Time Out Croatia news

A Croatian from the town of Tomislavgrad has gone full Viking, building his own ship and setting up an axe-throwing club. Stipe ‘Flick’ Pleić, aka Ragnar Kavurson, also makes swords, jewellery and other handicraft in the style of his revered Vikings. These objects are on display at an exhibition set up at his house in Herzegovina, just over the border from Croatia. Pleić takes his prize axes to fairs across Bosnia-Herzegovina and practises his throwing with his fellow Norse-inspired friends. He also surprised swimmers and anglers when he sailed his replica Viking ship across Buško, a large artificial lake close to Tomislavgrad. Although some of the third series of Netflix hit show Vikings was filmed in Dubrovnik, there is only scant evidence of the actual presence of original Vikings in this part of the world 1,000 years ago. 

Zagreb's showcase square of Strossmayerov trg fills with the exotic tastes and bright colours of Asian cuisine from May 6, with 11 stands of culinary delights and a packed DJ line-up.For six days from midday to midnight, guests can enjoy flavours of the city's finest Asian and Asian fusion cuisine, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai and Indian. Popular restaurant Purple Monkey will be serving from their gyoza bar while the Burger Institute gives their take on the Asian variety. Surrounded by red lanterns and pagoda-inspired decor will be the curry haven of Tuk Tuk Express, while no Asian food festival is complete without sushi, this year courtesy of SOHO. At 2pm on the opening day, Monday, a tuna-cutting show for the benefit of Down Zagreb, a non-profit that works with children with Down Syndrome, provides a unique opening salvo for this gastro event.A DJ line-up throughout the week will be bookended by local club legend DJ Kanca, with Springroll Soul, DJ Alvize, Kurto-Azija and DJ Māntà among the names putting in a shift behind the decks, joined by Sav Thai Jazz and Silk Road Closure.The event runs until Sunday, May 12. Admission is free. For more information, see here.

A new international rail link now allows passengers to travel from the Italian border through Slovenia to Rijeka for only €8. The daily service leaves the frontier station of Villa Opicina, directly linked by local bus with nearby Trieste, and heads across lush countryside to Croatia’s main port and transport hub. The Slovenian-run train has space for bicycles and prams, and can welcome travellers with reduced mobility. After leaving Villa Opicina at 7.50am, it calls at six stations, including two in Croatia, before arriving in Rijeka.   The train then makes its way back to the Slovenian-Italian border from Rijeka at 6.25pm. There’s free WiFi on board. The service runs right through spring and summer until the end of September. For the time being, tickets are available at individual stations. The initiative is part of the SUSTANCE project to provide affordable connectivity across borders in Central Europe and promote sustainability. There will also be weekend trains to Sopron, on the Austro-Hungarian border, and a feasibility study carried out on rail connections with Pula.

Just opened at Zagreb's Meštrović Pavilion, the annual Youth Salon is the largest national exhibition of visual artists aged 35 and under in Croatia.  This year’s central theme, Pao sat u bunar (Time Fell Down the Well), explores the relationship between people and time, specifically challenging the dominance of structured time and the concept of living in relation to clocks and watches. Curated by Lovro Japundžić, the show aims to highlight that more creative relationships are possible, and questions the measuring of the various human and non-human rhythms – if they can be measured at all. The Youth Salon was first held in 1968 and has since displayed the works of more than 3,500 artists, a platform to launch new names onto the cultural scene both domestically and internationally. This year, just north of 50 more artists have been added to the tally as things.Also part of the programme, beginning on May 22 and running until June 16, is the Situacija (Situation) exhibition, a more loose showcasing of artists’ work without a centrally defined theme and offering a more freeform exposure of the perspectives of young visual creatives in Croatia. Visitors will find artists presenting their take on the real world, and its challenges, through both societal and introspective lenses, and perhaps come across the output of future big names in the scene. This part of the programme will be held across three locations: the Archaeological Museum (Zrinjevac 19), Gallery AMZ (Pavla Hatza 6)

Croatian company Aminess has just opened a €55 million camping resort at Povljana, near the southern tip of Pag island. The five-star Aminess Avalona Camping Resort comprises 180 swimming pools, 300 camping plots, 30 villas and 232 mobile houses. Completely surrounded by the Adriatic, the whole peninsula is now given over to glamping and camping, with children’s entertainment, sports activities and, from June, a water park all laid on. And it’s a car free zone – all vehicles are to be left at the car park by the entrance. Aminess dates back to 1970 when it was involved tourism on the west coast of Istria, in Porec, Umag and Novigrad. It now oversees 16 hotels across Istria, Kvarner and Dalmatia, five campsites and three villa resorts. Aminess Avalona Camping Resort, put Rastavca, 23249 Povljana

This Tuesday, April 30, and on June 1, free guided tours of Rovinj are being laid on for anyone interested in the fascinating history of this Italianate resort on the Istrian coast. Gathering in front of the Rovinj Tourist Board, Trg na mostu 2, at 10am, curious visitors will be taken by local expert around cobbled streets such as Zdenac, Grisia and Porečka, and sights including the Church of St Euphemia, the Batana Eco Museum and the harbour. At some point in the tour, a group of musicians will perform traditional old songs Rovinj, bitinade and arie da nuoto. In the Agrorovinj tasting room, a former Rovinj bakery from the early 1900s, participants can taste the local wines, olive oils and homemade cheese, help prepare Istrian supa, which they can then taste. Including these breaks, ‘Feel the Breeze of Rovinj’ lasts two hours, finishing at noon. The tour will be in English, with other languages available. To book your place, send an email to info@rovinj-tourism.hr or call +385 52 81 1566 no later than one hour before the tour starts. For more information, see here.

In 2011, UNESCO officially designated April 30 as International Jazz Day and since then, countries around the world have organised concurrent events to celebrate the genre. The Croatian Musicians’ Union (HGU) has just announced this year’s concerts taking place across the country next Tuesday. Zagreb will stage shows in four attractive streets and squares in the city centre, each with a line-up of four to five acts playing a 40-minute set. A full timetable can be found here (in Croatian but the listings should be clear to all). Things kick off on Cvjetni trg and Bogovićeva ulica at 4.15pm, then performances get underway on Tkalčićeva ulica and Europski trg at 5pm. The outdoor concerts will conclude at around 7.30pm, just as the sun starts to set. © Tomislav Šilovinac In Osijek, three gigs will take place throughout the day. The earliest is a five-strong billing of jazz musicians and bands in front of Kino Europa from 10.30am to 1pm, followed by Big Band Osijek entertaining at the cultural centre from 6.30pm. Closing things off nicely will be a Jazz Jam Session at Club Oxygene from 8.30pm, admission free. Split is organising a show by the Oridano Gypsy Jazz Trio at Concert Hall Ivo Tijardević. From 8pm, visitors will be treated to original tunes as well as covers from the repertoire of Romani jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Tickets at €18 are available here. At Dom umjetnosti Arsen in Šibenik, a first-come-first-served performance by Big Band Šibenik starts from 9pm, while

The youngest conqueror of Oceans Seven, Croatia’s most famous long-distance swimmer is taking on a challenge far closer to home: her native Dalmatia. The only Croatian to have completed the crossing of seven of the world’s most arduous channels, Split-born Dina Levačić has announced that she now has Dalmatia’s 104 islands and islets in her sights. Previous notable swims include Japan's Tsugaru Strait in record time, passing beneath the 20 bridge of Manhattan in seven hours and 33 minutes, and taking a bronze medal in Canada's famous Lac St Jean race when only 19. Completing her doctorate in rehabilitation education from Split and Zagreb universities, Levačić is not only a record-breaking endurance swimmer but a committed humanitarian. Every year since 2016, she has organised a swim to help the disadvantaged, such as her recent one for youngsters with mental health problems. ‘104 Dalmatinca’, as her latest adventure is called, will also benefit a leading issue or charity.

This Friday, April 26, partygoers and house music fans will be taking over the central court at Maksimir tennis centre courtesy of BSH’s Zagreb Open event. Starting in the early evening, a line-up of six DJs will entertain behind the decks as the day fades into night, with Dutch DJ and producer Chris Stussy headlining.  Stussy and BSH have collaborated before, where the Dutchman energised the crowds at the 2022 Zagreb Open event in SRC Šalata. Since then, his star has only continued to rise having repeatedly performed from some of the biggest stages across the world, including Glasto. His return to the Croatian capital is eagerly anticipated. Also performing are Slovenian DJ Aney F and local boy Marin Biočić. Croat DJs Yakka and Pablo Panda share the stage in a B2B set, with Francescu rounding out the line-up. Final call tickets are available here, from €25 for general admission, with VIP and backstage tickets from €38 and €44. Note that the event is 18+, VIP and backstage access 21+. Where: Tennis Centre Maksimir, V. Ravnice 10When: Friday, April 26Tickets: From €25, available here.

The largest ship to feature in the fleet of Croatia’s state-run ferry company Jadrolinija has just docked in Rijeka, before being prepared for service. Dalmacija, as she is now called, has a huge capacity of 1,800 people and 350 cars, ideal for plying the popular Dubrovnik-Bari route once it is decked out in the company’s signature colours of white and blue. The team at Rijeka’s Viktor Lenac shipyard will be getting to work on a vessel that was built in in a Norwegian shipyard. The former Oslofjord was reconstructed in Finland in 2014 and will making up to ten trips a week in high season between the coasts of Croatia and Italy. On board will be two restaurants, three bars, a grill bar, and a children’s play area. Open decks allow passengers to take in the sea air and enjoy those views of the blue Adriatic.  "Maintaining international lines for Jadrolinija is a long tradition. Since the time of Jadrolinija cruises, up to today’s connections with Italy, travellers are happy to return to us. However, we still have to think about our competitiveness on the international market and adapt to the trends and needs of passengers,” said David Sopta, President of the Jadrolinija Management Board.