December 27, 2020 - The famous 'Red Slope' (Crveni spust) on Sljeme officially received the green light for the Audi FIS Ski World Cup "Snow Queen Trophy" 2021.

HRT reports that this was confirmed today by Emmanuel Couder, director of the FIS World Cup for technical disciplines for men, who checked the quality of the Sljeme slalom track, mandatory for all organizers of FIS World Cup races.

Thanks to the efforts of the organizers and employees of the Sljeme ski resort in charge of preparing the track, the Red Slope this year was ready for FIS control at the beginning of December, or the earliest in the Snow Queen's history.

Emmanuel Couder's go-ahead to the races beginning on January 3, 2021, was therefore just a formality, and the control served to agree on the final details around track preparation.

"There is enough snow on the Red Slope for official confirmation of the races. For the next two days, additional amounts of snow will be worked above the start, along the track, and below the finish line to have spare amounts of snow in case of need. A decision on the final preparation of the track, as well as water injection, will be made in the next few days depending on the weather forecast," Couder said.

There are currently 50-80 centimeters of compacted snow cover on the Red Slope, which is enough to withstand the eventual south wind. Also, if the temperatures are in the minus long enough, there is a possibility that the Green Descent can serve as a warm-up track.

"The COVID-19 pandemic and strict epidemiological measures have made the organization of this season's Snow Queen races more logistically demanding than in previous years, but the weather has really served us and made the preparation of the track easier. The Red Slope is in excellent condition, and the Croatia national team is training and preparing on it again, both for the upcoming races in Semmering and for the Snow Queen. We are only sorry that this year when everything was ready at the beginning of the month, the citizens could not enjoy skiing on Sljeme due to epidemiological restrictions. We believe and hope that soon, they will also get the opportunity to ski at the local ski resort above the city," said the director of the Organizing Committee of slalom races Vedran Pavlek.

Given the current epidemiological situation, the races will be held without spectators and with the strictest protocols for protecting the health and safety of all participants.

The women's slalom is scheduled for Sunday, January 3, with the first run at 12.30 and the second at 16.00, while the men's slalom race will take place on Wednesday, January 6, with the first run at 12.15 and the second at 15.30.

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

December 23, 2020 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Polish airline LOT temporarily suspends Warsaw-Zagreb from mid-January.

Croatian Aviation reports that from mid-January 2021, the Polish airline LOT will temporarily suspend traffic on the Warsaw-Zagreb line.

Namely, from January 13, the Polish national carrier will stop traffic on the Warsaw - Zagreb - Warsaw route.

LOT Polish Airlines launched its regular route between Warsaw and Zagreb this summer after completing the lockdown, and the line continued to operate in the winter flight schedule after October this year.

However, due to the development of the epidemiological situation, reduced demand, and the introduction of restrictive measures, the airline will suspend traffic between the capitals of Poland and Croatia for just over a month and a half.

The Warsaw - Zagreb - Warsaw line will operate until January 13, 2021, and by that date, the airline will perform 8 return flights and offer a total of 1120 seats in both directions. From January 13 to March 1, 2021, the airline will not operate on this line, and in that period, there will be no direct flights between the two mentioned cities.

On the eight return flights in January, LOT will operate E170 aircraft with a capacity of 70 passengers.

The temporary suspension of the Polish national airline is not a surprise; the company is not satisfied with the occupancy of the aircraft on this route, which is expected at the moment.

Zagreb Airport will temporarily be without another foreign airline from mid-January. Recall, many other foreign airlines have temporarily suspended flights to Zagreb in the winter flight schedule this year.

From March 1, 2021, LOT plans to resume traffic on the line to Zagreb with four flights a week, the realization of which will depend, above all, on the epidemiological situation that directly affects passenger demand.

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

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

December 20, 2020 – The 13 winners of the incredibly popular World Meteorological Organization annual competition have just been announced, and two fine pieces of Croatia weather photography are among them. These spectacular images of Croatia weather photography show all 9 Croatian photographs which reached the final in 2020 and all 10 Croatian finalists who similarly stunned the global audience in 2019

Croatia weather photography: the two newly announced winners from the 2020 competition
Photographer: Sandro Puncet Photo taken: Losinj island

Photographer: Zrinka Balabanic Photo taken: Pag island

Thanks to its popularity as a tourist destination, lots of people are now used to seeing beautiful photos of Croatia. Although, the images they usually see are of idyllic beaches, cloudless skies, stunning nature and turquoise blue seas. But, as anyone who knows the country will tell you - and as these photos show - Croatia isn't always like that.

Croatia weather photography: the two newly announced runners-up from the 2020 competition
Photographer: Šime Barešić Photo taken: Drage, Pakostane

Photographer: Mislav Bilic Photo taken: Lapad Peninsula, Dubrovnik

Out of season, Croatia can experience vastly different weather conditions to those advertised in travel brochures and blogs. And, whenever there's a spectacular weather occurrence, usually there's a photographer out there, braving the elements, trying to capture it.

Over recent years, some of the best Croatia weather photography has featured in the annual competition organised by the World Meteorological Organization. 2020 has been no different.

The other five Croatian finalists from the 2020 competition
Photographer: Šime Barešić Photo taken: Drage, Pakostane

Photographer: Sandro Puncet Photo taken: Losinj island

Photographer: Zoran Stanko Photo taken: Geisler Alm, Dolomites, Italy

Photographer: Maja Kraljik Photo taken: Umag, Istria

Photographer: Igor Popovic Photo taken: Rijeka

The winners of this year's competition have just been announced and the two fantastic examples of Croatia weather photography within the top 13 will take their place in the 2021 World Meteorological Organization calendar.

The 10 Croatian finalists from the 2019 competition
Photographer: Danica Sičič Photo taken: Srobreč, Dalmatia

Photographer: Romeo Ibrišević Photo taken: Plitvice Lakes National Park

Photographer: Božan Štambuk Photo taken: Bundek park, Zagreb

Photographer: Miroslava Novak Photo taken: Pribislavec, Međimurje

As well as the two winners, two further examples of Croatia weather photography came in the runner-up category, of which there were 12 in total.

Photographer: Francesca Delbianco Photo taken: Zagreb

Photographer: Ivica Brlić Photo taken: Sava river, Davor, near Slavonski Brod

Photographer: Nataša Šafar Photo taken: Rečica, near Karlovac

Photographer: Romeo Ibrišević Photo taken: Plitvice Lakes National Park

Over 1000 photographs from all over the world were entered in the 2020 competition. The submissions were narrowed down to a final selection of 70 contenders. As TCN reported back at the start of October, no less than 9 examples of Croatia weather photography made it into the final 70, taken by 7 Croatian photographers.

Photographer: Danijel Palčić Photo taken: Pag island

Photographer: Aleksandar Gospic Photo taken: Ražanac

Croatia regularly punches well above its weight in the annual competition, as we can see from these 10 examples of incredible Croatia weather photography that were among the finalists in 2019.

All images courtesy World Meteorological Organisation

ZAGREB, Dec 18, 2020 - The Crotaste House of Croatian Food, a promotional-sales outlet with a wide range of domestic products from all around Croatia, opened in downtown Zagreb on Friday, offering 220 various products from over 100 producers.

Crotaste, located near Europe House in the city's centre, offers a wide range of domestic products including Slavonian salami, Dalmatian prosciutto, GMO-free eggs, asparagus, wine, olive oil, Pag cheese and fish from the Adriatic.

The project is the result of cooperation between the Croatian Agriculture and Food Agency (HAPIH), the Agro-Klaster company from Vukovar-Srijem County, the Ministry of Agriculture and Vukovar-Srijem County.

"Our aim is to secure a place for SMEs from all over Croatia to promote and sell their products with the European quality label in the centre of the capital city, which is particularly important during these difficult times of the corona crisis," HAPIH director Krunoslav Dugalic said ahead of the official opening.

Opening the Crotaste House, Agriculture Minister Marija Vuckovic underscored that this is finally the realisation of the idea of connecting Croatia's blue and green regions.

"Croatia's agriculture and food industry is continuing to work and develop during these difficult times. We are managing to make some structural changes, and despite everything we have registered growth in agriculture and the food industry of a net 5% in production, and 10% in productivity compared to last year, which is an excellent result." Vuckovic said.

She said this was possible in part due to the government's jobkeeping measures, adding that EU funds helped boost agricultural development as well as other sectors such as fishing, the wood industry, and wine production for which COVID loans from the HAMAG agency for SMEs can be expected.

"We have secured HRK 360 million in income support for farmers who experienced a fall of 15% and many of them are wine producers," she said, adding that despite travel passes being introduced, farmers will be allowed to work as they did during the spring lockdown.

December 17, 2020 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Turkish Airlines announces more flights to Zagreb in January.

Croatian Aviation reports that Turkish national airline Turkish Airlines has announced its flight schedule for January 2021. Zagreb will be better connected with Turkey's largest city in the first half of January.

Turkish Airlines will offer significantly more flights to Zagreb compared to December this year. From January 1, the number of flights will increase briefly, until January 18, 2020. 

From Friday, January 1, to Sunday, January 3, the Turkish national airline will operate four return flights to Zagreb, with two flights announced for Sunday, in the morning and the evening.

From Monday, January 4, to Sunday, January 10, the airline will have seven return flights to Zagreb, with two daily flights available on Monday and Sunday and one on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Depending on the day, flights operate in the morning or evening.

From Monday, January 11, to Sunday, January 17, Turkish Airlines will operate five return flights, one on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.

From January 18 to 31, the number of flights will return to current levels, and Turkish Airlines will operate between Istanbul and Zagreb four times a week, every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.

However, thanks to the increase in the number of operations from January 1 to 17, Turkish Airlines will have more than 8,100 seats on sale between Zagreb and Istanbul in January next year, which increases capacity compared to December by almost 30%.

Given the excellent occupancy of aircraft on this route, the move by Turkish Airlines is no surprise. Aircraft type B737-800 has been announced for morning flights, while aircraft of higher capacity - A321 - will operate on the afternoon or evening rotation.

It should also be emphasized that the Airbus A321 has a capacity of 51.70 cubic meters of cargo space, which is important for all freight forwarders operating at Zagreb Airport and transporting cargo to and from Asian countries with Turkish Airlines. The cargo space of the B737-800 aircraft is slightly smaller and amounts to 44.1 cubic meters.

Turkish Airlines is also announcing four flights a week between Zagreb and Istanbul in February. Still, the flight schedule is subject to change and will depend on the epidemiological situation that directly affects demand itself.

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

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

December 15, 2020 – Thanks to the project "A walk around the Earth" designed by professor Juraj Horžić, Zagreb Primary school "Petar Preradović" won the European Commission's #BeActive award for being the most active school in Europe.

As the Ministry of Tourism and Sports reports, today, Minister Nikolina Brnjac received representatives of the Zagreb Primary School "Petar Preradović", professor of physical education Juraj Horžić, and the school principal Denis Žvorac. Their school is the first Croatian winner of the #BeActive award given by the European Commission.

The title of the most active educational institution in Europe went to this Zagreb school thanks to the project "A walk around the Earth", designed by professor Horžić. In the spring, during limited activities due to the coronavirus pandemic, this project encouraged the physical activity of students, their parents, friends, relatives, and other acquaintances.

"I saw the news on the TV that a marathoner ran a marathon on his balcony. I immediately took the globe. I saw how far it is to make a circle around the Earth, for example, and I started to recalculate how many students would need to be included for us as a school to make a circle around the Earth," professor Juraj Horžić told RTL.

The project consisted of two challenges – a walk around the Earth along the meridians and parallels. In a total of 31 days in 1996, participants from 8 Zagreb primary schools covered more than 148,000 kilometers, made more than 222 million steps, and consumed more than 7.5 million calories.

"At a time when we need to adapt to new circumstances, professor Horžić accepted the challenge and, in a unique way, encouraged the physical activity of 2,000 people. He showed by example, how little is needed for motivation and how everyone in their own way, in their time and space, can engage in the activity they choose and do so much for their health. Congratulations to professor Horžić and the school on winning the award. I look forward to your future projects. Encouraging children to engage in physical activity is an important task, and the "Walk around the Earth "project has shown that we combine the most important thing with a creative approach – the acquisition of knowledge and physical activity," said Minister Brnjac.

Minister of Tourism and Sports Nikolina Brnjac with the Petar Preradović Primary School from Zagreb representatives, professor Juraj Horžić and the school principal Denis Žvorac / Photo: Ministry of Tourism and Sports

The educational component added value to this project, as the students learned about all the countries, cities, and other areas they passed on their way through the walk. Professor Horžić gathered kilometers of all participants and prepared interesting facts from the history, geography, celebrities, nature, sports, and culture of different countries on four continents.

As a reward for all the effort, the recognition of the European Commission arrived.

"The prize is 10,000 euros, which will certainly improve our school budget. We will invest in the school what we need for physical education, some props, and everything we need to make our physical and health culture richer in the future," said Denis Žvorc, the school principal.

And they seem to be just at the beginning of their journey. They are also planning a trip to the Moon and will virtually walk even to Jupiter.

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

ZAGREB, Dec 14, 2020 - MP Zvonimir Troskot of the opposition Bridge party will be the party's candidate for Mayor of Zagreb in local elections in May next year, Bridge announced on its Facebook page on Sunday.

Troskot has been a financial manager and auditor for large foreign companies and has led one of the biggest referendum initiatives in Croatia. He is well respected in his party as a person full of empathy and understanding for others. He has demonstrated remarkable leadership qualities and seeks to restore the citizens' trust in politics and politicians, Bridge said.

ZAGREB December 13, 2020 – .One of Croatia's best-loved gallery and event spaces will undergo a revolutionary new facelift at the hands of a world-famous architect. Zagreb Lauba's new look comes at the hands of internationally acclaimed Sou Fujimoto. A serial award winner, the architect's prominent works are found all over the world.

Newly-released images of how Zagreb's Lauba will look show an incredibly imaginative redesign. Echoing the avenue of trees that runs by the side of the gallery and event space, Sou Fujimoto has planned an oval-shaped garden roof space for the building in which trees will also be planted. The inspiration for the design came from Zagreb Lauba's name – it is a colloquial word used to describe a certain circular area of trees, the architect being informed of this by gallery owner Tomislav Klitschko.

© Sou Fujimoto Architects / Lauba

According to Jutarnji List's coverage of the redesign, by journalist Patricia Kish, the new roof garden space will be accessed by stairs and lift. Zagreb Lauba's design as it stands today was originally made by Alenka Gačić-Pojatina, who will collaborate on the new additions by Sou Fujimoto.

Zagreb Lauba's story dates back to 1910 when it was constructed by Emil Eisner and Adolf Ehrlich for use as a stables and riding school for the Austro-Hungarian army. It later became the weaving mill of the Textile Combine Zagreb, which it remained until being converted to a gallery and event space in 2008.

© Sou Fujimoto Architects / Lauba

Sou Fujimoto is one of the most celebrated architects of Japan. He has won several prestigious awards for his work and the acclaim has made his designs much in-demand around the world. Often working with wood and natural materials, his designs can be found in London, Paris, Budapest and soon, at Zagreb Lauba's hands, in Croatia.

Lauba is a contemporary art gallery and its mission is to discover artistic expression by Croatian visual artists, and also participate in international cultural trends. Set in a huge black building near Črnomerec its exhibitions usually change around every month. In recent times it has also played host to large-scale electronic music events.

One of Sou Fujimoto's previous designs © Kenta Mabuchi

ZAGREB, Dec 12, 2020 - British Ambassador Andrew Dalgleish formally put in service the so-called climate tram No.13 in Zagreb on Saturday, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the conclusion of the Paris Climate Agreement.

The tram promoting 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, which will be held in Glasgow next year, will be in operation in the Croatian capital in the next six months.

During the ceremony, the ambassador said that his country was making preparations for the conference in that Scottish city in 2021.

We hope that Glasgow event will bring together world leaders who will make real and concrete promises on greenhouse gas reduction so as to halt dangerous climate change, said the diplomat.

He also pointed out that commuting by tram is an excellent, environmentally-friendly mode of transport.

There is the QR code on the tram leading to the website https://ukcop26.org/ with information on all activities aimed at climate change prevention and on the next year's conference in Glasgow.

The Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change, was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015, and entered into force on 4 November 2016. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. To achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate neutral world by mid-century.

During today's ceremony, the British ambassador welcomed the announcement that US President-elect Joe Biden will reenter the U.S. into the Paris Climate Agreement. The move will ensue after President Donald Trump formally withdrew the USA from the climate change agreement on Nov. 4.

December 11, 2020 - First we discovered that there are truffles near Zagreb, then we tasted truffle strukli (delicious), and now... meet the Zagreb truffle praline. 

One of the things I love most about this 'job' is that every day is different, and things rarely turn out the way I envisage, quite often opening the doors to new discoveries and hidden gems. A recent trip as guests of Sveta Nedelja is a case in point - previously I had thought of it as just an industrial town near Zagreb, which was the home of Rimac - how wrong I was.  

I had a similar experience a couple of weeks later when Zagreb County Tourist Board director Ivana Alilovic invited me to go on a spot of truffle hunting near Veika Gorica in a region called Turopolje, which I confess I had never heard of. 

Ivana was very persuasive, deeply committed to unlocking new avenues of tourism in her county, with a focus on local produce and local traditions. 

I was more than a little dubious, but set off on a rainy overcast Saturday morning with my daughter in search of truffles. And what a day of discovery it was! Not only a bone fide truffle hunting experience (with Turoploje triufles which for years have been making their way to Istria for sale), but also a quite outstanding truffle-themed lunch at a Michelin-recommended Dalmatian restaurant in Velika Gorica, would you believe. You can read all about it in Move Over Istria: the Rise of Zagreb Truffle Hunt Tourism. 

Having the truffle hunting was one thing, explained Ivana, but there needed to be a range of supporting activities and products to give the experience more authenticity and depth. If local producers could integrate truffles into some of their products, and local restaurants offer dishes with the Turopolje truffle, this would help build a brand and make it more attractive for tourism. 

Ivana enlisted the help of local producers with her truffle plan. First up was another Ivana - Belosevic - who runs the Cipov bakery in the village of Busevac near Velika Gorica. She had bought into the other Ivana's vision and come up with a fabulous strukli with truffles, which was DELICIOUS. You can learn more in Strukli with Truffles, the Latest Authentic Gourmet Hit in Zagreb County. She plans to expand her range shortly with truffle-infused bread. 

But there would be more to come, promised Ivana 1. And so it has proved, as a little addition from her in my Facebook feed a couple of hours ago introduced the latest gourmet innovation - the Zagreb truffle praline.

They are fresh off the press and - as one would expect from the recent Zagreb County campaign to buy local products from local producers - they are produced within the county, at the Nautilus chocolate factory in Zapresic. Ivana went to visit them with some freshly unearthed truffles and suggested they might like to come up with a new product powered by local ingredients. Nautilus liked the idea, and the rest is history.

I have yet to taste them, but initial feedback is pretty positive. Why not find out for yourself by ordering your own in time for Christmas directly from the Nautilus factory?

If you would like to keep track of the Zagreb truffle story, you can do so on the dedicated TCN section. I have a feeling that we will be reporting on new gourmet innovations very soon.