December 11, 2020 - The pandemic has necessitated a fresh approach for Advent in Zagreb. Meet Virtual Christmas Windows, a new AR approach to the festive season. 

The uncertainty caused by coronavirus has entered every aspect of our lives this year, nowhere more so than event planning.  

Big events necessarily need to be planned in advance, and with the uncertainty of a fresh outbreak, the challenges of adapting to late changes are considerable. Nowhere has this been more true than the award-winning Advent in Zagreb, which has become one of the defining tourism spectacles of the Croatian capital in a short space of time, after Zagreb was voted Best Christmas Market in Europe three years in a row. The city in December was transformed from a relatively quiet winter metropolis to a beacon of light and festive cheers, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists and providing a late-season boost for the Croatian tourism industry. 

The tourism chiefs decided that Advent in Zagreb 2020 would go ahead, albeit in a very different format to previous years. With a strong emphasis on art and culture, a rich programme of concerts can be enjoyed virtually, and efforts were made to give the city its festive feel without the crowds gathering for their traditional mulled wine and sausages in the wooden stalls dotted all over the city. 

One of the most innovative ways of achieving this is the Zagreb Virtual Christmas Windows project, the first time that Augmented Reality (AR) has been used in such a way at Advent in Zagreb.  For many people, this will be their first experience with Augmented Reality, allowing them to see and interact with virtual, 3D objects, inspiring and heartwarming art, all of which can be accessed with your smartphone.

The project has been developed in partnership with AR specialists Equinox XR, which is run by Ivan Voras, co-founder of the popular Surove Strasti podcast. The artwork was inspired by the holiday season, by the need for people to stay safe indoors, and by the stylised look of some of the old town buildings. Equinox received the 2D artwork envisioned by Zoran Djukic and drawn by Mateja Kovac, which was then transformed to a 3D experience by 3D designer, Igor Puskaric. The artwork depicts windows in wintertime, with people staying safe in their homes. Viewers can peek into the windows and see a slice of life, accompanied by appropriate sounds and music specific to each window.

It is a very atmospheric and immersive experience, an art form which enriches a location with visual and auditory cues and pulls the viewer into a certain mood, while being present in familiar places.

The AR artwork can be found in 20 locations all over Zagreb, in parks and squares. 

In order to access the content, simply download the Equinox XR application, which is available on Google Play here, and in the iStore here. Once you have opened the app, go to 'Advent Zagreb' and get started! The app will then display information on what is available in the immediate vicinity. Simply click on the icon which appears on your mobile phone screen, and you will be guided to the exact place where the exhibition is located. By rotating your mobile phone, as if you are to take a photo, you can go through the exhibition and interactively participate in it - take photos or share content on social media. You can get a teaser in the video below.

If you are unable to make it to Zagreb this Advent, you could still have the opportunity to experience Virtual Christmas Windows in your home town. There are plans to expand this service to locations around Zagreb, other cities in Croatia, and even internationally. More information as we get it, but as you can see from the map above, Pula, Split, Rijeka and Osijek have also been included. 

A nice festive touch in these socially distanced times, and a great example of how technology and tradition can adapt to the unique challenges of 2020. 

To learn more about the Advent in Zagreb 2020 programme, visit the official website. 

For the latest news from Zagreb, visit the dedicated TCN section. 

And some images from Split...

December 11, 2020 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Air France reduces Paris-Zagreb in December.

Croatian Aviation reports that French national carrier Air France has reduced the number of weekly flights between Paris and Zagreb this month.

Although Air France originally planned to operate more frequently to Zagreb in December this year, this is not the case. The airline currently operates only two flights a week on this route, which is not surprising given that the airline from the same group, Dutch KLM, with which Air France works closely, currently operates daily to Zagreb.

By the end of December, Air France will operate only 7 return flights on the Paris - Zagreb - Paris route. The airline currently operates on this route twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with E190 aircraft that have a capacity of 100 passengers in the fleet of this carrier.

The airline decided to add just one flight around the Christmas holidays, on Monday, December 21. Given the capacity of the aircraft used by Air France on this route, 1,400 seats between Paris and Zagreb are available until the end of December.

Direct flights are available on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Recall that Croatia Airlines operates on the same route, on Thursdays and Sundays, and an additional flight is on sale on Tuesday, December 22. If we add the capacity of the national airline until the end of the month, a total of two mentioned carriers on this route will offer slightly less than 2500 seats (2464), which, given the epidemiological situation, should be more than enough even during Christmas and New Year holidays. 

Air France is currently offering two daily flights to Zagreb in the summer flight schedule in 2021, but it will be seen whether these flights will be realized.

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December 10, 2020 - Rijeka closed out their Europa League campaign this season with a win against AZ Alkmaar, while Dinamo topped CSKA Moscow 3:1 at home and made European history. 

In the final 6th round of the Europa League on Thursday, Rijeka defeated AZ Alkmaar 2-1 (0-0) at Rujevica in Group F.

Rijeka took the lead with a goal by Menalo in the 52nd minute, but five minutes later, Wijndal equalized. Rijeka sealed their victory with a goal by Tomečak in the third minute of added time. The club bid farewell to the European competition until next season after finishing last in the group. 

Although the match was much more important for the Dutch club, whose victory ensured their passage to the next round, Rijeka was equally motivated on the pitch, even though they had long known that this would be the end.

In the second match of this group, Napoli and Real Sociedad played 1-1 (1-0) at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. Napoli led with a goal by Zielinski (35), and Willian Jose equalized in the second minute of added time. 

Napoli won first place in Group F with 11 points; Real Sociedad finished in second place with nine, AZ Alkmaar remained third with eight points, while Rijeka was last with four points.

In the later match on Thursday, Dinamo, who already won first place in Group K before the final round, defeated CSKA Moscow at Maksimir thanks to goals by Joško Gvardiol in the 28th minute, Mislav Orsic in the 41st, and Lirim Kastrati in the 74th. 

Dinamo was not without motive tonight, as they could have entered European football history as the first team to finish a Europa League group or a Champions League group without conceding a goal. Unfortunately, a late goal by CSKA's Bistrovic (74') cut their dream short.

However, Dinamo still made history tonight for going the longest in the Champions League or Europa League group stages without conceding a goal. Namely, Dinamo did not concede a goal for 527 minutes this season. Manchester United was the last club to hold the record, going 482 minutes without conceding a goal in the 2010/11 Champions League group stage.

In the second match of Group K, Wolfsberger AC defeated Feyenoord 1-0. 

Dinamo thus finished at the top of Group K, Wolfsberger finished in second, Feyenoord in third, and CSKA Moscow in the last place. 

The UEFA Europa League draw for the next round will be held in just a few days, on December 14.

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

December 10, 2020 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as the second daily KLM flight to Zagreb offers a wide variety of connections to destinations in Europe and the United States.

As we already announced, KLM will introduce a second daily flight on the Amsterdam - Zagreb - Amsterdam route from February next year. Thus, Croatian Aviation researched the flight schedule, capacity, and connectivity options to other destinations in Europe and the world.

In mid-February, more precisely, from Monday, February 14, 2021, KLM will introduce its second daily flight between Amsterdam and Zagreb. Thus, KLM will land at Zagreb Airport twice a day from that date. The airline will have an evening departure from Amsterdam (departure at 20:55, arrival in Zagreb at 22:55). The four-member KLM crew will spend the night in Zagreb from February and perform the morning flight from Zagreb (departure at 06:30, arrival in Amsterdam at 08:40). 

The second daily flight will depart from Amsterdam at 09:40, and arrival in Zagreb is planned at 11:30. After 50 minutes in Zagreb, the plane will take off for the capital of the Netherlands, with the expected arrival in Amsterdam at 14:30.

This summer, the airline gradually increased the number of flights to Zagreb and currently operates daily, with E190 aircraft with a capacity of 100 passengers. Since September, larger aircraft of the B737-700 and B737-800 types have frequently operated on this route.

KLM will offer almost 80% more seats per day to and from Zagreb Airport

With the introduction of the second daily flight on the Amsterdam - Zagreb - Amsterdam route, smaller aircraft (E175) with a maximum capacity of 88 passengers will operate. Still, KLM will increase the number of seats to and from Zagreb from the existing 200 to 352.

The mentioned two daily flights are currently on sale until Saturday, March 27, 2021. Namely, the airline opened sales on the second daily flight only in the winter flight schedule ending on that date. Still, KLM confirmed that it plans to operate between Zagreb and Amsterdam twice a day and in the summer flight schedule next year, so it is expected that booking will be possible soon on the above flights until October.

Add to this the daily flights of Croatia Airlines, which normally operates on this route with A319 aircraft (currently due to the pandemic's impact with the smaller DashQ400), the number of seats offered since February will increase significantly compared to this year.

The second daily flight's main advantage will be the greater possibility of connections via Amsterdam to numerous destinations in Europe and the world.

Given that many Croatian citizens living and working in Ireland and the United Kingdom use the existing one-day KLM flight to Zagreb, the introduction of the second will increase the choice of connections and reduce waiting times in Amsterdam. For example, London City Airport to Zagreb with KLM via Amsterdam can be reached in just 4 hours of travel (not including check-in time at the airport). There are also excellent connections from Dublin via Amsterdam to Zagreb, twice a day.

From Zagreb via Amsterdam to Dublin in just 3 hours and 50 minutes!

The time spent waiting in Amsterdam for many destinations does not exceed two hours (often only 45 minutes), such as to and from Manchester, Dublin, Stockholm, Oslo, and many other destinations.

KLM will also offer excellent connections to the USA, primarily to New York, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, both on their own and on American Delta flights.

Apart from those traveling directly between Amsterdam and Zagreb, transfer passengers will have a wider choice of destinations with significantly better connections. If we add that KLM often has favorable airfares and excellent service on its flights, these flights should have no issue reaching capacity. In fact, even at this time of year and during a pandemic, KLM has a solid occupancy on the line to Zagreb.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

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ZAGREB, Dec 9, 2020 - The City of Zagreb has obtained 17,850 rapid antigen tests for its 60 social welfare institutions, the head of the Zagreb department for social policy, Romana Galic, said on Tuesday.

Of those 60 institutions, 41 are old age homes, and the remaining 19 are institutions for providing care to people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups of citizens, Galic said.

She explained that this had been the first batch of the rapid coronavirus tests which should be used in a period of one month, and the Zagreb authorities hope that they will be provided with additional quantities of those tests.

Testing of staff working in retirement homes and beneficiaries is a manner to prevent the spread of this virus in those institutions, she added.

Currently, there are 196 beneficiaries from 11 old-care homes in Zagreb who are positive for coronavirus. Of them, 22 are receiving hospital treatment, about 50 beneficiaries, who have contracted the virus, are without symptoms and others are with mild symptoms of the COVID-19 disease.

Also, currently, 75 employees from Zagreb's old-age homes are positive for the virus, and an additional 38 are self-isolating.

Galic said that about 75% of beneficiaries in Zagreb's social welfare institutions have said that they are willing to undergo testing, while 36% of the staff have expressed readiness. Also, a marked portion of the staff have recovered from the infection, she said.

December 8, 2020 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Flydubai replaces Emirates in Zagreb next year.

Ex Yu Aviation reports that Flydubai will replace Emirates on the Dubai-Zagreb route next summer!

Recall, Emirates officially canceled the Dubai-Zagreb route for all of 2021 back in October. The airline had planned to operate on the Dubai-Zagreb route in this year's summer flight schedule, but due to the global coronavirus pandemic, the start of operations on this route was first postponed, and then completely canceled for this year.

Emirates then left daily flights on this route on sale for the 2021 summer flight schedule, but ultimately canceled the route entirely. Namely, the airline canceled all flights to Zagreb for the next year, closed its office at Zagreb Airport, and fired its local employees. Emirates also canceled their routes between Dubai - Edinburgh, Dubai - Porto, and Dubai - St. Petersburg.

A logical move, Flydubai will now operate on this route three times a week, beginning February 3, 2021, before running four flights a week from March 28, 2021, and daily from June 1, 2021,

Flydubai will operate using a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which Ex Yu Aviation says will likely be upgraded to the 737 MAX once it receives regulatory approval to return to the skies. 

However, capacity between Zagreb and Dubai will be significantly reduced compared to 2019, offering 57,420 seats on 330 flights. Recall, in the summer of 2019, Emirates offered 137,510 seats on 380 flights on the three-class Boeing 777 aircraft. Thus, Flydubai will operate with a capacity reduction of 58.2%.

Ex Yu Aviation also reports that Flydubai should resume its seasonal summer service to Dubrovnik from May 13, 2021, which would operate until August 27. FlyDubai had also previously announced regular flights to Zagreb from December this winter, which will no longer happen as the airline withdrew all flights on the route until the beginning of February 2021. It is now only a question of when those flights will also be canceled.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

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December 7, 2020 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Air Serbia operates twice weekly to Zagreb in December, slightly reducing its winter flight schedule to the Croatian capital. 

Croatian Aviation reports that Air Serbia will operate only twice a week this month between Belgrade and Zagreb. There are also four additional return flights on sale around the holidays.

Namely, in December, the Serbian national carrier operates only twice a week between Belgrade and Zagreb, every Monday and Friday (Monday mornings, Friday evenings). 

In November, three flights a week were generally available on this route, but due to reduced demand, the company further reduced its flight schedule to Zagreb, canceling flights on Tuesdays.

However, during the Christmas and New Year holidays, the company will offer, in addition to the already mentioned two flights a week, four more return flights. Flights are announced on Saturday the 19th, Sunday the 20th, Wednesday the 23rd, and Sunday, the 27th of December.

ATR72-200 aircraft operate on all routes. Air Serbia offers a total of 1,584 seats between Zagreb and Belgrade in December.

This summer, Air Serbia operated to Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik, to a lesser extent than in the summer of 2019, while direct flights from Belgrade to Zadar, Pula, and Rijeka did not operate.

This news comes after Windrose Airlines canceled certain departures on the route Kyiv - Zagreb - Kyiv.

Namely, because the entry of foreign nationals into the Republic of Croatia is limited after the last epidemiological measures were introduced. Windrose will not fly on the Kyiv - Zagreb - Kyiv line on December 6 and 9 (Wednesday and Sunday), and the normal flow of traffic on this line is expected from December 13. The airline leaves the possibility of additional flight cancellations, which will primarily depend on border measures and decisions of the national headquarters related to the entry of foreign nationals into the Republic of Croatia.

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December 6, 2020 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Windrose cancels certain departures to Zagreb in December. 

Croatian Aviation reports that due to new epidemiological measures, Windrose Airlines has canceled certain departures on the route Kyiv - Zagreb - Kyiv.

Namely, because the entry of foreign nationals into the Republic of Croatia is limited after the last epidemiological measures were introduced, Windrose Airlines canceled certain flights to Zagreb in December.

Windrose will not fly on the Kyiv - Zagreb - Kyiv line on December 6 and 9 (Wednesday and Sunday), and the normal flow of traffic on this line is expected from December 13. The airline leaves the possibility of additional flight cancellations, which will primarily depend on border measures and decisions of the national headquarters related to the entry of foreign nationals into the Republic of Croatia.

The airline sees great potential on the line to Zagreb. In the second month of operations on this line, they recorded an average occupancy of the passenger cabin of a high 72%.

The airline was scheduled to introduce an additional, third flight a week on this route, beginning in December, every Friday, until the end of the winter flight schedule. As confirmed by Windrose Airlines, the reason for not going ahead with additional frequencies is the result of the previously mentioned epidemiological measures and restrictions at the borders that directly affect reservations, both on this route and others. The line will continue to operate twice a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Windrose Airlines plans to increase the number of weekly flights to Zagreb in the summer flight schedule in 2021, provided that the epidemiological situation is much better and that there are no restrictions on international travel to or from Croatia. Confirmation of the potential of this line is in the excellent Load Factor in October and a satisfactory number in November, especially at a time when international travel is kept to a minimum.

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ZAGREB December 5, 2020 – With over 9000 students currently enrolled, the Faculty of Economics University of Zagreb is the largest faculty in Croatia. In 2020, this internationally renowned institution celebrates its 100th birthday, so TCN decided to take a closer look.

Every other student you meet in Croatia seems to study economy. It makes you wonder where they all go to after their studies are complete. Are there really so many positions for economists in Croatia?

In 2020, the Faculty of Economics University of Zagreb celebrates its 100th birthday. The long list of its famous former students gives a clue to where all the Croatian economists go – the tourism sector, diplomacy and international relations, business, politics and government.

Marija Pejčinović Burić, a graduate of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Zagreb and the current Secretary General of the Council of Europe. After graduating, like Savka Dabčević-Kučar, she became o doctor of economics and before taking her current position served as Croatia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs © Council of Europe

Graduates of the Faculty of Economics University of Zagreb have served as mayors of Zagreb and Split, Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia, Minister of Finance, Minister of the Economy, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, Governers of the Croatian National Bank, Vice-President of the UN World Food Council, President of the Croatian Football Association, Minister of Environmental and Nature Protection, special advisors to the President of Croatia and countless university professors, including several former rectors of the University of Zagreb. Within its graduate professors, it has produced no less than 19 full members of the prestigious Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, more than any other single institution in the country.

Savka Dabčević-Kučar, a graduate of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Zagreb. Born on Korčula, she became an anti-fascist in World War II, joining the partisans after her brother was beaten by fascists. After graduating, she continued to study at the faculty and became one of the first doctors of economics in Croatia, raising eyebrows by choosing to write her doctorate dissertation about a non-Marxist economic theorist (Englishman John Maynard Keynes). She became a professor at the faculty in the 1950s and despite her great advances in political life, remained a committed teacher at the faculty until 1971. In 1967, she was elected President of the Socialist Republic of Croatia. In 1969, she moved to an even more important position - that of president of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Croatia. She was the first woman in Europe to be appointed head of government of a political entity and the first female in Croatia to hold an office equivalent to a head of government. In this picture, she addressed supporters on Ban Jelacic Square Zagreb during the movement called the Croatian Spring, which called for greater autonomy for Croatia. At the address, thousands cheered her as “Savka, queen of the Croats”. For her pivotal role in the movement, she was removed from her positions and public life and retired. She returned to politics in 1990 upon the collapse of communism in Europe and during the Croatian war of independence was one of the few politicians who visited the front lines of battle in Slavonia, Petrinja, Pokupski and the Dalmatian hinterland

The Faculty of Economics University of Zagreb is the largest faculty in the country. Over its 100 year history, it has established itself as an internationally respected institution. Today, it has around 9000 persons enrolled, caters for international students with some courses in English and has produced over 86, 000 graduates, including 856 doctors of science.

In its infancy, students of the College of Trade and Transport were taught at the Technical College, which is today the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb © National and University Library in Zagreb

The history of the Faculty of Economics University of Zagreb starts with the opening in 1920 of its forerunner, the Zagreb College of Trade and Transport. Its purpose was to educate in the areas of banking, domestic and international trade, transport, consular services, insurance and the education of teachers. Its courses lasted three years and it proved so popular that in the academic year 1923/24, some 1,125 students were enrolled.

The institution held college status until 1925 when Stjepan Radić became the Minister of Education. It must have been unusual for Radić to find himself as part of the government of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the state which preceded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Today, Radić is best remembered as a politician outspoken in his advocacy of autonomy for Croatia. Before his appointment to the government, he had always done so in opposition. Indeed, he had been imprisoned several times for his views, which were proclaimed loudly in his writings or in person (he was a gifted public speaker). As recently as March 1925 he had been in prison but, when the political party of which he was a member officially recognised the monarchy and the state constitution, he was freed. In a remarkable turnaround, before the year's end, he was a minister in the government.

Stjepan Radić, pictured in the 1920s © public domain. In 1895 Radić was sent to prison for the public burning of the Hungarian flag in Zagreb – alongside Antun Dabčević, the father of Savka Dabčević-Kučar.

Stjepan Radić's desire for Croatian autonomy was not born from the ideals of the political class of Zagreb. The ninth of eleven children, born to a peasant family in a small village on the banks of the Sava river, just north of Sisak, Radić was very much a representative of the people whence he came. To him (and others in his family – his brother and nephew also being prominent politicians), education had the most important role to play in emancipation. He had lived in poverty in order to complete his own - after being banned from university-level educational institutions throughout the whole of the Austro-Hungarian empire for his protests against the state, he travelled penniless to Russia, France and Switzerland to complete his studies. In the latter, finance was one of his chosen subjects.

The first dedicated building of the Higher School of Economics and Commerce was located on the corner of Bauerova and Zvonirmirova © Faculty of Economics University of Zagreb

Under Radić's spell in office, the Zagreb College of Trade and Transport became the Higher School of Economics and Commerce. Its courses extended to four years, it attained university status. With no building designated to the increasingly popular institution, students had sometimes been taught at the Technical College (today's Museum of Arts and Crafts) and in parts of what is now the Mimara Museum. A dedicated home for the faculty was authorised and its construction started in 1927. Classes began at the faculty, located on the corner of Bauerova and Zvonimirova, in 1928, but within the decade the institution had outgrown its home and a plot of land in Svetice was acquired in order to build a new, larger facility. Its construction was interrupted by the Second World War and students would end up being taught on the Bauerova and Zvonimirova site all the way up to 1952.

The faculty's modern building, pictured in 1987. Today, the faculty has 17 departments - Finance, Demography, Economic Theory, Business Economics, Informatics, Macroeconomics and Economic Development, Marketing, Mathematics, International Economics, Business in Foreign Languages, Organization and Management, Law, Accounting, Statistics, Trade and International Business, Tourism, Physical Education and Health © Faculty of Economics University of Zagreb

In 1947, the Higher School of Economics and Commerce became the Faculty of Economics University of Zagreb. In 1952, the faculty officially moved to the new site in Svetice. In 1968 it expanded once more when it merged with the 12-year-old College of Economics. Since then, the building at Svetice has received major upgrades and further facilities of the faculty can now also be found at the university campus in Borongaj, in Varaždin, in Koprivnica and in Bjelovar. After a century of existence, the Faculty of Economics University of Zagreb's longstanding difficulties to meet the popularity of its courses with the space available are now over. Not only can they accommodate every Croatian economy student who makes the grade, but they are also able to offer places to some of the best international students. It would surely come as no surprise if they are still educating the future elites of business, banking, finance and politics in another 100 years.


The Faculty of Economics University of Zagreb site in Svetice, as seen from its garden © Wolf - Pidgeon

December 5, 2020 - The secret of one of Zagreb's lesser-known gourmet secrets is slowly getting out, and now there is a new way to try it - strukli with truffles. 

One of the most incredible things about Croatia, a land of 4 million people, is the richness and diversity on every level. Every village seemingly has its own dialect words, at least one unique tradition, and often some sort of culinary twist or ingredient which sets it apart form the rest. It is one of the reasons why writing about Croatia is such a fascinating job, for no two days are the same, and there is usually a surprise or three around every corner. 

Along with safety and lifestyle, it is one of the jewels of Croatian tourism around which I believe we should build our tourism - the unique authentic experience. 

A few weeks ago, for example, I was invited to go truffle hunting near Zagreb Airport in the region of Turopolje. Truffle hunting in Croatia but not in Istria? Just outside Zagreb? I had never heard of such a thing and I was more than a little skeptical. But - and not for the first or last time - I was wrong, and not only can I confirm that the Zagreb truffle industry is alive and well, but also that some of those lovely truffles you are sampling in Istria have their origins in the forests around Zagreb. You can read all about the Zagreb truffle hunting experience in Move Over Istria: the Rise of Zagreb Truffle Hunt Tourism.

But if the truffle hunt was a surprise, so too was the lunch that followed. A Dalmatian restaurant recommended by MIchelin in the heart of Velika Gorica, offering local Turopolje specialities, including black and white Turopolje truffles, including this 135g gem below. 

You can read more about the truffle-themed lunch in the article above, but there was one more gourmet addition to a fabulous lunch at Mon Ami restaurant which I only tried later that night when I got home. 

Over lunch I was introduced to a very nice young lady called Ivana Belosevic, who ran a bakery called Cipov in the nearby village of Busevec. The name “Cipov” is actually a word used in Turopolje to describe white bread. Cipov was a type of bread only eaten during holidays such as Christmas or Easter. A traditional name for a business which is helping to produce some fabulous authentic Croatian dishes, such as strukli. 

But authentic Croatian dishes with a twist. 

Such as strukli with truffles. 

The conversation at lunch was as good as the excellent food, and I enjoyed listening to Ivana talk with passion about her bakery business, where she has been making homemade strukli now for some 15 years. Another Ivana - Alilovic, Director of the Zagreb County Tourist Board - approached her and asked her what she thought about making strukli with truffles. Zagreb has a great truffle story which is being left untold, and delicious authentic local dishes flavoured with local truffles would be perhaps the best way to promote the story. 

And so a new gourmet treasure was born - strukli with truffles. 

Strukli is akin to a savoury strudel, with cottage cheese the key ingredient, and one of Croatia's most famous - and popular - dishes. It is best-known in the region of Zagorje, but appears in various formats in other parts of the country. You can see how it is made in the English-language video above. I am not aware of anyone else making strukli with truffles. Ivana's new Facebook page also shows strukli with apricot, and I am sure that a visit to the Cipov family bakery in Bresovec will yield plenty of other culinary delights. 

As we previously reported, one of the successful tourism stories in this crazy year was the launch of the Around Zagreb platform, which is a joint effort from the city and county tourist boards of Zagreb. This has helped to considerably widen the scope of tourism possibilities in the capital, in the form of day trip activities just outside the city. In an era of social distancing and outdoor activities, Zagreb County is rich in authenticexperiences - both active and culinary - away from the crowds. and truffle hunting and the sampling of its cuisine fit into this nicely. The pumpkin offer of Ivanic Grad (with its own pumpkin festival), Zumberak trout, and the authentic Samobor quartet of salami, kotlet, mustard and kremsnit, not to mention the local Plesivica wine region, have enough authenticity and unique flavours to entice curious foodies. 

The new strukli with truffles is just one in a number of excellent local authentic product which is made with passion and care by small local family businesses. Individually, they are tiny businesses struggling to survive, especially in this most challenging of years. Collectively, they offer a fascinating web of authentic excellence, which shows the true diversity of Croatia's traditions and heritage. both culinary and otherwise. 

In another nice initiative that we reported on recently, the regional tourist board has launched a seasonal campaign to both highlight and promote these businesses. 

The local producers are collected in interestingly designed categories that will change in weekly cycles from December 3 to December 24: 1. Relax and reward your body, 2. Decorate your home with Christmas magic, 3. Prepare your holiday table, and 4. Sweet Secrets of Zagreb County.

"In Zagreb County, there are many craftsmen, hardworking people who turn natural resources from their homeland into unique local products," said Ivana Alilović, the director of the Zagreb County Tourist Board. "At the same time, they combine the traditional and the modern. With their creativity, they refresh our heritage and enrich the entire offer of the region. Natural cosmetics and healthy food, medicinal preparations, imaginative decorations and everyday items for the home, irresistible treats etc. Each of these products bears the signature of its origin and its author."

"Production is usually small and limited, but with a high level of quality and personal commitment. Domestic goods that are truly domestic, but also different. We want to raise awareness about the importance of buying from local producers and help all of them in the branding and promotion of products that we can be proud of."

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