Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić allegedly wants to build a new city within Zagreb, on the 1.1 million square metre plot of land between the Sava River, Većeslav Holjevac Avenue and Dubrovnik Avenue, and the total investment of the project will not be less than 500 million euros, reports Jutarnji List on February 15, 2019.

These plans are part of the public call that the city administration issued in recent days to potential investors to participate in the development and realization of the project “City within the City”, aiming to transform this part of the town into a "new, innovative urban area, with mixed and diverse complementary services, which would improve the overall quality of life of the inhabitants, become a tourist attraction, and form the centre of Novi Zagreb with its many diverse functions.”

This is perhaps the most attractive property owned by the city authorities, and it is currently occupied by the Zagreb Fair, the Hippodrome and the football complex used by the Lokomotiva Football Club.

What is interesting in Bandić’s latest ambitious “plan” is an exceptionally short deadline for submitting letters of intent. Anyone who wants to participate must respond urgently by March 1, which is less than 15 days away.

The transformation of this area has been talked about for years, but investments and the possible removal of a number of current buildings there have been prevented by the conservation regulations. The city authorities allegedly held several meetings with Middle East investors, which were looking for locations for more substantial investments. In addition to the Arab investors, there were also people from China who were looking for projects worth more than 50 million euros.

The new “city” would include residential and business buildings, promenades, parks, new streets, shopping centres, catering facilities, as well as a number of public spaces for citizens.

If the project is every realised, which is not certain at all and does not seem particularly likely, it would be funded as follows. After the further development of detailed plans, which would determine the needs of both the city and the investor, the value of the land would be assessed. The city would then invest the land, while the private investors would finance the construction of the buildings and other facilities.

"The Hippodrome will most likely have to be moved from the area. It restricts the development of this part of the town,” said sources, adding that the Hippodrome would be moved to a location in the western or eastern part of the city, or perhaps to the area around Brezovica. On the other hand, the Zagreb Fair, which has been defined in numerous planning documents as a strategic area, has not been fully modernised for decades.

Companies which want to apply for the public call will have to fulfil several conditions. In addition to being very quick in developing plans in order to submit them to the city in less than two weeks, they must have developed similar projects in the last five years in the amount of least 500 million euro. They also must have experts who have implemented projects worth over 200 million euros over the past five years, of which at least two projects must refer to the urban transformation of a city.

Translated from Jutarnji List (reported by Tomislav Mamić).

More news about Zagreb and its “mega-projects” can be found in the special Zagreb section.

Dinamo Zagreb and Viktoria Plzen met in the first leg of the Europa League round of 32 on Thursday night in the Czech Republic.

February 13, 2019 - As Zagreb makes a concerted effort to promote its considerable medical tourism potential, a look at the leading clinics, starting with one of its superstars, Bagatin.  

One of the joys of being a foreigner living full-time in Croatia is that there is always something new to learn. When I moved into my house in Jelsa back in 2002, a very jovial neighbour came round to say hi and give me a bottle of wine. It was seven years later that I realised that he was one of Croatia's most famous winemakers, Andro Tomic. And through Andro, and especially his excellent wines, I discovered first the Hvar and then the Croatian wine story, culminating in our dedicated Total Croatia Wine portal.  

And so too, almost 15 years after living in the country, I was introduced to another world of Croatian excellence about which I knew very little. 

When we announced that we were starting our Total Zagreb portal, I received a message from a chap named Ognjen Bagatin, who invited me for coffee - he had been following the Total project for years apparently. We agreed to meet in his clinic on the 10th floor of Hotel Hilton Double Tree. And so began a journey of discovery which is still ongoing a couple of years later... 

Living in Croatia one gets used to surly service and disinterested serving staff, and so when you encounter top-quality service from well-trained staff, you notice it immediately. Aminess Hotels in Novigrad is a prime example, just such a happy place to stay. And so too with Bagatin Clinic. Warm, polished, professional. The equipment was all cutting edge and business was brisk, but it was not his own clinic that young Bagatin wanted to discuss - he wanted to know what I knew about medical tourism in Croatia. 

Embarrassingly little, it turned out, and what he showed me truly amazed me. Croatia had a Leading Hospital of the World, internationally recognised and attracting many famous sports starts for treatment (St. Catherine Specialty Hospital). It had a leading regional eye clinic with internationally acclaimed surgeons who had performed tens of thousands of successful operations at a fraction of Western prices (Svjetlost). And it had Bagatin, which I was soon to learn was much more than a standard clinic in Zagreb. I wrote my first article on the health tourism potential of Croatia - Health Tourism is Coming Home: Why Zagreb is the Next Big Medical Tourism Destination.

The topic got my attention, and the more I investigated, the more I was amazed. Here are 25 things to know about health tourism in Croatia - pretty impressive, right? 

(Others are beginning to notice)

And wherever I looked, at every turn, there was that man who introduced me to the world and possibilities of medical tourism - Ognjen Bagatin. Trade shows in Los Angeles, conferences in Moscow, he was there flying the flag for Croatia and its medical tourism industry. And while some businesses compensate for a poor product (who said Zuja?) with fantastic marketing, it seemed the Bagatin product more than matched its impressive marketing. The clinic specialised in four main areas: dermatology, plastic surgery, dentistry and cosmetic treatments. Here are just a few awards and recognitions of quality:

The best dermatology clinic in all Europe.

2018 Dental Implants Award for Full Mouth Reconstruction from American platform, Dental Implants Friends. And if you want to see a real-life example of how Bagatin's dental expertise literally changed an American's life, while saving tens of thousands of dollars, there is no finer example than Carl's incredible story. (see Carl below, but I really encourage you to read his story)

International Cosmetic Surgery of the Year 2017 at the International Medical Travel Journal awards.

Each year, the Bagatin surgeons are recognised among Croatia's best, with no less than 11 making the Najdoktor list in 2018.

In order to attract international clients, the latest equipment is essential to be competitive and to build trust for the patient. Bagatin prides itself on offering the best service possible, from initial welcome to the latest equipment.

In addition to its considerable international promotion of health tourism in Croatia, Bagatin is assisting many businesses and clinics with their professional development and communications skills via the Bagatin Academy. More than 50 quality professional trainers focus on soft skills developments in the areas of stress management, team management, communication, presentation and public speaking, top-level service, conflict management, and negotiating. Education is delivered through lectures, workshops and other training methods.

The Bagatin Academy is also a powerful networking tool, attracting as it does many of the top people from the Croatian business world, and it is a great place to organise B2B lunches and other business gatherings. The academy project has some strong official support, including the President of the Republic of Croatia, the Croatian Chamber of Physicians, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, the American Chamber of Commerce in Croatia, the Croatian Pharmacy Chamber and the Croatian Chamber of Nurses. The project is supported by Resisto Educational Houses, Janus PIM and Knowledge Map, as well as the portal Moj Posao, magazine Poduzetnik, Dental Tribune and MTV UP! energy drink.

To learn more about the Bagatin Academy and its upcoming events, visit the official academy website.

As one would expect for such a successful business, Bagatin Clinic has also been recognised as a business as well as its healthcare. In 2015, Deloitte named it the fastest-growing small and medium-sized business in Croatia.

And it continues to grow... 

In January, 2019, Bagatin opened its doors in Dalmatia with its first clinic in Split. You can learn more about the Split clinic here, but I defy you to find a clinic with a better view to accompany the high standard of service. The Split opening is excellent news for tourists who are contemplating combining some medical procedures with their holiday, with the savings really adding up. The arrival of Bagatin in Split is just one more piece in the jigsaw of establishing the Croatian medical tourism story. 

To learn more about Bagatin, visit the official website. 

To learn more about medical tourism in Croatia, follow our dedicated page. 

For a very unique Valentine's Day experience this year, consider Ayurveda Balance Health Centre in Zagreb, and their "Ayurveda Flavours of Love" menu.

The unusual Valentine's Day event will be held in the restaurant of the Centre, in the centre of Zagreb, in Preradovićeva 20 on February 14, and also on February 15th, the Friday after the Valentine's. The menu for those two days will offer to the fans of the Ayurveda cuisine (but also to those who want to experience it for the first time) the special "love" meals, including the wealth of Ayurveda seasonings, many of which have been used as aphrodisiacs for centuries. There will be nutmeg (sometimes also called "the female Viagra"), cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger and the other Ayurveda flavours used to incite passion.

A respected Indian doctor from the family with a long tradition in Ayurveda healing, dr. I. Kalyan Chakravarthy, a permanent member of the team of the Ayurveda Balance Health Centre will share with the two Croatian chefs, Višnja Lažeta and Eta Čačilo, the secrets and the importance of those ingredients, as well as the importance of the ritual of the meal. He explains that it's important to eat with the understanding of each specific flavour, and the awareness of the love needed to grow each of the things in your meal. Ayurveda tradition also teaches us that the best time for love-making is during the full moon, at least two hours after a meal, and each day between 10 and 11 pm.

The meals prepared for the Valentine's menu will be offered as a buffet, so all visitors will get the chance to taste a bit of several different meals. If you enjoy the meals, you might become a regular customer of the restaurant, as it offers meals daily, including deliveries each day. More about them, in Croatian.

February 11, 2019 - International cuisine restaurants are in relatively short supply in Croatia - meet a Lebanese treasure tucked away in the hills outside Zagreb: Habibi (Byblos).

I love the randomness and unpredictability of life in Croatia, where things pop up where you would least expect it. 

A few years ago, for example, I was driving my family from Split to the airport to catch the seaplane back to Jelsa when I noticed the most extraordinary thing by the side of the road in an industrial part fo Kastela - a Korean restaurant!  Having been starved of Asian food living on a Dalmatian island, I was beyond excited. But why in the middle of Kastela? I never got to eat there, as the restaurant never seemed to be open. One friend called and heard the sound of a busy restaurant and asked if he could come over, only to be told that they had no food. Quite a speciality for a restaurant, and we began to suspect that it was perhaps a North Korean restaurant. The reality, I learned, was that an enterprising South Korean had opened the restaurant to cater almost exclusively to the growing number of Korean tourists visiting Croatia. The restaurant is no more. 

And so to last week. I have never bought anything second-hand online in Croatia before, but the need for an older kitchen table for our holiday home rental had me and my wife driving to some obscure address just west of Zagreb, trying to find a garage to pick up the table we had bought on Njuskalo. Our initial pleasure at finding the address was somewhat clouded by the news that the husband had taken the key to work and would not be back until 2 hours later. 

It was a dreary day and pretty cold. We had noticed a cafe on the way up which looked pretty uninviting, and decided to head up the hill to see if there was anything more appealing. 

And there it was! Habibi, a Middle Eastern restaurant which looked VERY invited indeed, just 300m from our locked garage. We looked at each other and parked up. 

And so began one of the most pleasant culinary experiences I have had in recent years. 

It was about 16:45, hardly prime dining time, and the people inside were very friendly but I got the impression they were not open. We were ushered to a table with the explanation that there were in the middle of reorganising the restaurant (it will be changing its name from Habibi to Byblos in the coming weeks). 

"But in the Middle East, we are always welcoming to visitors. Come in and eat."

I was a little disarmed by the warmth and attentiveness of both the waitress and the owner, after years of Croatia's legendary service. There was something heartfelt and genuine that one rarely sees in Croatian restaurants. 

"You can order that if you like, but I really think it will be too much for you. My recommendation is the same, but this and this." A restaurant advising diners not to overspend. Refreshing indeed. We opted for the mixed mezza for two and the mixed grill. 

"A little salad on the house to get you started." In a pomegranate sauce. Fabulous. 

And so to the mezza, which was absolutely sensational. Homemade hummus, baba ghanouj (chickpea puree with sesame paste), labneh (strained yoghurt served with olive oil, dried mint and garlic), fattoush (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, mint, onion, radish, sumac and toasted Lebanese bread with a lemon and olive oil dressing), mouhamara (spicy mediterranean paprika puree with olive oil) and lamb shawarma in hummus. I was already full, but the food was truly outstanding. 

And so to the main mixed grill, really delicious charcoaled lamb and chicken, and minced lamb. But what on earth was a Lebanese guy doing opening a restaurant in such a remote place in Croatia?

"I am a Croat who was born in Lebanon, and my home is here," came the reply. His wife is Lebanese and they thought they would try and open the restaurant. Open just over a year, it seems from the reviews that I checked later that I was not alone - those who have discovered Habibi (soon to be renamed Byblos) have been more than impressed. And the majority of other people have found the restaurant not through kitchen table purchases on Njuskalo, but through more regular channels. Just a 20-minute drive from downtown Zagreb, it is a very pleasant spot in the hills. 

A spicy pepper went down the wrong way and my wife asked for some water. She got that, as well as a glass of milk and 'the tastiest natural lemonade in Croatia.' And it was. Neither drink appeared on the bill. 

There was no room for dessert for us two. Next time - they look delicious. You can check out the whole menu on the Habibi Facebook page.  

Others arrived, and so the restaurant is still working despite being in the middle of its upgrade, including a name change from Habibi to Byblos, to avoid confusion with a store in Zagreb. It seems that Saturday nights is a great time to visit if you want the complete Middle Eastern experience, including live music and belly dancing. 

A really wonderful experience, with the bill for two including a couple of beers coming to 392 kuna, worth every lipa. We said our goodbyes and promised to return and were just commenting on what a wonderful meal we had had when the owner came running after us, explaining that our tip had been too large. We reassured him with a smile that it reflected no less than the experience we had been exposed to. A really pleasant hospitality experience where one least expected it. And soon, the missing garage key appeared and we drove home triumphantly with our new old kitchen table. 

To learn more about Habibi (soon to be Byblos), check out their Facebook page.  

Orešje ulica 13, Zagreb
Tel 097 748 7792

In January, we introduced you to a new Croatian flight company named Smile Air, a Zagreb-based startup airline registered in the summer of 2017 by the director and co-owner Nino Borić, who has been working in the field of aviation for over thirty years. 

The exciting new project is in no particular rush to begin, however, and is instead proceeding with caution. Thus, Smile Air hopes to start operations by 2020 using two Embraer E190 jets for year-round travel. They’ll also lease an Airbus A321 for seasonal flights, and eventually the wide-body A330 for long haul operations, reports Ex Yu Aviation on February 10, 2019. 

"We would like to start operations at the end of this year, but it will be difficult to do so, as we need to secure the right aircraft for the market. Prices are currently too high. We are in no real hurry, but we want to make this a sustainable and long-term project void of any mistakes. In addition, obtaining flight permits also takes some time, so we hope to launch in 2020,” Borić said. 

"The airline will initially operate in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, while worldwide operations are also planned,” he added. 

Borić works alongside the other co-owner of Smile Air, Bernard Lukač, a 30-year-old pilot and former instructor in Croatia Airlines, who has worked as an inspector at the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency (CCAA) for the last eight years. The team is completed by Krunoslav Dumlija, a pilot with fifteen years of experience, who is also a former CCAA inspector. 

Smile Air will begin with two aircraft on operational leases, which would require between 3-5 million dollars. 

It’ll be interesting to see how this new startup airline fares, considering Croatia’s mostly unsuccessful projects in the past, such as Air Croatia, Sea Air, Dalmatian, Libertas Air, AWEX and Splitair, concluded Ex Yu Aviation. 

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

In a rather bizarre move, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on Thursday officially visited Zagreb, the city in which she lives and works. After meeting with Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, the president stated to the media at the Zagreb Fair and claimed that there were no homeless people in Zagreb, reports Index.hr on February 9, 2019.

“I knew a lot because I live here and occasionally meet with the mayor, but I have heard a lot of information during my visit, especially about social benefits. You can see there are no homeless people on the streets of the city, unlike in many other many places,” said President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović.

However, anyone walking the streets of Zagreb, instead of being driven in a motorcade of armoured vehicles, clearly knows this is not true, and the Croatian Homeless Network decided to react to the President’s statement. The association published its statement on Facebook.

“I have not been shocked like this for a long time, especially given the fact that the statement came from the person who was my favourite for the president until today.

I have often spoken about good social policies of the City of Zagreb in the media and thanked the mayor for the homeless shelter at Velika Kosnica, the soup kitchens, the social shops and other services provided to the poor and socially excluded. I again repeat the praise to the City of Zagreb, which last year funded the trip of Croatia's homeless team to the Homeless World Cup in Mexico.

However, despite the efforts of the City of Zagreb, on the streets of Zagreb and in non-residential buildings there are at least 500 homeless people. There are currently 130 homeless people in two shelters and about 40 in overnight accommodation in Jukićeva St. The majority of homeless persons in Zagreb came from other areas of Croatia, where there aren’t any services provided to them, so they are forced to go to Zagreb and, if nothing else, eat in numerous soup kitchens. Many come here for work and, if they do not find a job or lose it, stay here.

I point out that many large towns and counties, although being legally obliged to finance homeless services, are not doing anything, so people come to Zagreb not to starve.

The laws have put the burden on local authorities to take care of the homeless people, unwilling to admit that most of them are people who meet the statutory conditions for permanent placement (mentally ill, aged over 65, persons with intellectual disabilities, incapable of work due to illness, etc.) and that they should be under the care of the competent ministry, and not the local authorities.

To help the most vulnerable homeless people, the employees and volunteers go to the field every Tuesday and Friday to help them. There is also the Homeless Help and Support Centre, which has a long list of people literally living on the streets. Perhaps the President wants to take a look at it.

I call on the president, who has been touring Croatia, to find the time and spend one evening taking a walk with us, for example, at the central train station. Maybe she will realise what is really going on.”

Translated from Index.hr.

More news on the president can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 8, 2019 - The parliamentary conflict of interest commission on Friday fined Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić 30,000 kuna for signing a contract on the legal representation of the city and city companies by the law firm of the late Marijan Hanžeković because the law firm deposited 15 million kuna so Bandic could be released on bail during an investigation into a corruption case dubbed Agram.

Commission chair Nataša Novaković said that the contract between Hanžeković's law firm and the city of Zagreb and city companies amounted to 25 million kuna annually.

Novakovic said that after the law firm deposited bail money, Bandić found himself in a relationship of dependence on Hanžeković and his law firm and that he should therefore not have been involved in the procurement of legal services involving Hanžeković and his partners and especially, not sign decisions and contracts with that law firm.

The conflict of interest commission also decided that MP Milorad Pupovac of the SDSS party had breached the Conflict of Interest Act by failing to exempt himself, in his capacity as a member of the Council for Ethnic Minorities, from a vote the Council took on 5 May 2016 to reallocate budget funds for ethnic minorities, including, among others, to the Serb National Council (SNV), of which Pupovac is president.

Presenting his defence before the commission, Pupovac said that he believed that he had not breached the Conflict of Interest Act because the SNV was not a group of private persons linked with him by interest, adding however that he would respect the commission's decision.

He said that he took part in the debate at the Council session and remained during the vote but that neither he nor other Council members could remember him having taken part in the vote.

More news on the Zagreb Mayor Bandić can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 5, 2019 - Zagreb is the third and Varaždin the fourth city in the world in terms of citizens who have committed to participate in this year's International Winter Bike to Work Day on February 8, the Croatian Cyclists' Union said on Tuesday.

International Winter Bike to Work Day was launched in Canada in 2013 as a friendly competition between cities and countries around the world. It takes place annually on the second Friday in February, the Union said.

Zagreb won the competition for three years in a row thanks to those who committed to cycling to work that day at least. Novi Sad, Serbia won last year's competition.

"Currently we are in third place and Varaždin is just behind," the Cyclists' Union said, adding that the people of the two cities did not need a special day to cycle to work, even in winter.

The Union invited citizens from all over Croatia to register at www.winterbiketoworkday.org and show that there are many who cycle irrespective of the weather.

This year the weather is extremely favourable, unlike the below zero temperatures in recent years, the Union said, adding that it would offer a cyclist's breakfast at a secret Zagreb location on Friday "as an incentive and a thank-you to those who leave cars at home, thus reducing the insufferable traffic jams and air pollution."

More news on cycling in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.

On a pile on the ground near the house at the corner of Kamenita St. and Opatička St. in Zagreb. This was when the so-called Admiral Nelson's chain was last seen; it used to be attached to the facade of a building at Kamenita St. for more than a hundred years. Until last summer, when the building underwent a reconstruction, reports Večernji List on February 5, 2019.

The chain was put there by Albert Nugent at the end of the 19th century, while his family owned the building. He did it after the death of his father, Count Laval Nugent, a passionate art collector who, as an Austrian army commander, came to Croatia and stayed here to live. Laval Nugent was also the founder of the first museum in Croatia, the Nugent Museum, at the Trsat fort near Rijeka.

It was Count Nugent who brought to Zagreb the chain which was allegedly part of HMS Victory. In 1805, the ship was commanded by Admiral Horatio Nelson during the famous Battle of Trafalgar in which Britain defeated Napoleon's fleet. Nelson was killed on that ship, which today stands at the Portsmouth harbour as a naval museum.

The historically-important chain was removed during the reconstruction so that it would not be damaged. The head of the City Institute for Protection of Monuments, Stipe Tutiš, said that the chain would be returned about the works are done. The City Office for Spatial Planning manages the renovations works, but its head, Dinko Bilić, said that the chain has not yet been refurbished.

However, both offices remained silent when asked where the chain is presently stored. Reporters have checked the facilities where the chain could be located, but it has not been seen in the Zagreb City Museum or the Croatian History Museum. It is not at the Croatian Restoration Institute and not at the Archaeological Museum, which keeps some of the other objects bought from the heirs of Count Nugent which were brought there in more than 80 cases.

People living in surrounding buildings are afraid that Nelson’s chain will never return to its old position. “There are rumours that the chain has been stolen,” says Marko Majnarić, the manager of the Lav bar, located in a building on the corner of Kamenita St. and Opatička St.

Many people ask about the chain, including tourists, who always tour the Upper Town during their visits. “The chain is featured in tourist brochures, we hope someone will return it someday,” said a local.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Petra Balija).

More Zagreb news can be found in the special section.