The first Advent candle was lit in Dubrovnik last night. The Mayor of Dubrovnik, Mato Franković, lit the first of four Advent candles as the Christmas period officially begun in Dubrovnik.

The Advent candles are located between the Rector’s Palace and the Cathedral and every Saturday a new candle will be lit as the festive season approaches.

Hundreds of people turned up to see ceremony as it coincided with the opening of the Dubrovnik Winter Festival.

Americans have certainly fallen in love with Croatia this year with almost 600,000 US guests arriving in Croatia in 2018. According to the eVisitor computer system which collects data on tourists in Croatia there have been around 578,000 American tourists in Croatia in 2018, which is an incredible 23 percent increase over the same period from last year.

And the favourite destinations for tourists from the United States has been Dubrovnik, Split, Zagreb, Hvar and Rovinj.

Surprisingly American tourists have been the second most numerous in Dubrovnik this year, after British tourists, which bearing in mind there are no direct flights from the US to Dubrovnik, or in fact from the US to Croatia at all, makes this figure is ever more impressive.

The American Ambassador to Croatia was quick to Tweet the news “Americans continue to embrace Croatia. According to data from eVisitor, so far in 2018, there have been 578,000 visits recorded from the United States. This is a 23% increase compared to last year. Top destinations for Americans were Dubrovnik, Split, Zagreb, Hvar and Rovinj.”

And next year this figure will rise considerably, especially in Dubrovnik, as direct flights for the first time in 28 years will connect Dubrovnik and Philadelphia. American Airlines will operate seasonal flights to Dubrovnik from Philadelphia through June to September.

The HBO series, Game of Thrones, and the fact that large sections were filmed in Dubrovnik, which plays King’s Landing, have obviously had a massive effect on the American interest in visiting Dubrovnik. With organised fan tours, souvenir shops and even a Game of Thrones visitor’s centre with an actual throne on the nearby island of Lokrum, Dubrovnik is a mecca for the huge number of fans of the series.

One of the most iconic attraction in the wider Dubrovnik region is on the verge of a technological upgrade for next year. The stunning Sokol Tower in Konavle will for the next tourist season have a new lift in place to take visitors to the top of this landmark.

The Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities, the organisation that cares for Sokol Tower, has announced that the lift complex will be in place for next year and that it will open up this attraction for visitors who have problems climbing the steps but wish to see the fortification.

The castle of Sokol was built on an inaccessible cliff more than 25 meters high. A natural fortress, its controls the main road leading from Konavle north into Herzegovina and the Balkan hinterland. This is the main reason why this town has been continuously inhabited since ancient times.

Although its present name was first mentioned in August 1373, archaeological finds date the town several thousand years earlier. Research has proven that there was a prehistoric structure, an ancient and a late-antiquity fortress, and a medieval town that came under the authority of the city of Dubrovnik in 1423.

Yorkshire in the U.K... most Croatians have probably have never heard of it... a Northern county in the North of England, probably better known for its love of Yorkshire tea and cricket, rather than its links to the Dalmatian Coast.

But when Yorkshire wedding singers, Rock My Reception where booked to play at a wedding in Dubrovnik in 2016, they immediately had an affinity with the place and also a few reminders of home along the way.

Wedding Industry Award winners

Kieran Stokes explains the origins of the wedding duo and how he and his singing partner Dominic ended up working out in Dubrovnik.

"We are old school friends and have known each other since we were 10 years old. We were always told to 'get a proper job' but we had a real passion for live music and started a wedding band, called Rock My Reception, a really simple idea, just two acoustic guitars and vocals."

"In 2015 we won a prestigious award at The Wedding Industry Awards, and it catapulted our business. We ended up playing over 75 weddings a year, which was hard work, but also immensely enjoyable. We really like the idea of playing a 'destination wedding', a term used in the UK, so we marketed ourselves as such. A kind of 'build it and they will come' philosophy."

On the back of this, they have performed all over Europe. But it was when the opportunity arose to play out in Dubrovnik they instantly fell in love with the place. They were asked to perform for a wedding at Sponza Palace, and performed as the bride walked up and down the aisle, and then to sing at the drinks reception by the old port.

"We really loved Dubrovnik, and we were really sad to leave. So when the offer came up again to work out here, we jumped at the chance," commented Dominic.

The region is especially popular with British and Irish wedding couples, many of which book their live music from back in the U.K. The popularity of the area and the services Rock My Reception offer, has seen them come back to perform in the town various times, playing at three wedding in Dubrovnik this September alone.

Citizens of Dubrovnik remind us of Yorkshire

They have returned again to Sponza Palace, also Hotel Argentina, Hotel Croatia in Cavtat, and also played on various boat cruises on the coast line.

"It's started to feel like a second home for us," Kieran explains. Adding that "The citizens of Dubrovnik reminded us of Yorkshire people in their kindness to strangers. From the moment we land to the moment we leave, people are so friendly. When we get to our apartment out here, our landlady offers to iron our shirts, leaves us food, beers, wines and homemade Orechovka! On returning visits she has felt like a mother to us!

"We always attempt to speak a little Croatian, this is often met with surprise, but appreciation from the locals. We always joke that a few of the Croatian words are very similar to 'broad Yorkshire' the local dialect in Yorkshire, maybe from a Germanic influence from by-gone years?"

"Also, like Yorkshire people, the locals we work alongside in Dubrovnik are hardworking and care that everything is perfect, an essential ingredient in the wedding industry. Everyone puts in 100% effort, from the wedding planners, venue staff, to the guys sailing the boat on the drinks reception cruise."

Game of Thrones Friends

One final link between their home town and Dubrovnik is Lena Heady, who plays Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones. Lena grew up in Yorkshire and attended the same school as Kieran and Dominic.

"It’s sometimes quite bizarre seeing references to Lena while we are out here. We remember her from school, everyone back at home has always followed her career, and it was a real big deal when she got the part in Game of Throne"

Dominic adds, “Yorkshire has brought Dubrovnik a Hollywood film star, now it’s sending you their own wedding singers!”

Dubrovnik and Yorkshire... maybe an unlikely match? But for certain, it shows the true testimony to the far reaching charm of Dubrovnik and its role in the thriving destination wedding industry.

PROMO 

Christmas is rapidly approaching and at this most magical time of the year Dubrovnik is already if full festive colours. Today the fifth Dubrovnik Winter Festival opens. The festive stand in and around the historic Old City are gearing up for another busy season when the aroma of mulled wine will fill the cobbled streets.

Tonight, at the opening ceremony, the festive Christmas lights will be turned on and the first of the four Advent candles will be lit. There will also be a concert from the popular Croatian popstar Petar Graso on the Stradun to get the festivities underway.

A just to whet out appetites before the big event the Dubrovnik Winter Festival has published a teaser video on their Facebook page which give a brief insight into what we can all expect this Christmas and New Year period in the city.

-When it comes to the music program, we wanted to cover a wide audience. We wanted everybody to feel the urge to visit the Old City and enjoy the concerts. There are festive stands all around, but of course the centre is Stradun – commented the Mayor of Dubrovnik, Mato Franković, adding that this year's Festival is focused to bring joy to children with some extra content.

And part of that extra content for children will certainly be the new North Pole Station that will also be opened today. The North Pole Station, located in Luza, in the Old City is the newest addition to the Dubrovnik Winter Festival! Every day until the end of the winter holidays children can enjoy special programs with: Elves and Santa Claus, Mrs Claus, children stories, dancers, actors, clowns… There will be storytelling, taking photos with Santa, baking cakes with Mrs Claus, learning how to paint and how to do your festive hair.

Check out this new Christmas video from Dubrovnik

If you heard a siren blast around Dubrovnik today at midday don’t worry there isn’t an aerial attack or the end of the world isn’t here, no it was simply a test of the siren system across the city.

In accordance with the Ordinance on Population Alert Procedure, every first Saturday in the month at 12 o'clock, the emergency services for the alert system test the alarm system by using a warning sign, a uniform tone that last for a duration of 60 seconds.

It must be something in the water! Is there some special gene pool in Croatia? How can it be that such a small country with a population hoovering around the 4 million mark is just so absolutely talented and successful at sport? I really don’t understand. Don’t get me wrong I am not complaining, far from it, I am just in wonder, sheer disbelief.

Croatia took their revenge over the mighty France this week. 25,000 screaming French fans in Lille were silenced by the thunder of Croatian rackets. Revenge for what? Revenge for beating Croatia in the World Cup Finals in Russia. It just seems surreal writing that. Croatia made it to the finals of the World Cup and won the Davis Cup in the same year.

Has any nation with 4 million people ever achieved sporting success in a year as Croatia has in 2018? Of course not. You know the name of the smallest country ever to win a Davis Cup? Yes, it’s Croatia.

I dug and I dug but I couldn’t find any nation that comes even close. I couldn’t even list all the sporting glories this year, I would run out of paper. Rowing, gymnastics, taekwondo, athletics, I could go on and on. The successes are just as varied as the sports. So what is behind this success?

The beginning of the story probably has a lot to do with the socialist regime. Communist and for that matter socialist countries invested, and invest, huge amounts of resources into sport. Sport was seen as a reflection of the regime. Successful at sport = successful country. But this is the past, is the roll-on effect of socialism in sport really lasting for 25 years. Everything is against these sporting heroes.

They mostly have terrible facilities or no facilities at all. The investment is virtually zero, the organisation is amateur and yet again and again they win. “Do you know how many tennis courts there are in Croatia?” the presenter asked the sports expert. “The truth is nobody knows, all we do know is that 90 percent are owned by the state and they are in pretty bad shape, also we have very, very few covered courts in the country,” he answered. WTF!?! A country that has just won the most prestigious tennis competition in the world and we don’t even know how many tennis courts we have. In fact, all we do know is that the ones we have are appalling.

The Americans, the Germans, the Australians and in fact the British spend billions and billions every year on tennis and yet they can’t even make it to the finals. Croatia spends less than a taxi fare from the airport to the Old City and wins the bloody competition.

I am trying to make sense from something that is quite clearly illogical. I dug through the record books again. The closest example of a small country doing well in tennis and football in the same period of time was, yes you’ve guessed it Croatia!?! In 1998 they won the bronze medal at the World Cup and just seven years later won the Davis Cup for the first time. If this had happened once you could say, well that was just once in a million luck. Or as the English say “Even a blind squirrel finds a hazelnut once.” But to happen twice, well that’s not luck, and it clearly isn’t planning, and it also isn’t investment. So what the hell is it?

If it were the roll-on effect of socialism, then why aren’t other former socialist states in eastern Europe so successful? We have almost no snow and yet have the most successful female skier of all time, Janica Koselic. One of the most unfunded and poorly football leagues in Europe and yet we reach the World Cup Finals. Have terrible athletic training conditions and yet produce Blanka Vlašić and Sandra Perković. Have a lack of swimming pools and yet are Champions of water polo. We even won a gold medal at shooting a bloody shotgun!?! WTF!?!

What is the secret of all this success? Honestly I really don’t have a clue. But if and when I find the secret ingredient I am going to bottle it and sell it. Forget Red Bull. I’ll have Croatian Bull!

As the Christmas period moves ever closer one Dubrovnik café has got creative in order to keep their clients dry and warm. The Dubrovnik bubble, as it has been nicknamed, appeared in the Old City of Dubrovnik and has certainly brought reactions.

From the Dubrovnik Death Star from Star Wars to an indoor tennis court, the latest addition to the Dubrovnik Winter Festival is far from boring.