The Zagreb Advent festival will feature a new event this year, a special exhibition of luxury and valuable items from all over the world that will take place from 5 to 8 December at the Technical Museum, reports Jutarnji List on November 19, 2018.

At the Zagreb Winter FairYtale exhibition, the visitors will be able to see things for which one usually has to travel all around the world. The show will be a great opportunity for visitors to see all that luxury brands in the region and beyond can offer, whether it is premium cars, yachts, expensive watches, real estate, fashion, artwork, travel... The exhibition will also be a chance to enjoy “good vibrations” during the Advent.

Darko Šupuk, the main organizer, is excited about everything they have prepared for the visitors. “FairYtale is an ambitious and imaginative project that focuses on the beauty and the value of life, as reflected in the so-called premium products and lifestyle, compatible with luxury. Luxury today is spending high-quality time together, which is enabled by such products. The mix will be presented by FairYtale through several programmes. When we publish a list of exhibitors, among them you will find names that I am sure will cause a lot of positive reactions. I am proud to do something like this in Zagreb and Croatia, and I look forward to the Advent days that will be enriched by the FairYtale exhibition.”

Zagreb Advent Winter FairYtale will be the perfect stage to enjoy lifestyle characterized by enjoying life. In addition to artwork that will be presented in a dedicated area, part of the exhibition will be dedicated to golf, high fashion, fine dining, and enjoyment in life. The additional element of the fair is numerous events for visitors, which will make their stay at the fair pleasant – and unforgettable. Several events such as fashion shows, Advent cooking, gala dinners with famous chefs, musical performances and special cocktail presentations have been announced. Also, FairYtale has a charity element, aiming to raise funds for socially vulnerable children with developmental difficulties.

The Zagreb Winter FairYtale will be a great addition to the Advent festivities in the city, which has been the proud winner of the title for the best Advent event in Europe for the last several years.

For more on the Zagreb Advent festivities, click here.

Translated from Jutarnji List.

A 110 square-metre apartment in Jurišićeva Street for 6,500 kuna, a 95 square-metre apartment in Degenova for 5,500 kuna... Rental rates in the Zagreb city centre are so high that many tenants if they decide to look for an apartment in this area, cannot find an apartment which they can afford. Especially in December, when the Zagreb Advent brings numerous tourists to the capital. In addition to extremely high prices, the problem is that there are few apartments offered for long-term rental at all, which is not surprising given that owners who opt for short-term rentals to tourists can earn a monthly rent in just a few days, reports Večernji List on November 17, 2018.

The number of apartments offered for short-term rentals in Zagreb is higher in December than in the rest of the year. “Many property owners who have empty apartments opt for short-term rental during the largest event in the city. It is better than to have an empty apartment,” said Marko Marinšek, who rents out apartments in Gundulićeva Street.

However, short-term rentals demand a lot more effort from the owners than long-term leases, where owners just have to take care that the monthly rent and utility bills are paid on time.

“On the other hand, many people have stopped renting their apartments, due to too much competition. Some have even taken their apartments from the market altogether,” said Bruno Babić from the Apartments in the Zagreb Centre association, which brings together more than 20 apartments of different owners. But this does not prevent others from trying to rent their apartments to tourists.

Despite the fact that there have never been more apartments offered for short-term rental, all the apartments which are part of the association have already been booked for the Advent weekends, mostly by tourists who will arrive in Zagreb by plane. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in December are more or less booked, with a few vacancies available over the week.

There are no apartments in the city centre which are available for long-term rental under 300 euro a month, said Anita Vukoja, the owner of In-between real estate agency, which rents out apartments for her clients. “The demand is the highest for two-bedroom apartments and studios from 300 to 500 euro a month. As soon as they appear on the market, they are rented the very same day. At the same time, people looking for an apartment complain that it is impossible to find any,” said Vukoja. “There are many people who are buying apartments just to offer them for short-term rentals,” added Vukoja.

The average price for a four-bed apartment in Zagreb is 50 euro per night, although such apartments can cost up to 100 euro in the centre.

For more news on Zagreb, click here.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Petra Balija).

ZAGREB, November 17, 2018 - A new, modern building of the American International School of Zagreb was officially inaugurated in Zagreb's Bundek neighbourhood on Friday.

This state-of-the-art school is attended by 250 students of 36 different nationalities, who acquire competencies based on modern learning methods. One-fifth of the students attending the American International School of Zagreb (AISZ) are Croatians.

The American International School was established in 1966 and 52 years after its establishment it has moved to a befitting campus – the most beautiful school building in Zagreb, in the city's most beautiful park, Bundek, Mayor Milan Bandić said at the opening ceremony.

Opening the new school, US Ambassador William Robert Kohorst thanked generations of American International School employees who over the past 52 years had worked with enthusiasm to help realise the project.

He commended the school's location and thanked the mayor of Zagreb as well as the companies that built the new school building – Teh-gradnja and Projektgradnja – for their professionalism, recalling that the building was built in a record 13 months and cost 14.7 million euro.

The ambassador said that the AISZ was the best school in the country, offering many possibilities to help children develop competencies for jobs of the future.

School director Paul Buckley said that the school offered an innovative international curriculum based on the newest education research and practice. He thanked everyone involved in the new school project – current and former members of the school board – as well as the project authors – Boston architects David Croteau and Jenni Katajamäki of FLANSBURGH Architects and Zagreb architects Vedran Pedišić and Erick Velasco Farrera of SANGRAD+AVP.

He noted that the school had been furnished by Croatian companies. The school director also said that the school could admit 500 students.

The school has three atria, halls that also serve as areas for learning, a running track, a theatre with a music classroom, an art studio, a dance studio, two open libraries, chemistry, physics and biology laboratories with modern equipment, a workshop and many other amenities, he said.

The school provides the best possible education for its students as well as encouraging them to accept differences and love their life and the life of others, said the director.

Mayor Bandić said that Zagreb was a multiethnic and multicultural city, open and safe for all. He said the AISZ was proof of Zagreb's multiculturalism and thanked everyone, including the current US ambassador, as well as his predecessors, for everything they had done to help accomplish the new school project.

Bandić also said that the new school was evidence that "the United States is seriously counting on Croatia", and expressed his gratitude to the USA "for everything it did for Croatia in the critical moments of its history."

Representatives of the parliament, government and the president's office also attended the opening ceremony.

For more on Croatia’s schools, click here.

ZAGREB, November 16, 2018 - The government on Friday accepted a draft framework agreement on cooperation with the City of Zagreb in the preparation of a project for the construction of a national children's hospital within the compounds of what was supposed to be a hospital in Zagreb's Blato suburb.

"This is a historic opportunity for this government to do something that this nation and state badly need. We can now, in partnership with the City of Zagreb, build a new university hospital with its first stage being a children's hospital, instead of just adapting and refurbishing the existing hospitals," Health Minister Milan Kujundžić said.

On 13 September, the Zagreb City Assembly adopted a decision on the conclusion of the framework agreement regulating cooperation in the preparation of the project to build a national children's hospital as the first stage of the establishment of a national university hospital within the compounds of the Blato hospital, whose construction was never completed.

The cooperation refers to the elaboration of a feasibility study and other documents as the basis for applying for project funding from the EU, the minister said.

The 2012-2020 national public healthcare development strategy envisages changes in the organisation and activities of hospitals and the establishment of a national university hospital as an umbrella healthcare institution offering medical services of the highest quality to citizens of Croatia, reads the government decision on endorsing the draft framework agreement.

For more on hospitals in Croatia, click here.

The Zagreb city firefighting brigade, in addition to everything they do for citizens 365 days a year, is always ready to invest additional efforts to help the needy. Six years ago, the firefighters launched a charity project, reports Večernji List on November 16, 2018.

The project in question is the Firefighters Stair Challenge to the top of the VMD skyscraper in Strojarska Street, which will this year be held on December 1. Firefighters in full gear and with a breathing apparatus on their backs will compete who will be the first to reach the top of the building. They will climb a total of 31 floors, or 666 stairs. In this way, they will check their readiness to perform their firefighting duties, but also do one more good deed. This year, the race will include junior firefighters as well, who will race four floors.

The money collected by the charity project, all the registration fees and donations, will be used to help the Kolibrići Association, an association of parents of children with life-threatening diseases, primarily for the procurement of a CoughAssist device.

The project has been endorsed by the City of Zagreb. From the very first year, the race has been an international project (with fellow firefighters from Slovenia taking part since the beginning). Every year, there are more and more firefighters participating in the race; last year there were 161 firefighters.

The promotional activities for the race will include a presentation at the Dolac market on November 17, where fire-fighters will train together with members of the Kolibrići association.

All interested citizens can join the project by coming to the race, volunteering their time in the organization of the event, or by donating funds. More info about the event can be found on the website.

For more on charity projects in Croatia, click here.

The proud owner of numerous hits, four Grammy awards and more than 60 million albums sold, Michael Buble will perform on September 16, 2019, at the Arena Zagreb, reports Večernji List on November 16, 2018.

The Zagreb concert is part of a major world tour promoting his latest studio album, which will begin in Florida on February 13. This is the fourth major world tour in Michael Buble's career, and the first part includes 27 American cities, including concerts at the legendary Madison Square Garden in New York and the Staples Centre in Los Angeles.

The European tour starts on May 20 in Birmingham. In addition to numerous British cities and the concert in Zagreb, the singer will visit and cheer up his fans in Ireland, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Bulgaria, Belgium and the Netherlands.

“I am doing what I was created for. I am returning to a world which needs love, romance and laughter more than ever, and I am channelling this through my new songs. This is the best album I have made so far,” said Buble. The love is proof of the power of music and its healing power. “It is true that I needed to make this album and that it had a very positive effect on me. These songs and this genre are my essence. They perfectly fit me and seem so natural.”

The latest album "Love" is a cross-section of love classics in new arrangements, including My Funny Valentine in Michael's interpretation, and La Vie En Rose, which he sang in a duet with Cecile McLorin Salvant. Together with Loren Allred, he breathed a new life into Kris Kristofferson's hit Help Me Make It Through The Night. The emotional centre of the album is his song Forever Love, which tells a story about his favourite role as a father and the vulnerability and strength that comes from unconditional love.

Michael Buble will remember this day well because he is about to receive his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The tickets for the Zagreb concert will be available starting from November 23, through the Eventim system and their sales venues.

For more on concerts in Croatia, click here.

The Srijem Breakfast, which TCN introduced to our readers a few months ago, has made its way to the center of Zagreb. The now popular breakfast arrived to the Croatian capital straight from Ilok, from the well-known Danube hotel, which is the proud owner of a Michelin recommendation.

November 15, 2018 - Croatia still has a shot in the UEFA Nations League after an incredible last minute win against Spain in Zagreb. 

Products awarded the Croatian Island Product label are again being presented to the public in Zagreb, on the main square. It's become some sort of a tradition, with fairs where those products are sold and tasted taking place before Easter and Christmas in Zagreb for several years now. 

The fair has opened today, November 15th at the main square (Ban Jelačić square) in Zagreb, although the official opening ceremony will be held tomorrow morning (at 9:30 am), with participation of singers from Jezera on the island of Murter and Korčula's own Sv. Cecilija "klapa" (an 'a capella' vocal band). There are over 30 participants at the fair, coming from various islands: Korčula, Vis, Lastovo, Brač, Krk, Hvar, Pag, Prvić, Rab, Dugi otok, Ugljan, Iž, Rava, Cres and Pelješac peninsula. 

Of those from Korčula who have in the past years been awarded the Croatian Island Product label, several are participating at the fair. Cukarin is, od course, present in Zagreb, offering their "usual suspects", such as well-known klašuni, amarete etc., but also their korčulanska lojenica, for which they were just recently awarded the label. 

Škatula, also a well-known sweets shop from Korčula, presented their Karat, a spread made from carob, a perfect product for those who do not really appreciate chocolate, in addition to the wealth of their other products. 

Smokvun was also presented to the people of Zagreb, all of its creative varieties made an appearance. 

Sanja Protić and her products from her family farm in Blato were, of course, also present in Zagreb. In addition to her sweets (the most well-known one being traditional local blatska lumblija) and olive oils and other products, she also helped promote wines from Blato on her stand - and, as you can see in the photo below, she was in a good mood in while in Zagreb! 

Visitors to the Zagreb Zoo participated recently in the celebration of the International Day of Red Pandas, which includes the selection of the name for a cub of this endangered animal species. The currently most popular inhabitant of the zoo was named by singer Mia Dimšić. Citizens have proposed about 300 names through social networks, and Dimšić chose her favourite and named the red panda cub Grga, reports Jutarnji List on November 15, 2018.

The Zoo’s jury first reduced the 300 proposals to twelve candidates, and Mia chose the name she liked the most. Grga defeated Baltazar, Bongi, Boo, Elmo, Ernest, Felix, Fulir, Maks, Ma, Zooki and Vatroslav. “Grga immediately became the most attractive proposal, and the additional reason is that the name is related to this region. Another finalist was Vatroslav,” Mia Dimšić explained.

Her choice was met with approval from the visitors to the zoo, where they celebrated the International Day of Red Pandas.

“The love between red pandas Popi and Ema began three years ago. Since Mia’s songs can often be heard in the zoo, maybe they also contributed to the romance which occurred. We are happy that our red pandas now have a cub. In five months, Grga has developed into a talented and energetic boy who enjoys life. He likes to have fun but also to eat a lot,” said Damir Skok, the director of the Zagreb Zoo. He added that Grga was a perfect name since the cub’s father and grandfather were also born in Zagreb.

The zoo presented the singer with a red panda toy and congratulated her the 26th birthday which she celebrated three days earlier.

On the occasion of the International Day of Red Pandas, the visitors enjoyed a comprehensive educational programme on the protected species.

For more on the Zagreb Zoo, click here.

Translated from Jutarnji List.