The capital’s airport has seen a strong start in 2018 with more and more passengers travelling through the Zagreb Airport.

Figures just released by the busiest airport in Croatia show that in May this year the airport handled 300,676 passengers, this is an increase of 11.8 percent over the same month from last year.

A total of 4,023 airplanes used the airport in May, again an increase over 2017 and this time by 7.2 percent. Since the beginning of the year until the end of May the nation’s capital airport saw 1.1 million passengers, meaning that the airport broke the one million passenger mark a full thirteen days before last year.

Has Croatia’s population fallen below 4 million. The State Bureau of Statistics publishes annually the estimated population of the country, based on data on the difference between the number of deaths and the number of births and the official data on the number of displaced people and immigrants.

And according to this estimate, Croatia had 4,125,700 inhabitants in the middle of last year - about 155,000 less than during the 2011 census, which counted 4,280,600 inhabitants.

Given that hundreds of thousands of Croatians have left the country to work in other European Union members, such as Germany and Sweden, the total population of Croatia is very likely under 4 million.

Doing a three point turn across a busy road would be bad enough, but doing a multi-point turn on the only road from Dubrovnik to the airport in a bus, well that’s just madness.

A reader of The Dubrovnik Times sent us this photo of what appears to be a tourist bus attempting to turn around right in the middle of the main coastal road. Needless to say the illegal manoeuvre caused huge tailbacks both to and from the city.

Traffic jams to the airport 

Orlando Furioso is a cycle of baroque music organized by the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra and it kicks off tomorrow with a concert in the Rector’s Palace in the heart of Dubrovnik.

The Musical Director of this cycle is Dmitry Sinkovsky, one of the leading baroque violin stars in the world star as well as being a conductor. This multitalented Russian virtuoso is well-known for performing baroque music.

Sinkovsky has prepared Vivaldi's Four Seasons with the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, then Songs of British Isles with Antiphonus Ensemble and famous luteist Edin Karamazov, as well as many other baroque pieces. 

Tuesday – 5th June
Atrium of Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik @ 9.00pm
String composition of DSO
Dmitry Sinkovsky, violin and art director
A. Vivaldi Four Seasons

Friday – 8th June
Rector’s Palace @ 9.00pm
The Antiphonus Ensemble
Elisa La Marca, lute (Italy)
Songs of The British Isles

Saturday – 9th June
Rector’s Palace @ 9.00pm
Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra
The Antiphonus Ensemble
Tomislav Fačini, conductor
G. F. Handel, A. Sorkočević, J. S. Bach

Tuesday – 12th June
Rector’s Palace @ 9.00pm
Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra
Dmitry Sinkovsky, artistic director, violin
Vladislav Pesin, violin
J. S. Bach Brand New Concert no. 3 in G major
G. F. Handel
J. S. Bach Concert for two violins in d minor
G. F. Handel Water Music Suite no. 1 in F major

The panoramic views from the top of the Srđ Mountain overlooking Dubrovnik are always impressive, but on a sunny Sunday they just seem even more glorious. Rising 432 metres over sea level the Srđ Mountain offers views over the historic Old City of Dubrovnik, the island of Lokrum and out to the Elpahite Islands.

The Dubrovnik Cable Car is the fastest way to reach the top of the mountain and a return ticket for the three-minute ride costs 150 Kunas for an adult and 60 Kunas for a child. You can also walk up to the peak, and it will take you around 45 minutes, although avoid doing this in the middle of the day as there isn’t any shade.

At the top the Panorama Restaurant (aptly named) is a good spot to have lunch or dinner, although if you want a table with a view you’ll need to reserve one. 

A six-bedroom luxury apartment in New York, known as “Tito’s Apartment” has been sold for $12 million. The Serbian government have confirmed that the Manhattan apartment is in the process of being sold and that the proceeds will be divided among the former Yugoslav countries.

In 1975 the Yugoslavian government bought the apartment for $100,000 and it was mainly used by Yugoslav ambassadors, although Josip Tito also stayed there on several occasions. However, since 1992 the apartment has been empty with the Serbian government paying for running costs and maintenance, believed to be around $14,000 a month, therefore they will receive 40 percent of the sale price with the remainder being split between Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The initial asking price for the Manhattan address was $20 million.

The Park Avenue address has certainly fallen into disrepair since its golden days and the cost of rebuilding the apartment are likely to run into millions. With six bedrooms, five bathrooms, three balconies and a library there is certainly plenty of space for the new owner to spread out.

Future owners will have a stunning Manhattan view 

The mansion built in 1904 was first owned by Robert Livingston Beeckman, the governor of Long Island. Later in 1912, the home was sold to George Grant Manson, whilst Vanderbilt’s granddaughter Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Sloane White and her husband, Henry White, bought it in 1925. When the rich heirless died in 1946, her estate was bought by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1947.

The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, which landmarked the property in 1966, called it a “superb example of the French classic style of Louis XV.”

When Yugoslavia took possession of the property, the New York Times reported, “It is considered one of the finest private homes remaining on Fifth Avenue”.

Plenty of work for the new owner - Photo Douglas Elliman Agency 

After an assassination attempt against the Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in 1963, the mansion, with its bulletproof windows overlooking the Central Park, was also used as a temporary hiding place for Tito.

The new owner has yet to be revealed, although reports suggest that a businessman from Vietnam has paid the asking price.

The tradition off leaping of the old stone bridge in Mostar goes back over 450 years. Diving from the 27-metre high bridge into the icy cold waters of the Neretva River requires skill and training. The jump from the bridge, which is under protection if UNESCO, was originally a test of bravery for young men and a sign of their maturity.

Jumping, diving or leaping off the bridge isn’t easy and requires hours and hours of practise. And if it goes wrong, it can go horribly wrong, as this video uploaded onto social media by Festina Lente shows.

This man won’t forget his jump into the Neretva river for a long time, and neither will his face, looks painful. 

With temperatures hitting thirty degrees in the shade and the Adriatic Sea a bath like 24 degrees the beginning of the weekend in Dubrovnik was the perfect opportunity to hit the beaches.

The iconic Banje Beach, just outside of the Old City walls, was awash with tourists making the most of the soaring temperatures and cooling off in the turquoise Adriatic.

The historic core of the Old City was a busy as always on summer’s days with many people searching for shade as the stone warmed up.

Check out our gallery from this Saturday morning