Croatia Online - Left Hand Drive Cars

If you're looking to move from the UK to Croatia, or going there for an extended stay, you may want to buy a left hand drive car to take with you. If so try The Left Hand Drive Place in Basingstoke. We've just bought our second car from them and couldn't want for a better service tailor made to our needs. They have a wide stock of used cars, some new cars and can also help with insurance and even delivery to wherever you need your car. All the cars we've looked at have a full history and the deal itself has, on both occasions, gone extremely smoothly. Take a look at their website, www.lhdplace.com for more information.

Today's photo is not of one of the Left Hand Drive Place's cars! It's one of the cars available for hire on Mljet Island in Southern Dalmatia. Go to www.mljet.hr/mini_brum1.asp for more information on cars with character for hire.

Croatia Online - Travel News

One of our readers has emailed us to let us know of another potential "drop out" from flights to Split. It seems that Wizzair (http://wizzair.com/) is no longer listing Split as a destination. The obvious implication is that it will no longer operate flights between Split and Luton which proved highly popular last year. On top of British Airways withdrawal from the Split route it's a bizarre trend - just as Dalmatia has upped the ante in terms of what it can offer to discerning travellers, the choice of flights seems to be dwindling just a year or two after it improved. We'll be trying to get to the bottom of this in the next few weeks.

Those contemplating the trip by car might be interested to know that we managed to get from Split to Calais in two days driving fairly solidly from 9 am to 7 pm with a couple of half hour stops. We took the route through Slovenia, Austria and Germany - the shortest route according to RAC's routefinder. The German motorways are toll free so it's also a lot cheaper than the route through France but the downside is that the motorways are very busy - two lanes almost all the way with the inside lane packed with lorries and the outside lane a bit of a challenge if you're not one of the speed merchants that appears from nowhere behind you just as you're overtaking the second lorry. Remember to buy a vignette when you get to Austria - the fines for not having one are heavy and it's just a few pounds.

More news and tips on the car journey (and the practicalities of the Pet Passport Scheme) when we get back.

In the meantime, a Happy New Year to all our readers and perhaps some highlights of this year, if we get time, in the next couple of days.

Croatia Online - Happy Christmas

Just in case we don't get a chance later in the week, a very Happy Christmas and New Year to all Croatia Online readers and a quick catch up on news.

Croatia Cruising Companion - we're told it was the best selling book on the Wiley stand at the Earl's Court Boat Show and we understand it sold 400 copies in the first ten days which isn't bad going. Thanks to everyone who's helped and supported us in realising its publication and to everyone who's bought it.

The Croatia Business Report has done a report on the Croatia Cruising Companion - go to http://www.croatiabusinessreport.com for more details on this and for excellent insight, analysis, opinion and comment on the business and political world in Croatia.

Go to our sister blog www.croatiacruisingcompanion.blogspot.com for more details about the book and general updates on nautical tourism et al in Dalmatia.

Today's photo shows a flurry of snow settling on the hills behind Trogir two years ago. We've had our first snow flurry of the year this week, and it's bitterly cold, but the snow has so far only settled on the mountains.

Sretan Božić i Nova Godina

Croatia Online - News

We're just back from a short trip to London to take in the Earl's Court Boat Show and the launch of our Croatia Cruising Companion, covering the Dalmatian Coast and Islands. It's great to see it in print at last and it's been doing well on Wiley's stand at the show. Tomorrow is the last day so if you're in London and looking for something to do why not pay a visit. For more news on the Croatia Cruising Companion and the show, visit our sister site Croatia Cruising Companion. We had a good chat with a number of the charter companies exhibiting and gained some interesting insight on how Croatia compares with eg Turkey and Greece as a cruising destination. We'll be reporting on that soon on the CCC site. In the meantime today's posting on CCC will link you to an interesting article in the Sydney Times on cruising Dalmatia.

Onto land based news:

Travel News

It seems pretty definite that British Airways won't be flying to Split in the summer which is disappointing for many. See the immediately previous posting for more detail on what might lie behind the decision. We're waiting to see whether Ryanair will be back to Zadar in spring but that's looking more hopeful.

Croatian Politics

On 24th November we reported on the national elections that were due to take place the next day. As with the last general election, the vote itself is just a small part of the political process! These elections again resulted in a party with no clear overall majority and mandate to govern, though the result was much closer than the previous election. That means the two main parties have to negotiate long and hard with the smaller parties to see who can get a workable government together with enough seats to provide a mandate. As we suggested in our previous posting, that gives some of the smaller parties a disproportionate amount of power as "kingmakers" and in tight votes in Parliament. The other consequence is that, at the moment, Croatia is largely ungoverned leading to a number of important problems for which holding mechanisms are insufficient. For example, until a government is approved and formed, there is apparently no mechanism to pay pensioners their Christmas bonus which is obviously of great concern to a significant number of people. It's looking like HDZ, led by Ivo Sanader, will again be leading the government but there is a lot of negotiating and bargaining to take place before that result is official.

Time Out Publications in Croatia

We've started working on next year's magazine - A Visitors' Guide To Croatia - due out in April 2008. It will be the third year of the magazine which is growing in size and authority as each year progresses. We'll be preparing a fuller report in the next couple of weeks but can promise that the new magazine will be full of even more interesting features on contemporary Croatia as well as full, area by area, listings on where to eat, drink and stay, and what to do. Time Out now has a reputation in Croatia, as elsewhere, for being the first to discover what's new and what's best about the destinations it covers and there will be more than a few surprises in the new edition of the magazine. For those that can't wait till April, go to www.timeout.com/croatia to order a copy of the Visitors' Guide to Croatia 2007/8 or the full guide book.

Today's photo is of a spectacular sunset over Trogir two days ago. It was taken from the pedestrian bridge that links the main car park to the old town, over the canal that separates Trogir from the mainland. On the left is part of Trogir's ancient fortifications, now a music nuseum, music shop and cafe.

Croatia Online - British Airways Abandoning Split Completely?

Today brought potentially disturbing news for air travellers to Split. There are strong rumours that, having discontinued winter flights this year, BA may be thinking of abandoning the Split - London route altogether. The question has been put to different parts of the BA organisation with answers varying from "undecided" to "no, not operating from Split next year". Many businesses in the tourist industry will be affected by this, not to mention ex pats and business travellers. When BA withdrew the winter flights after just a year of trying it out, we thought the decision was a little premature. If the decision to abandon Split altogether has been made then we find that one almost impossible to understand. British travellers to Split are increasing, as are the number of home owners in the Split area. Yes, the low cost airlines are increasing flights to Croatia (but Ryanair also dropped winter flights) but the whole area is developing as a tourist destination and definitely on the up - two new five star hotels in the last two years, many new good small and family run hotels being opened, better restaurants, etc. Just as Croatia moves forward to cater better for the tastes of British and other western European tourists, this seems to be a very backward step.

Whatever the reasons and final decision, BA needs to let people know soon. Visitors to Croatia are already beginning to plan their trips for next year and the uncertainty does no one any good.

Thanks to Nigel for tipping us off on the latest news. He has a vested interest as he runs a sailing school from Kaštela and is already taking bookings for next year. Clearly he needs to guide his clients on air transport and needs to know, along with many others, what British Airways are up to.

For more information on Nigel's sailing school go to http://www.sailingschoolcroatia.com/.

To help put some pressure on British Airways to reconsider or announce their final decision, go to http://www.britishairways.com/travel/ctclist/public/

Croatia Online - Drvenik Island, Near Trogir

Our roving reporters, Diane and Roger Brown, have been exploring again and it makes a nice change to hear someone else's "voice" on Croatia Online. Here's their report on a recent visit to Drvenik Island. Thanks to them for their eloquent prose and today's photo!

***

Early in October Diane and myself decided to take advantage of the glorious autumn weather (t-shirts and shorts) and embarked on the old Jadrolinija Ferry "Losinjanka" from Trogir to Drvenik Veliki.

The Ferry edged away from the harbour wall in Trogir and made its way to nearby Seget Donji where it proceeded to load trucks full of building materials bound for for Drvenik Veliki and Mali. Veliki lies approximately five nautical miles south west of Trogir, so it is a short voyage, but, as the old craft glides sedately through the crystal clear waters of the Adriatic you are rewarded with panoramic views from the upper deck.

Arriving at Veliki we were reminded by a crew member to be back in time for the return trip - should we have missed the ferry we'd have been stuck until the next day, though there are more frequent sailings in the season. The trucks and passengers disappeared in various directions and we realised we were the only visitors so we explored at our leisure.

Off season it is a quiet and sleepy village with several bars and restaurants, and a small shop, that surround the picturesque harbour. There are several fascinating buildings and ruins from a bygone era. We encountered a few local people, who were very friendly, and we were accompanied on part of our walk by a local cat who decided to be our guide and seemed to like our company.

We sat and enjoyed a beer overlooking the harbour then visited the local store, where the lady made us enormous sandwiches, which made a very satisfying lunch.

On our return trip I spent most of my time on the Bridge chatting with the helmsman, who, was very friendly and provided a wealth of information. You will see from the pictures that although the vessel has undergone refits it still retains its original telegraph, voice pipes and compass, which are for decoration only.

The trip was a thoroughly enjoyable, no hassle experience and I nearly forgot!!! all for the princely sum of 10 kuna per person each way from Trogir.

***

For a current timetable of ferries from Trogir to Drvenik, the easiest way is to contact Atlas Trogir - http://www.atlas-trogir.hr/ or Portal Trogir - http://www.portal-trogir.com/. It's a foot passenger service from Trogir but vehicles can embark, by prior arrangement, at Seget Donji.

If you're looking for a self contained apartment, near Trogir and Split, with all mod cons, easy access to the beach, and great hosts if you need them, check out Diane and Roger's website http://www.croatia-apartments.blogspot.com/.

If you want to know how to get to Drvenik by yacht - where to moor or anchor, etc - check out our sister site which has details of our book the Croatia Cruising Companion

Croatia Online - Elections in Croatia

Tomorrow, Sunday 25th November, is election day in Croatia and all signs suggest it's going to be a close run thing. HDZ, (Croatian Democratic Union - right wing), is the party in power at the moment, led by the current Prime Minister, Ivo Sanader. SDP (Social Democratic Party - left wing), and the next biggest party, held power prior to HDZ's current term and have a young new leader, Zoran Milanović who won the leadershio elections after the death of Ivica Račan from brain cancer in April.

Following the European trend towards the centre ground, there's not too much that separates the two parties now but, certainly amongst the older generation, and those who were most caught up in the Yugoslav war (1991-1995), HDZ symbolises the nationalist liberators and SDP the communist Yugoslavs of old. Feelings still run high in many areas and there was a big furore when one of the cities that suffered greatly in the war, realised that its favourite venue had hosted a private party for SDP recently. The staunchly HDZ city, that was heavily attacked in the war, did not seem to accept the view that the venue's commercial approach to renting its space was reason enough.

There doesn't seem to be much of a dividing line between the two parties on the main issues and there is much speculation that a close vote could end up in a cross party coalition. As with this term of government by HDZ, quite often some of the smaller parties, such as the Peasants' Party and the Pensioners' Party, can wield a disproportionate amount of power. The following links will give you a more detailed analysis:

http://www.dtt-net.com/en/index.php?page=view-article&article=3459
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8950c66a-99f0-11dc-ad70-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

Watching the run up on Croatian TV it's been interesting to note that, in Croatia, they don't seem to do party political broadcasts as such. Instead they run advertisements in the commercial break along with the soap powders and Coca Cola. We'll try and find out whether this depends entirely on money or there's some "fair" allocation of time. During the high profile Croatia v England football match on Wednesday, prime time for ads, the interval was full of a number of ads for HDZ including the Croatian football captain (and Goran Ivanišević, the Wimbledon champion and several other sportsmen) expounding Dr Sanader's talents and urging voters to put their cross by HDZ. More extraordinarily, another much run ad shows a number of European leaders, including Bertie Ahern, saying what a good bloke Dr Sanader is and appear to be urging voters to choose him. Tony Blair was filmed talking to him but uniquely didn't provide a eulogy. Odd that it seems ok to mix government and politics like that and we wonder if the leaders who spoke, knew of the purpose? If so, the first meeting with a different leader might be a little embarassing!

The ad theme/slogan for HDZ is "idemo dalje" which we assume is intended to mean "let's go further". An alternative translation, according to my dictionary is "let's become more remote" which perhaps both Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher might have pinched if it had been around earlier. SDP's slogan is "Tim" and we felt we'd better look this up as well, in order not to mislead readers by assuming it was the new leader's nickname. It's difficult to get a grasp of the full essence of the meaning from the dictionary which suggests either "so much the..." as in "tim bolje" (so much the better) or (sport) "team". With so many sportsmen appearing in ads for Dr Sanader, it's not easy to see where the SDP is going to get a full olympic squad from.

Today's photo is from the Nato exercises that took place in Croatia this September - if there is a coalition, both parties are agreed on the importance of joining NATO and the EU so an "idemo dalje tim" would be able to go further on that.

New York Magazine Look Book

Bergdorf's window on 57th street celebrates the release of New York Magazine's "New York Look Book: Gallery of Street Fashion" It contains just a few of the hundreds of photos taken of the stylish and stylishly outrageous New Yorkers during the past 3 years. The magazine has become well-known for its weekly feature of ecclecticly-clad city folk and has included shots of celebrities such as Parker Posey, John Waters and Helen Mirren.
Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

Parker Posey, photo from Nymag.com

For a great book of street fashion photos from around the world, check out Nylon's "Street: The 'Nylon' Book of Global Style"

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

Croatia Online - Ireland To Slavonia On Čiovo Island

Konoba Timun is doing its best to provide winter entertainment on Čiovo Island, near Trogir. Normally all the bars and restaurants close after the busy summer season but Timun is breaking the mould in this area and we wish them every success. A few weeks ago they held an Irish night; this Saturday 24th November is Slavonian night, again with "traditional" food drink and entertainment at reasonable prices. Their website is http://www.konoba-timun.hr/ but unfortunately it doesn't have details of the events. It's definitely happening though, from around 8pm, so if you're in the Split area be there or be square! Perhaps ring Timun on 021 888 106 if you want to confirm timings and prices.

Unfortunately we weren't able to attend the Irish night but heard from our friends that an excellent time was had by all - Guinness, good food and then a few informal lessons in Irish dancing from Irish Maiden who's website says they are Croatia's first and only Irish Dance Troupe and we've no reason to doubt that. Based in Zagreb, with a troup led by an Irish man but mostly made up of deft footed Croatians, Irish Maiden runs classes, competitions and performs throughout Croatia. Visit their website http://www.irskistudio.com/ for more information.

Thanks to James for today's photo. Apparently he was to busy enjoying himself to take a photo of the guests participating!

Croatia Online - Learning The Croatian Language

Not an obvious picture to represent serious studies of a difficult language but obviously these students of the Croatian Language School (CLS) found time to enjoy themselves. The picture was taken at CLS's new summer school in Losinj, a beautiful town on an island in north Croatia, where CLS combines learning the language with finding out about Croatian cuisine. Readers who were interested in our previous posting, on the first vegetarian restaurant in Split, may also be interested to know that CLS's top Croatian cook, Mladen Marušić specialises in vegetarian and macrobiotic cuisine but includes all types of traditional Croatian cooking in his courses at the summer school.

You can read more about Mladen on CLS's website - http://www.easycroatian.com/ - in the newsletter section you'll find his recipe of the month; click on one and you'll find a fascinating interview with him on the varied subject of Croatian Cuisine.

CLS run a number of immersion courses in Croatia in the summer and have a permanent school in London. The website and newsletters are a mine of information on all things Croatian and you can also download a phrasebook from the site.

In the latest newsletter you'll find an interview with Croatia Online's Editor, Jane Cody, about the new Croatia Cruising Guide that she has co written with John Nash. See our sister blog for more information on this Croatia Cruising Companion - Dalmatian Coast and Islands

If you're looking for a great holiday whilst learning more about Croatia and Croatian, visit CLS's website for more details on its summer courses - http://www.easycroatian.com/

Croatia Online - Vegetarians Now Very Welcome in Split

Things seem to be happening fast in the Split area at the moment. Now, as far as we are aware, Split City has its first and only macrobiotic and vegetarian restaurant. Not before time but it's a bold move for the entrepreneurs that set up Makrovega and they deserve to do well. I can't say we stumbled upon it - though it's very close to the Riva and Marmontova, Split's main shopping street, it's in a deserted residential square and, even when you get close, it's not so obvious that there's a great new restaurant there. Fortunately we were tipped off by an informed local and had great pleasure in taking her to lunch to try it out. We both chose the vegetarian menu of the day at 50 kunas, which consisted of an extremely tasty vegetable soup, followed by a delightfully presented plate of mushroom pasta, rice (with extras and sauce) and a delicious and crispy cheese filled spring roll. The macrobiotic menu reads the same but the ingredients differ in some cases. We both left feeling we'd had a huge lunch.

Makrovega's chef, Vjeko, hopes that Makrovega can help locals and visitors alike advance in their quest for healthy lifestyles and that similar restaurants will open up in the area. Croatia Online's editor certainly has room to improve on a healthy lifestyle. Whilst enjoying vegetarian dishes, she doesn't normally seek out vegetarian restaurants, which are anyway hard to find in Dalmatia. This is certainly a place she would return to for a healthy, good value and enjoyable lunch rather than just because of its niche placing. International and other visitors, already much further down the road in their vegetarian and macrobiotic diets and lifestyles, will finally believe that Dalmatia is embracing different cultures and ways of life as well as increasing the amount of culinary choice on offer. We think enlightened locals will take to it too for its tranquil ambience, good food and the fact that it offers something just a bit different.

It's no smoking throughout and there are no alcoholic drinks on the menu but you can try a variety of organic teas, barley coffee, juices and a range of other drinks. The website, currently being updated and due to have English pages soon, has a map on how to get there which you'll need! Contact details and information as below:

Makrovega

Address : Leština 2

Telephone: 021 394 440

Website : http://www.makrovega.hr/

Open: 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday; 9am to 4pm Saturday

We wish Vjeko and his colleagues every success - the Dalmatians can sometimes be very traditional, particularly when it comes to food. It takes courage and vision to break the mould and I'm sure there have been plenty of shaking heads advising that such a venture might not work. We think it will!

For those that visit Croatia by boat, don't forget to check out our sister site - Croatia Cruising Companion - Dalmatian Coast and Islands

Croatia Online - Liquid Gold

Every now and then we remember why it takes a lot to beat the Dalmatian way of life. Last Saturday was St Martin's day, when the year's new young wine is christened by "wine bishops". Like most events to do with the land and crops it was a few weeks early this year. As with other produce, the grapes may have been smaller as a result of less rainfall, but they still pack a mighty punch! Dalmatia, on this and other occasions, is about quietly celebrating nature's abundance amongst friends - a far cry from the Beaujolais Nouveau festivities and extravagant private jet flights to bring the first 2007 French wine to whoever can afford the party.

Despite the long preamble, and as you can see from the picture, today's posting is not about wine but Dalmatian Olive Oil. We were priviliged to spend St Martin's day picking olives and watching them turned into something really special.

Ana, one of Croatia Online's special friends, took us to the village of Marušići, south west of Split and Omiš, where her friends are concentrating on getting the best out of the Dalmatian climate and soil in the most eco friendly and taste bud stimulating way. With 270 olive trees, each yielding 25 kilograms of olives, all handpicked, I'm sure there are days when they might find it a little too much like hard work. At our pace - one tree in about three hours, with some help from an agile tree climber picking the olives off the upper branches - we might not be given a job. However there's little to better having a chat under the autumn sun, in clear blue skies, with a view over Hvar and the Pelješac Penisula, pretending to be working the land.

Gentle and very therapeutic manual labour was followed by a brief walk down to the local olive press, kitted out with the best and latest equipment, to watch the olives become the liquid gold that you see above. A little financial help from the EU has been well put to use and each olive grower can see their own olives turned into fresh, pure olive oil, the same day the olives are picked, for a fee of just 150 kunas, regardles of whether they make use of the full 150 kilogram capacity of the press or not. Some years ago olive growers had little choice but to preserve their crop in seawater and make a long journey to the scarce and more old fashioned presses when time permitted and somewhat to the detriment of the end product. Everyone wins from this, particularly the end user who's prepared to source and pay just a little bit more for quality, purity and traceability of the source. We tasted two different fresh oils made from different types of olives and it was like tasting a completely different product - aromas of fruit, no trace of chemicals, and an experience hard to describe by a non professional taster more used to mass produced offerings. Already spoilt, we then had the chance to sample some wine, anchovies, Prošec and Prsut, all home made and cured - a different world even for foodies that take their time looking around the best of London's supermarkets.

It takes 7 to 10 kilograms of olives to make one litre of olive oil; that's about three litres per olive tree. Even in Dalmatia, many of the more expensive supermarket extra virgin olive oils (and some on sale in the markets from those lovely but wise Dalmatian grandmothers) may be mixed with inferior quality, mass produced oil. If you can find the real McCoy, be prepared to pay a little extra for it but it's worth it.

Look out for the name Orgula when you're next in a Croatian supermarket looking for the best olive oil. They're the entrepreneurs behind the high tech olive press that makes life infinitely easier for Dalmatian small holders in Marušići and allows us to capture the image, tastes and smells of olive picking in the flavours of the oil that is bottled on the same day.

And whilst we were enjoying our day on the land, some of the team were out sailing in the Bavadria Cup 2007. For a full report on that, go to our sister site Croatia Cruising Companion

Croatia Online - New Chinese Restaurant

Whilst we really enjoy Dalmatian cuisine - generally plain grilled fish or meat - it's always great to have a change. The Dalmatians seem quite conservative in their approach to different cuisines but we think this new Chinese restaurant will go down a storm with ex pats and tourists who are looking for something different.

There aren't many restaurants around that cater for a wider variety of cosmopolitan tastes so we were a bit apprehensive when we decided to try out Chinese Restaurant Peking last night with a couple of friends. Our last experience of Chinese food in Croatia was three years ago in Zagreb and that took us back to the days, many years ago in England, when Chinese takeways were a stodgy flavourless gelatinous mess. We needn't have worried however as we had a great meal - subtle and varied flavours, excellent service and a more than comfortable ambience. The restaurant is only a few months old and has yet to fully organise its wine cellar - our only criticism was the lack of a good reasonably priced house wine, normally about 70 kunas (£7) a litre. We're told that's being sourced but in the meantime we paid 140 kunas per 0.75 litre bottle which upped the price considerably. Wine aside, most of the main courses are between 45 and 60 kunas each (£4.50 to £6), fried rice (just enough for 2) is 15 kunas (£1.50) and plain boiled rice (for one) is 5 kunas (50 pence). Though it must be quite difficult to source the right spices and herbs, the flavours were authentic and the overall experience was a thoroughly enjoyable one. The owners are Chinese and our very helpful and efficient waiter was Croatian.

You'll find Chinese Restaurant Peking, on the coast road from Trogir to Šibenik. Heading north west past Trogir (without going over the bridge to Trogir Old Town), head towards Seget Donji and about 1 kilometre after Trogir, the restaurant is on your left with good parking.

Address: Hrvatski Zrtava 41A, Seget Donji
Telephone: + 385 21 880 401
Opening Hours: Noon to 11pm, Monday to Sunday

For sailing and cruising news on Croatia, visit our sister site Croatia Cruising Companion where today's posting links to a great article on Cruising Croatia by Sail World.

Croatia Online - Film Lovers in Dalmatia Take Note!

There's a good selection of the more traditional cinemas in Split and around Dalmatia, some more modern than others. However it's hard to beat the newly opened Broadway Kina, on the first floor of the Joker shopping centre, just behind the five star Atrium hotel in Split.

The new Brodarica area of Split, not to be confused with the village of the same name near Šibenik, has sprung up from nowhere in the last couple of years. First came the Atrium Hotel, swiftly followed by big blocks of modern colourful flats with dolphin, elephant and other sculptures on the roofs. A few months ago the Joker shopping centre opened with a big splash of publicity and some recognisable "high street" names such as Miss Selfridge, Top Shop and, yes, McDonalds. Now, just a couple of weeks old, Broadway Kina provides the state of the art comfort and technology with which to enjoy your favourite blockbusters. Five cinemas of varying sizes, comfortable airline business class type chairs, and technology we have not quite got our heads round will help you maximise your evening's entertainment. The programme changes every 3 days and you can find out what's on by linking to the website http://www.broadway-kina.com/. Unfortunately there are no English pages yet so you may need to phone the box office if you don't understand the Croatian translation of the film titles. Those that are unfamiliar with Croatia will be relieved to know that all English language films (and French, German, Italian, etc) remain in the original version, with Croatian subtitles added. One of the reasons, we suspect, that most Croatians pick up English so quickly though, scarily, Only Fools and Horses has been a big hit on Croatian TV recently and you'll find a number of Croatians now speaking English with a cockney accent.

We don't believe there's anything else like Broadway Kina in Dalmatia though there is a sister operation in Zagreb, the capital. We wondered how it would fill all the seats but a friend told us they were sold out last Saturday and, at 22 kunas a session, it's a snip compared with the equivalent in London.

Unusually we struggled a bit to find a suitable picture from our library to go with today's posting. The best we've been able to come up with is Uvala Smrka, towards the west end of the south coast of Brač island, known by the locals as James Bond Bay!

Read more about James Bond Bay in our Croatia Cruising Companion due out in early December - go to http://www.croatiacruisingcompanion.blogspot.com/ for more information on that.

Croatia Online - All Saints Day

Croatia is a strongly Catholic country and November the 1st - the day of the dead - is a big family occasion. The shops have been full of outdoor candles for a few weeks now and chrysanthemums have been growing on every spare patch of land. This afternoon we walked up to our local cemetery to try and get a feel for what All Saints Day means to Croatians.

The vast car park was full of cars and the cemetery itself was packed with people of all ages. Today is the day when the Croatians truly respect their dead and though there is obviously much sadness about, at the same time, the cemetery is an uplifting sight. Large marble memorials bedecked with intricate floral displays and flickering candles; smaller graves lovingly festooned with bunches of roses and chrysanthemums.

All the shops are closed, workplaces are shut and it's a time for families to get together. Some have a number of cemeteries to visit with their floral offerings crammed into the boot of their car.

Wikipedia tells us that the Day of The Dead is much celebrated in places like Mexico and, though more reverently treated in Catholic countries such as Croatia, there is an air of quiet, reflective celebration of the lives of deceased relatives. To protestant Brits such as ourselves it's an enviable tradition and an impressive demonstration of the strength of the close family bonds that have endured in Croatia far longer than in many countries in western Europe. In the church, All Saints Day (November 1st) honours all saints known and unknown, and All Souls Day (November 2nd) celebrates the faithful departed who have not yet been purified and gone to heaven.

Croatia Online - Secret Dalmatia

It's always refreshing to come across something a little different in our travels around Croatia and Secret Dalmatia is just that. Coach loads of tourists and the ubiquitous apartments to let have their place. However, increasingly, Croatia is attracting a more discerning visitor who doesn't mind digging a little deeper into his pocket just so long as he or she gets to experience the best of what Croatia has to offer.

Secret Dalmatia provide tailor made tours and trips to show you the real Croatia - gastronomy, natural heritage, sailing the Adriatic, tasting Croatia's diverse and good quality wines are just some of the treats. They've also picked the type of hotel that will appeal to those wanting something just that little bit special. The four star Hotel Spongiola on Krapanj island is one of them and if you read our earlier posting, Hotel Spongiola, Krapanj, you'll find out just how much we enjoyed our weekend there.

We're hoping to find out some more of the secrets in due course so that we can report them to you. In the meantime check out the website www.secretdalmatia.com to see the full details of what's on offer.

Thanks to Alan Mandić, Secret Dalmatia's Project Director, for today's stunning photo.

Croatia Online - Kaštel Lukšić

Kaštel Lukšić is the middle village of the 7 Kaštelas lying between Trogir and Split. Today's picture shows one of the many bars in the centre, nearly all of them in a similar style and in a great location to watch the world go by.

We've covered it, from a nautical angle, on our sister site Croatia Cruising Companion. On this site we'll be returning to land based news but will keep you informed of any nautical developments as they arise.

Croatia Online - Autumn Boatshows

Given our professional interest in the Croatian Marina Industry et al, we'd normally have been participating in a stand at the Biograd Boat Show running from 18th to 21st October 2007. Other comittments unfortunately prevented this and, given the weather, it was good to have a brief look round it rather than have to brave gale force winds for much of the duration of the show.

In many ways, it's a great time to have a boat show - the main charter season is over, forward planners can get a good deal on next year's charter holiday by shopping around and the charter companies and other boat buyers have money in their pockets. However, so far, the weather's not been kind to the organisors, exhibitors and visitors. Last year it rained for much of the time; this year the mighty Bora (north east) wind decided to make its prescence felt.

Oddly, Marina Kornati (Biograd), and Tribunj Marina choose to run their boat shows at much the same time. More interestingly their promotional posters were of a very similar theme, reminiscent of the trailers for the film, The Titanic; glamourous girl at the prow of the ship, hair floating in the wind........One of the marketing budgets ran to a glass of champagne.

The Bora had fully taken hold when we visited the Tribunj show - a number of tents having to be recovered from the water the day before and a few that, allegedly, couldn't be left open for visitors because of the wind!

Nonetheless, if you're in the area next year, they're worth a visit but probably not a trip in their own right just yet. The Biograd show is the larger of the two but still small compared to the Split Boat Show which takes place in April. What's interesting for us is the change, year on year, as Croatia stealthily continues to secure its rightful place in the International Boating world.

For more information link to:

Biograd Boat Show - Marina Kornati
Tribunj Boat Show - Marina Tribunj
Split Boat Show

For the latest news on our Croatia Cruising Guide and all things nautical, visit our newly created sister site - Croatia Cruising Companion

Regular readers of a non nautical bent will be pleased to know that our next few postings on this site will be a catch up on news and developments for landlubbers.

Today's photo is from the 2006 Biograd Boat Show - Russell Coutts is absorbing all the advice from his tactician!

Croatia Online - Croatia Cruising Companion

Regular readers will know that we've been working on our book for some time. We never expected it to be easy - doing justice to Croatia's Dalmatian Coast and Islands is not a walk in the park! However it's been intrinsically rewarding and there's been quite a bit of fun along the way.

Like any subject worth writing about, the more we discover about cruising Croatia, the more we find there is to reveal. So, though The Croatia Cruising Companion has now gone off to the printers and will be launched at the Earl's Court Boat Show in early December, it's far from the end of the story. Croatia's nautical industry is developing fast and, each time we revisit even the smallest of nautical ports, there's always something newsworthy - a new restaurant, improved facilities, a cultural discovery or just some old friends with new stories to tell.

To try and keep track of updates and to encourage comments from those of you who continue to delight in exploring Croatia's Dalmatian coast, we've set up a separate blogspot specifically devoted to the Croatia Cruising Companion. Click on the link on the top right hand corner of our home page or follow the link below to find out more about it and keep up to date with the news on one of the world's best cruising destinations. We'll continue to include the highlights on this site, as well as the latest news on Croatian travel, business, destinations, lifestyle, shopping, culture, politics and current events.

Croatia Cruising Companion

The Sartorialist: High-end street fashion blogger

Croatia Online - In Pictures

Croatia Online - Travel News:Ryanair Flights

Apologies to regular readers for the lack of postings. Our Cruising Companion is now finished and off to the printers so things are returning to normal. The finalisation stages have been very demanding and intense but, though we say so ourselves, it's got all the signs of being a great book. More news soon.

There's been plenty happening in the outside world, not least of which is Ryanair's announcement that they are pulling out of flights to Pula and Zadar in Croatia. The advent of low cost flights to these two relatively small airports was heralded with a great fanfare earlier this year. Everyone started to believe that the tourist season would finally extend beyond July and August and that Istria and the Zadar region would prosper as a result. It was a serious financial comittment too though reports of the cost for each destination varies between a subvention of €500,000 per year for five years, to £500,000 for the length of the five year contract. Apparently the contract had a clause saying that Ryanair could pull out any time they liked, for whatever reason, without returning the cash - not a bad deal for them!

Ryanair cite a number of reasons for the decision, including increasing costs at Stansted, and seem to be focusing on Spain now. Sad news for Croatia indeed and perhaps a reversal of fortunes for out of season tourism on top of British Airway's decision to stop winter flights to Split. For the full story as reported in a Croatian online newspaper, link to http://www.nacional.hr/en/articles/view/37366/18/

Today's photo is a rather hazy picture of Rogoznica and Frapa Marina from the air.

Fashion from the street Part 1

My latest obsession is street fashion blogs. These blogs are true social equalizers; it used to be that only those with the right bank balance or cool job were able to travel regularly and see fashion trends developing abroad, now the global and local trends that are emerging in major fashion capitals like London, Paris and Berlin can be viewed by anyone with access to a PC and an internet connection. This has major implications for young designers who can find online a limitless database of inspiration and trend information that is updated on a daily basis. It is also great how these blogs highlight individual style and people dressing outside the norm.
How influential are these blogs? Recently an exhibition of photos from some of the most popular street fashion blogs was held in Berlin and during the month of October the Colette store in Paris will host the largest exhibition of street fashion photographs to date. Still don't believe these blogs exert any influence? Scott Schuman of "The Sartorialist" received a shout out from Time Magazine naming his street fashion blog one of the "Top 100 Design Influencers." That's enough street cred for me.

Here are my favorites and some great shots

Stil in Berlin www.stilinberlin.blogspot.com



Style Clicker (Munich) http://www.styleclicker.net/



Dans Paris http://dans-paris.blogspot.com/

Croatia Online - Hotel Spongiola on The Island of Krapanj

We decided to treat ourselves to a restorative luxury break last weekend after a demanding few months on the work front. The brief was to find somewhere that didn’t involve a long drive from Split, had the necessary facilities to keep us amused and pampered if the forecast rain arrived, and didn’t completely blow the bank. As it was, the weather turned out great and so did Hotel Spongiola on Croatia’s smallest and lowest lying inhabited island – Krapanj.

Krapanj itself is opposite the village of Brodarica on the mainland, just before Šibenik, driving from Split. As you get to Brodarica, follow the signs for Zlatna Ribica, one of the best seafood restaurants in the region, park your car and call Hotel Spongiola to ask them to send their boat to come and pick you up. It’s a five minute trip, if that, and an easy step on and off the boat.

Hotel Spongiola has everything you’d expect from a good four star hotel – very pleasing décor and surroundings, friendly and efficient staff, a gym, swimming pool, wellness centre with saunas and hydro massage, a restaurant and bar and a nice shingle beach. The rooms are spacious, comfortable and very well fitted out and the half board option (add €4 per person to the bed and breakfast off season price of €92 for a double room for two) includes a great four course dinner. If you have the ham and egg omelette for breakfast (along with a copious choice from the breakfast buffet bar including cereals, juices, yoghurts, salamis, breads and jams) and work slowly through the evening meal, you won’t notice you’ve missed lunch! The one downside was going into breakfast on the second day, admittedly not at crack of dawn, and finding that the restaurant had turned into a presentation area for a dental seminar – a full screen photo of the inside of someone’s mouth is not the best way to start the day! No problem – breakfast hastily rearranged, with profuse apologies, on the partially covered side terrace.

Two days is just about right to unwind and explore Krapanj. You can walk round the island in less than an hour and the church and cemetery are well worth a visit. It looked like there could be two restaurants open in the high season but these were closed when we passed by. However, for a change of scene, there are two cafes by the ferry terminal and you can make use of the hotel’s ferry service, free and on demand up to midnight, if you want to explore the mainland or eat at Zlatna Ribica. There are also a number of trips on offer and the hotel doubles as a diving centre with a swimming pool deep enough, in one half, for diving training.

Spongiola is dog friendly too – you won’t find dogs running amok but if you have a well behaved, inconspicuous, furry friend you’ll find they’re made very welcome too. It’ll cost you an extra €5 a night but they’ll thank you for it and the easy clean wooden floors in the bedrooms ensures no tell tell doggy hairs remain after their stay.

Krapanj used to have a thriving sponge trade and the hotel is built on the site of a former sponge co-operative. You’ll see plenty of traces of history around including a small sponge museum and souvenir shop up a back street by the ferry terminal. Blissfully, and sometimes eerily, it’s almost completely car free. We spotted just one truck, with no number plates, and a van, the whole time we were there. That helps to make you feel you really are getting away from it all, on a remote island, rather than just a short hop from the metropolis.

Hotel Spongiola is like a breath of fresh air and a great option if glitzy 5 stars are a little too much for you but you want something a little different from Croatia’s myriad of perfectly adequate 3 star hotels. Just one point to note which added to our enjoyment but may not be everyone’s cup of tea – Sunsail use the hotel as a base for some of their charter boats with fortnightly flotillas starting there every other weekend in the high season. So if it’s peace and quiet you’re after, be prepared for this to be a little shattered on Saturday nights as the groups discuss the highs and lows of their holidays over a few drinks. Sunsail guests have their own areas for showers, etc, and they’re invariably a very social and friendly bunch but sheer weight of numbers can make for a lively evening once a fortnight. However it’s great fun watching the new bunch leave their moorings the next day!

Check out Hotel Spongiola’s website for full details of all that’s on offer – http://www.spongiola.com/ and look out for our next posting, in a similar vein – a Croatian travel company that seems to be a little different from the rest. Might be just the site you need to help you organise your next Croatian holiday and banish the blues as the nights draw in.

Croatia Online - Dalmatia's Best Kept Secrets

This Olive tree is over 1500 years old. A testament to good living and the fertility of Dalmatian soil.

It's a further testament to the social trust that breathes through Croatia - it's a protected monument by name but totatally unprotected in access. So we won't be revealing a location just yet.

Croatia Online - NATO in Croatia

Kaštela’s fishermen seem oblivious to NATO’s presence behind them. Not so Croatia’s military chiefs who, for the next 12 days, are playing host to perhaps the largest and most significant international military manoeuvre in Croatia’s recent history.

From 1st to 12th October, some 9,000 soldiers, 50 warships, an aircraft carrier, amphibious vehicles, frigates, cruisers, submarines and 60 aircraft will stage the largest NATO military exercise of the year in the northern and central Adriatic Sea.

The Noble Midas Exercise 07 is Croatia’s most challenging test yet before it accedes to full membership of NATO. Exceptionally, NATO has established a significant precedent by staging such an exercise in a none member country which may perhaps signify Croatia’s strategic and other importance to NATO.

The logistics ships arrived early and Kaštela bay has been the base for one over the last week. Today’s photo shows it looking protectively towards the mainland, from between Split and Čiovo Island, with the island of Brač in the background.

Croatia Online – Coming Soon! The Croatia Cruising Companion

Regular readers will have noticed that Croatia Online’s productivity has dropped somewhat over the past few weeks, for which we apologise. Similarly our friends have hopefully noticed that we’ve disappeared off the social radar.

That should all change soon as the finishing touches are put to our Croatia Cruising Companion. It’s been quite an epic project but it’s now in the final stages of completion. As you can see from today’s picture, we now have a front cover, and are just waiting for a final schedule from the publishers in order to be able to announce the publication date.

In over 250 pages of text, photos and charts, The Croatia Cruising Companion explores the Dalmatian Coast and Islands – on sea and on land. Dalmatia is undoubtedly one of the best cruising grounds in the world and we’ve covered pretty well ever inch of it, in some cases many times over, during the five years we’ve lived here. In writing The Croatia Cruising Companion, we have endeavoured to pass on that insiders’ knowledge so that others can explore the area, safely and to the full, at sea and onshore. We hope and believe it will prove to be the most up to date, comprehensive and user friendly book of its kind.

We’ll let you know as soon as we have final publication details and will be resuming our regular postings just as soon as we can. There’s plenty of news to catch on but we’re in need of a short break after burning a little too much midnight oil over the last few weeks.

For an independent view of the Dalmatian Islands as a World Class destination, link to our earlier posting - Dalmatian Islands in World Top Ten Island Destinations

More Parisian Chic for Fall/Winter 2007

Although I'm a big fan of the Paul & Joe line, I have to say the Fall/Winter 2007 pieces from its younger counterpart collection, Paul & Joe Sister, offer all the must-have Fall pieces from a modern little black dress to over-sized sweater dresses and cropped pants with suspenders. How to top of this tres chic look? With a darling beret of course... although I'm more enamored with those faux knot booties. I'm searching furiously for them everywhere!