmatian Klapa Festival flag was raised by Bozo Mimica - Điran, a longtime member of the Festival Council. The Mayor of the City of Omis officially declared the 54th Omis Dalmatian Klapa Festival open.

Eleven Dalmatian klapa bands performed twelve new compositions and the winners were decided by a jury consisting of Rajmir Kraljevic, Mirjana Siriscevic, Ivana Tomic Feric, Blazenko Juracic and Marijo Krnic. The well known Klapa Kase from Dubrovnik had the most reason to rejoice, winning the award for the best performance of the popular song Spanjola. The same composition was declared the most successful and its authors, composer Vicko Dragojevic and lyricist Vedran Bonacic, won the prestigious Golden Plaque.

The second prize went to the composer Zivko Kljuca, who composed the song U oni dan based on the text by Ruzana Kovac. The song was performed by Klapa Vincace from Novi Vinodolski. The third prize was shared by the song Dozivju nas glasi, the music and lyrics of which were written by Roko Radovan. The song was performed by Klapa Korda from Lumbarda. The composition Ne umiru kapetani/Captains don't die, which was written by Vinko Didovic, with lyrics by Pjero Miric, was performed by the local klapa band Klapa Oneum.

The lyricist Pjero Miric is also the winner of the Drago Ivanisevic plaque for the best text. Due to the small number of spectators owing to the proper observance of the current epidemiological measures in force across Croatia as we battle the coronavirus pandemic, the award for the most successful composition according to the votes of the audience wasn't awarded. The programme was hosted by Edita Lucic Jelic.

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Finance Minister Zdravko Maric has no doubt been plagued with questions about much needed reforms over the last few years, and even more so as Croatia prepares to eventually adopt the euro as its official currency and as such become a full Eurozone member. But, when will those reforms actually happen?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 18th of July, 2020, the Minister of Finance, Zdravko Maric, revealed that the reform priorities of this new Government headed by Andrej Plenkovic will involve the reform of the administration, as well as the reform of healthcare, for which, as Zdravko Maric says, the financial situation is unsustainable in its current form.

For the last weekend of July, Minister Zdravko Maric announced the first systematic write-off of tax debts, Jutarnji list reports.

"On Monday, we'll receive the data from Croatia's taxpayers for June. More than 90,000 taxpayers have asked for a tax deferral, so, we'll have a look at the numbers. If you have a drop in income of more than 50 percent in April, May, and June compared to the same period last year, you'll have the option to write off part or all of your tax liabilities either in full or in part. Anyone who has had a 20-50 percent drop will have the option of partial installment payments.

Over the last weekend of July, we're going to conduct the first systemic debt write-off. Of the 90,000 taxpayers who sought a deferral (excluding data for June), about 7,000 of them had a drop of less than 20 percent and as such, they were disqualified for a new deferral. They have already received it and the Tax Administration, as they say, will not immediately be on their backs over that. Such people will have the option of installment payments according to the criteria that existed before the coronavirus pandemic hit,'' Zdravko Maric explained to Jutarnji list.

For more on Croatian reforms, follow our politics section.

July 19, 2020 - In the corona era, an increasing number of Croatian renters are choosing to advertise their holiday rentals in Facebook groups and on Viber, avoiding intermediaries and various agency fees. 

Zadarski.hr reports that vacant holiday apartments are abundant along the Adriatic, and because discounting accommodation prices is inevitable, Croatian renters are trying to reduce their costs by advertising for free on Facebook.

And in an effort to save every euro, holidaymakers are also searching for the best possible prices via social media, hoping to book directly from the renter, as it is the most cost-effective, for both the guest and the apartment owner, without intermediary commissions.

Facebook group 'Apartmani, sobe... Hrvatska (iznajmljivanje)' has almost 120,000 members and serves exclusively to offer or demand accommodation. It is one of the most active on Facebook at the moment, with, for example, the group 'Apartmani 2020. Tražim/Nudim', which has more than 74,000 members.

Both offer a handful of available apartments and are viewed mostly by local guests or those posting their accommodation. The group Croatia apartments - Kroatien Ferienwohnungen has more than 40,000 members, with advertisements in English or German, and commenting on prices is punishable by removal from the group. Advertising of other Facebook groups and promoting anything unrelated to renting/booking accommodation in Croatia is not tolerated, while advertising of travel agencies is also prohibited.

Facebook group 'Apartmani Hrvatska – Apartmaji, FeWo, Vacation rentals, Case vacanze' combines free ads "for all who rent, book, buy or sell apartments, rooms and other types of accommodation", and has been joined by more than 14,000 members.

There are countless search options on Facebook, the most widespread free tool for contacting renters. However, a group has also been opened on Viber that allows you to search for the most affordable holiday options and last minute offers on the Adriatic coast.

In the Viber group 'Croatia Last Minute Deals', you can find information about last-minute prices of individual accommodation, get in touch directly with the renters and bypass the commissions of intermediaries. The group has gathered more than 2,000 members in a few days, and is backed by well-known communication expert and PR strategist Kresimir Macan and Paul Bradbury of Total Croatia News.

"Paul and I went to the Slovenian border on May 17 to see who could enter Croatia, because there was a lot of misinformation, after which we launched a Croatia travel update so that foreigners could be informed promptly, with valid information before arriving in Croatia. Since May 17, Croatia Travel Update has been opened more than 100,000 times, so we then opened the community koronavirus.hr, which at one time had more than half a million people. We then opened Croatia Last Minute Deals on Viber in an hour at my office. We do all this without money, voluntarily. We are doing it to save the season and we feel like we’re doing something good. The two of us work the most and we have two interns helping us. And why are Viber communities simple? Everyone has Viber and everyone knows how to send messages... We even have stickers. We were contacted by a woman who filled all of her apartments in this way. Here, we are fulfilling the promise of HDZ that it will create a platform for people to rent without a commission," Macan said with a smile.

In the Viber community 'Croatia Last Minute Deals', Macan notes that anyone can enter and leave the group whenever they want. And it is continuously growing. 

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

July 19, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb and Rijeka airports. 

Croatian Aviation reports that Emirates, a renowned Dubai-based airline, has canceled all flights on the Dubai-Zagreb route for this year.

Before the outbreak of the pandemic, Emirates planned to launch its seasonal route from Dubai to Zagreb with the first day of the summer flight schedule, at the end of March this year. For obvious reasons, this did not happen, and the start of the line was delayed several times. The last plan was to launch the line in September this year.

As this is a seasonal line (it operates only in the summer flight schedule, until the end of October), it was to be assumed that Emirates will not come to Zagreb this year, which has now been confirmed.

Namely, the company canceled all flights on the said route, withdrew sales on all dates, and currently offers flights from Zagreb only in the summer flight schedule in 2021.

Emirates connected Zagreb with Dubai daily, using a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, which was also the largest wide-body passenger aircraft at Zagreb Airport. With the complete withdrawal of Emirates from this line for this year, Zagreb was left without wide-body aircraft. Recall that Korean Air, Air Canada Rouge and Air Transat also canceled flights to Zagreb and used wide-body aircraft to operate them.

In the winter flight schedule on the Dubai - Zagreb line, FlyDubai should return with a B737-800 aircraft, but this will depend on epidemiological measures and travel restrictions.

Emirates canceling this line is another significant blow to Zagreb Airport traffic. 

Croatian Aviation also announced that Croatia Airlines will still launch a direct line between Munich and Rijeka, according to Rijeka Airport. 

Although Croatia Airlines previously closed sales on this route and has not operated on it since the beginning of the pandemic, the company has now released tickets on the direct route between Rijeka and Munich.

The Munich - Rijeka line will operate twice a week, every Thursday and Sunday, on a DashQ400 aircraft, from August 6 to September 27 this year.

This is certainly good news for Rijeka Airport, but it is a smaller number of weekly flights (previously operated on Tuesdays), and given that the route has been announced until the end of September, there is a possibility that it will not operate in the winter schedule, which has been the case so far.

As before, the aircraft will first operate the Split - Munich flight, then Munich - Rijeka - Munich, and then the return flight Munich - Split. The flight schedule remained the same, with the morning departure from Munich to Rijeka, while the return flight to Munich was scheduled shortly after noon from Rijeka Airport.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

July 19, 2020 - In the first game of the Croatian Championship finals, which took place in Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik water polo club Jug defeated Zagreb's Mladost with a better performance in the penalty shootout for a score of 18-16 (5-2, 4-4, 3-4, 1-3 - 5-3) to lead the series 1:0.

HRT reports that Mladost did not have the strength to beat Jug twice in Dubrovnik in just four days after they celebrated to win the Adriatic Regional League title on Wednesday. The Dubrovnik team started the match much better and were up by three points at half time. Mladost was also left without their best player, Milos Cuk, due to a penalty. However, the Zagreb club proved to be more physically prepared again, gained an advantage, and scored five points before the end of the match with a goal by American player Alex Bowen.

In the penalty shootout, all five players of Jug hit the net, while Jug goalkeeper Popadic defended Luka Bukic's shot.

Hrvoje Benic scored five goals for Jug, while Luka Bukic, Konstantin Harkov and Alex Bowen scored three goals each for Mladost.

The finals feature the only two clubs with a double-digit number of Croatian championships won - Jug has 15 titles, and Mladost 10.

The second match will be played in Zagreb, on July 22, starting at 6:45 PM, and the third match will be in Dubrovnik on July 25 (8:15 PM). Possible fourth and fifth matches will be played in Zagreb on July 29 and Dubrovnik on August 2.

Jadran Split and Solaris Sibenik met for the first game in the series for 3rd place on Saturday night at the outdoor Zvoncac pool in Split. The Split club defeated Solaris 13:9. The two clubs will meet for the second match on Monday, July 20, 2020, in Sibenik. 

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

July 23, 2020 - Continuing our look at the real estate opportunities in Dalmatia through the portfolio of Trgostan, this week a delightful 2-bed old stone house in idyllic Jelsa. 

An island stone holiday home is the dream of many, and it was the most sought-after property when I had my real estate business on Hvar some 15 years ago. 

And while I may have given up my real estate career, the sale of authentic stone houses in Croatia continues, including the latest Property of the Week from Trgostan, in Jelsa on the island of Hvar, which Trgostan describe thus:

A three-storey stone house in Jelsa on the island of Hvar, built over 100 years ago, fully reconstructed in 2001, 70m2 internal space, consisting of:

• ground floor: old "konoba" rearranged into a kitchen with dining area with refreshing atmosphere during summer since it's partly under the ground, but with enough light, bathroom and small terrace;
• 1st floor: bedroom with two windows, storage area and bathroom;
• 2nd floor (attic): indoor stairs, spacious room with two windows;
• The ground floor is connected to the upper two floors by outdoor stairs only. The house doesn't have it's own parking, but a public one is very close to it.

For more information and to book a viewing, visit the original Trgostan listing. 

July 19, 2020 - Harvesting lavender on top of Hvar, what can be more magical than that? A visit to the aromatic fields of Jadran Lazic. 

It has been one of my favourite summer activities for the last 7 summers, and I have not missed a single harvest. 

They used to start with a 4 am wakeup call and an early descent to the top of Croatia's premier island and straight to work before the heat became too fierce. These days, harvest lavender in the fields of Jadran Lazic takes place in the late afternoon. 

Back in 2013, I accompanied Jadran on his first harvest, which consisted of one expert harvester cutting the precious lavender bushes, while Jadran used his photography expertise to record the event. It was just the three of us, the bushes were small, and we were finished within the hour. 

The bushes grew, and so did the team of pickers. A grill for the workers was added to the schedule, and it became a great social event, as well as one of the most enjoyable authentic experiences of my time in Dalmatia. 

Especially when the workers spontaneously started singing their traditional songs while working in the fields. Listen to these guys above. 

Jadran brought some of his celebrity friends from LA, all amazed at the tranquil, authentic way of life he enjoys on Hvar away from the much higher-profile life in LA. 

Here is Jadran, interviewed by me last year, telling us how his project got started, before demonstrating how to cut lavender. 

Sadly this year, after 7 faithful years of attendance, I was unable to make it to Hvar, but I will be there next year for sure. 

My presence was clearly not missed, and the happy team from all over the world worked hard to cut the raw materials to produce 3 precious litres of lavender oil. 

Jadran uses this oil daily back in the States to remind himself of Dalmatia. Always a Split boy at heart, he puts a drop on his pillow each night before bed to remind him of his beloved Dalmatia, and he sleeps like a baby.  

Check out some of the photos of this year's harvest below, as well as a video overview of the whole experience a couple of years ago.