23.07.2006. Chicago Tribune - Walled in (and loving it) - Historic Dubrovnik plays to the crowds
In good warm weather, Dubrovnik can feel like a museum specimen, filled with visitors eager to experience its beauty and marvel at the intricacy of its historic buildings.
Trouble is, the admirers obscure some vistas and crowd through interiors that otherwise would transport them back through the centuries. All those flip-flops, cruise-ship caps and digital cameras play havoc with the imagination and keep reminding us that the Renaissance has come and gone.
And yet here I am spending more ink on the place, drawing more attention to it. Obviously, this no longer can be considered one of Europe's delicious secrets. But it should be on everyone's must-see list, throngs or no throngs. Ideally, Dubrovnik is absorbed, savored over many days. Still, even a glimpse is better than nothing. No other city on the Continent quite compares....read the whole article
15.07.2006. Telegraph.co.uk - Is this the new Riviera?
The Croatian coast is now attracting A-list celebrities by the boatload. James Bedding boards a yacht to find out why....read the whole article
22.01.2006. The New York Times - Istria: For Foodies, the Next Tuscany
With a bounty of seafood in the surrounding Adriatic waters, and with white truffles in its rolling hills, Istria, a heart-shaped peninsula in northern Croatia, is starting to attract adventurous foodies weary of overpriced and overcrowded tables in Tuscany and Provence.
Lidia Bastianich, chef and author of "La Cucina di Lidia" grew up outside the town of Pula near the tip of the peninsula and travels there at least four times a year. "In Istria you'll find intensely wonderful pristine flavors from the earth. That's the beauty of the region. One is still able to go around and taste artisanal products almost straight from the family table." ...read the whole article
11.01.2006. UsaToday.com - Six destinations to keep on your radar for 2006
Croatia is the latest country in Europe with "hidden gem" status. However, according to the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA), Croatia began experiencing a boom in tourism in 2005, one that is likely to increase even more over the next few years. This Mediterranean country has plenty of things to offer visitors, from its capital city, Zagreb, to the islands scattered along the Dalmatian Coast, and the old city of Dubrovnik, a UNESCO World Heritage site...read more
28.11.05. Ethical Traveler - Croatia : One of the Best Destinations for 'Ethical Tourism'
Croatia is one of thirteen countries in the world, which have been chosen to be best destinations for 'ethical tourism'. Croatia is a country deserving a visit not only due to its beauty, but also due to its care for the environment and the country’s social development. This was concluded in a report by the ‘Ethical Traveler’, a non-profit organization from Berkley, California....read more
02.11.05. - National Geographic Adventure -
Destination of the Year: Exploring the New Croatia
They're calling it the New Riviera and the New Capri. But after launching a full-blown, 400-mile (644-kilometer) sea kayaking expedition down Croatia's island-flecked coast, Jon Bowermaster finds ancient haunts and real salt-of-the-sea excitement...read the whole article
09.10.05. - The Sunday Times - Escape: Croatia has the taste of old Tuscany
The architecture, landscape and truffles on every menu will remind you of Italy, but Istria has a brand of hospitality all of its own, says Claire Prentice. The first sip of Romano’s rakia makes the hairs in my nose prickle. By the second my eyes have filled with tears and my throat is on fire. My host looks on approvingly as Rina, his wife, pushes over a plate of freshly baked cake. I have only been in Istria a few hours and already I’m being treated as one of the family...read more
20.09.05 - Hello Magazine - Sir Rodger Holidays at " Jewel of the Adriatic" Sir Roger Moore is the latest high-profile visitor to the fashionable coastal resort of Dubrovnik , until recently a little known gem which is fast becoming a hotspot for celebrities drawn by its historic charms. The Bond actor has been basking in the late summer sunshine on the Adriatic coast with his wife Christina Tholstrup.... By holidaying in the area, Sir Roger was following in the footsteps of supermodel Naomi Campbell and England footballer Rio Ferdinand. The city is also a favourite with Hollywood actor John Malkovich, who makes regular trips to the Adriatic . The Dangerous Liaisons star, whose family originates from the former Yugoslav Republic , has even bought property locally. During the summer he is a regular sight as he strolls along the alleys of the walled medieval city. read more ....
31.08.05 - LA Times - Charming trips to Zagreb and beyond
Coastal villages, Roman ruins and emerald lakes are just three reasons to visit Croatia. Oh, and the prices can't be beat. ITS currency and expenses are among the cheapest in Western Europe. Its flowering Adriatic coastline is among the world's most scenic. And its coastal villages are a charming combination of Roman ruins, Venetian architecture and Austro-Hungarian excess. Add to this a variety of resort properties in various price ranges, and you have the reason Americans are choosing vacations in Croatia this year. The chief attractions are its coastline and islands — 1,240 miles of shoreline dotted with timeless fishing ports and 1,185 islands. Most visitors start their stays in the capital, Zagreb. And although it isn't a compelling town, you might take time to relax at a cafe amid decaying Beaux-Arts buildings, tour museums and take the funicular up onto Gradec, a leafy hilltop district of Baroque buildings, to see the modern sculptures in Ivan Mestrovic's former studio....read the whole article
17.07.05. The New York Times - In Croatia, A New Riviera Beckons
"YOU will cry when you see it. Bring tissues. You will need them."
We are finishing a marathon meal at Macondo, a seafood restaurant on a nameless back alley in Hvar. My dinner companion, a local painter, writer and actor named Niksa Barisic, was talking about a historic theater built in 1612 during the Dalmatian Renaissance and still in use half a millennium later. But he could just as well have been describing his feelings for Hvar itself, a mountainous, lavender-scented isle set in the blue, sun-blasted Adriatic Sea off the Dalmatian coast of Croatia.
For centuries, the island has lured visitors and inspired poets. "I know paradise now, I know Hvar," a lyric local saying goes. Now, 10 years after the end of a bloody civil war that devastated much of Croatia, it still struggles as it sees hope for its future in ancient tourist meccas like Hvar, sister islands like Korcula and Mljet, and Dubrovnik - Croatia's, and, arguably, Europe's, most beautiful city....read more
02.07.05 - Outside Magazine - Balkan Surprise
Welcome to Croatia, the melting pot of hot. Where East meets West, the old is new, the young are worldly-wise, the wilds are pristine, and the 20th-century shadows of war are giving way to a hip and happening 21st-century place to find peace.... The Dalmatian island of Hvar is the sparkliest star in the thousand-plus-island constellation that sits in fixed orbit off Croatia's 1,104-mile Adriatic coast, a thin sliver of lavender-covered hills tumbling down to secluded coves where swimming is less a choice than a pleasant obligation. .... read the whole article
19.06.05 - The Washington Post - A Peaceful Solution in Croatian Islands
VIS, CROATIA There's not much sign on this rocky island in the Adriatic of the war that ripped the former Yugoslavia apart a decade ago. Indeed, from all visible signs, war barely touched that nation's coastal islands, being confined mostly to the mainland where city names like Mostar, Srebrenica and Kosovo conjure visions of ethnic cleansing and horrors unspeakable.
But an unease still lingers in the faces of the locals, and when three explosions rumbled down from the barren hills overlooking the harbor here one day last week, all eyes turned upward in apprehension. Moments later an armed boat with Policija emblazoned on its side and two armed men in the cockpit sped from the town quay to investigate...read more
27.05.05 - The Budapest Sun - God's tears, stars and breath
It was in the Croatian sea that the Argonauts searched for the Golden Fleece and on the island of Mljet that Calipso imprisoned Ulysses for seven years.Gustav Mahler reorchestrated several movements of his 4th Symphony in Opatija, and James Joyce wrote while teaching English in Pula. Why does Croatia make so many appearances throughout history? Perhaps Shaw was right. Croatia won the Lonely Planet award for the world´s top destination for 2005, and, with 1,186 islands, is one of the best sailing destinations in the Mediterranean. Clean sea, unspoiled nature and a rugged coastline, well equipped marinas, mild climate and fair winds are some of the reasons why Croatia is a favorite for boaters. The Croatian coastline, from north to south, consists of Istria, Kvarnerand Dalmatia. Here is a brief survey of some of the most well-known sailing destinations. read more...
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