February 7, 2021 - Some things change, some things stay the same. A video recollection of Zadar in 1975.

'The Mediterranean as It Once Was' was the tourism slogan for many years, and it helped rebuilding the tourism industry after the Homeland War in the 1990s. Before the war, former Yugoslavia (essentially the Croatian Adriatic coast) was the second most popular destination for British tourists after Spain, with some 440,000 tourists annually. Yugo Tours and Yugoslavia were well-known brands, but it took time for Croatia to establish its own tourism brand, something it has managed to do with great success. 

The Mediterranean as It Once Was was the slogan that captured my attention in northern Somalia while watching CNN back in 2002. I was in the market for a new home and base for my humanitarian aid worker life, and this Croatia place looked just about perfect. 

And so it proved to be.

I really enjoy coming across older footage of the Dalmatian coast, when things were a lot less commercial, a lot less busy. Here is a lovely snapshot of life in Zadar in 1975. Some lovely shots of the former capital of Dalmatia, whose historic old town has remained virtually unchanged for centuries, while daily life looks perhaps a little different than it does today. The footage, hosted on YouTube channel FootageForPro.com, is introduced as follows:

Archival footage shot by a West German filmmaker while touring Yugoslavia with a sailboat probably in 1975. It contains stock footage of Zadar, a city in the Adriatic Sea in today's Croatia and formerly in Yugoslavia and Italy: St. Donatus church, the Roman forum, tourists taking pictures, the outdoor market (Trznica Zadar), and more.

Plenty has changed since this West German tourist filmed in Zadar in 1975, including the name of his own country. For the latest on how things are in Zadar today, follow the TCN Zadar section. 

February 5, 2021 – Visitors to a mall in Dalmatia were yesterday surprised to see their shopping trip shared by a family of Zadar sheep, who were filmed strolling beneath the logos of famous brands. The video became a big hit on social media

The people who inhabit Croatia's coastal region of Dalmatia like to take pride in the good things they have. And well they might. Their region is beyond-beautiful – a long stretch of idyllic coastline and islands, sat before pristine seas, with a spectacular mountain backdrop behind which a wealth of culture, tradition, nature and authentic Croatian cuisine lie.

Part of that cuisine is lamb. Dalmatia lamb is highly prized – indeed, indeed the lamb from Dalmatian island Pag, and that of the Lika region is protected at an EU-level tied to its place of origin. But, those are not the only places in Croatia that have fantastic lamb. Within many of Dalmatia's foothills, you'll find sheep and shepherds. Zadar sheep are just some of those who graze on grasslands around Dalmatia's cities, towns and villages. Well, usually they do.

Over recent days, one family of Zadar sheep quit the quieter areas on the edge of the city suburbs and descended on the town. They were caught on video taking a stroll around the car park of a popular mall on the edge of the city. Filmed in front of the familiar logos of Interspar and McDonalds, you can imagine they have just finished a round of shopping and are now heading back home.

Perhaps they imagined the mall to be a Woolmart outlet? We're not the only ones to wonder. The Zadar sheep family was incredibly popular yesterday on the Facebook site Dnevna doza prosječnog Dalmatinca. Views of the Zadar sheep gone shopping are approaching 10, 000 views. Over 2000 left comments, such as “They also go to Zara!” and "here's a lot of symbolism here."

It would seem that images of the shopping Zadar sheep stuck in people's minds throughout the day. In a later Facebook post on Dnevna doza prosječnog Dalmatinca, a supermarket shopping trolley was pictured abandoned by the traffic lights of a road junction elsewhere in Dalmatia. Some wondered in the comments section whether it could be that of the Zadar sheep, who had forgotten to return it to the mall after their shopping spree.

Dnevna doza prosječnog Dalmatinca Facebook screenshot

February 1, 2021 – The Adriatic might be too cold for us right now, but conditions are perfect for this dolphin family, spectacularly captured gliding through glacial, undisturbed waters by an overhead drone

The Adriatic might be too cold for us right now, but conditions are perfect for this dolphin family, spectacularly captured gliding through glacial, undisturbed waters by an overhead drone

The footage of the dolphin family was captured spectacularly by keen amateur drone photographer Davor Miljkovic. Davor, who is from Zapresic, usually puts his eye for aesthetics into website design – he works as a PHP website developer for Virtus dizajn in Lanište, Zagreb and as a freelance website developer. But, he is currently taking advantage of working remotely and was able to catch footage of the dolphin family during his off time.

“I live in Zapresic but my grandmother is from island Rava, near Zadar,” Davor told TCN on 1st February 2021, two days after he posted the video of the dolphin family to his Youtube channel. “So, we have a house here by the sea. My fiance and I spend part of the winter here and we are here all summer too.”

The Zadar archipelago (in Croatian Zadarski arhipelag) is an incredibly picturesque group of islands off the coast of the city of Zadar. In addition to island Rava, off which Davor saw the dolphin family, the archipelago also consists of the islands Dugi Otok, Galešnjak, Iž, Lavdara, Ošljak, Pašman, Rivanj, Sestrunj, Tun Veli, Ugljan, Vir, Vrgada, Zečevo and Zverinac.

The beautiful stretch of islands is usually very popular with summertime visitors. It would seem that it's also popular in wintertime with visitors who live in the sea. And, of course, people like Davor who are lucky enough to catch sight of them.

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February the 1st, 2021 - Step back in time to ancient Zadar, or perhaps it's better to call it ancient Jader, back in the times when it was under the iron fist of Roman rule.

As Morski writes, it took Stipan Ujdur from Opuzen in southern Dalmatia six months of intensive work on 3D modelling to complete the video animation and modeling of ancient Zadar/Jader ie today's City of Zadar as it looked back in Roman times.

''Frane Bili from Zadar will programme applications for smartphones and VR glasses in his MediaUp studio, so ancient Zadar will be completely processed for all. The work on the 3D modelling lasted a full six months and it involved daily hard work. The model was made to the maximum authenticity of the original Zadar/Jader back during ancient times. This was really difficult because I had to search the foreign archives for everything about ancient Zadar, Jader. It’s so exhausting that I really wouldn’t do a project like this again. It's important to acquaint your readers with the fact that this is, unfortunately, the work of a pensioner and is not a Hollywood production, and I hope that no one will blame me for any potential inaccuracies or copyright issues,'' explained Stipan Ujdur.

''Ancient Zadar is really a big 3D model with many significant neighbourhoods to process, but the big problem are the documents for that time, drawings, floor plans or illustrations, domestic and foreign sources were used, with locals, a big problem is unavailability, vagueness, incompleteness, all of that, unfortunately is our great pain. Honestly, I couldn’t do anything without foreign sources of documentation, Croatian works can be seen, but if I want to do something concrete then I have to look for other sources. The geolocation of the scenes is located via the Google Earth 3D map, so it is faithful to the original ancient location,'' said Ujdur as he recounted the shots we can see in the video.

The first scene is in front of the entrance to the city, as ancient Zadar was surrounded by ramparts on all sides, there were three gates on the southeast rampart, one door was used for traffic, people used the other for goods and the middle one was for various different purposes. In front of the ramparts was a colony of those who were not Romans by birth, but performed various hard physical jobs, and raised cattle, vegetables and sold them in the city. This scene shows olive, cypress and laurel plantations of typical Mediterranean plants that were in this area in that period. 

Watch the video of ancient Zadar as it once was under Roman rule in the video above.

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January 30, 2021 – Following several months of careful restoration, the spectacular and much-loved Zadar monument 'Greeting To The Sun' is ready to welcome the warming rays of spring.

Following several months of careful restoration, the spectacular and much-loved Zadar monument 'Greeting To The Sun' is ready to welcome the warming rays of spring. The shoreline art installation was seriously damaged by a vandal in 2019. The mutilation caused by an inexplicable attack on the much-loved Zadar monument has taken time and care to put right.

The much-loved Zadar monument at sunset © zadar.hr

Greeting To The Sun is a seafront Zadar monument by architect Nikola Bašić. 22 metres in diameter and sitting at the entrance to the port on the western point of the Zadar peninsula, it is the perfect place to catch the Zadar sunset. As the light fades, the Zadar monument comes alive – lighting elements located within create a light show. It has become a popular focal point for tourists to visit and is equally loved by the city's residents and its university student community.

It is not the only Zadar monument to sit at this spot on the port peninsula. Representing the sun, it is surrounded by smaller discs which represent the other planets in our solar system. It is also just next to the Sea Organ Zagreb monument, which reacts to the ebbing tide. While the Sea Organ communicates using sound, Greeting To The Sun does so using light.

Greeting To The Sun © Böhringer Friedrich

Monuments, statues and public art live precarious existences in every country, including Croatia. Their survival often depends on the prevailing political ideals of the time and those who hold power in any country. Other pieces of public art, like this Zadar monument and Zagreb's own impressive sun-inspired works, are sadly at risk of mindless acts of vandalism. Such selfish and immature behaviour is perhaps the most sorrowing and difficult to understand.

To try and safeguard the future of this Zadar monument and its precious neighbours, the newly-restored Greeting To The Sun will be monitored by CCTV. With the introduction of the cameras, tourists soon will not be the only ones watching the sunset at this unforgettable vantage point.

January 30, 2021 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Luxair returns to Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar this summer.  

Croatian Aviation reports that Luxair has announced the return to three Croatian airports in the 2021 summer flight schedule.

Luxembourg Airlines, also known as Luxair, plans to operate three international routes to Croatia from Luxembourg this summer.

The airline plans to resume international traffic to Croatia at the beginning of the 2021 summer flight schedule, but the number of weekly operations remains minimal at all Croatian airports.

Lines to Dubrovnik, Split and Zadar
In the summer of 2021, Luxair will connect Luxembourg with Dubrovnik, Split, and Zadar, and all lines will operate only once a week.

The Luxembourg - Dubrovnik - Luxembourg line will be in operation from April 28 to October 2, once a week, on Saturdays. Between these two cities in the summer of 2021, Luxair will operate 24 return flights and offer a total of almost 3,650 seats.

The Luxembourg - Split - Luxembourg line will also operate once a week, on Sundays, from May 2 to October 10. Luxair will offer the same number of seats on the line to Split as to Dubrovnik.

The Luxembourg - Zadar - Luxembourg line will operate on Saturdays, from May 8 to October 2. Twenty-two return flights have been announced, with Luxair offering just over 3,300 seats between the two cities.

Luxair announced a few days ago that it is introducing the Luxembourg-Belgrade line. When asked about the possibility of introducing a line to Zagreb, the airline said that it actively monitors the market in Croatia and does not rule out the possibility of introducing a direct line to the Croatian capital in the near future.

On all routes to Croatia, Luxair will use DashQ400 aircraft with a capacity of 76 seats.

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January 28, 2021 - Red bull has promoted cycling tourism in Croatia on its official website, inviting cyclists to experience a winter adventure on Croatia's most beautiful bike trails.

Namely, HRTurizam reports that the energy drink brand known for its sponsorship of a range of sporting events and teams has announced cycling in Croatia, which is a great advertisement for the country and destinations located on selected bike routes. The trails marked as the most beautiful in Croatia are located in Istria, Krka National Park, on the island of Brač and the Zadar archipelago.

Deservedly, two trails recommended by the Red Bull brand are located in Istria, one in Grožnjan, the other in Rabac, which is a recognition that Istria deserves because they have invested in the development promotion of cycling tourism for years. Today, it is reaping the results. The development of cycling tourism in Istria County has been of strategic importance for many years for the stakeholders of the Istria County Tourist Board, the Istria County Tourism Department, large hotel companies, and local tourist boards. The same has been systematically coordinated since 2014 within the Bike & Outdoor Department at the Istrian Development Tourist Agency.

Today, one-hundred-forty-five objects have the Bike & Bed label. 

Zadar County also turned to cycling tourism and, in 2015, launched a program for the development of the cycling-tourist destination Zadar Bike Magic. On the website www.zadarbikemagic.com, in addition to bike paths, destinations are promoted. The Zadar Bike Magic application is an excellent tool that certainly contributes to the fact that this county is recording increasing interest from bike guests. The app is handy and is related to destinations and stories that cyclists need to experience. 

Krka National Park in the spring of 2019 expanded its tourist offer by arranging fourteen cycling routes that connect the most attractive parts of the park. All the advantages of cycling in Krka National Park can be found in one place on the website specializing only in cycling tourism Krka Bike.

Cycling or cycling tourism is a form of sustainable tourism that has been developing more and more in almost all countries. In addition to including day trips that regular tourists or locals take during their holidays or weekends, it also applies to long-distance cycling on cycling routes.

The development of cycling tourism on the continent could be the main driver of guests' increase in continental Croatia. Good examples come from Međimurje County, where they are working on the CycleSeeing Attractour - CSA project, thanks to which the Cycling Information Center with the Goričko Sviralo lookout will be built and equipped on Mađerka Hill. As part of the project, a bicycle information center with a lookout tower, "Goričko sviralo," will be built and equipped. At Nature Parks such as Kopački rit and Papuk Nature Park in Slavonia and Medvednica in central Croatia, many interesting bike trails lack promotion and projects that we witness on the coast. Almost every county in Croatia is working on cycling tourism, but many are not yet close to the final goal.

Croatia is also integrated into the EuroVelo network of bicycle routes that connect the entire European continent. The EuroVelo network includes 15 cycling routes through 42 European countries with a planned more than 70,000 km when the network is fully completed. The Coordination Body's establishment for the Development of Cyclotourism in Croatia enabled the accession to the ECF (European Cycling Federation), which is the holder of the EuroVelo project, a network of European cycling routes connecting the countries of the European Union. 

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January 23, 2021 - The latest news for flights to Croatia Eurowings connects four Croatian cities with Berlin Brandenburg in summer.

Croatian Aviation reports that Rijeka, Zadar, Split, and Dubrovnik will have a direct line to Berlin's new airport this summer!

In its timetable for the upcoming summer season, Eurowings has announced these four routes as new. However, almost all of the above-mentioned Croatian airports previously had a connection to Berlin Tegel Airport. Since the airport is closed, traffic to Croatia will be transferred to the new airport, and for the first time, four Croatian cities will be directly connected to the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport.

The first line will be the Berlin - Split - Berlin line, before the Easter holiday. The flight will mark the start of the season on Saturday, April 3. The airline plans to operate on this route until October 30, every Saturday, and from June 1, the number of weekly flights will increase to two. Namely, an additional flight is introduced on Tuesdays. In this period, Eurowings will operate over 50 return flights between Split and Berlin and offer more than 17,500 seats in both directions. A319 and A320 aircraft have been announced on the route and all other routes to Croatia.

The Berlin - Dubrovnik - Berlin line will start operating on May 9 and run until the end of the summer flight schedule, October 24. One flight per week is available every Sunday, so Eurowings will offer around 8,200 seats on this line during the season.

The Berlin - Rijeka - Berlin line will be in operation from May 15 to October 30, also once a week, on Saturdays. Twenty-six return flights are planned, with Eurowings currently offering more than 8,500 seats between Berlin and Kvarner.

The Berlin - Zadar - Berlin line has been announced from May 22 to October 30 and will also operate on Saturdays once a week. The 25 announced return flights guarantee over 8,200 seats in both directions.

Eurowings will offer over 43,000 seats between Croatian airports and Berlin in the 2021 summer flight schedule.

Recall that in the summer of 2019, Eurowings operated from Berlin (ZL Tegel) to almost all airports in Croatia. In the summer season of 2020, only the Berlin-Split-Berlin route operated briefly. According to current announcements, Croatian airports will again be directly connected to the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport. 

The airline currently offers cheap tickets on routes from Croatia to Berlin, starting from 50 euros, with all prices on the official Eurowings website.

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January 9, 2021 – For common tourist improvement, ten tourist boards of the Zadar archipelago have united into a unique tourist brand called Zadar Region Island Adventure.

In order to better promote themselves on the market, tourist boards from Sali, Kali, Preko, Kukuljica, Tkon, Pašman, Ugljan, Božava, Silba, and the City of Zadar joined forces. Thus, Zadar Region Island Adventure was born, gathering ten tourist boards of the Zadar archipelago islands. The City of Zadar has signed for Brgulje, Ist, Mali Iž, Molat, Olib, Premuda, Rava, Zapuntel, and all other small towns are under the administration of the City of Zadar.

Uniform and sustainable development

This cooperation's basis is the Law on Tourist Boards and the Promotion of Croatian Tourism. Within this law, the agreements on tourist board associations can be concluded in a project or formal form.

"We have teamed up as a project, which means that each tourist board still has its independence and works for themselves, but when it comes to projects for joint tourist boards, then we stand together as one tourist board named Zadar Region Island Adventure," explains Jure Brižić, Mayor of Preko Municipality for Zadarski list.

Island of Iž in the Zadar archipelago / Copyright Romulić and Stojčić

On December 16, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports issued a consent to unite tourist boards. Through the association, tourist boards receive financial resources from the Fund for Associated Tourist Boards, established for that purpose, into which funds from paid tourist taxes and membership fees are poured.

In the Zadar Region Island Adventure project, the most important thing, says Brižić, is the uniform and sustainable development of islands and tourism on the entire Zadar archipelago.

"So far, we have had a situation where each tourist board has made its own brochures and told its own story. Practically, we all have one story, the same problems, but also the same advantages and the same products. It was unthinkable for us to go to the fairs alone, and we were unrecognizable. Namely, when you tell tourists that you are from Preko or Kali municipalities, it means nothing for them. When you tell them that you are from the island of Ugljan, it already means something. Now that we will present ourselves as the Zadar region, it will come in convenient for promotion," says Brižić.

Nautical, gastronomic, and cultural tourism development

According to the Agreement, uniting Zadar archipelago tourist boards aims to jointly promote the entire area and develop joint projects and programs. Besides, their goal is to achieve better results in tenders for EU projects.

Ivan Košta, director of TZO Preko, points out that they saw their chance in the association and launched a Zadar Region Islands Adventure initiative.

Dugi otok in the Zadar archipelago / Copyright Romulić and Stojčić

"Our goal is to highlight our potentials, i.e., recognizable products in joint tourist branding, marketing, and market entry. The entire Zadar archipelago and part of the Kornati islands are included in this project. The Zadar archipelago is large, diverse, and much more accessible than other islands. We think that together we could make a better brand and tourist product and help our region's betterment," says Košta for HRturizam.

United, they have almost 30,000 inhabitants, which allows them to participate in larger projects, attracting more money. In this way, they will create a unique tourism product that will make them more recognizable globally.

The most important of the numerous activities is the development of nautical, gastronomic, and cultural tourism. Also, improvements to transport connections are planned, such as hop-on, hop-off ships, as well as making joint maps with points of interest – "Island cruise & bike routes" and "Discover local island products."

Besides, existing projects will be implemented, such as "From the anchorage to the lookout," during which certain lookouts will be arranged on the islands.

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December 11, 2020 - Falkensteiner is the latest to join the digital nomad trend, offering their Premium Senia apartments as part of the Welcome Home Office offer! 

Remote work or "long stay" offers for digital nomads is a new global trend, which has been accepted by many Croatian hoteliers and camps. Falkensteiner is the latest to join the new trend, offering Premium Senia apartments to digital nomads and business people through long-term rentals in the top Punta Skala resort, just ten minutes by car to Zadar!

The apartments are bright and spacious, in a variety of sizes, with a fully equipped kitchen and a large terrace, and, of course, high-speed internet. 

The Welcome Home Office offer is based on a minimum of seven nights, with a price of 80 EUR per day onwards, including one free massage and a twenty percent discount on spa treatments at the Falkensteiner Hotel & Spa Iadera.

The service also offers a meeting room with conference equipment, and the possibility of printing and scanning is available. There is also a "Premium living" service, a weekly purchase according to your needs, and the possibility of breakfast or half board.

In addition to work, additional content is important, in which the Punta Skala resort has a sure advantage. The resort offers a full range of facilities for sports fans - from a fitness room to endless promenades and jogging trails by the sea and an outdoor sports center with tennis courts, golf course, mini-golf, badminton, basketball, five-a-side football, beach volleyball, rental of sports equipment.

On the other hand, in the AquaPura Spa center on as much as 6,000 square meters, there are outdoor and indoor pools, Turkish hammam, steam baths, numerous saunas, including a panoramic earthen sauna overlooking the sea, Kneipp pool, and private spa.

Even better, back in August, Falkensteiner introduced free COVID-19 testing to the guests in its hotels. 

You can read more about Falkensteiner's Welcome Home Office offer for digital nomads HERE.

Source: HRTurizam

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