January 20, 2021 – A white blanket of snow covered many Croatian destinations, including one of the most popular excursion sites – Japetic, the highest peak of Samobor Hills. At this time of year, Japetic offers a beautiful view of the Alps, and photographer Josip Škof captured these unforgettable snow scenes last weekend.

At 879 meters above sea level, Japetić, the highest peak of Samobor Hills, is a favorite Croatian destination for picnickers and hikers. Due to its preserved natural beauties, Japetić has been declared a reserve of forest vegetation.

On one of the trails, not far from the top, a lookout tower was built in 1889, when the Eiffel Tower was also built. The iron pyramid-lookout is 12 meters high and is under the protection of the Ministry of Culture. Until 1960, it was at the top of Medvednica mountain, but it was moved after the construction of the television tower on Sljeme.

A little above the lookout at the top of a steep meadow is the famous mountain lodge Žitnica, from whose terrace you will also find a beautiful open view of the surrounding Pokuplje hills area in the distance.

Popular Japetić lookout offers a view of the nearby peaks of Sljeme, Oštrc, Okić, Klek, Plešivica, Sv Gera, and even Bjelolasica, Risnjak. In clear weather like these days, especially in winter, even the Alps can be seen.

Last snowy weekend, while some people visited destinations such as Plitvice Lakes and ski resorts in Gorski Kotar and Lika, photographer Josip Škof stayed in Zagreb County, capturing the snow-capped Alps from the winter-bound Japetić.

And he was not the only one because Japetić is one of the most exciting lookouts in Zagreb's vicinity, only half an hour drive away. It is an unavoidable destination for visitors during the winter because of the snow that covers the old beech forest, creating a winter idyll, but also because of the unforgettable view of nearby peaks.

"I can't find the words to describe the scenes that were created in front of me. Luckily, I brought my camera, so I can most faithfully show you what views I enjoyed this weekend. I also chose the right day, and my view reached as far as Triglav peak, about 150 kilometers away. A little closer, approximately 120 kilometers, the Kamnik Alps were in the palm of my hand," said Škof in his Facebook post, telling us to enjoy the beautiful photos of his beloved native Zagreb County.

Although Alpine ski resorts are inaccessible to us this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, it is almost unbelievable that we still have the opportunity to see Alpine peaks from the Zagreb neighborhood. Marked hiking trails from Ivančići and a good road over Draga Svetojanska lead to Japetić.

The ascent to Japetić is not overly demanding, and the scenes of winter idyll are worth experiencing. Josip Škof's photo gallery is calling us to take the opportunity and go to one of Croatia's most interesting lookouts, only thirty minutes away from the Croatian capital of Zagreb.

All photos: Zagreb County Tourist Board / Josip Škof

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The second race and the first slalom of the new season of alpine ski World Cup was held today in Finnish Levi.

And after a few seasons in which Croatian skiers weren't able to show their talents, today three out of five of the Croatian skiers managed to get into the second run, and in the end, all three of them secured the top-20 position! Henrik Kristoffersen won today (his first win in almost two years), while Istok Rodeš was 14th, Filip Zubčić 16th and Elias Kolega 19th.

Kolega performed the best out of the group in the first run, securing the 10th position before the second run, but his second run was not at such a high level which brought him down to the 19th position. Istok Rodeš was 12th in the first run, but it was Filip Zubčić who can be said to have accomplished a miracle today: his starting number was 70, and with such a high number he barely got into the second run (he was 29th in the first). Then, in the second run, his time was the third-best time of the run (!), which secured him the 16th place overall.

The other two Croatian skiers today on the starting list were Matej Vidović, who was not able to qualify for the second run and Samuel Kolega who did not finish the first run. Frenchman Clement Noel took the second spot today, and Daniel Yule of Switzerland was the third.

As is customary, after the opening weekend in Finland, the Alpine Ski World Cup now moves to the American continent, where Lake Louise will host two fast races next weekend, a downhill and a Super-G. The next slalom race, which we're looking forward to the most, will happen after the skiers have returned to Europe, in Val d'Isere in mid-December.

Two young Croatian Slalom skiers are satisfied with their performance at the 2018 Winter Olympics: “We are really young for skiing.”