Lifestyle

oNovember 30, 2022 - A delightful evening of art, music and culture in Zagreb on Saturday, as academic sculptor Pero Jelisic held a private exhibition of his work  One of the many joys of living in Croatia is that every day is different, and there is often a surprise around every corner.  The plan for last Saturday evening was relatively simple - the long-awaited opening of Advent in Zagreb, once more restored to its pre-pandemic glory. There was palpable excitement from the little ones. A friend suggested I make an appearance at a private event he was attending. And so…

November the 28th, 2022 - Have you ever heard of any Balkan-Romance languages other than Romanian? Unless you happen to be a linguist, the term is probably somewhat alien to you, especially given the fact that the languages spoken across much of the region (but not all of it) are Slavic. Let's get better acquainted with the sparsely spoken Istro-Romanian language. We've explored many of the dialects, subdialects and indeed languages in their own right as some linguists consider them to be which are spoken across modern Croatia. From the Dubrovnik subdialect (Ragusan) in the extreme south of Dalmatia to…

November 27, 2022 - On Friday the 25th of November, I had the pleasure of attending the concert of the year and enjoy the legendary conductor Andre Rieu's performance with his Johann Strauss orchestra. The concert took place in Arena Zagreb, which was completely sold out for this event. The performance in Zagreb was part of the Andre Rieu 2022 World Tour, which included concerts in South America and all over Europe. Andre Rieu and the orchestra This 73-year-old Dutch King of the Waltz is best known for his performances with the Vienna Philharmonic Crchestra for their New Year concerts.…

November the 27th, 2022 - As we head towards the final month in which the kuna will remain the country's official currency, many Croatian exchange offices are counting their final few weeks of business operations. Many will close their doors forever as of January 2023. As epodravina/Sonja Badalic writes, as of the first day of 2023, the kuna will be sent to the history books with so many of the other pre-euro currencies which were once legal tender in the Eurozone. Euros will then take their place in our wallets, bank acounts, and of course - in our sock drawers. The…

November 24, 2022 - Last week's hearing in the ongoing lawsuits against TCN CEO Paul Bradbury from the Croatian National Tourist Board included two witness cross-examinations. One shared his thoughts about the experience on LinkedIn.   The first comment I saw on a thread about the trial from Zoran Pejovic was 'Kafkaesque.' Zoran and I have known each other for a decade and he is what I consider to be one of the true tourism visionaries in this country, particularly in the luxury tourism sector. It was no surprise that he also appeared in the article in the Croatian media which…

November 25, 2022 - The largest fair of local products in eastern Croatia is held on the Karanac fairground alongside the traditional Cvarakfest. We are yet to find a more Slavonian event. As SiB writes, like every year, the fattest and tastiest festival in the region awaits on the last Saturday in November. A festival dedicated solely to no less than the truffles of Baranja – cvarci! The Karanac winter fair is an event that offers the products of almost 80 local producers, mainly from the OPGs of Slavonia and Baranja. Here you can make sure you stock up your…

Novmeber 23, 2022 - The full transcript of last week's court case between the Croatian National Tourist Board and TCN CEO Paul Bradbury. There is a small, but growing trend in my LinkedIn inbox - messages from lawyers, international lawyers. No, I am not in trouble again, but it seems that my ongoing lawsuits with the Croatian National Tourist Board, which I am documenting in Diary of a Croatian Lawsuit, are being followed by international legal entities, who are finding the whole process rather fascinating.  Here is one such email from a couple of days ago: Hello. As a lawyer…

November 21, 2022 - The average monthly gross salary per employee for the third quarter of 2022 was HRK 10,741 for men and HRK 9,931 for women, meaning that the average net monthly wage for women in Croatia came five hundred kunas short of that paid to men. The gender pay gap in Croatia in 2022 as presented by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics. As Danas.hr writes, the Croatian Bureau of Statistics has published the average monthly net and gross salaries of employees by gender for the year 2022. As reported by the Bureau, the average monthly paid net salary per…

November the 21st, 2022 - Delving further into the intricacies of the Croatian language, and veering away from standard Croatian as we know it today, let's look at another lesser spoken tongue - Istro-Venetian language. We've looked into the main three dialects that make up modern standard Croatian as we know it today - Shtokavian, Chakavian and Kajkavian (as well as Northwestern Kajkavian), as well as some old and almost forgotten Dalmatian words, the Dubrovnik subdialect (Ragusan), and some dialects and languages which are so sparsely spoken today that they barely exist anymore. These include the Istriot language from parts of…

November 20, 2022 - It is getting cold in Croatia, the days are long and dark, and the Slavonian soul is starting to crave the hearty food of its childhood. The recipe we’re bringing today is like a warm hug from your grandmother, with just a little dose of a heart attack. But it’s worth it. Time for pogacice sa cvarcima. This is one of those recipes that you needed to start preparing last year. It is made with one of the most exceptional ingredients you can find in Slavonia. We have no idea if there is an official name…