In the presence of the County Prefect Zlatko Komadina, the headquarters of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County hosted the signing ceremony for a contract for the drafting of the project for the construction of Učka cable car, reports Lokalni.hr on February 14, 2019.

The contract was signed by the CEO of the Učka Cable Car company Milorad Stanić, and CEO of the Dalekovod-Projekt company Davor Đurđević. Representatives of Opatija and Lovran also attended the ceremony.

“The time has come to sign this contract, which will create the preconditions for applying with the project for EU funds. I hope that the ministries will change the Competitiveness and Cohesion Operational Programme application so that that cable car projects could be submitted, which is currently not the case. What I want to say is that every dream and every idea can be realised if we have persistent people. The county has always welcomed and supported all projects that present our cultural and natural heritage,” said Komadina. “The Učka cable car is something that fits perfectly with our ideas, both in the tourist aspect and the environmental protection aspect.”

Stanić stressed the importance of the contract for the project implementation. “I am pleased that we have prepared this contract and signed it with Dalekovod – an experienced company that has fulfilled all of our requirements for this major project, especially since the project itself is technically very demanding.”

According to the planned technical characteristics and with the length of almost 4,700 metres, the Učka cable car would be the longest in Europe counting from the starting point to the final station, without any intermediate stations, with an exceptionally large distance between the first and the second pillar of up to 1.5 km, which is an extremely demanding feature.

“The 1500 metre distance will actually be a three-minute flight of future users at the height of over 100 metres, which will surely create a new tourist product and experience, which will further enable the rebranding of the whole Kvarner destination. We are confident that the cable car could become for the entire Primorje-Gorski Kotar County what is now Postojna for Slovenia or the Krka waterfalls for Šibenik-Knin County,” said Stanić.

The total value of the planning phase of the project is 2.5 million kuna. The deadline for the drafting of the plan and obtaining the building permit is 150 days, which means that the construction could be ready to be launched as early as this summer.

The Učka Cable Car company has 268 stakeholders, including two counties (Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Istria), nine local self-government units (towns of Opatija, Rijeka, Kastav, Krk and municipalities of Lovran, Matulji, Mošćenička Draga, Omišalj and Kršan), as well as 36 business entities, tourist agencies and hotels, and 220 individuals, mostly people from the Kvarner region who support the project.

Translated from Lokalni.hr.

More news about Primorje-Gorski Kotar County can be found in the Lifestyle section.

Autotrolej, the company which manages commuter buses in Rijeka, the third largest town in Croatia, has announced that it is unable to find enough bus drivers for all of its bus lines. Therefore, it changed the timetable and reduced the number of departures on the urban lines in January, and today, on Monday, it has also reduced the number of suburban services, reports Poslovni.hr on February 11, 2019.

Certain services now have fewer departures, some bus lines have been merged, while some services will start later in the morning and end earlier in the evening. Still, on the most used urban and suburban services, at the time of the day when most people are leaving or returning from work or school, the number of departures will remain the same.

Autotrolej explained that, due to an insufficient number of drivers on the labour market, it could not hire enough professional drivers and is therefore forced to change the timetable temporarily. The company pointed out that Autotrolej now has the smallest number of drivers in the last five years and that it employs 313 bus drivers, which is 29 drivers fewer than in early 2018. There is a significant shortage of professional drivers in Croatia, and in the whole of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, there is not a single unemployed driver with a D category licence, which is needed to operate buses.

Therefore, Autotrolej has published vacancy announcements in the offices of the Croatian Employment Service outside of the county as well, offering the future drivers accommodation in Rijeka.

Also, Autotrolej has initiated and funded the training of 12 unemployed C category drivers to acquire D category licences. The company has even reemployed 12 retirees.

Autotrolej operates bus lines in the towns of Rijeka, Bakar, Kastav, Kraljevica and Opatija, and in the areas of Čavle, Jelenje, Klana, Kostrena, Viškovo, Matulji and Lovran. The company is majority owned by the Town of Rijeka.

The problems which Autotrolej and many other companies in Croatia have with finding employees are mostly a consequence of the major emigration wave which has hit Croatia in recent years, especially after joining the European Union in 2013.

Translated from Poslovni.hr.

More Rijeka can be found in our special section.

February 11, 2019 - The 20th round of the Croatian First League began on February 8th with Rudeš and Osijek and ended on February 10th with Hajduk and Lokomotiva. 

After a record 2018, what should Rijeka Airport expect in 2019?

February 4, 2019 - The 19th round of the Croatian First League returned over the weekend with a big result for Hajduk Split. 

After a long winter break, the Croatian First League (HNL) returned to Croatia’s stadiums and television screens around the country. After missing our favorite Croatian clubs play in league games since the middle of December, this comeback was more than welcomed. 

The 19th round already saw derbies and upsets, like Hajduk overcoming Osijek away at City Garden Stadium, promising better beginnings for the team and fans. Could this be a Hajduk revival? 

We also saw an upset for Rijeka, who lost to former Second-League club Gorica at home. A spring season opener they might wish to forget. 

Without further ado, here is our 19th round recap for the Croatian First League, which was played from February 1 to 3, 2019. 

Lokomotiva Zagreb v. Inter Zaprešić (2:0)

To kick off the second part of the season, Lokomotiva and Inter met on Friday, February 1, 2019, at Kranjčevićeva Street Stadium. 

While the first half went without goals, the second half didn’t see the first goal of the game until the 81st minute when Uzuni scored for Lokomotiva (1:0). Twelve minutes later, two minutes into extra time, Ivanušec knocked a penalty into the back of the net to secure the Lokomotiva win. 

Lokomotiva is currently in third place on the table with 34 points while Inter is in 8th with 17. 

Dinamo Zagreb v. Rudeš (7:2)

Croatian champion Dinamo met Rudeš on Saturday, February 2, 2019, at Maksimir stadium. 

The game saw goals, and quite a few of them early on - with Hajrović (5, 9), Petković (19), and Gojak (40) scoring in the first half for Dinamo. Rudeš got in one goal by Štrkalj in the 23rd for 4:1 at the half. 

The second half started with more goals for Dinamo, as Orišić scored three times, in the 56th, 60th, and 65th. Štrkalj scored again for Rudeš, and the game ended 7:2. 

Dinamo is currently in first place with 48 points while Rudeš is in last with 3. 

Istra 1961 v. Slaven Belupo (1:1)

Istra and Slaven Belupo met at Aldo Drosina Stadium in Pula on Saturday, February 2, 2019. 

A rather quiet game that went without goals in the first half, N’Di scored for Istra first in the 64th minute, while Belupo was quick to equalize less than 10 minutes later with a goal by Krstanović for 1:1. 

Istra is currently in 9th place with 16 points, while Belupo is in 7th with 18.

Osijek v. Hajduk (0:1)

Osijek and Hajduk met for the highly anticipated derby on Sunday, February 3, 2019, at City Garden Stadium. 

The two rivals met in the pouring rain, which didn’t help any conditions on the pitch. The first half went without goals, though it was Hajduk’s Caktaš to score 4 minutes into the second half for 0:1. The Split club managed to hold onto their lead to kick off the second part of the season with a win, and high morale. 

Osijek is currently in 2nd place with 34 points, while Hajduk is in 6th with 26. 

Rijeka v. Gorica (1:3)

Rijeka and Gorica met at Rujevica to close out the 19th round on Sunday, February 3, 2019. 

While it was Rijeka’s Acosty to kick off the scoring of the game for 1:0 six minutes in, Gorica was given a penalty in the 30th to equalize (1:1). 

Gorica’s Dvorneković scored in the 57th minute to give the away team the lead, and Maloča scored in the 87th to secure Gorica’s win. 

Rijeka is currently in 4th place with 34 points while Gorica is in 5th with 30. 

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. See the Croatian First League table. 

January 31, 2019 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia with updates from Dubrovnik, Zagreb, Pula, Rijeka Zadar, and Split. 

Flights to Croatia: Volotea adds reinforcements to Croatia

Spanish low-cost carrier Volotea announced they were boosting operations on selected routes to Croatia this summer. Reinforcements have been announced to all four airports in Croatia where Volotea operates, AvioRadar reports. 

For starters, the airline has extended the seasonal line between Dubrovnik and Bari, which will now run two weeks earlier and five weeks later - from June 5 to October 2. On the new service between Dubrovnik and Lyon, Volotea has launched a second weekly flight, which will take off on Saturdays. On the Dubrovnik-Nantes service, the third weekly flight will run on Mondays instead of Tuesdays as it did last year. 

Volotea has also significantly extended their season on the Pula-Nantes line, which will run seven weeks earlier and five weeks later, from April 10 to October 30. This year’s new service between Pula and Bordeaux will operate five weeks into the post-season, from June 5 to October 2, as will the new service between Rijeka and Marseille. 

On the line between Split and Marseille, the third weekly flight will run on Tuesdays in the heart of the peak season. Last year’s new service between Split and Nice will see another weekly trip on Wednesdays. And last but not least, the seasonal service between Split and Palermo will be significantly extended, and operate a month earlier and later than usual - from April 10 to October 30. 

Flights to Croatia: Iberia moves focus to Croatia 

The national carrier of Spain will increase capacity to Croatia by 44.6% this summer - and better yet, this is the first year the airline continued flights from Madrid to Zagreb and Dubrovnik over winter, EX-YU Aviation News reports.

"Currently, both destinations are offered twice a week from Madrid, though we will increase our services to both cities during the summer season. On the route from Madrid to Dubrovnik we will offer two additional flights a week in April, May, June, September and October 2019 compared to last year,” the airline said for EX-YU Aviation News.

Thus, Iberia will operate thirteen flights a week to Zagreb. They will also fly from Madrid to Split in July and August five times a week. 

"Most of our passengers fly point to point, but we also have connecting traffic. Among the cities that feed more passengers to our flights from/to Dubrovnik, Split and Zagreb last year were New York, Lisbon, Bilbao, Porto, Chicago, Boston and Miami,” Iberia added. The airline also saw passenger a 105% passenger increase on services to and from Croatia in 2018. 

Madrid and Zadar will even be connected two times a week this summer,  from July 2 to August 31. 

"These new additions to our program will reinforce our presence in Croatia, not only for point-to-point flights but for long haul connections as well," Iberia concluded for EX-YU Aviation News. 

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

As we reported several days ago, an unusual internet search was started on Reddit, where one user posted in the r/Croatia subreddit, hoping to find their mother's best friend, someone the mother remembered only as Blaženka from Rijeka.

When we wrote the first story, there were already some hints on Twitter that people who knew this misterious "Blaženka from Rijeka", recognized her wanted to help, and now we're happy to report that it's exactly what happened. Alenka Juričić writes for Rijeka's daily Novi list how a friend of Blaženka's recognized her from an old photo posted on Reddit (and published in Novi list), told her that her old friend from the United States was looking for her and they were able to get in touch!

Blaženka works at a newsstand in Opatija these days (which sort of raises the question of why she didn't see her own childhood photo in the printed edition of Novi list, but that's splitting hairs) and was happy to hear from her old friend Verica, who moved to the States as a teenager, to stay with her mom who had moved there some time before she did.

Blaženka says she never forgot her childhood best friend, and that she was extremely happy to have been given a chance to renew the friendship. Now that the two friends have spoken over the telephone for the first time in decades, they've agreed that Verica will visit Rijeka and Blaženka as soon as possible!

So, let's never again hear about how the internet just alienates people. There are so many moving stories with a happy end, just like this one. 

It's Carnival time and quite fittingly we welcome a native Brazilian to the ever-growing team of TCN authors. Debora was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro and now lives in Split. She has visited 5 continents, more than 30 countries and now calls Croatia home. Debora shares with us her impressions of the Rijeka Carnival versus the famous Rio Carnival. Welcome #124, if you would like to write for TCN, you can email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Rio de Janeiro, land of one of the biggest celebrations in the world, and Rijeka, the main seaport city in Croatia: how does the Rijeka Carnival compare to its famous Rio counterpart?  Oh, Carnival! Such a magical period of the year, when we all wait anxiously to spend time on the beach wearing flip flops, multi-coloured bikinis and light clothes. The kids are on vacation, playing around on the streets with friends and neighbours, parents are also on vacation, preparing for travelling to the seaside and enjoy some time off as well.

Ok, this is exactly how Carnival in Rio looks like, the city that holds the best Carnival in the world, a reference for music and culture. For 5 to 7 days, giant parades and colourful costumes enchant tourist and local people, who never get tired of singing the rehearsed songs all day long, eagerly waiting to see their samba parties fill up the Sambodromo Avenue with energy and a lot of joy.

Credit: Wikimedia, Sambodromo Avenue

However, this is not how I will be celebrating as I am not back home in Brazil, I am now living in Croatia. Ironically, Rio and Rijeka both mean "river" and the comparisons don't stop there, the Rijeka Carnival was once considered the third largest Carnival in the world and while they are worlds apart, it seems there are more similarites to consider... if you take a closer look.

Where to begin talking about the Rijeka Carnival versus the Rio Carnival?

Carnival in Rio started in the 1920s, with the first samba schools competing with each other in 1933. But before that, Carnaval (as the original name is spelt) was basically a food festival, as the word derives from carne vale (farewell to the meat), and until today, it is celebrated 40 days before Lent.

The rhythm and music style adopted during Carnival was originally brought from the African slaves who inhabited the poorest areas in Rio, the slums or “favelas”, and it was a way of the less favoured classes to rebel and protest against the injustices and misery faced at that time. However, this idea smoothly changed, as the upper-classes saw in Carnival, a great opportunity to make money. And that is when the samba schools and parades were organized. Nowadays, there are about 30 samba schools belonging to the main group and hundreds of other schools who also participate in the samba parades during Carnival. 

And the history of Carnival in Rijeka? In terms of the calendar, it follows exactly the same period as in Rio, although the celebrations and festivities around the city may start at the end of January. Just like the beginning of Carnival traditions in Rio, the parades and parties were exclusively directed to and organized by the aristocracy (Austrian, Hungarian, German and Russian aristocrats, princes and barons of the European society).    

However, this scenario started to change in 1982, with the presence of three groups on the parades. Things again changed in 2001, with almost 140 different groups and 150.000 visitors. Nowadays, there is a huge Carnival charity ball attended by important politicians, media people and well-known representatives of Croatian society, held in the Governor’s Palace located in Rijeka. As a symbolic opening of the Carnival period, the key of the city is given to the “maestro” Toni, as it means that he will be responsible for taking care of the city during the festival time, a Carnival queen is elected and the festivities start.

Croatians also found a way to ‘rebel against the system’ as the end of the festival is signalled by the burning of the ‘Pust’ – a puppet, often named after a politician. The Pust is blamed for all of the bad things that occurred the previous year, it is read a list of charges and afterwards is burned at sea! In Rio, they do the same, except he is called "Judas", he is also normally a political figure who is blamed for everything, attached to a lampost, hit, and then burned.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Rijeka Carnival versus Rio: is the weather a factor?

Well, if I say no, it is a lie. So, yes, it has a big influence when it comes to these two carnival scenes. When I first came here in Croatia to spend Carnival, I thought that because of the cold weather in February and March, Carnival would maybe take place in summertime, as it is in Brazil. But of course, I was wrong to think like that (my Brazilian brain wishing to celebrate it on the beach).

Between January and March, with the cooler days and nights (between 6 and 10°C compared to Brazil with average temperatures between 25 and 32 degrees). I mean, this is the average temperature in the south of Brazil. Now, if we compare Rijeka and Rio during Carnival time, they are really two extremes, as Rio reaches 40 degrees almost every day during summer. It is unbelievable but oh, how I miss this!

In fact, I could live here in Croatia for 20 years and never get used to it. For a girl from Niteroi, 15 degrees is cold enough, plus here there are tons of sorts od winds: bura, jugo, maestral, tramontana…call it what you like, but I would just call them “cold and windy winter days”. So, it seems kind of weird or impossible to dress up in scanty costumes, like the “samba mulatas” and “samba passistas”. In Rio, performers eagerly await the whole year for this glorious moment – to cross the Sambodromo Avenue and be seen by millions of people around the world. Bearing this in mind, in Rijeka, I have still witnessed a few brave girls who pay no heed to the cold weather in order to show their best spectacle and dance samba wearing original costumes. I personally couldn’t do it, but svaka čast (well done) to them.

credit: Mario Romulic, with blue skies and outfits like these, you would be forgiven for not realising this was the Rijeka Carnival in the middle of winter!

How many people visit the Rijeka Carnival versus Rio Carnival?

When it comes to numbers in attendance, it is unfair to compare the Rijeka Carnival to the Rio Carnival; Rio has visitor numbers of around 2 million people on the streets every day in attendance, comparatively Rijeka has up to 10.000 for the main parade and around 100,000 visitors in total. But, considering the city of Rio has a population of 6.3 million (more than the entire population of Croatia), compared to Rijeka’s humble 120,000 it is definitely not a bad effort. Especially when you take into account that the weather is cooler and Carnival occurs outside of the summer and tourist season. To tell you more, in 2018 the Rijeka Carnival won ‘Simply the Best Award’ for creativity, excellence and inventiveness in the category of Multiday Thematic Events. The Rijeka Carnival is a great bonus for tourists who choose to visit in this period compared to the peak season.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia, crowds lining the streets for the Rijeka Carnival

When does the Rijeka Carnival and Rio Carnival take place?

This year, Carnival in Rio will take place between 1 – 5^th March 2019, with an extra parade on the 9^th of March (the 8 best samba schools will be once more on the Sambodromo Avenue). In Rijeka, however, the festivities have already started (from January 17 to March 6, ending on Ash Wednesday). If you wish to get more information about schedules, tickets and program, you can take a look at www.rio.com and www.rijecki-karneval.hr.

Photo Credit: Mario Romulic, Rijeka Carnival

Rijeka Carnival versus Rio: Food and Drink

While I am here in Croatia enjoying cups of coffee to survive this cold weather and be kept awake, in Rio, my friends and family, along with millions of people from all over the world pack the main streets near the Samba Avenue and beaches, hotels and hostels. There, they enjoy the parades with glasses of cold beer in hands, coconut water or caipirinhas (ahhhhhh), what is important, at this time during Carnival, is to refresh your body and keep yourself hydrated. The days are very warm and, although the sea water can be around 15 degrees, people are encouraged to jump into the sea. I miss that deeply.

In Rijeka, nobody will jump in the sea (I mean, I would not, for sure). But, it does not mean that tourists will find less attractive things to do. For example, food. Yes, food in Croatia is really a thing. For tourists or locals, it is always a great experience to try some of the unique tastes of Croatia, check out this article on 10 Gourmet Istrian specialities not to miss, for an idea of the type of food you can expect in this region.

The Greatest Similarity Between the Rijeka Carnival and Rio Carnival?

What both of these Carnivals have in common is the fact that the traditions, cultural customs and folklore are being preserved and spread through generations, no matter who performs better or not during the parades. It is a time to come together, dance, enjoy and celebrate. The world can be so hard that Carnival can be a time to unwind and enjoy life, hoping for more positive and brighter days.

Photo Credit: Mario Romulić, Rijeka Carnival, Zvončari from Ronjgi - UNESCO Intangible Heritage Protected

Read more about Rijeka, the City that Flows… in our 25 Things to Know series.

Reddit user u/marleysapmarleysap posted in the r/Croatia subreddit a couple of days ago, asking an unusual question: does anyone know Blaženka from Rijeka?

As she explains in the post, her mom is trying to find her former best friend, a woman who she remembes only as Blaženka, and who was her best friends when they were children. They were both students of the Pedagoška gimnazija Vladimira Nazora high-school, in the years 1977-1979, and have not seen each other since the poster's mom left Rijeka and moved to the US. 

The information the poster's mom seems to remember about her best friend is scarse, she does not remember the friend's last name (and that could've easily been changed by now!), and the only important other piece of information she has is that the friend Blaženka was somewhere from Bosnia. They've tried contacting the school, but unfortunately their records have been destroyed, so no luck there either.

The search has made rounds on the Internet (if there wasn't social media, we're guessing that there wouldn't be ANY chance to find someone with this much information), and has even appeared in Rijeka-based Novi list. In the past hour, one new account has appeared on Reddit, claiming that they know who Blaženka is, and that they can help put her in contact with the family that's looking for her from the States. Hopefully this is another one of those "long-lost friends" that will eventually come to a happy ending, both for Blaženka from Rijeka and for her childhood friend.

January 20, 2019 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia, with updates from Rijeka and Dubrovnik. 

Flights to Croatia: Transavia boosts Rijeka operations 

Dutch low-cost carrier Transavia announced that they are boosting operations between Rijeka and the Netherlands in the heart of the tourist season this year. Namely, Transavia has significantly extended traffic on the route between Eindhoven and Rijeka. Travellers can now buy tickets two months earlier in the pre-season and two months later into the end of the season - or from April 18, 2019, to October 27, 2019. The airline had already announced another weekly flight in the peak season which will run on Tuesdays.

Furthermore, the airline is also selling their fourth weekly flight for the peak season, which will run on Saturdays from July 6, 2019, to August 31, 2019, AvioRadar reports. 

Thus, Transavia will operate between Rijeka and Eindhoven four times a week in the peak season, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The airline will use the Boeing 737-800 aircraft between the two cities. 

Flights to Croatia: Winter charter flights to Dubrovnik 

Greek airline Aegean, which is a Star Alliance member, is operating charter flights from Dubrovnik to Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the Scandinavian countries. The airline already began this service on January 14, which will run until May 12, 2019, AvioRadar reports. 

Last year, the charter flights were operated by Corendon Airlines, which used a Boeing 737-800 aircraft four days a week, from Monday to Thursday. This year, the winter charter flights are working every day, seven days a week with at least two flights, bringing the total to about twice as many charter flights than last year. One Aegean Airbus A320 is permanently based in Dubrovnik for this service. 

The RSD Reisen travel agency is organizing the charter flights for Central European markets and TSS Travel Service Scandinavia for the Scandinavian market. The flights are intended for seniors. 

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.