Wet weekend on the way for Dubrovnik and no white Christmas
Get your umbrellas and coats ready it is going to be a wet and windy weekend in Dubrovnik. After the recent north wind, that brought with it cold and sunny weather, the weather is about to take a turn for the worse.
From Friday the south wind will start to blow bringing with it rain, lots of rain. In fact torrential rain is forecast for this weekend in Dubrovnik with temperatures expected to reach 18 degrees Celsius.
The longer range forecast for the beginning of next week shows much more stable weather with clearer skies and rising temperatures. Highs at the beginning of the week will reach 19 degrees which is much warmer than average for this time of the year.
And Christmas, or at least December, in Dubrovnik lots like being a mixture of rain and clouds, in fact for Christmas day in Dubrovnik rain is forecast with temperatures around 9 degrees.
Smoke fills the Stradun as fire breaks out in Dubrovnik
Smoked bellowed from a narrow street onto the Stradun this morning as a fire broke out at around 11 o’clock. The fire broke out in the air conditioning unit and was fortunately quickly extinguished by the Dubrovnik fire brigade. Foam was sprayed into the air condition unit as fire-fighters climbed ladders to tackle the blaze.
Thankfully this fire was easy to control and was relatively small, however it was an unpleasant reminder of the challenges that the fire brigade face in the historic core of the Old City of Dubrovnik.
Island of Daksa could become Lokrum to the west of Dubrovnik
The Mayor of Dubrovnik, Andro Vlahušić, and the director of the Lokrum Reserve, Mario Tevšić, met this week with representatives of families Malaga Galjuf, the co-owners of the island of Daksa.
The family owns 46 percent of the island, while the remaining 54 percent belongs to the family Ucović Dorsner. Both families live in Lima, Peru.
The reason for the discussion was the intention of the City of Dubrovnik to purchase the island from the families in order to preserve the island and to open it up for locals and tourists. “As Lokrum is a green oasis and a place of peace and tranquillity and unspoiled nature, the island of Daksa could be a similar island on the other side of the city,” commented the mayor. Adding that with adequate ferry connections the island is only a ten-minute journey from the Port of Dubrovnik.
The island of Daksa
If families are not willing to sell the island, the City of Dubrovnik is prepared, in consultation with the owners, to take into consideration other models for taking care of the island, especially in the form of cleaning, maintenance and fire protection of the island.
“Of particular interest to us is to protect the island as a city park and an oasis of nature, a place of special historical significance, which is now unfortunately unmaintained and almost neglected," said Vlahušić.
Mr. Malaga Galjuf expressed his willingness to find a solution with the City of Dubrovnik and it was agreed that the mayor would write a letter to the families which will explain the different models.
Croatia has one of the shortest working lives in European Union
The latest European Commision Statistics (Eurostat) data show that the expected duration of working life in Croatia is among the shortest in the European Union.
Eurostat defines "duration of working life" as the number of years a person aged 15 is expected to be active, either employed or unemployed, on the labour market throughout his/her life.
The expected duration of working life in Croatia was 32.6 years in 2015 which put the country in a group with other EU countries such as Belgium, Poland and Hungary. The working life average in the EU is 35.4 years which was an increase of almost two years in comparison to 2005.
The shortest working life is expected in Italy (30.7 years), Bulgaria (32.1 years) and Greece (32.3 years), whilst the longest working life is expected in Sweden (41.2 years), the Netherlands (39.9 years) and Denmark (39.2 years).
According to Eurostat data in the period between 2005 and 2015 the expected duration of working life recorded an increase in all EU member countries, the most in Malta (+5,1 years), Hungary (+4,2 years) and in Luxembourg (+3,1 years). Eurostat explains this increase with the fact that duration of working life increased more rapidly for women (32,8 years in 2015 compared with 30,2 years in 2005, or +2,6 years) than for men (37,9 years in 2015 and 36,7 years in 2005, or +1.2 year).
In the same decade the duration of working life in Croatia increased by 1,2 years i.e. 1,9 years for women and 0,8 years for men.
Croatians believe they are being sold poorer quality goods
"Our survey shows that 82.6 percent of Croatians believe that products intended for the eastern European market are of poorer quality than those intended for western EU member countries," the Croatian MP in the European Parliament Biljana Borzan said at the news conference held in the Europe House in Zagreb this week.
Biljana and Andrea Gross-Boskovic, the director of the Croatian Food Agency (HAH) presented their survey and announced comparative analysis and testing of 27 product types on the Croatian and German markets.
''Around 70 percent of our respondents showed a high level of scepticism and they believe that large European corporations treat us as second-class citizens'', said Gross-Boskovic adding that the HAH only wanted to determine a state of affairs.
The analysis will cover products such as Coca Cola, Pepsi, Nestea ice tea, Heineken beer, Rio Mare tuna, pasta Barilla, Ariel laundry detergent, Silan laundry softener, Domestos household cleaning products as well as Nivea and Colgate products.
It is interesting to note that an earlier research carried out by the Czech Republic's MP in the European Parliament showed that one-third of the products on the Czech market were of poorer quality in comparison to same products on the German market.
Outgoing Flights Boarding
It's that time of the year when a massive exodus of people from Dubrovnik occurs. The beginning of November marks the end of the shoulder season in Dubrovnik, meaning there are much more tourists leaving the city than there are incoming guests. Also, as the month progresses, more and more local people are heading out on their well deserved vacations after a long tourist season. This way the city is left half empty. Even those that remain are less likely to go outside of their homes due to the often gloomy autumn weather. The feel of Dubrovnik quickly turns from bustling to quiet. This is the part of the year when our little city feels a bit claustrophobic. That's why we choose November, December, and maybe January for travelling.
When it comes to international destinations, Dubrovnik people travel pretty much all over the place. On the other hand, when it comes to travelling within Croatia, there is probably no destination more popular for us than the capital city of Zagreb. It "helps" that our local airport is reduced to a few-flights-per-day parking lot in off season months; disabling us to fly anywhere without going through Zagreb airport (our government was always adamant in making the capital city a hub for everything in Croatia at the expense of the rest of the country). However, even without the traffic necessity of travelling via this city, Dubrovnik people seem to have a soft spot for Zagreb, although many will not admit to it. I definitely have no problem in professing my devotion to it. It's a beautiful city (for the most part) with a lovely historical district, good restaurant scene, plenty of amenities, and interesting surrounding areas. Most of what draws Dubrovnik people to it lately is the fact Zagreb in winter time is everything Dubrovnik is not - it's bustling, vibrant, full of options and activities. It's a really fun place, with something for everyone...a true winter wonderland. Luckily, there is a push towards making Dubrovnik more fun and interesting during winter, and even though one could argue there is not much imagination involved in the efforts to do so, at least there is a will to change a somewhat dull outlook of our city off season. However, even with this in mind, it is unlikely we will stop making the trip inland.
The only real threat for the number of Dubrovnik visitors to Zagreb is that there are too many of us up there. I remember when I started working in tourism, my British guests would ask me to recommend places for day trips and often their main condition would be "Please, somewhere where there's not a lot of Brits.". It struck me as strange, but now I completely understand the feeling. Working almost non-stop for three quarters of the year in Dubrovnik makes me want to take a break from the city as well as from its people. Working in this crazy business of tourism makes you care about, or at least relate to many of your friends and neighbours going through the same yearly struggle, but that doesn't change the fact I prefer not to see many familiar faces when I travel. Seeing people you see regularly during your work days on your vacation really does take away from the experience, as silly as that sounds. Walking through some of the main Zagreb squares sometimes feels like walking along our main street - Stradun. Actually, Stradun during summer might easily have less Dubrovnik locals per square metre than centre of Zagreb during December.
So, until we get to that point where we can't escape our aunts and uncles on the streets of this country's capital city, Zagreb is likely to remain the most important city break destination for us. I just hope they don't realise we're used to paying higher prices in restaurants and cafe bars at home.
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Bozidar Jukic, AKA The Restless Native, is a Dubrovnik local with too many interests to name them all, with writing being at the very top of the list. He is a lover of good food, music and film, and a firm believer in the healing power of laughter. His professional orientation is towards tourism and travel so it comes as no surprise he spends most of his time alongside Mrs. Jukic running their own local tour company. Their goal is helping travellers from all over the world get a more intimate experience of Dubrovnik and what it has to offer. To find out more about their work, visit their website or Facebook page.
www.insiderholidays.eu
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Croatians making it big in America
Due to the turbulent history and challenging life conditions many Croatian people were forced to leave their country in the quest for a better life as they still do nowadays. Lots of Croatians chose to move to the US in order to start a new life so it's no wonder that many famous Americans today are of Croatian origins.
The world famous American Croat is the Academy Award nominee and the star of over 70 films, the actor John Malkovich. His grandparents were from Ozalj in Croatia.
Denise Richards, famous as a former Bond girl and Charlie Sheen's ex-wife, is one more Hollywood star which is of Croatian origin. She was born in Downers Grove, Illinois, to a Croatian mother.
Krist Anthony Novoselic is one of the few who has made such an impact on the world music industry. He was a bass guitar player and co-founder of the popular rock band Nirvana. Novoselic was born in Compton, California to Croatian parents. His brother introduced him to Kurt Cobain and the rest is history.
The lead guitarist of the American alternative rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars is Tomislav Milicevic who was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Croatian parents. His older sister Ivana appeared in numerous TV shows and films such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Chuck, Banshee and Casino Royale.
Victor Grinich was born in Aberdeen, Washington to Croatian parents. He was a pioneer in the semiconductor industry and a member of the "traitorous eight" that founded Silicon Valley.
The Maglite flashlight was invented by Anthony Maglica, a Croat who was born in New York, but grew up on the Croatian island of Zlarin, the home of his parents. After the World War II he moved back to the US where he founded his company Mag Instruments which is famous for its Maglite flashlights.
Branko Lustig, is the Croatian film producer from Osijek who moved to the US in 1988. He is the only person born in the territory of present-day Croatia who won two Academy Awards. Lustig received his first Oscar in 1993 for the production of Schindler's List, whilst he received his second Oscar for the epic movie Gladiator.
American NFL also has a Croat in its ranks. William Stephen "Bill" Belichick is the head coach for the New England Patriots. He won three Super Bowl titles and NFL Coach of the year award in 2003, 2007 and 2010. His grandfather was from Karlovac, Croatia.
Photo gallery – Giant Christmas ball is back!
When you get to Dubrovnik you can't escape the feeling that the holiday season has already came. The big Christmas tree is already up, Christmas decorations are everywhere and festive stands are just waiting to be opened.
Today the giant Christmas ball got back to its last years place, just before the entrance to the Old City. It was a big hit last year and everybody wanted to take a photo with it, especially during the night when it glows. This impressive Christmas decoration shows that the Dubrovnik Winter Festival is starting soon – on Saturday at 8 pm in the Old City.
All photos by Zeljko Tutnjevic
The top five WORST restaurants you chose in Dubrovnik
We have brought you the best restaurants in Dubrovnik according to TripAdvisor so it seems only fair to bring you the worst restaurants as well. With so many restaurants to choose from in Dubrovnik you will need a little help along the way to avoid the tourist traps and the fleapits.
So we have trawled the most popular travel website in the world and listed for you the sinners and not the winners. We used the criteria of a minimum of ten reviews to make this list of the top five worst restaurants in Dubrovnik. Some of these restaurants received many terrible reviews and many of them as recent as the past week.
The fifth worst restaurant in Dubrovnik according to TripAdvisor is Gostionica Stella located just off the Stradun in the heart of the historic core of the Old City of Dubrovnik. Not many reviews from you, the public, here only 17 but of those 7 were the lowest grade – terrible!
Originally enticed by the restaurant by the prices and the friendly older gentlemen who seemed to be the owner of the restaurant. Good measure of wine, and that's where the positives end. Food was poor, service wasn't great, really wish we sent the food back. Ross B, Cardiff, United Kingdom
The next eatery on the list of shame, the fourth worst, is Restaurant Uvala in Lapad. A busy promenade surrounded by many hotels means that this area of Dubrovnik is always a popular place to stop for a bite to eat. And although many restaurants in this suburb are getting it right, some are getting it completely wrong. From a total of 65 reviews a whopping 23 ranked this restaurant as terrible.
We stopped for a drink and made the mistake of staying for dinner. We waited an eternity for mushrooms stuffed with ham and cheese, truly awful. We could see into the kitchen and had seen the "chef" chopping something and putting it into his mouth while dressing the plates...only to have our foods come out of the microwave (after seeing him put it there) in about a minute. Main course was just as bad. Mixed vegs were cold as were the potatoes. JudyanneT - Edmonton, Canada
We continue with the top five worst restaurants in Dubrovnik with another Lapad eatery, Konoba Uvala. At third on our TripAdvisor list of the worst places to eat in Dubrovnik this Lapad based restaurants seems to have plenty of room for improvement. From 35 customers reviews a total of 10 were the lowest ranked, terrible.
We decided to try this restaurant because we were looking for seafood, and the menu listed a mixed seafood platter for 2 that sounded really good. The mussels were OK, but the fish was dry and tasteless. The vegetables appeared to be mixed frozen overcooked mushy vegetables, not fresh real veggies.
sunshyn468 - Fresno, California
At the second worst restaurant in Dubrovnik, the silver medal winner is Konoba Longo. Another restaurant based in the heart of the Old City of Dubrovnik, the main magnet for tourists. With a massive 143 reviews or which an impressive, or should we say unimpressive, 54 terrible rankings.
It is not very often that I give a bad review but we had a terrible experience at this place. The staff attempted to rip us off by overcharging for a piece of butter and then threatening to call the police! We didn't even get to taste the so called sandwich that we had ordered.
Takapuna - Auckland, New Zealand
Bon appetit - Photo TripAdvisor
And the winner, or loser, of the worst restaurant in the Dubrovnik region, at least according to your reviews on TripAdvisor is Restaurant Gusti. Again located in the vey centre of the Old City of Dubrovnik this restaurant “won” an amazing 216 terrible reviews from a total of 471. One of the latest reviews written in October this year read as follows.
What a disappointment...to say the least! A charming host came to greet us in old town while deciding where to eat. He offered us a complementary drink and discount if we were to decide on choosing his restaurant...what a mistake that was!
LickMyPlateMTL - Montreal, Canada
Not so pleasant - Photo TripAdvisor
The Voice of Dubrovnik
