Friday Column - Croatia, The Week In Review 4

It’s Friday again and time to review what the last week has delivered and what next week has in store. In Monday’s Destinations Column we looked at Croatia’s capital city, Zagreb, a great place for a weekend break. Tuesday’s Tourism posting was about renting a holiday apartment in Croatia – what to expect and how to get the best deal. Private shipyards were the subject of Wednesday’s business column, in part two of a review of Croatia’s shipbuilding industry. It’s a growing sector with two companies aiming at the superyacht industry but the government has it’s work cut out to make its new legislation on yacht chartering less confusing and off putting. Finally, in Thursday’s Lifestyle column, we looked at the retail environment and what you can expect when you go shopping in Croatia.

Next week we’ll be covering the following areas:

Monday – Croatia Destinations 5: Bosnia - Livno and Kupres
We’re straying off Croatian territory next week to look at two lovely villages in Bosnia, just one and two hours drive away from Split respectively

Tuesday – Croatia Tourism 5: Croatian Music - Klapa
The origins and features of a very special sound

Wednesday - Croatia Business 5: The Banking System
An overview

Thursday – Croatia Lifestyle 5: Eating Out In Croatia
What to expect in a Croatian Restaurant

Friday – Croatia The Week in Review 5:
News, sport, comment and links of the week

Thanks to everybody who has visited the site this week. All constructive feedback is welcome and your comments will help to ensure that the site is as informative and entertaining as possible.


News and Views

1. World Bank Funding
The World Bank approved a US $ 30 million Agricultural Acquis Cohesion Project for Croatia. The project will help Croatia to make the most of the agricultural sector in its journey of accession to the European Union. Croatia joined the World Bank in 1993 since when it has received 41 grants totaling US $ 43 million. The World Bank reports that all completed projects to date have had satisfactory ratings and overall portfolio performance in recent years has been above the regional average

2. Zagreb Boat Show
The 15th International Sport and Boat Show is being held in Zagreb between 22nd and 26th February. The show is now being dwarfed by the Split Boat Show and it doesn’t have any boats on the water, but it’s worth a visit if you’re in Zagreb at the time. Have a look at the Zagreb Fair website first to see what’s on offer - http://www.zv.hr/ and click on the Nautica Exhibition.


Sport

This weeks sports news has been dominated by the Winter Olympics with Janica Kostelic winning the Gold Medal in the Combined Skiing and the Silver Medal in the Giant Slalom. This makes her the first female skier ever to have won 6 winter Olympic medals, an achievement that is all the more remarkable as she was not well during the competition.

Websites Of The Week

The websites in our Links section are reviewed every week, as we find new sites of interest. My personal blogspot remains as the first link this week, so that those that want to, can find out a little more about me. The second link, the Croatian tourist board, stays for its fourth week, as it’s a great reference point for most destinations. The third and new link of the week is The Croatian Language School in London. Not only is it great to know that it is possible to learn Croatian properly in England, but the site has some very interesting newsletters including two interviews with the Croatian Ambassador in London. The school offers a range of courses, including immersion courses held in Croatia. As a former pupil myself, I’d recommend it to anyone who wants a head start in the language before they go to Croatia.

The View From Here

Weather wise it’s been very mixed. On Sunday we were out on the terrace basking in the warm sun, but for most of this week it has been raining. The main wind from the south is called the Jugo and it’s been vying for position with the main wind from the north, the Bora. The Bora is a biting wind that can blow for days and the Jugo brings warm humid air. We’ve also been told that the Jugo brings headaches and strange behaviour and that, some time ago, it was a good enough excuse in court to get the defendant off even the most serious of crimes. Today’s photo was taken in November 2004 when one of the worst Bora’s in Croatian history blew for 3 days. Most of the country suffered from fallen trees, debris and worse, but the police and the army had it all cleared up within a couple of days, and the relative lack of damage is a testimony to Croatian construction skills.

I have another Croatian lesson tonight and my teacher is threatening to introduce me to another grammar case with yet more different endings, when I’ve barely mastered nominative, genitive, locative and accusative. Just to illustrate the complications, proper names also change ending. The Croatian equivalent of John is Ivan and the Croatian equivalent of Jane is Ivana…but, in the accusative, Ivan changes to Ivana. So if I want to say I love John, I say “volim Ivana” which might cause some consternation to an eavesdropping English person who hasn’t got past nominative masculine and feminine yet. No offence to my Croatian teacher who is great – if anyone can get me through this challenge, she can!

Enjoy your weekend and please let me know what you think of this week’s postings.

Jane