Dubrovnik Map

Croatia is amongst the most popular places with British people when it comes to renting holiday homes, according to data from the most popular UK website for renting holiday homes, “HomeAway”.

Interest in 2011 in traditionally popular Spain increased by 27 per cent on the previous year. Suprisingly, in the same period, interest in renting holiday homes in Croatia surpassed Spain with 35 per cent growth, and that is expected to rise further this year.

Brits say that Croatia will profit from an increase in the number of flights into the country from the UK, as a result of entering the European Union in 2013. New flight connections from London (Gatwick), Birmingham and Manchester to Dubrovnik have already been announced, while budget airline Ryanair has also confirmed extra flights and connections into Croatia for this year.

Carnival Cruise Lines will launch its widest array of European itineraries ever with Carnival Legend offering an exciting choice of options, including the line’s first Norwegian fjords itinerary and its first extended program from the UK, as well as cruises to the Baltic, Mediterranean and British Isles, beginning in spring 2013.

Carnival Legend’s schedule will encompass 12-day voyages to Norway/Western Europe, the British Isles and the Baltic departing from Dover (London), along with 12-day Mediterranean cruises departing from Venice, Barcelona and Dover.

In total, Carnival Legend will operate 17 European cruises between April 22 and Oct. 31, 2013, visiting 34 ports across 18 countries.

Norway/Western Europe, British Isles Cruises Round-Trip from Dover
For the first time, Carnival Legend will offer an extended series of voyages from Dover (London) with 12-day cruises to Norway/Western Europe, the British Isles and the Baltic.The program includes a “Norway & Western Europe” cruise that includes the Norwegian fjords. The voyage will operate Sept. 1-13, 2013, and visit Alesund, Bergen, Stavanger, and Oslo, Norway; Hamburg, Germany; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Zeebrugge (Bruges), Brussels, Belgium; and Le Havre (Paris), France.

A “British Isles, Norway & France” voyage will depart Sept. 13, 2013, and feature stops at Stavanger, Norway; Edinburgh, Invergordon, and Glasgow (Greenock) Scotland; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Dublin, Ireland; and Le Havre (Paris), France.

Six “Baltic Wonders & St. Petersburg” cruises will also be offered, visiting Copenhagen, Denmark; Berlin (Warnemunde), Germany; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia (overnight call); Tallinn, Estonia; and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Departure dates are June 21, July 3, 15 and 27, and Aug. 8 and 20, 2013. The June 21 departure will visit Zeebrugge (Bruges), Brussels, Belgium, instead of Amsterdam.

12-day Mediterranean Cruises
The schedule includes 12-day cruises from Venice to Barcelona departing May 4 and 28, and Oct. 31, 2013. Guests will visit Dubrovnik, Croatia; Messina, Naples, Civitavecchia (Rome), and Livorno, Italy; and Marseilles, France. The May 4 and Oct. 31 departures also include Athens, Greece; and Izmir, Turkey; while the May 28 voyage stops at Monte Carlo, Monaco; and Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Carnival Legend will also operate 12-day Western Mediterranean voyages from Barcelona to Dover June 9-21 and from Dover to Barcelona Sept. 25-Oct. 7, 2013. Ports include Marseilles, France; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Livorno and Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy; Malaga, Spain; and Lisbon, Portugal.

Also featured are three “Grand Mediterranean” voyages sailing from Barcelona to Venice April 22, May 16 and Oct. 19, 2013. These voyages feature stops at Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Marseilles, France; Livorno, Naples, Civitavecchia (Rome) and Messina, Italy; and Dubrovnik, Croatia, along with an overnight call in Venice to provide guests with ample opportunities to explore this world-class city. The Oct. 19 voyage will include a stop at Olbia (Sardinia), Italy, instead of Monaco.

Rounding out Carnival Legend’s 2013 Europe program is a 12-day voyage roundtrip from Barcelona Oct. 7-19, 2013, with calls at Marseilles, France; Livorno, Civitavecchia (Rome), and Naples, Italy; Dubrovnik, Croatia; and Venice (overnight call) and Messina, Italy.

15-Day Transatlantic Crossings in April and November 2013
Carnival Legend will operate a 15-day transatlantic crossing departing Tampa on April 7 and arriving Barcelona April 22, 2013. Featured ports on this voyage include King’s Wharf, Bermuda; Ponta Delgada (Azores), Portugal; and Malaga and Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Following its European schedule, the ship will operate another 15-day transatlantic crossing from Barcelona to Tampa Nov. 12-27, 2013, calling at Palma de Mallorca and Malaga, Spain; Funchal (Madeira), Portugal; Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Islands; and the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay. (carnival.com)

Delegations from Croatia and Slovenia are visiting Israel as part of the International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM) conference, held this week in Tel Aviv.

Both delegations said that their visit was aimed at promoting bilateral tourism between Israel, Croatia and Slovenia.

The numbers of Israeli tourists travelling to Slovenia and Croatia are growing in recent years, peaking especially in the summer. According to the Slovenian Tourist Board, approximately 28,000 Israeli tourists visit the central European country annually. The number of Israelis in Croatia in 2011 was 34,000.

The two countries have also teamed on a promotional event – “Experience Croatia, Feel Slovenia,” where Croatian and Slovenian tourist companies will meet with Israeli tourism operators and travel agents.

Slovenia is bordering the Alps and offers a variety of historic sites, Natural reservations, ski sites and spas. The leading tourist attractions are the vacation towns Portoroz and Piran, and the largest in Europe karst caves in Postojna and Skocjan.

Slovenia is also known to host international cultural, sporting, and other events. This year it will host European Capital of Culture in Maribor with several festivals and cultural events.

Croatia, neighboring Slovenia, stretches between the mountains and the Adriatic Sea, and offers an array of activities for tourists and travelers. Bordering the Adriatic Sea, Croatia is nearly three times the size of Israel. Thousands of islands and rocky lagoons spread out almost across the entire length of the coastline, most of them rocky and uninhabited.

Croatia is also home to the city of Dubrovnik, which is a UNESCO world heritage sites. The old city walls hide within them beautiful alleyways and many cultural treasures.

Travel Leaders reports its 2012 International Summit will be held in Dubrovnik, Croatia, April 20-22, 2012. The event is the franchise network’s top networking meeting.

“Given that our Travel Leaders named Croatia as their top ‘up-and-coming’ European hot spot for 2012, it’s serendipitous that we’re taking this year’s International Summit to that nation’s premier, must-see destination, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site,” noted Roger E. Block, president of Travel Leaders Franchise Group.

Croatia was recently named by Travel Leaders members (franchisees) as the “top up-and-coming” European destination they’re booking for 2012 by a wide margin. Croatia’s Minister of Tourism Veljko Ostojić will officially welcome attendees.

Travel Leaders’ 2012 International Summit marks the first time the annual event has been hosted in the Balkans. Previous Travel Leaders International Summits have been mounted in London (2000), Hong Kong (2001), Paris (2002), Barcelona (2003), Budapest (2004), Dublin (2005), Rome (2006), Dubai (2007), Berlin (2008), Santiago (2009), Jerusalem (2010) and Sydney (2011).

“Whether our Travel Leaders’ clients enjoy a destination steeped in history, one with a gorgeous natural setting or one that has simply charmed for centuries, Dubrovnik has it all, so we want our Travel Leaders to experience it for themselves,” Block explained. “Like all other International Summits, this year’s Dubrovnik meeting offers our Travel Leaders ample one-on-one time with their colleagues, key suppliers and members of our headquarters team.”

Registration for the International Summit is $450 per person, based on double occupancy. The registration fee includes three nights at the Excelsior Hotel plus exclusive events and private tours along with all taxes, gratuities and transfers for events and tours.

Carnival Cruise Lines will launch its widest array of European itineraries ever with Carnival Legend offering an exciting choice of options, including the line’s first Norwegian fjords itinerary and its first extended program from the UK, as well as cruises to the Baltic, Mediterranean and British Isles, beginning in spring 2013.

Carnival Legend’s schedule will encompass 12-day voyages to Norway/Western Europe, the British Isles and the Baltic departing from Dover (London), along with 12-day Mediterranean cruises departing from Venice, Barcelona and Dover.

In total, Carnival Legend will operate 17 European cruises between April 22 and Oct. 31, 2013, visiting 34 ports across 18 countries.

“For the Carnival Legend’s 2013 European season, we’ve assembled a truly outstanding collection of ports that offer our guests an exciting diversity of experiences, from viewing breathtaking Norwegian fjords and the lush Irish countryside to visiting centuries-old landmarks and exploring UNESCO World Heritage cities such as St. Petersburg and Tallinn,” said Gerry Cahill, Carnival president and CEO.

Norway/Western Europe, British Isles Cruises Round-Trip from Dover

For the first time, Carnival Legend will offer an extended series of voyages from Dover (London) with 12-day cruises to Norway/Western Europe, the British Isles and the Baltic, each offering a spectacular array of interesting and awe-inspiring ports of call, from quaint villages to cosmopolitan cities.

The program includes a “Norway & Western Europe” cruise offering a unique combination of ports, as well as the unforgettable experience of sailing the Norwegian fjords. The voyage will operate Sept. 1-13, 2013, and visit Alesund, Bergen, Stavanger, and Oslo, Norway; Hamburg, Germany; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Zeebrugge (Bruges), Brussels, Belgium; and Le Havre (Paris), France.

A “British Isles, Norway & France” voyage will depart Sept. 13, 2013, and feature stops at Stavanger, Norway; Edinburgh, Invergordon, and Glasgow (Greenock) Scotland; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Dublin, Ireland; and Le Havre (Paris), France.

Six “Baltic Wonders & St. Petersburg” cruises will also be offered, visiting Copenhagen, Denmark; Berlin (Warnemunde), Germany; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia (overnight call); Tallinn, Estonia; and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Departure dates include June 21, July 3, 15 and 27, and Aug. 8 and 20, 2013. The June 21 departure will visit Zeebrugge (Bruges), Brussels, Belgium, instead of Amsterdam.

12-day Mediterranean Cruises

Several different Mediterranean cruises will also be offered, providing guests an opportunity to experience and explore some of the region’s most popular and picturesque ports of call and enjoy a wide variety of dining, shopping and sightseeing choices.

The schedule includes 12-day cruises from Venice to Barcelona departing May 4 and 28, and Oct. 31, 2013. On these voyages, guests can tour medieval castles, sample delicious local cuisine, and marvel at ornate churches and other historic architecture as they visit Dubrovnik, Croatia; Messina, Naples, Civitavecchia (Rome), and Livorno, Italy; and Marseilles, France. The May 4 and Oct. 31 departures also include Athens, Greece; and Izmir, Turkey; while the May 28 voyage stops at Monte Carlo, Monaco; and Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Carnival Legend will also operate 12-day Western Mediterranean voyages from Barcelona to Dover June 9-21 and from Dover to Barcelona Sept. 25-Oct. 7, 2013. These cruises offer guests the chance to sample all the region has to offer with extended visits to stunning seaside destinations in five countries, including Marseilles, France; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Livorno and Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy; Malaga, Spain; and Lisbon, Portugal.

Also featured are three “Grand Mediterranean” voyages sailing from Barcelona to Venice April 22, May 16 and Oct. 19, 2013. These voyages feature stops at Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Marseilles, France; Livorno, Naples, Civitavecchia (Rome) and Messina, Italy; and Dubrovnik, Croatia, along with an overnight call in Venice to provide guests with ample opportunities to explore this world-class city. The Oct. 19 voyage will include a stop at Olbia (Sardinia), Italy, instead of Monaco.

Rounding out Carnival Legend’s 2013 Europe program is a 12-day voyage round-trip from Barcelona Oct. 7-19, 2013, with calls at Marseilles, France; Livorno, Civitavecchia (Rome), and Naples, Italy; Dubrovnik, Croatia; and Venice (overnight call) and Messina, Italy.

15-Day Transatlantic Crossings in April and November 2013

Carnival Legend will operate a 15-day transatlantic crossing departing Tampa on April 7 and arriving Barcelona April 22, 2013. Featured ports on this voyage include King’s Wharf, Bermuda; Ponta Delgada (Azores), Portugal; and Malaga and Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Following its European schedule, the ship will operate another 15-day transatlantic crossing from Barcelona to Tampa Nov. 12-27, 2013, calling at Palma de Mallorca and Malaga, Spain; Funchal (Madeira), Portugal; Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Islands; and the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay.

From Tampa, Carnival Legend will sail on a special four-day cruise before resuming seven-day Caribbean service Dec. 1, 2013. The week-long cruises call at Half Moon Cay; Nassau, The Bahamas; and Key West, Fla.; or George Town, Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico; Mahogany Bay, Roatan; and Belize City, Belize.

Additional Information and Reservations

For additional information and reservations, contact any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit carnival.com. Carnival can also be found on:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/carnivalcruise

Facebook Fan Page: www.facebook.com/carnival

Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/carnivalcruiselines/

Journalists also can visit Carnival’s media site, www.carnival-news.com

About Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival is “The World’s Most Popular Cruise Line®” with 23 ships operating three- to 18-day voyages to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, New England, Europe, Bermuda, South America, Panama Canal, Tahiti, the Fiji Islands, New Zealand, Norway, the Baltic and the British Isles. The company will expand its fleet with the launch of the 130,000-ton Carnival Breeze, which is scheduled to enter service June 3, 2012.

Carnival is a proud member of World’s Leading Cruise Lines. Our exclusive alliance also includes Cunard, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises and Seabourn. Sharing a passion to please each guest and a commitment to quality and value, World’s Leading Cruise Lines inspires people to discover their best vacation experience. Together, we offer a variety of exciting and enriching cruise vacations to the world’s most desirable destinations. Visit us at www.worldsleadingcruiselines.com

In the spring of 1991, as the reborn Croatian state emerged from the rubble of the collapsed edifice of post-Tito Yugoslavia, it was only natural that unbridled optimism should attend the rampant nationalistic fervor of a newly liberated people. With the ancient unicameral Sabor firmly reconstituted, with 94 percent of voters supporting independence in a May 19 referendum, and with the “Proclamation of the Sovereign and Independent Republic of Croatia” proudly issued to the world around a month later, it seemed to be time for the Republika Hrvatska to leave behind the “palanka,” or parochialism, of the Balkan Peninsula. As the first Speaker of the Sabor, Žarko Domljan, boldly proclaimed, it was “with the victory of democracy and the transition to a parliamentary system [that] the final step was taken in the return of the Croatian nation to the political, cultural, and economic area of Europe.”

It would not be long before Domljan and his fellow Croats discovered that independence was the first, not the last, step towards European integration. Over the next two decades, Croatia would experience the horrors of internecine conflict, the vicissitudes of the falangist domestic politics of strongman Franjo Tuđman, and the challenges inherent in making the reforms necessary to satisfy the 35 policy chapters of the European Union’s acquis communautaire. Only on January 22, 2012 — after nearly two million Croatians had made their way to 6,750 polling booths to cast their ballots in a referendum on European Union membership, voting roughly two-to-one in favor of the proposition — would that final step seemingly be taken. With European Union accession scheduled for July 1, 2013, the Croat populace could at last be confident of an official return to the European fold.

The morning after the referendum, Austria’s Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister, Michael Spindelegger, became the first foreign official to congratulate the Croats on their collective decision. “The Croatian nation demonstrated the maturity and foresight to recognize the historic opportunity presented by the European unification process,” Spindelegger said, adding somewhat patronizingly that the “for” vote was “the most beautiful gift the men and women of Croatia could give themselves.” For those Croats inclined towards ever-closer ties with the West, the Austrian minister’s official “welcome to the European family” could hardly have been more felicitous. It has, after all, been a centuries-old preoccupation on the part of the Croat people to exit what the novelist Miroslav Krleža dubbed “the Balkan pot-house.” Membership in the “European family” is therefore of considerable symbolic, as well as practical, importance for the Croatian body politic.

Perilously suspended between West and East, between Rome and Byzantium, between the Habsburgs and Ottomans, and between Vienna and Budapest, the western Balkans was long viewed by outsiders with incomprehension at best, and with derision at worst. In 1776, Edward Gibbon famously described Dalmatia as an “obscure” land “infested by tribes of barbarians, whose savage independence irregularly marks the doubtful limit of the Christian and Mahometan power.” Thirty years later, Madame de Staël wrote of a “land formerly inhabited by a very warlike people, [which] still retains something wild about it,” where residents “know so little of what has happened for fifteen centuries that they still call the Romans the all-powerful.” Of the centers of humanistic activity in cities like Zagreb, Šibenik, Trogir, Split and Dubrovnik, little mention was made. Of the cultural contributions of artists like Juraj Julije Klović and Andrija Medulić, or the political contributions of statesmen like Fran Krsto Frankopan and Nikola Jurišić, even less was made. Croats could insist that they had, over the centuries, “acquired the honest title antemurale christianitatis — the outer battlements of Western European Christian culture” (as one Croatian editorialist argued in late 1991, at the height of the 87- day siege of Vukovar), but this sanguinary past did not necessarily confer “European” status in the eyes of policymakers to the north and west.

The course of the Balkan 20th century, with its exploding powder kegs, fratricidal partisan campaigns, and genocidal civil wars, would do little to erase any preconceived notions about the peninsula and its inhabitants. Franjo Tuđman, in a 1991 televised address, may have described his country’s struggles as part of “the fight for normal conditions when Croatia can join Europe, where she historically belongs,” but Croat-perpetrated massacres taking place that very year, for instance in Sisak and Gospić, tended to undermine the notion that Croatia was destined for an immediate future in a liberal, irenic post-Cold War Europe. Given that the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia would find that Tuđman “was a key member of the joint criminal enterprise…to repopulate the Krajina with Croats” through “force or threat of force, which amounted to and involved deportation, forcible transfer, and persecution through the imposition of restrictive and discriminatory measures, unlawful attacks against civilians and civilian objects, deportation, and forcible transfer,” the 1997 electoral motto of “Tuđman, not the Balkans” rang altogether hollow.

As Nicole Lindstrom later observed, “the political agenda of division and exclusion pursued by Tuđman in the 1990s ultimately contributed to Croatia being (re)assigned to precisely the same Balkan category it had defined itself against.” Instead, neighboring Slovenia managed to cast itself as Europe’s nec plus ultra, playing its cards rather adroitly by emphasizing, in mid-1990s promotional literature, its historical predecessor Carantania’s supposed “democratic institutions, strong legal system, popular elections of the ruling dukes, and progressive legal rights for women,” as opposed to its martial prowess upon the bulwarks of European civilization. In 1997, with Tuđman’s Croatia failing to make the sort of headway predicted by Žarko Domljan in the early days of the republic, and with European and American policymakers urging membership in the nebulous Southeast European Cooperative Initiative rather than the European Union, tempers flared. Dalibor Foretić, writing for Novi List in 1997, complained that “the world would like to push us into some kind of Balkan hole but we will not allow them. We want to be everything — Central European, Mediterranean, Transcarpathian — and not just a Balkan country. The West is constantly inventing some kind of initiative to push us where we do not belong. But we will not let them!” To Foretić’s chagrin, the long-awaited return to Europe was indefinitely postponed.

In the European halls of power, historical Croatian opposition to the infamous “five Bs” — Balkanism, Barbarism, Byzantinism, Bolshevism, and Balvanism (the last referring to the erection of street barricades, from the Croat word balvan, or “beam”) — counted for little. It was only after Tuđman’s demise in 1999, a round of constitutional reforms two years later, and a gradual increase in cooperation between Croatia and the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague that European Union accession became a distinct possibility. Official European Union candidacy began only in early 2004, with Croatian authorities aiming for a dubious accession date of 2007. Lingering border disputes with Slovenia held up the overall process, as did Italian concerns about land ownership laws, while Brussels mandarins concentrated on obstacles involving fisheries, environmental policies, and endemic corruption. Widespread post facto skepticism regarding the appropriateness of Romanian and Bulgarian accession likewise slowed Croatia’s elongated return to Europe.

Croatian popular support for European Union accession inevitably wavered as the lengthy process was drawn out further, ranging from as high as 80 percent to as low as 26 percent, depending on the survey. As the January 2012 referendum approached, the Croatian government spared no expense in convincing the populace of the value of European integration. State television and radio airwaves were suffused with tens of thousands of pro-European Union advertisements, Zagreb trams were bedecked with positive endorsements of the referendum, and the Croatian Post delivered — gratis — millions of government leaflets. Government tactics bordered on scaremongering, as campaigners warned of a loss of some €1.8 billion in funding from Brussels over the next three years, while Vesna Pusić, head of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, warned more than a million Croatian pensioners that their livelihoods would be at risk following a “no” vote. Too many years, and too many man-hours, had been spent in the quest for European integration for the referendum to be anything other than a fait accompli.

Those of a more Euroskeptic bent, like Marjan Bošnjak of the rather obscure Only Croatia party, were quick to bemoan the referendum’s unequal playing field. For Bošnjak, the circumstances of the vote were “blatantly undemocratic,” making it “impossible for the Croatian People to make an informed decision,” and leading to “a swindle which did not meet even the most basic democratic criteria, and whose sole purpose was to elicit an affirmative vote.” Yet the die was cast long ago, when both an official and a symbolic Croatian return to the European fold became a distinct possibility by dint of European Union accession. Under Tuđman, Croatia’s foreign policy was preoccupied with the country’s emancipation from the “the Balkan darkness of the so-called Yugoslavia,” and his successors followed suit. No warnings of the dangers of becoming “meek and hopelessly networked subjects of the big Orwellian Europe,” as one Croatian Party of Rights leader put it back in 2000, could dissuade Croatian elites from pursuing this deeply ingrained goal.

In the unstable geopolitical patchwork of Central Europe, Stanisław Vincenz once posited, “each one of its parts will of necessity become the dependency of a greater unit.” For Croatia, this has meant membership in multinational polities based in Rome, Constantinople, Venice, Vienna, Budapest, and Belgrade. More often than not this membership has been imposed rather than chosen. One exception was in the aftermath of the First World War, when the Croats, despite having a newly formed national government of their own, opted for membership in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The peasant leader Stjepan Radić objected that the Yugoslav “kingdom was proclaimed other than by the Croatian Sabor and without any mandate of the Croatian People,” and that his fellow delegates were rushing into a supranational arrangement “like drunken geese in the fog,” but he was ignored (and later arrested). “The tragedy and irony of the whole thing,” August Košutić later wrote about this brief flicker of independence, “lie in the fact that the Croats, after having preserved for centuries their own national and State rights, should have these wrested from them just after the proclamation by the Allies of the principle of self-determination.” In 2012, only two decades after independence was once again regained, history again repeats itself, and Croatia once again finds itself on the way to becoming a “dependency of a greater unit,” this time one headquartered in distant Belgium, all due to the pursuit of that unchanging European goal.

The 2012 referendum, according to Croatian President Ivo Josipović, was “a turning point in our history,” as the “European family” opened its arms and the Croatian people accepted the continental embrace. Perceived economic self-interest, and the power of symbolic politics, ultimately won out. But it had only won out with 28 percent of the electorate actually casting an affirmative vote. In a country so enamored of Europeanness, there is little room for outright Euroskepticism, except at the nationalist fringe, but there is undoubtedly a nagging sense in Croatia that the European Union is anything but a political and economic panacea. As Viseslav Raos, an analyst at Zagreb’s Political Science Research Center, noted in the run-up to the referendum: “Croatian citizens see what’s happening in Greece and Ireland” and “know that the European Union is not a remedy to all economic and social problems. So the EU itself is in a sort of crisis, and that reflects on Croatia’s accession.” Hence the lukewarm results of the referendum, notwithstanding careful engineering by the country’s elites.

Miroslav Krleža, in his 1938 masterpiece On the Edge of Reason, responded to “overheated and arbitrary” Croatian discussions of Europe with a series of exasperated questions: “What ‘Europe’? I would like just once to hear what Europe is in reality. Where is that Europe situated? What does that Europe want? And in what special relationship with that Europe are you?” Thanks to the transformational nature of the European Union, a Croatian could now provide a series of answers: “the European Union, headquartered in the Leopold Quarter of Brussels,” “an ever closer union,” “the privileges and obligations of member status,” and so on. Nevertheless, the coming years may cause many in the Croatian body politic to renew Krleža’s line of questioning, as the European Union is wracked with economic uncertainties and neutered by an ineffective common foreign and security policy. In another irony of history, one so familiar to the Balkans, the European Union is taking on something of a Yugoslavian aspect just as the nations of the peninsula shed their palanka and begin the process of integration. In the words of the Serbian journalist Momčilo Pantelić, “at a time when the EU is attempting to reinforce centralized control of its periphery, its foundations are being threatened by excessive nationalism and accumulated incompatibilities between member states. This is a situation that is strongly reminiscent of the golden age of Yugoslavia (1981-1986), a period when it came close to joining the European Economic Community (EEC).”

As the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s raged on, Croatian correspondents expressed dismay at complacent Western European politicians “for whom the butter and cheese surplus are a more serious problem than destroyed Croatian cities and villages.” Surprisingly, this did not sour Croatians on official membership in Europe; rather, it reinforced the need for the Republika Hrvatska to be recognized as a valued member of the European community, just as it was officially recognized as the antemurale christianitatis by Pope Leo X in 1519. That long-pursued recognition will soon be given, and has even been provided a date certain: July 1, 2013. From that point on, Croatia can no longer be dismissed as the “doubtful limit” of Europe. But if Pantelić is right, and the balkanization of Europe continues apace, then even the recent referendum and resulting accession will not be the “final step” Croatian authorities envisioned two decades ago. In fact, it may be that extrication from the “Balkan hole” is simply not a matter of referenda or fiat.

Croatia has reported strong early bookings for 2012, and a study by Fly.com suggests that Dubrovnik is a very affordable flight destination.

As previously reported by Digital Journal, Croatia has experienced strong bookings from European markets, and the results of a study by Fly.com on February 7, 2012 can only add to that trend, with Fly.com declaring Dubrovnik one of the five best airfare deals for this summer.

According to the research, Fly.com found that Dubrovnik had experienced a 41% drop in flight prices year on year, which the site attributed to increased competition on routes to Dubrovnik, especially from budget airlines. The other destinations in the top five were Miami, Rio de Janeiro, Florence and San Diego, while the five worst deals were found to be to Sharm El Sheikh, Kos, Dalaman, Murcia and Las Palmas.

As one of the hottest destinations on the Adriatic, interest in Dubrovnik is increasing, and both low-cost and national airlines are increasing and introducing routes, with direct connections from Newcastle and Helsinki just two examples already reported by Digital Journal.

The cheaper prices are good news for tourists travelling to Dubrovnik itself, but also for travellers using Dubrovnik Airport as a hub for onward travel. With the border to Montenegro a half-hour drive from the airport, many travellers to Montenegro take advantage of the better choice and pricing at Dubrovnik for their holiday in Montenegro, while other popular destinations in Croatia, such as the islands of Hvar, Brac and Korcula, are also accessible.

Topdeck is taking up to 7.5% off its European trips including the epic 49-day Mega European through 20 countries.

The offer applies to the base price of all trips departing between 1 April and 31 May 2012 and when booked and paid in full by 28 February.

Topdeck is also taking 5% off trips departing between 1 June 2012 and 31 March 2013. The offers apply to new bookings only.

Topdeck’s longest trip, the Mega European, is the ultimate adventure exploring Europe from London to Spain, Turkey, Croatia and Poland now from $5872* per person – a saving of $373.

The itinerary travels through Europe’s most exciting cities including Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Athens, Istanbul, Belgrade, Budapest, Dubrovnik, Berlin and Amsterdam, with highlights including a gourmet picnic beside the Eiffel Tower, a vaporetto ride on the Grand Canal, a stay in a Tuscan resort, flotilla sailing in Greece and a tour of Gallipoli.

Topdeck is a leading holiday provider of unforgettable travel experiences for 18 to 30-somethings.

*Offer valid for new bookings only and must be paid in full by 28 February 2012. Does not apply to Festivals, ANZAC, London short break packages or Gappies trips. Discounts apply to basic trip price only and not to the food fund or sailing fund or pre/post accommodation. Subject to availability. Earlybird discount can be combined with one other standard brochure discount totalling up to 15%.

Compagnie du Ponant’s newest mega-yacht, L’Austral, takes opera enthusiasts from Suez to Venice on its 12-day “Et Vogue l’Opéra” cruise, departing May 10. The cruise features the music of Jules Massenet, Mozart, Rossini, Puccini, Delibes and Verdi, as performed by accomplished artists. Onboard events include Apér’Opéra (cocktails with guests and performers), and Operatic-themed lectures from experts such as Dr. Elizabeth Fresnel, an author and phoniatrician who specializes in the voice as related to memory.

Returning artistic and stage director Jean-Francois Vinciguerra directs a selection of compositions on board and in private concerts ashore. Featured performers include dancer Eugenie Andrin, known for her choreography work in Parisian musicals and operatic ballets; Swiss soprano Brigitte Hool, awarded the Parisian Prize Trofemina; and Fabrice di Falco, who has performed before Denmark’s Queen.

Guests looking for a shorter version of the cruise can join the itinerary for seven days (May 10-16) on the sailing from Suez to Itea, or join the second half of the journey for six days (May 16-21) from Itea to Venice. Fares are currently being offered at a 30 percent discount under Ponant’s bonus program: the more in advance the booking, the greater the savings. Reduced prices range from $3,910 to $9,885 per person, double for the 12-day option; $2,542 to $6,459 for seven days; and $2,093 to $5,314 for six days.

Embarking from the city of Suez, L’Austral makes its way through the Suez Canal from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, and explores Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut. Guests visit Greek ports including Rhodes, Nafplion, Itea and Parga. The ship spends a day in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Dubrovnik, and visits the largest of the Dalmatian Islands, Split, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian. After a stop in the fishing port of Rovinj, L’Austral leaves Croatia and sails to its final port of Venice, where guests may choose to add a post-cruise tour of St. Mark’s Square.

The 466-foot L’Austral mega-yacht instills a feeling of sailing on a private yacht while also providing guests all of the comforts of a true vacation. The “Cleanship”-rated ship — given to a select group of vessels that exceed the MARPOL convention for waste treatment, antifouling or propulsion systems — boasts two restaurants – both haute and country French, several lounges, theater, games area, two open-air bars, a swimming pool, library, fitness area, sun decks and spa in partnership with Paris’s Sothys. The 132 staterooms, 124 with private balconies, have king size or twin beds, desk, minibar, dressing table, marble baths with showers, L’Occitane products, flat screen satellite TVs and Wi-Fi.

Included in sailings are all meals, accompanied by wine, beer and soda; Captain’s welcome aboard cocktail party and gala dinner; 24-hour room service; and all entertainment, events and shows as indicated within the itinerary. Port charges/taxes, gratuities, optional excursions and transfers are additional.

Visit www.en.ponant.com

Hvar – If it snows on Hvar hotel accommodation is allegedly free, so rarely does it happen. So how does a sunshine island deal with snow? Digital Journal investigates.
With much of Europe under a blanket of snow and several spectacular images in unusual locations doing the rounds on social media networks such as Facebook, there have been thousands of news stories in recent days about the effects of the cold snap that has brought snow to the shores of the Adriatic in Croatia.
While snow is common in Croatia (whose sporting heroes include Olympic skiing champion Janica Kostelic), it is extremely rare on the Dalmatian coast, and tourist cities such as Dubrovnik and Split have enjoyed unusual snowfall in recent days.
The location most famous for its weather in Croatia – the island of Hvar – has also been the recipient of snow. Known officially as the sunniest island in the Adriatic, with an average of 2,724 hours of sun every year, Hvar’s legendary climate is part of the national pysche, and rare snowfall on Hvar always makes the international news regionally.

While snow has fallen several times in the last decade, it has never lasted more than a day, and is often gone within a couple of hours, but the snowfall this week has been the most significant in the last twenty years, and has led to some unusual sights and reactions on the island.
Perhaps the biggest surprise driving along the main artery from Stari Grad to Hvar Town was the appearance of a snow plough clearing the snow in the opposite direction. While the sight itself was not unusual given the weather conditions (four-wheel drive only), it was hard to imagine that the plough had come from the mainland, given the atrocious conditions all over the country. Upon investigation, Digital Journal learned that the plough lives permanently on the island and is owned by the regional road authorities. That the Adriatic’s sunniest island owns a snow plough has caused more than a few raised eyebrows locally, and Digital Journal has scheduled an interview with its driver in the coming days.

As the island’s children were understandably excited at the unusual gift from the skies, there were other innovative reactions to the cold snap. Local Internet portal Otok Hvar reported on the founding of the island’s first ski club in Velo Grablje on February 4, 2012. Velo Grablje has a full-time population of just seven people, but was once the centre of lavender production for all Dalmatia, and it hosts the annual lavender festival every June.

The island’s premier adventure specialists, Hvar Adventure, wasted no time in taking advantage of the opportunity to be the first to brave the snow and scale the summit of the island at Sveti Nikola, while local football team NK Hvar made national news with their decision to go for a swim in the chilly Adriatic.

The snow receded after a day in Jelsa, where the lead photo of this article was taken, and residents came out into the sun to enjoy a coffee on the square, eagerly swapping snow tales over an espresso.