February 28, 2019 - Another year, another incredible achievement by the Break Time team as they open their fifth shop in Croatia. 

According to Croatian media reports, Luka Modrić has invited Darijo Srna back to the national team.

As Novac/Korlana Sutlic writes on the 26th of February, 2019, Središće, a popular neighbourhood in Novi Zagreb often referred to as Bundek, in reference to the well-frequented Zagreb lake and park, has recently gained the status of the most desirable neighbourhood in Novi Zagreb. By reaching this level of popularity, when looking at the demand for flats, it is now ranked alongside Vrbani III, Trešnjevka and Trnje.

The very first jump in demand for quality apartments in Središće came after Bundek park was done up and after RIT Croatia (Rochester Institute of Technology Croatia) was opened in the area, and then the demand grew a bit more after the completion of the American International School in Zagreb (AISZ) just several months ago.

The popularity of the neighbourhood has also contributed to the birth of the recent construction of some new residential buildings, which are part of the Središće area. The biggest demand is for smaller quality three-bedroom and smaller four-room apartments, ranging between 60 and 90 square metres in size, the price of which is not greater than 200,000 euros. The market prices are high, some even reaching up to 3,000 euros for a well-equipped apartment.

The Središće area of Novi Zagreb boasts a great many amenities and ease of access to them. Along with the American Educational Institution and Bundek park, it is located near the Avenue Mall, the neighbourhood is also home to the Museum of Contemporary Art near the Hippodrome, and even has a hypermarket. One of Croatia's best private kindergartens is located at Bundek Centre, and it's also worth mentioning that Središće's close proximity to the very heart of Zagreb is something else that earns the area brownie points.

''All this contributes to its value,'' says Boro Vujović, the director of the Operta property agency.

Even the very name Središće speaks volumes to Croatian speakers, for non-Croatian speakers, the name indicates that it is centrally positioned in Novi Zagreb, while only Mladosti bridge (Most mladosti) and the river separate it from the wider city centre, according to Sergio Serdarušić, the director of Eurovila agency.

''The growth of demand for Bundek began a few years ago when the Zagrebačka banka built Bundek Centre. The recent arrival of the aforementioned American school has of course further influenced the popularity of the neighbourhood itself. Središće is fortunate in that it is positioned next to Bundek lake, which is one of the major reasons for its popularity. Just like on the other side lie Western neighborhoods such as Vrbani III made a big leap forward [in terms of popularity], something similar is happening here. Novi Zagreb itself is beautifully planned out building-wise, but there's no room for new buildings, while over here afew new construction sites have been opened in this area, which is also a plus for the market,'' added Serdarušić.

In addition, the area of Središće is exceptionally well connected with roads and by public transport to Zagreb's city centre, Franjo Tudjman Airport and the A1 motorway. Quite recently, the construction of a public elementary school began, which will also be a plus for the area.

''Each new piece of content additionally enhances an area. There's already a lot of interesting content [in Središće], including those things which are needed for everyday life, such as shops, banks, services, restaurants, cafes...'' noted Serdarušić.

The price of new builds over the past few years has increased from 1.600 to 2.400 euros per square metre. The price depends on the microlocation, the quality of the building, the location of the apartment within the building itself, its degree of decoration, the floor and of course its overall layout. However, as they say from the previously mentioned Eurovilla agency, some of the smaller apartments can also come with rather impressive price tags up to 3,000 euros per square metre.

However, as Središće doesn't actually have enough luxury and large apartments for diplomats who would like to live near the American school, many remained in Šalata, where this institution was previously located. The demand is bigger than the offer, and Središće is currently the most expensive quarter in Novi Zagreb when it comes to prices per square metre, but they're now at their very peak.

"We had a case a few years ago in Bundek Centre, after the apartments were sold at 1.600 euros per square metre, just a couple of months later, one apartment in that same building was sold for almost double the price per square metre because the buyer was urgently seeking property close to the American high school.

But these are the exceptions, although that building is now managing to keep hold of a high price. In Bundek's new buildings, square metres were being sold for around 2,300 euros. Now apartments in some older buildings in the area have jumped in price, and sellers are looking for 2,000 euros per square metre for the best ones, some of them even offer well-equipped apartments in newer buildings for 3,000 euros per square metre,'' said Boro Vujović, adding that he believed that this trend would eventually level itself out come summertime when people start moving into the large new Meander building, which is now sold out. He believes that this will lower the deficit.

Those particularly interested in this part of Novi Zagreb on the other side of the Sava river, he adds, are US Embassy staff, and now there are American education institutions conveniently located there, too.

The apartments in Središće are also being claimed by employees of companies located in Novi Zagreb. In the long run, there is a chance, however slight, that the fall of its popularity could occur if the quarter becomes too built up, because there are currently several unbuilt areas, in which many construction companies are interested.

''Središće already has a traffic problem upon entering the area when coming from the city centre via the bridge. That needs to be better resolved. I don't think the additional construction will have a negative impact on its popularity, but it's better to have air in the neighbourhood. The recently constructed buildings have a wide access road and, in general terms, in this area, Novi Zagreb is very well designed and should not be over-built,'' concluded Eurovilla's Serdarušić.

Make sure to stay up to date with more on Croatian property by following our dedicated lifestyle page. If it's just Zagreb you're interested in, give Total Zagreb a follow.

Click here for the original article by Korana Sutlic for Novac/Jutarnji

Nine years ago, coffee lovers in Croatia were teased with the news that Starbucks, a favorite franchise around the world, would open in the Zagreb Arena. Last week, Croatians were taunted by reports once again. 

TCN looks at the plans and expectations for Croatian airports in 2019, beginning with Zagreb. 

February 25, 2019 - The Croatian medical tourism story continues to evolve with another prestigious event, as Zagreb hosts the Euro Events 5th Annual Medical Tourism Conference in Zagreb.

Another day, another chapter for Croatia's health tourism industry. 

What industry insiders have known for a while is slowly reaching an international audience; there is huge potential for Croatia to become a global player on the international health tourism stage, with several experts agreeing that Croatia could be in the world's top ten medical tourism countries within ten years.  

There is an increasing interest in Zagreb and Croatia from health tourism professionals, and next month sees another important milestone for Croatia's medical tourism story, as Euro Events will be staging the 5th Annual Medical Tourism Conference and Workshop in Zagreb.

Held last year in Berlin, this year's event will take place at the Westin Hotel in Zagreb. The two-day conference will be held on March 13-14, with a B2B workshop on the 15th. 

Conference producer Stefan Ristovski introduces the event in the official brochure:

"EuroEvents is pleased to invite you to the 5TH Annual MTCE conference, the leading industry event of 2019!

"This year our focus is on winning over international patients in the era of digitisation and globalisation!

"MTCE will provide an interactive platform, during which practitioners and leading experts in the field will share, discuss, and construct strategies for future growth and innovation for the purpose of creating and sustaining successful facilities.

"Furthermore, MTCE 2019 will focus on revealing the key strategies for success based on providing the ultimate client tailored experience, as well as defining the trends that will shape the future of medical tourism.

Inspire and be inspired, discover and be discovered, join us today and experience the full potential of MTCE 2019! "

As one would expect for such a prestigious conference, the quality and variety of speakers is impressive, very international and covering a wide range of aspects of medical tourism. Topics covered on the first day of the event include 

• The implementation of the EU directive on cross-border healthcare and the position of European private hospitals.
• Buying and selling healthcare across borders: opportunities and obstacles.
• Stellar healthcare service that attracts new business by innovative medical treatments.
• Facing the problem of a lack of a suitably skilled workforce.
• Cyberknife - 12 years experience of Iatropolis radiological surgery.
• Hello # How is your @ and how to communicate.
• Clinic reputation = clinic revenue
• Patients' experience - a key to efficient and effective business.
• The patient will see you now - telemedicine and the transformation of medical travel. 
• Ensuring continuum of care worldwide.
• Future of harmless cancer treatment.

The second day has an equally absorbing range of presentations and discussions:

• Creating a consistent approach to a high-quality patient experience.
• Creating the next dimension customer experience and anticipation of patients' expectations: drawing conclusions from fertility patients.
• New trend - bringing the doctor to the patient and creating affordable practice. 
• Overview of the medical tourism market of Russia and CIS - patients' preference for treatment abroad. 
• Preventative health and reconnection with nature.
• Development of health tourism - quality management strategy for foreign patients/guests.
• Why do international patients choose one-stop clinics? Understanding the strategy of patient care now and in the future.
• Building a diverse cross-border network for the international patient group.
• Making medical tourism sustainable by getting more patients from your enquiries. 

Among the very international speakers, Croatia is also represented by Bagatin Clinic CEO Ognjen Bagatin, who has been spearheading Croatia's drive to put itself on the global health tourism map. A Zagreb clinic already with an excellent international reputation, Bagatin last week officially opened in Split, a huge step for health tourism in Croatia, and one which many tourists flying into Split this summer will be taking advantage of.  

TCN has managed to secure a few tickets for the two-day conference, at a price of 600 euro including VAT if you book no later than this Friday. If you are interested in more information, contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

With the main conference over, it is time to get to work. The third day of the event is given over to B2B networking, as Euro Events explain: 

B2B Meetings are an essential way of building long term business relations with other professionals from your field. Medical Tourism Conference.

B2B Workshop is gathering worldwide top important players of the medical tourism conference, including: health insurance companies, travel agents, tour operators and facilitators, among others.

With pre-scheduled meetings, you will get the opportunity to interact with more 30+ companies that are looking to expand their business network.

We are welcoming you in Zagreb, Croatia – one of the most popular destinations for Medical Tourism, with more than 18  million tourists per year. Come and see the benefit of what this country can offer you.

For more information on the B2B workshop, click here.

For the latest news from Croatia's medical tourism story, visit the dedicated TCN page. 

February 25, 2019 - The 22nd round of the Croatian First League was held from February 22 to 24, 2019, and featured the highly anticipated derby between Dinamo and Osijek. 

While the bura wind ripped through Croatia’s coast this week, there was no stopping the Croatian First League, which was held despite the blustery winds. The weekend saw some exciting matchups, like Hajduk and Gorica who are neck-and-neck on the table, Dinamo and Osijek who were first and second, and Belupo and Inter in 7th and 8th. 

Without further ado, here is our Croatian First League round 22 recap. 

Rudeš v. Rijeka (2:4)

Rudeš and Rijeka opened the 22nd round on Friday, February 22, 2019, at Kranjčevićeva street stadium in front of 279 fans. 

While Rudeš was the first to score with a penalty by Vuco in the 15th minute, Rijeka did not take long to come back. Gorgan nailed a penalty in the 41st minute, and just three minutes later, Acosty scored for 1:2 at the half.

In the second half, Gorgan hit another goal for 1:3 in the 60th minute and Puljić scored to make it 1:4 for the visiting team. Rudeš did come back to get one more goal after Juranović scored in the 81st. The game ended at 2:4. 

Rudeš remains in the last place on the table with 4 points, while Rijeka has now moved into second place with 41 points. 

Slaven Belupo v. Inter Zaprešić (0:1)

Belupo and Inter met in Koprivnica on Saturday, February 23, 2019, in front of 513 fans. 

The first half was quiet and went without goals - and the second half was not much more exciting. Serderov scored for Inter in the 68th minute, which is how the game ended. 

Belupo is currently in 7th place with 21 points, while Inter is in 8th with 21. 

Hajduk v. Gorica (0:0)

Hajduk and Gorica met at Poljud stadium in front of 6,708 fans on Saturday, February 23, 2019. 

As both teams had to fight against the brutal bura in addition to one another, not much could be accomplished. The game ended without goals. 

Hajduk is currently in 6th place with 31 points, while Gorica is in 5th place with 32. 

Istria 1961 v. Lokomotiva Zagreb (0:0)

Istria and Lokomotiva met in Pula on Sunday, February 24, 2019, in front of 816 fans. 

It was another scoreless game which did not see much excitement from either team. The game ended 0:0. 

Istria is currently in 9th place with 17 points, while Lokomotiva is in 4th with 36. 

Dinamo v Osijek (3:0)

Dinamo and Osijek closed out the 22nd round with the highly anticipated derby at Maksimir stadium on Sunday, February 24, 2019, in front of 4,304 fans. 

Coming off a high after advancing into the last 16 of the Europa League, Dinamo had no intention of slowing down. Andrić scored first for Dinamo in the 8th minute to make it 1:0, and Atiemwen sacred for 2:0 in the 21st minute. 

Rrahmani scored in the 60th minute for 3:0 to secure the Dinamo blowout over the Osijek club. 

Dinamo remains in the first place with 57 points, while Osijek has now fallen to third place with 40 points. 

You can see the Croatian First League table here. 

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

ZAGREB, February 23, 2019 - The 15th edition of the international documentary film festival ZagrebDox, to be held at Zagreb's Kaptol Butique Cinema from February 24 to March 3, will feature 104 documentaries, including 37 competing for international and regional awards, and the films will be shown as part of 16 programmes.

Festival director Nenad Puhovski said the festival committee has this year we more than 1,700 films and tried to choose the best for ZagrebDox visitors.

Puhovski recalled that over the past 15 years the festival had hosted all prominent documentary filmmakers from Croatia, from veteran to young authors, as well as many prominent filmmakers from the region and the rest of the world, which have made it the central documentary event in Zagreb, Croatia and the region.

So far more than 400 people have worked on the festival and more than 1,200 volunteers have been involved.

Almost half of all documentaries chosen for the festival's international programme have been made by young authors, under 35, which heralds a generational change on the world documentary scene.

Among them are two Academy Award nominees, Minding the Gap by Bing Liu, an atmospheric hit from the Sundance Film Festival about American skateboarders on the threshold of adulthood which has won 51 awards, and the British short documentary Black Sheep by Ed Perkins about a young man who chooses an unusual way to fight racial violence.

Tickets for this year's ZagrebDox are available at Kaptol Boutique Cinema, at ticket machines in the cinema's lobby as well as online at kaptolcinema.hr and on the iCineStar mobile application.

ZagrebDox is financially supported by the City of Zagreb and the Croatian Audio-Visual Centre.

More film news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

One beloved burger joint in Zagreb, known better to many of you as Submarine Burger, is in the exclusive company of the best burgers in Europe! This fantastic result is thanks to a survey carried out among the followers of Big 7 Travel, which boasts a community of 1.5 million fans.

There are more and more wine events in Croatia. Cheers to that! But when it comes to innovative and creative wine events, it is the WOW members who usually take the lead. One of them, but very much independent, Jelena Bulum, definitely creates some of the most interesting larger wine shows, as well as smaller events that win you over with their charm and simplicity. In addition to the "Wine and Cinema" project, which very imaginatively combines films and wines, she has now created a brilliant little project called “Vinska Faca Poslije Placa” (Wine Hotshot After Market), a new urban wine event for all Zagreb wine fans who prefer daytime gatherings compared to those that take place during the evenings.

“The idea is for our fellow citizens of Zagreb to have a place where they can leave their bags after their Saturday morning visit to the farmers’ market and before returning home for lunch – and enjoy the most excellent wines of winemakers who will be personally present to introduce and promote their wines.”

In addition to the winemaker who will present the wine, the event will always include a well-known “Hotshot” who will present the vital role of wines in their business or life, and thus offer a slightly broader context for understanding and enjoying wines. Equally important, visitors will also be able to buy the wines at slightly lower prices.

The event was conceived following the footsteps of the Wine and Cinema project, which does not present the wines just as a gastronomic experience, but as an integral part of the lifestyle, so they are linked to other aspects of cultural and social life. The project emerged when two women deeply involved in the world of wine, and both members of the WOW association, Manuela Maras and Jelena Bulum, joined forces with the owners of the new wine shop near the Dolac farmers’ market, WITRINA ZAGREB, and created the interesting wine-gastro concept. They hope that the project will entertain attendees on Saturdays, but also offer an opportunity to introduce and taste the wines of small family wineries and local products of Croatian family farms. This is also the range of products proudly offered by WITRINA ZAGREB.

On Saturday, February 23, the first Hotshot is an extraordinary lady, Đurđica Orepić. She is a woman who for a long time did not know what sport is, but in the meantime, she has completed the five most challenging triathlon races in the world known as IRONMAN and is a subject of a film...

“It all started one night in a wine tavern...,” says Đurđica, and she will tell the rest of the story to all those who visit the new event.

Of course, the stories about the wines will also be heard from some of the hotshots who produce them. This Saturday, the presenters are the greats, Ivica Matošević and Boris Šujić (Boškinac). Four labels will be offered for tasting: MATOŠEVIĆ AURA, 2018 (Chardonnay, Istrian Malvasia, Sauvignon Blanc), MATOŠEVIĆ GRIMALDA, 2016 (Merlot, Teran, Cabernet Sauvignon), BOŠKINAC OCU, 2015 (Magnum; 100% Gegić) and BOŠKINAC 2013 (Double Magnum; Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon).

In addition to the wines, this Saturday’s event will feature the award-winning BELIĆ - OLEUM VIRIDE BELIĆ olive oils. Specifically, six olive oils will be tasted: five single-variety: Buža, Istrian Bjelica, Ascolana Tenera, Leccino, Vodnjan Crnica; and a blend – Belić Selection. The snack will be prepared by WITRINA ZAGREB, together with the KUSANOVEC family dairy and the ZIGANTE truffles. The wine and food tasting fee is 50,00 kuna.

More news about Croatian wines can be found in the Lifestyle section.