April 16,2023 - The quietest rally in the world is back! The Nikola Tesla EV Rally 2023 will kick off from Rovinj and take in the top sites of the Adriatic, but oh so quietly. Check out the full programme.  

Imagine a rally where the mother of Mr Modern Tesla, Elon Musk, drove a Tesla around a country where the original Nikola Tesla was born (Tesla was born in Smiljan, in what is modern-day Croatia), as Maye Musk did back in 2015.

Imagine a rally around Croatia where the first-ever buyer of the Rimac Concept One took place in his new $1 million toy. You can read my interview with Paul Runge about the whole experience here.

Imagine a rally where Mate Rimac rocks up and takes part in the speed trials in his own hypercar.

There is no need to imagine. One of the coolest - and certainly the quietest - rallies in Croatia is back as one of the highlights of the Croatian tourism calendar in May. This year's edition will see a stream of Tesla and other electric vehicles on a luxury 10-day rally through the best spots of the Adriatic coast, starting from Hotel Lone in Rovinj and ending at Iadera Falkensteiner Punta Skala in Zadar. 

Having done a large part of the rally a few years ago, I can confirm that - at least in my opinion - it is one of the top things happening in Croatian tourism. So much so in fact that I included it in my 10 things that Croatia does better than anywhere else video (see below).

This year's programme in full:

"NIKOLA TESLA EV RALLY CROATIA 2023"

DAY 1: 19.05.2023. Rovinj – hotel Lone (Address: Luje Adamovića 31, 52210 Rovinj)

• 18.30 h meeting in “Night Club” conference room in hotel Lone, gathering and official introduction of team, route and schedule
• 19.30h Dinner

 DAY 2: 20.05.2023. Rovinj city center - Vodnjan

• 11.00 h start from hotel Lone, arrival in the city center of Rovinj – Welcome and official start announcement by Mayor of Rovinj
• Visit to Vodnjan
• Chiavalon oil factory
• Wine tasting and lunch in local winery
• Hotel

 DAY 3: 21.05.2023 Vrsar Airport – Grožnjan – Buzet

• 10.30h start from Lone hotel to a private airport for the sport part of the program
• Lunch
• Visit to Grožnjan and Buzet

DAY 4: 22.05.2023. Hotel Lone – Opatija - Split

• 09.00 h Start from hotel Lone
• Charging stop in Senj 
• Charging stop in Zadar 
• Arrival hotel Le Meridien Lav (Address: Grljevacka 2A, Podstrana, 21312, Split

DAY 5: 23.05.2023.

• 09.00h Start from hotel Le Meridien Lav – drive to Island Pelješac
• Drive over Peljšac bridge
• Lunch on Pelješac
• Visit to Red and Blue Lakes in Imotski. Red Lake is known for its numerous caves and remarkably high cliffs, reaching over 241 metres above normal water level and continuing below the water level. The total explored depth of this sinkhole is approximately 530 metres with a volume of roughly 25–30 million cubic meters, thus it is the third largestsinkhole in the world.
• Dinner

DAY 6:24.05.2023 Split–Trogir-Zadar

• 10.00 h start from the hotel Le Meridien Lav
• Visit and lunch Trogir
• Arrival and dinner Iadera Falkensteiner Hotel &Spa Iadera (Addres: Resort Punta Skala, 23231, Petrčane)

 DAY 7: 25.05.2023. Sea and surprise day

• Time to relax and enjoy!

DAY 8: 26.05.2023. Šibenik – NP Krka - Skradin

• 10.00h Drive to city of Šibenik and National park Krka
• Ante Šupuk and engineer Vjekoslav Meischner, Šibenik had electrical lighting before many European cities, including Vienna, Budapest, Rome, London and others.
• Lunch

• Visit to Old town Šibenik Sv.Mihovil fortress. The Medieval St. Mihovil Fortress was erected on a sixty meters high and steep rocky hill that dominates the surrounding waters. Under its walls, Šibenik evolved - the oldest native Croatian town on the Adriatic. Barone Fortress was built in 1646 on Vidakuša, the 80 meter-high hill above the city. Along with the other three fortresses in Šibenik, it represents a unique defence system that resisted the enemies of the city for centuries. Today, it has an exceptional monumental value recognized across Europe.
• 20.00h Dinner

DAY 9: 27.05.2023 Zadar

• 11.00h start
• 11.45–12.30h sport part of the program
• Official ceremony in the center of Zadar, welcome by Mayor of Zadar (lunch)
• Lunch and visit to old town Zadar

DAY 10: 28.05.2023. Iadera Falkensteiner Petrčane - FINISH

• 11.00h check out

• Charging on route between hotels will be on SuC in different groups and in hotels will be organized directly on hotel power plants with our equipment, our charging crew will set up cables and assist with connecting and make sure everyone is charged for the next day activities. All SuConour route have CCS for Model 3 charging.
• First day 19.05.2023. on our “introduction meeting” all details regarding route, charging and schedule will be presented and every team will receive official “road book” which contains“ all you need to know” info.

April 16, 2023 - A young soldier, Jakov Bočkaj, has died, beaten to death by a friend. The police have released new information, reports Index.hr.

Jakov Bočkaj (21), a young soldier who was brutally beaten on the night of Friday to Saturday on the main square in Požega, DIED.

Doctors at the Požega General Hospital fought for the young man's life, but this morning around 9:20 he died from his injuries.

The police arrested 20-year-old M.K., who is from the same place as the young soldier, for the beating. Apparently, they were friends and went out together that night.

New police statement
After the announcement of the death of 21-year-old Jakov Bočkaj, the police announced that they had completed the criminal investigation of a 20-year-old Croatian citizen suspected of having committed the crime of grievous bodily harm resulting in death.

Namely, on Saturday, April 15, 2023, around 2:15 a.m. in Požega, on Trg Svetog Trojstva in the parking lot, after a short verbal argument, the suspect physically attacked a 21-year-old man, hitting him several times in the head area.

As a result of the blows, the 21-year-old man fell to the floor, and the suspect continued to hit him a few more times and left the scene. The injured 21-year-old was transported to the General County Hospital in Požega, where he died as a result of his injuries in the morning on Sunday, April 16.

After completing the criminal investigation, the suspect was criminally reported to the competent state attorney and handed over to the custody supervisor, the Požega-Slavonia police announced.

The young soldier and the attacker were friends
The portal pozega.eu announced that the two young men were longtime friends who practically grew up together and that they were out together that night. Nothing is still known about the motives for the beating.

"They grew up together from a young age, only a year apart. They hung out, shared the good and the bad. They were inseparable," the locals told the portal in disbelief.

M.K. and the beaten Jakov shared the pitch of the football club for which they both played, trained and went to matches.

The beaten young man's friends from primary and secondary school, fellow residents and teammates from the football club are in shock. They said he was a very good boy. Požega.eu also announced that Jakov remained in the Croatian army, while other family members went to work in Germany. After the news about their son's beating, the parents returned to Croatia.

Banožić and Hranj announced themselves
The Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, Admiral Robert Hranj, spoke about the death of the young soldier.

"The tragically cut short life of this young Croatian soldier is an irreparable loss for the entire Croatian Army, and at this moment we share with you all the sadness and pain due to this heavy loss.

Jakov was one of those brave young men who decided to make his own way in the Croatian Army, and for everything he did for it, I thank him immensely. May the Croatian country that he loved so much rest in peace. May he rest in peace," wrote Minister Banožić in a telegram of condolence that he sent personally and on behalf of the entire Ministry of Defense and the Croatian Army.

The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia, Admiral Robert Hranj, also expressed his condolences to the family and friends of the member of the Croatian Army, Jakov Bočkaj, on the occasion of his tragic death, the Ministry of Defence announced.

The Ministry of Defense announced earlier that he was found unconscious in the parking lot of Trg Svetog Trojstva around 2:25 on the night of April 15, 2023. They also stated that a member of the Croatian army was off duty during the event.

The attacker pretended to the police that he was just a passer-by, he pretended to help
As Dnevnik Nova TV reported, the brutal attack was recorded by surveillance cameras. According to them, it was a case of brutal shoeing, that is, of multiple and strong kicks to the head of a young soldier, who at one point lost consciousness.

After that, the attacker moves away from that place, and the soldier remains lying down.

Nova TV also learned that the police found a 20-year-old suspect not far from the scene of the attack, who pretended not to know what happened and wanted to help them.

The soldier came to the hospital in Požega in a very serious condition, and resuscitation had to be performed there. It was about injuries to the head, internal bleeding, but also injuries to other parts of the body, which make such a difficult treatment even more difficult.

April 16, 2023 - Croatian tourism may be centred on the coast, but for some truly extraordinary things, head inland - how about a $6 BILLION airbase built inside a mountain? Meet Zeljava.

One of the things I love most about living in Croatia is that there is so much to learn and experience, and there are so many things to see and do at a more local level that rarely make it out of the region. I am a naturally curious person, and I soon realised that if I started to scratch the surface of firstly my adopted island of Hvar and then later on Croatia as a whole, there was simply lots of fantastic content to discover and write about. 

Over the years, I had heard mention of some airbase called Zeljava which was mostly in Croatia but also partly in Bosnia and Hercegovina, which Tito had built between 1948 and 1968 at an estimated cost of $6 billion in today's money. It had always been on my list to check it out, and that became a reality over a drink with tour guide par excellence Iva Perokovic from Swanky Travel in Zagreb last year. 

Not only did Iva know ALL about this incredible part of Croatian history, but she also did an urban explorer tour to Zeljava. It didn't take much persuading for us to find a date to learn more. 

Located mostly inside a mountain, but also partly in neighbouring Bosnia and Hercegovina, close to Bihac, Zeljevo is an incredible complex which at its height, allowed MiG fighters to shoot out of the mountain onto the awaiting runways and be airborne within seconds. There are several entrances, and space enough inside for some 80 MiGs to park, from memory. At its height, Zeljava was a thriving community, with a mess capable of feeding 1000 people at a time, as well as multiple facilities  to enable those inside to last 30 days with supplies. THe huge metal doors were designed to withstand a nuclear attack the strength of Nagasaki. 

Here is a rare video of Zeljava back in the last 1980s, to give you an idea. 

Zeljava's fate changed considerably when the Homeland War started in 1991. As the Serbs retreated, they detonated tons of explosives inside the mountain to render the airbase useless. Locals in Bihac said that smoke could be seen rising from the mountain six months later. 

These days, Zeljava is guarded by police for a very different reason - with the open tunnels between the two countries, it is a possible migrant route. If you want to visit as a tourist, the police will not hinder you, but you are advised to take an organised tour. Check out our CROMADS experience in the video below, and don't forget the selfie on the Douglas C47 Dakota close by (see lead photo).

Zeljava has recently undergone another change in fortunes, as a local enthusiast has managed to get a concession on the airbase and surrounding runways. Last year he held a very successful speed race there, something that will happen again in 2023.

Video by 45 Degrees Sailing.

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You can subscribe to the Paul Bradbury Croatia Expert YouTube channel here.

What is it like to live in Croatia? An expat for 20 years, you can follow my series, 20 Ways Croatia Changed Me in 20 Years, starting at the beginning - Business and Dalmatia.

Follow Paul Bradbury on LinkedIn.

Croatia, a Survival Kit for Foreigners is now available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle.

April 16, 2023 - Looking for a job in Croatia? A new weekly feature on TCN, in partnership with leading job site agency, Posao.hr, who present a selection of weekly job listings.

How hard is it to find a job in Croatia, and what is on offer?

We spoke to Ines Bokan, director of leading jobs site Posao.hr, who kindly took the time for this excellent interview overview.  

This week's top 10 jobs from Posao.hr:

Sunce Hoteli d.d. / Bluesun is hiring a Junior CRM Specialist (m/f). Place of work Zagreb. Possibility of additional prizes and bonuses. Send complete applications via link by April 30th.

Tesla Cables d.o.o. is hiring a person in the position Sales representative - export (m/f). Place of work Sveta Nedjelja. Send complete applications via link by April 23th.

Pharmamed Mado d.o.o. is hiring a person in the position Independent accountant (m/f). Place of work Zagreb. We offer work with international clients. Send complete applications via link by April 19, 2023.

PLIVA Hrvatska d.o.o. is hiring a person in the position Senior specialist for equipment qualification (m/f). Place of work Zagreb. Send complete applications via link by April 17th.

Deltron d.o.o. is hiring a person in the position of Human Resources Coordinator (m/f). Place of work Split. We offer a great atmosphere at work, good relationships, team spirit and team cohesionSend complete applications via link by April 24, 2023.

Ziegler d.o.o., Kutina is hiring a person in the position of Program engineer - electrical engineer (m/f). Place of work Kutina and Zagreb. The possibility of constant improvement and advancement. Send complete applications via link by May 5th.

Austrian Business Agency GmbH / Work in Austria is hiring a person in the position IT employee (m/f). Place of work Austria. Send complete applications via link by April 25th.

Bridge Personal & Service d.o.o. is hiring a person in the position of Software development / Software developer (m/f). The place of work is the whole of Austria. Send complete applications via link by April 30th.

AGV Group Malta is looking for a Nurse (m/f) and a Personal assistant (m/f) in Malta. Candidate must have good knowledge of the Italian language. Apply by April 21st via link.

CCPORTER Sp. z o.o. is hiring a person in the position of Sales Trainer with Croatian and English (m/f) for work from home. They offer attractive remuneration and an opportunity to develop coaching skills. If you are interested in a job, apply by April 21st via link.

For more career options and job listings, visit posao.hr.

These weekly job listings will appear in the weekly TCN newsletter - you can subscribe here.

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What is it like to live in Croatia? An expat for 20 years, you can follow my series, 20 Ways Croatia Changed Me in 20 Years, starting at the beginning - Business and Dalmatia.

Follow Paul Bradbury on LinkedIn.

Croatia, a Survival Kit for Foreigners is now available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle.

April 16, 2023 - Our little YouTube channel is going international... 10 things that amaze about Montenegro.

It is one of the most beautiful countries on earth, whose name literally means Black Mountain, a country where its imperious mountains descend into the Adriatic Sea, a wonderful blending of Nature at its finest.

Montenegro has only been fully independent since 2006, but its heritage dates back millennia, and its tourism industry is booming, offering a luxury that is harder to find elsewhere on the Adriatic.

I have been visiting since 2001 and have witnessed a country undergoing enormous change. And nowhere more so than on the Lustica Peninsula, a slice of heaven that is being developed by Egyptian-Swiss company Orascom, with a planned 7 hotels, 2 marinas, 18-hole golf course, and a village of 2,500 people.

Pride of place and arguably the best luxury address in Montenegro is The Chedi Lustica Bay, who invited me to visit in January 2023 to discover the real Montenegro off-season, and with whom this video is made in paid partnership.

You can learn more about The Chedi Lustica Bay on the official website - https://www.chedilusticabay.com/ So what did I find in Montenegro?

Here are 10 things that I think are amazing about this small but stunning land.

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You can subscribe to the Paul Bradbury Croatia Expert YouTube channel here.

What is it like to live in Croatia? An expat for 20 years, you can follow my series, 20 Ways Croatia Changed Me in 20 Years, starting at the beginning - Business and Dalmatia.

Follow Paul Bradbury on LinkedIn.

Croatia, a Survival Kit for Foreigners is now available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle.

April 15, 2023 - Fitch Ratings has confirmed Croatia's 'BBB+' rating and stable outlook, estimating that the Croatian economy should preserve its resilience to external shocks thanks to improved fiscal and external positions and the successful adoption of the euro. In mid-July, Fitch raised the rating of Croatia's debt securities by one level, to 'BBB+', with a stable outlook, after the conclusion of the admission process to the eurozone.

As Index writes, in October, Fitch confirmed the assessment and outlook, warning that economic growth should slow down in 2023 due to inflation and slowing growth in the eurozone.

Reaffirming the 'BBB+' rating and stable outlook on Friday, the agency reiterated that the Croatian economy should remain resilient to external shocks thanks in part to an improved fiscal and external position and adopting the euro.

Approaching the core

Croatia became a member of the eurozone at the beginning of the year, and adopting the euro should improve its integration with the countries in the core zone of the common European currency and strengthen its institutional capacities, according to Fitch. "Access to the ECB's credible monetary policy framework and liquidity capacities for banks will significantly reduce external and financial weaknesses, given the elimination of currency risk," Fitch points out.

European incentive

The Croatian economy will grow by 6.3 percent in 2022, Fitch estimates, raising the forecast from the October report by 0.2 percentage points. This year, growth should slow to 1.7 percent, which is 0.6 percentage points more than they expected last autumn.

Personal consumption is likely to slow down to around one percent this year as disposable income continues to be pressured by inflation and consumer confidence remains muted, Fitch estimates. The key engine of economic growth this year will be investments, which should grow by around 5.5 percent since the withdrawal of money from EU funds should reach its peak, they note, highlighting the fast pace of withdrawal of funds from the European Program for Recovery and Resilience.

In 2024, the growth of the Croatian economy should accelerate to around three percent, driven by the recovery of personal consumption, Fitch estimates.

Less debt

Public debt expressed as a share of GDP should drop to 65.2 percent this year, from 68.3 percent in 2022, to be 20 percentage points lower than at the peak of the pandemic, and will continue to decrease in the coming years, albeit at a slower pace, due to weaker nominal GDP growth.

The budget should be in deficit this year, of 24 percent of GDP, after a surplus in 2022, due to weaker economic growth and higher consumption, Fitch forecasts.

The current account balance should show a slight deficit due to weaker demand from the main trading partners and more significant investments that require imports, they estimate, adding that the adoption of the euro and entry into Schengen could further support tourism.

The fruits of the euro

Fitch notes that it could lower the rating of Croatia's debt papers if the public debt grows over a more extended period, "for example, due to a more pronounced and more extended period of looser fiscal policy.

A trend of weaker economic growth due to structural shocks or weaker demographic indicators would also negatively affect the rating. On the other hand, the agency could raise the rating if it assesses that the government can preserve the trend of reducing public debt through fiscal consolidation.

The rating would also be positively affected by determining the positive consequences of adopting the euro, which would support Croatia's approach to countries with a higher rating and strengthen its institutional capacities, according to Fitch.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated News section.

April 15, 2023 - Global Production Awards 2023 is a prestigious awards ceremony organized by Screen International magazine and the British consulting firm Olsberg SPI. Screen Intl. is one of the three professional publications with the largest distribution worldwide, and it was their jury that recognized the city of Zagreb as the most desirable newly discovered and fast-growing location for filming.

As Poslovni writes, after a highly successful year in the Croatian capital with all kinds of audiovisual works, another confirmation of success has arrived. The city of Zagreb, despite numerous applications, was chosen in the 'Emerging location' category of the Global Production Award 2023, and its competitors include:

· Film AlUla (Saudi Arabia)

· Film Friendly Samaná (Dominican Republic Film Commission – DGCINE)

· Film in Limerick (Ireland)

· New Mexico Film Office (US)

"We are very proud that Zagreb was selected from the many applications, along with only five other locations worldwide! This is already a great success for us; we look forward to the announcement of the winner during the Cannes Film Festival in May and secretly hope for victory. We also send a big thank you to the Croatian producers with whom we have excellent cooperation in the promotion of Zagreb and who have greatly helped us put Zagreb on the film map of the world again," said Mia Pećina Drašković, head of the Zagreb Film Office.

Film stars in Croatia

The year 2022 was in terms of the number of days of filming (573 days in total) in Zagreb at the level of the years before the pandemic, but what marked '22. is the filming of the Hollywood film 'Canary Black', which will be extremely important for the promotion of Zagreb. The city plays itself for the first time throughout the film and is one of the story's most important 'characters'. In addition to 'Canary Black', the second season of the series 'Hotel Portofino', as well as numerous commercials for well-known companies such as Samsung, Zalando and PlayStation, were filmed.

It is important to emphasize that Zagreb and Zagreb County have risen in the ranking of the most desirable cities for filming in Croatia in the past few years, jumping from fourth to second place, right behind Split-Dalmatia County (HAVC / Filming in Croatia data).

All of the above has resulted in Zagreb being on the world list of newly discovered locations for filming, and we will find out whether it will beat the competition at the final award ceremony during one of the biggest film festivals in the world, the Cannes Film Festival, on May 22, 2023!

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated News section.

April the 14th, 2023 - Under monitored conditions, Croatian artist Alfred Freddy Krupa drew 'My Panoramas' on a raw canvas of 69x892 format over the 10th and 11th of January 2023 in the drawing room of the Duga Resa High School's graphic design department. 

In addition to creating large and in this case very large paintings, he wanted to draw attention to the painting-drawing form that he has been dealing with for many years and encourage a possible competition in that area.

Croatian artist Alfred Freddy Krupa's work was recognized as the largest of its kind and a world record by the American organization RecordSetter. 

By applying the publicly available table of Krupa's indicated values created by i-CAC, the market value of 'My Panoramas' would be around 92,000 Euros. Krupa has also been certified and ranked 15th in the Francophone world by the French organization, i-CAC (Indice de Cotation des Artistes Certifiés). Krupa was included because his previous artistic activity in France qualified him for membership in this organization exclusively for French and Francophone artists. 

His work for i-CAC was evaluated by Olivier Houg, an expert member of the National Chamber of Specialists in Works of Art and Collections – Paris / Chambre Nationale des Experts Spécialisés en Objets d'Art et de Collection – Paris / as well as the European Confederation of Art Experts – Paris / Confédération Européenne Des Experts d'Art – Paris /). 

A series of awards and recognitions were awarded to Croatian artist Alfred Freddy Krupa over the last year, including winning the International Art Award New Generations 2022 (Miami, USA), winning the Japan Ink Painting Society Artist Award (Tokyo, Japan), and being named on the 7th Gold list of the world's best artists (Israel - Italy - USA - Germany).

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.