ZAGREB, December 30, 2018 - The capital city of Zagreb will, as usual, organise outdoor New Year's celebrations in the main square with a few local pop and rock groups giving concerts in the night between Monday and Tuesday.

The programme featuring Four Tenors, the Hladno Pivo band and some other groups and singers was presented on Friday by Mayor Milan Bandić.

The official start of the celebration is scheduled for 2130 hrs Monday. The whole atmosphere is being additionally warmed up by a variety of Advent entertainment programmes to delight locals and visitors.

The town of Fužine, situated in the hinterland of Rijeka, organises a traditional open-air farewell party for the outgoing year, at noon of 31 December.

Open-air parties with concerts performed by local pop and entertainment stars will be held on New Year's Eve also in Split, Osijek, Rijeka, Pula, Dubrovnik and other major cities. The programmes include fireworks displays during the outdoor parties welcoming 2019.

A traditional New Year's Eve marathon race is to be organised in the northern town of Varaždin.

On Tuesday, revellers are expected to take part in the traditional New Year's Day swim in Adriatic towns, including Pula, Rabac, Šibenik and Split.

For more lifestyle stories, visit our dedicated section.

From the booming nightlife of one of the world’s major cities, to helping my mother raise GMO free chickens on a family farm, it’s not the transition in life many young adults would willingly take.

In my introduction to Total Croatia News, I mentioned leaving the fast paced and opportunity “haven” of London instead to start afresh in a small village of the Croatian Zagrebačka region. By small village, I mean one street with a milk depot, several farms and a café bar. There is one bus that runs through at 6am connecting you to the nearest big town but returning is near impossible without a car. In short, I decided to move as I thought I had a sign from the universe to do so.

It sounds more than crazy to move based on a suspected “hunch” to a place famed for war and political corruption, and I was stubborn up until the last minute. There were many reasonable factors that influenced my decision to leave and many just as reasonable telling me to stay: Croatia offered a safer way of life but was lacking in professional opportunity. I was young and it could be a “life changing experience” but I also did not know the language or have a clear plan ahead.

Despite the constant back and forth, the ultimate choice to plunge headfirst into Croatian life was based on instinct and the fact that I thought (half jokingly, but probably more seriously than I will admit) the universe was guiding me to so do. It was this gut instinct combined with the phrase “heck, why not” that dictated most of my decision making process, and later adopting from my mother the philosophy of “we’ll cross that bridge when we get there” that guided me to where I am today.

After my family moved, I stubbornly stayed behind with my Grandmother in a small hippie village of East Sussex. Christmas time was upon us and I was desperate to see my family over the festive period. Broke from travelling around the UK and London visiting friends at university, tired of vegan food in the village, I decided to browse online at my potential options in Croatia. To figure out what all the fuss was about.

I would take my laptop to Costa coffee most days to get my daily dose of free wifi and I scoured the internet for university and job opportunities in Zagreb. After a long argument with my mum over the phone about what I will do in the coming future (and subsequent existential crisis in the corner of the cafe with a mocha and brownie in hand), I booked my one way flight to Zagreb Airport and breathed a sigh of relief that I’ll be able to see my family over the Christmas holidays.

I had the intentions of returning and to begin my university degree, but that was until I heard back about one of my job applications in Zagreb. I had been invited for an interview!

Exchanging emails with the representative, eventually we settled on a date. The day after my plane would land, I would have an interview. I sat in the chair surrounded by the miasma of coffee and pondered the success. After months of applications to various jobs in England without success, here, I had an interview ready only a few days after application. Living in England on my own I had encountered many roadblocks and became overcome with loneliness and defeat, but any moves I made directed towards Croatia seemed to fair well with relative ease. I took it as a sign, and realised I had to give Croatia a serious chance when I arrived.

At the time before moving, I saw London as the pinnacle. The huge transport network would take me anywhere I needed to be, which, at my age just meant Pryzm or XOYO. I had my established group of friends and knew more or less how the country functioned - Never count on Southern Rail, Wetherspoons for cheap drinks, and Peckham is the bit you go around. In short, I understood and saw a convenience in London I didn’t want to walk away from.

I am still infatuated with this convenience. I can’t deny that London is a more modern, booming city and I often find myself missing the variety and ease of access it had to offer that Croatia so poorly lacks in. What Croatia does offer in place of convenience for me though, is a sense of belonging. With a strong Russian background, there were many times I simply did not understand or connect with the British culture. I felt the same kind of “click” in Zagreb, as I did when visiting Moscow or our hometown of Yaroslavl.

This “hunch” or feeling of rightness is what kept Croatia in the back of my mind as a legitimate option despite having no real foundations there, only the experience of a few family holidays. So when everything fell into place while preparing to visit, and subsequently when I arrived, I couldn’t help but feel like the universe was screaming at me to go.

On the plane ride over, it was my first time flying totally alone. Nervous and self conscious, I made sure I read every sign and checked my bags over and over. I was petrified. Then on the second plane, connecting me from Warsaw to Zagreb, I had the pleasure of meeting a young Croatian man from Rijeka. We chatted about life in London where he had been working and he prepared me for life in Croatia, giving me advice on the best coffee spots too. We continued our conversation all the way up until we had to depart at the exit of the airport.

I got a taste for what was to come. I felt at ease waiting for my ride, and quietly thanked the universe for showing me what life can bring. What is possible when you give yourself completely up to chance.

Advent in Zagreb has achieved new records in 2018. 

Prices in Zagreb dropped by anywhere between 50 and 70 percent yesterday, sparking a shopping frenzy among many hungry for a bargain amid the chaos of the traditional post-Christmas sales. One family came not from another city, or even from over the border from Serbia, Slovenia, Hungary or Bosnia and Herzegovina, but all the way from Dubai to Zagreb, just for the Croatian capital city's price cuts.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 28th of December, 2018, the family, who arrived from Dubai to Zagreb stated that when compared to their prices over in Dubai, there are some real bargains to be found in Zagreb.

''So, that's why we come to Zagreb every year when the sales are on,'' Shamma AlZaabo explained while he and his family were searching for said bargains in the very heart of Zagreb's city centre, choosing between a multitude of colourful pullovers, dresses, and shirts.

In the [United Arab] Emirates, prices are much more expensive, he says, so there he needs to deliberately choose every garment wisely and calculate how much exactly he needs to purchase it. In the Croatian capital however, this isn't the case, he says, and even though he didn't come all the way from Dubai to Zagreb for anything special in particular, he certainly left the stores with his hands full, according to a report from Večernji list.

As is commonplace, the big winter discounts have begun in order to shift stock, and according to the Consumer Protection Act, the sales and price cuts are set to last for the next sixty days, and during that time all of the goods must be clearly labeled with both their old and new price tags, as well as the exact percentage discount customers will be getting for their purchase.

While some stores inevitably keep hold of the same prices for the entire sales period, others, such as the popular clothes store New York, will lower their prices once again following the turn of the year, in 2019. Although yesterday was just the first day of the "first round" of sales, ''scandals'' at the hands of bargain-hungry shoppers have already taken place at the entrances to numerous shopping centres in Zagreb.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated lifestyle and news pages for much more.

December 28, 2018 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia, with updates from Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Split, and Zadar. 

Flights to Croatia: Going to Zagreb?

Canadian airline Air Transat will boost its Zagreb-Toronto (Pearson International Airport) service for the 2019 summer. In addition to this year’s two flights a week, an additional third flight will be introduced - and the route will now operate on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This service will run from May 15 to October 30, 2019. The new Friday reinforcement will work from June 21 to September 13, 2019. The Airbus A330-200 will be used on all flights.

You can read more on AvioRadar. 

Flights to Croatia: Going to Dubrovnik?

The new Austrian carrier Anisec Luftfahrt flying under the marketing name LEVEL will operate four times a week on the Dubrovnik-Vienna route, just as it did this year. While the airline’s first announcements for the 2019 summer had no mention of Saturday operations on this route, it turns out there will not be a reduction in traffic on this line. 

This service will, therefore, operate four times a week, on Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. There is one change, however, and that is that this line will operate using the smaller Airbus A320 aircraft, instead of this year’s Airbus A321. The Airbus A320 will fly one to three times per week on selected flights, as the type of aircraft changes on individual flights during the week. 

You can read more on AvioRadar. 

Flights to Croatia: Going to Split?

Germany's low-cost carrier Eurowings will boost connections between Split and Austria for the 2019 summer. The route between Split and Salzburg will see another weekly connection, with operations on Tuesday and Sunday from June 2 to October 22, 2019. Eurowings will use an Airbus A319. 

You can read more on AvioRadar. 

British Airways has also boosted operations on their Split-London service. In addition to their Split-London (Heathrow) line, the airline is adding a second seasonal flight for the 2019 summer to London City Airport. The first arrival is scheduled for June 21, 2019. The route will operate three flights a week, on Monday, Thursday, and Friday, until September 6, 2019. The new line will fly on the Embraer ERJ-190 aircraft. 

But that’s not all.

British Airways will also boost operations on their existing Split-London (Heathrow) service, adding two new flights a week on this route. The current five flights a week on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be boosted by a new flight on Tuesday and a second on Sunday. The route will be operated by the Airbus A319, Airbus A320, and the Airbus A321. The second line will work from April 28 to October 25, 2019. 

You can read more on AvioRadar.

Flights to Croatia: Going to Zadar?

Irish low-cost airline RyanAir has introduced yet another new line to Zadar for next summer, making it the 22nd line for the coastal city. The new seasonal connection will be to Eindhoven, beginning operations on April 1, 2019. The new route will operate twice a week, on Monday and Thursday, on a Boeing 737-800. 

At the same time, the Dutch low-cost airline Transavia introduced a new line from Zadar to the Netherlands, connecting Zadar and Rotterdam on Wednesday and Saturday. 

You can read more on AvioRadar.

To read more about traveling to Croatia, following TCN's dedicated page. 

27th of December, 2018 - Of life and language in Dalmatia and Zagreb.

After having spent eight months trying to find a job in Croatia, I had decided to pursue happiness abroad. Since I have found out that I am not exactly the kind that can just pack her stuff and hit the road, I needed some kind of assurance before I left.

Being a Political Sciences graduate, I knew how competitive in the labour market I was – spoiler alert: very little.

So, one advantage I had, when looking at my CV, were the many languages I listed, some of which are Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian and Montenegrin. The first version of my English CV did not have all of those, of course, but my friend concluded that foreign employers don’t realize those are so similar, one could even say - variations of one language, with all due respect to our Prime Minister; so I kept them in the CV.

Nevertheless, the job I got the offer for required me to speak Croatian only, aside from English, and it was for a Czech company that was spreading onto the Croatian market. At this point, I feel the need to mention that I had gone through 3 interviews and had received a job offer within 3 weeks. Just for comparison, it usually took Croatian employers 2 months to answer my application/e-mail, if they ever did (90% never did), but that is a topic for another day.

Now that it was settled, I was to move in a few weeks to the Czech Republic, to a small town called Usti nad Labem, where they will provide accommodation for me for a few months and a refund for the travel expenses. I arranged everything, booked a train ticket and when the day came, kissed my friends goodbye and went on this new adventure.

Now, I haven’t been here for long but the first thing a foreigner will notice and will be annoyed with is the fact that people from Usti don't speak English. When I got here, I was supposed to open a bank account, buy a Czech number, a monthly ticket and all kinds of stuff in all kinds of places. And, wherever I went, the answer to my “Do you speak English?” question was a definite “No”. It was like they didn’t even feel bad at all, if anything, sometimes it felt like they were angry at me for not speaking Czech.

Luckily for me, Czech and Croatian languages have some similar words and I do know a bit of Czech from my time working in Gradac tourist office, so I manage. I don’t even want to imagine how my colleagues from the company, especially the Hungarians, go about. It’s not that most people won’t try to help you when you ask for directions, but they will have a hard time understanding what you need and I just can’t wrap my mind around the fact that young people can’t manage a simple conversation in English.

They do learn it in school, but why they refuse to use it is beyond me. I understand that Usti is a small town, not exactly a tourist destination, but they have a University, there are Erasmus students here and branches of international companies which employ people from all over Europe (myself included) so this, stubbornness maybe, is a true mystery.

Now that I’ve expressed my outmost disbelief regarding the non-English speaking citizens of my current residing town, let me make a small comparison to Zagreb, a big city where I had lived for 8 years. During that time, I had not lost my Dalmatian accent, nor had I picked up their words or expressions. I am not stating that in order to make myself look good or bad, it’s just a fact, important for the point I’ll be making.

A few days into moving to Zagreb, I went to a bakery where after I ordered bili kruv (“white bread”, ikavian), the woman asked me, in a condescending tone, if I had meant bijeli kruh (“white bread”, ijekavian); and remember, I was buying bread not defending my thesis. I didn’t make much of it at the time, but after it had happened on a few more occasions and with other expressions like kava s mlikon (“coffee with milk”, ikavian) instead of kava s mlijekom (“coffee with milk”, ijekavian) I started to get annoyed.

I wouldn’t say a word if those had been extremely different terms but if you understand me, why do you feel the need to correct my speech? I know the standard Croatian language, but I am not writing a book while ordering coffee so I don’t understand where the problem is. I have never told anyone who came to Dalmatia what the proper way to speak is, nor have I ever corrected someone’s kaj (“what”) or fakat (“really”, Zagreb slang) or their accent.

I believe that there are people in Dalmatia who do that, we are known for grintanje (grumbling) and 80% of us, 80% of the time are in grintanje mode, but I have never done that nor has anyone in my presence.

It is amazing when you think about it: people from Usti expect you to speak their language, but people in Zagreb expect you to speak their dialect! I will try to find out what is the deal with locals from Usti and their resentment for the English language, but don’t hold your breath; I still haven’t figured out why is there a feud between people from Zagreb and the Dalmatian dialect.

Article by Barbara Viskic

Some excellent Zagreb news in the works for Novi Zagreb as a brand new mega project carrying a massive billion euro price tag is announced on no less than Christmas morning.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 25th of December, 2018, on a cold and crisp Christmas morning in the Croatian capital city, Milan Bandić, the long-standing mayor of Zagreb, announced some very welcome Zagreb news to his fellow citizens, detailing everything the city is set to gain, all of which has been planned to be built in 2019.

To accompany the already cheerful Christmas spirit, Mayor Milan Bandić announced and further detailed the beginning of some of the the most important projects for next year set to take place in Croatia's increasingly popular capital city.

"We'll bring the [works taking place on] the roundabout to an end as soon as possible, as well as the Jarun bridge, because the roundabout without that bridge is like soup without any salt in it, we're going design a rail link to the airport, a congress centre, and in some fifteen to twenty days, we will finally begin work and stick the spade in the ground for a new cable car for Sljeme'', the mayor readily announced.

In addition to these already welcome announcements, the mayor went on to detail yet more Zagreb news - a huge billion-euro mega project for which the City of Zagreb is actively seeking a foreign partner. The giant project in question is the total redesigning of the popular Zagreb Fair (Zagrebački Velesajam), at which numerous events are regularly held, according to a report from RTL.

"If this comes to fruition, Novi Zagreb will become a city within a city, and Zagreb will be much more beautiful," Mayor Bandić concluded.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated lifestyle and news pages for much more. If it's just Croatia's capital you're interested in, make sure to follow Total Zagreb for everything you need to know about what's going on in Zagreb, from cultural events and live performances to the latest political scandals.

Thanks to new product lines supported by European Union funds, the Zagreb company Green and More managed to successfully expand its exports and achieve an impressive 40 percent growth this year.

As Lucija Spiljak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 22nd of December, 2018, Green and More, a Zagreb company which specialises in food and nutritional supplements, has introduced its brand new and expanded product line, backed by prestigious international certifications. They celebrated ten years of their eco work on the Croatian market, and they have been defined as the eco producer which is striving to reach the highest standards, according to Ivana Stavljenić, the Zagreb company's director and co-founder.

The Zagreb company is the producer of the well-known Liquid Sun ecological product, a nutrition supplement made from young green wheat, and their new line of products delivers Green and More RAW cookies, which are also prestigious certificate holders which act as additional value and high-quality tags.

"The cookies are processed by the method of processing raw food at a temperature of up to 40 degrees celsius in order to preserve the nutritive value of its raw material, the closest to what it would be in its natural state, rich in protein and enzymes, minerals and vitamins," Stavljenić explained. The new line of products is available in three flavours of balanced blends of organic fruit, nuts and spices, without sugar, gluten, additives or potentially hamrful pesticides, and they are purely organic.

These products are pistachio/lemon biscuits with refreshing citrus aromas which provide for a special gastro experience, then cookies with the taste of true blueberries and cocoa, and orange cakes as the new dimension of the Zagreb company's chocolate gastro experience. In addition to these new products, the company can boast of new exports, relocating to a new production facility, as well as making use of incentives derived from EU funds.

"When we compare this year with last year, the company has been successful, marking its tenth anniversary on the Croatian market, presenting a new line of products that are carriers of international quality certifications, EU incentives and new exports. When it comes to revenue and sales, we're satisfied with our growth of about 40 percent,'' Stavljenić noted, adding that the Zagreb company's growth is a consequence of expanding the product line, and some recently contracted exports to the German market.

The ability to wthdraw funds from EU funds is of great importance to this Zagreb company. All the money they have withdrawn has not been used for machines and the like, but for the continual improvment of product quality.

"We've got money for new production process certification and for the website, which is important to us because it has a web shop built in. In addition, we've signed up for a bid for internationalisation, which means presentations at foreign fairs in Sweden and in England. I believe that we'll get the chance because we've passed the first phase. So far, we've withdrawn 470,000 kuna from EU funds, and if our bid for internationalisation goes through, that would make it an additional 200,000 kuna because in this project, we put four fairs in the two countries,'' added Stavljenić, stressing that consumers have to be offered more than just the same old story on both Croatian and foreign markets.

"We have been certified for at least the first year, with 85 percent of the grant, which is significant. We hope that with commercialisation and a higher export frequency, which is the intention, that it will be able to continue funding itself," said the director. There are currently six people employed in the company, and due to increased needs, which are mostly seasonal, they hire more part-time workers.

"In line with the expansion of the production program in Croatia and the opening of new export markets, we will increase this figure to match an adequate workload increase," added Stavljenić.

As stated by Stavljenić during the first quarter of 2019, the Zagreb company plans to introduce a line of yet more new products, and their products are expected to emerge on yet more new export markets. In addition to the shelves across the Republic of Croatia and other specialised stores which sell healthy and homemade food, Green and More's products are available through webshops and can be purchased in Germany, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and soon in the United Kingdom and Qatar.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and Made in Croatia pages for much more on Croatian companies, products and services, as well as doing business in Croatia, and the business and investment climate.

Click here for the original article by Lucija Spiljak for Poslovni Dnevnik

December 20, 2018 - Here Be Dragons Strike Again! Kandžija i Gole žene Live Tonight! Another great addition to Fuliranje at Advent in Zagreb from the ultimate geek shop.

One small store in Zagreb, one giant step for Zagreb entertainment.

It is just over a year since the ultimate geek shop in Croatia burst onto the scene in Zagreb. 

Previously online and with a store in Diocletian's Palace in Split, the opening of Here Be Dragons in Tkalca brought the famous tourist strip in the capital to a standstill. 

And the Here Be Dragons debut at Advent in Zagreb in 2017 was not less spectacular, with its superb Enchanted Village even featuring the original throne from Game of Thrones. And with a free sit-down and photo-op for anyone interested. 

Last year's village reappeared with a graffiti facelift, as some of Croatia's top street artists combined for the ultimate Stan Lee tribute a couple of weeks ago. 

Which brings us to tonight, the latest free bonanza at the geek store which dared to dream - the legendary Kandžija i Gole žene will be taking Fuliranje by storm. 

Entrance is free, so why not spend the entrance money on a Harry Potter souvenir for a loved one. 

To read more about the Here Be Dragons phenomenon in Zagreb, follow the dedicated TCN page. 

Follow the ultimate geek shop in Croatia on Facebook. 

December 20, 2018 - For a traditional Christmas lunch at Zagreb and perhaps Croatia’s best hotel, the Esplanade, chef Ana Grgić has prepared a feast to remember for a lifetime. 

Among media representatives, this Christmas lunch is particularly important, and the obligations of all journalists are always reorganized in a way to ensure their attendance. After all, the Zinfandel restaurant at the Esplanade is known for its chic ambiance, sophisticated fine dining and charming, professional service, and their always ambitious but not overly pretentious menu reaffirms their stellar position on the gourmet map.

This time, around sixty journalists and influencers from all important Croatian media, and the “who’s who” of the domestic media scene, followed the likable Ana Grgić who again demonstrated her majesty, creativity, skill, innovation, and virtuosity. 

Ana once again proved that she was not accidentally proclaimed 2018’s Great Chef of Tomorrow for the Gault & Millau guide and honored with exclusive membership in the company of Chaîne des Rôtisseurs. Everyone who knows her work knows that even without these titles Ana Grgić merely is an irresistible personality and a superb chef that, with her recognizable expression to guests, unmistakably brings an explosion of fantastic flavors. Her strong, innovative concepts, specific creative expression, unique ingredients, artistic plating, and emphasis on original flavors are also the features of Zinfandel's new menu.

The menu contains irresistible appealing, modern and accurately shaped interpretations of traditional dishes and an exciting combination of winter food such as čvarci, cabbage, chestnut, kayak, sour cream and kimchi. The media was first served the pearls of Ana's winter menu: a delicate block of Pag cheese with a marmalade of red cabbage, pearls of vinegar and čvarci,; pheasant rillette, hazelnut foam, porcini mushroom tuile, roasted hazelnuts; cuttlefish, Jerusalem artichoke, cuttlefish ink powder, capers leaf; a pork fillet with a brown butter bearnaise - and for dessert, a crunchy chocolate with mascarpone, almond and citrus fruit biscuits. In the end, Brie cheese arrived with roasted almonds and honey. 

Along with these delicacies, you can find much more on Zinfandel's menu, which you can see in its entirety here. 

Flambé - a meal prepared at the table in flames, is more and more popular among guests, and at Zinfandel, you can experience it with a veal fillet with pickled mustard, baby carrot cream, and Port wine; foie gras in orange and cognac sauce, apple chutney, brioche; red shrimps, sun-dried tomatoes, Pernod Ricard; or crêpes Suzette in orange sauce, and vanilla ice cream. 

For all those who want to experience these perfect tastes and unbeatable dining experience, Ana has agreed on a carefully selected tasting menu of four, five and six-course meals. 

Anyone who is gluten-free can also visit Zinfandel, which offers a selection of three and four courses of gluten-free meals certified by the first Bosk gluten-free certificate in Croatia. 

Ana, with Esplanade's team of top pastry cooks, also prepares a selection of excellent desserts that perfectly round off every gourmet story. A brownie of dark chocolate with peanut and vanilla; marinated pears with lemon biscuit and homemade cinnamon ice cream; carrots with sour cream and pineapple; and grissini with flambé kumquats are just some.

An unforgettable gourmet experience is only complete with a list of top quality wines and champagnes from Croatia and the world, and the charming sommelier Ivan Šneler will be delighted to recommend the right wines to match the selected dishes for your Zinfandel visit. 

To make ordering as easy as possible, all dishes are marked with special gluten-free, vegetarian or halal labels. Without exaggeration, Ana has launched this winter's most creative menu.

All photos from Esplanade archive.