NEW TOURIST ATTRACTION

Good jazz, local wines, in an excellent ambience–a winning combination in Orsula!

Starting Wednesday, June 19, and every Wednesday thereafter, in the unique setting of the Orsula Park, a program called “Sunset Wine & Jazz” will be held. Amidst the beautiful view of a fascinating sunset, the pleasant jazz music of the band “Garden Street Quartet” can be enjoyed.  There will also be Croatian wine tasting, with special emphasis on the wines of the Dubrovnik area and the wines of Plavac mali, Pošip, Malvasia and others. At end of the program, at the hushed hour of darkness, the unique legend surrounding the Park Orsula and its mystical, spellbinding history will be told. 

This attraction is a new event designed for Dubrovnik guests, one that guests will surely choose to enrich their summer evenings. The alluring beauty of the Park Orsula and the unique atmosphere with breathtaking views of Dubrovnik and the sunset, all enhanced by pleasant jazz music and local wines,  are a novelty in the evening programs in the City.

The Association of Ambient Croatia says that through these programs they will continue to promote one of Dubrovnik’s most beautiful locations, that this year has been additionally refined by arranging the footpaths from St Jacob and making them available to foreign tourists, who, we believe, will appreciate the attractiveness of this program and the enthusiasm of its organizers.

For the sixth season in a row art pavilion ‘Your Black Horizon’ has opened its doors to visitors on Lopud.

The light installation project is the work of Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson and British architect David Adjaye and was first presented in 2005 at the 51st Venice Biennale. The installation moved to Lopud in 2007 where it found its new home. Francesca von Habsburg, President of the Thyssen Bornemisza Art Contemporary officially opened the pavilion and told guests,  ”Lopud is one of the most beautiful islands in the world, with a big history, in the last 100 years it has been a magnet for many people from the worlds of culture, art and literature. I know how important tourism is to everyone and I hope that this project will attract other new similar projects. I’m continuing with the renovation of the monastery where over the next year or two we will be able to display art. With this the history of Lopud as a destination where intellectuals gather will continue and that openness is what I’m looking for in the future.”

The pavilion will remain open on Lopud to visitors until the end of September- be sure not to miss it!

(http://www.justdubrovnik.com/2013/06/your-black-horizon-pavillion-opens-on-lopud/11878/)

Each evening from 7.30 pm until 9.30 pm till the end of the summer season  the Dubrovnik City Guard will keep watch over the city gates. The City Guard was introduced in 2005 and Dubrovnik was the first city in Croatia to revive this cultural attraction, since then Zagreb, Split and Šibenik have all followed suit. The training of the Dubrovnik City Guard is carried out by the historical association “Ragvseum” and the costumes they wear are inspired by the very same costumes worn in the 16th century.  One thing is for sure these guards will be one of the most photographed sites in Dubrovnik this summer.

The Old Town of Dubrovnik has been nominated for the title of the eighth wonder of the world by travel site www.virtualtourist.com! Dubrovnik finds itself in competition with places such as the 12 Apostles and Mount Rushmore. Described on the website as, ”Known as the Pearl of the Adriatic, Dubrovnik is settled on the south point of the Dalmatian coast in Croatia. A UNESCO protected site, it is an example of a well preserved late-medieval walled city.”, people are invited to vote until September 30th for their favourite. To vote for Dubrovnik, scroll down to ‘Old Town Dubrovnik’ on the Virtual Tourist website here. No registration required!

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The hotel chain Karisma Hotels Adriatic is the new owner of Hotel Koločep. At a public auction held at the Dubrovnik Commercial Court  Karisma obtained 88 percent of Hotel Koločep for just over 36 million Kuna. “We are extremely pleased that Karisma Hotels Adriatic becomes the owner of the hotel Koločep, especially because it means a new beginning for the hotel which was likely facing bankruptcy. We will create a valuable tourism project that will benefit Croatian tourism and the economy as well as the local community,” commented the director of Karisma Hotel Adriatic, Marinko Benić. According to information the hotel chain will invest 18.6 million Euros in the hotel on the island of Koločep, 4.6 million into acquiring 88 percent, a further 4.7 million to repay existing debts of the company and an additional 9 million into the renovation, management and promotion of Hotel Koločep. Karisma is expecting that the Hotel Koločep will have around a 84 percent occupancy rate this year and is looking to push that number forward in the coming years. The renovation process will start in the autumn and will be ready for the 2014 tourist season. Hotel Koločep is located on the island of the same name which is in the Elaphite archipelago near Dubrovnik. (http://www.englishmanindubrovnik.com/new-beginning-for-hotel-kolocep/)

Clara Stones is abrand launched in 2007 In Dubrovnik specialized in making unique jewellery from the Adriatic coral, pearls, gems and precious metals. In June 2011 it was opened the first specialized outlet Clara Stones jewellery in Dubrovnik. Within the store Clara Stones there is a workshop in which for the first time in Dubrovnik and wider it could be seen the working process of the Adriatic coral. Dubrovnik’s Clara Stones was visited by enchanted queen of Bhutan, Oscar winner Randy Newman and many others, and there was the first recommendation for shopping in Dubrovnik in prestigious Conde Nast Traveller’s article about Croatia. In  2013 Stones Clara opens the season by launching two new concepts: newly renovated jewellery gallery Clara Stones with coral workshop and Coral Concept Store – specialized coral store.

The Shop Clara Stones is included in the project Authentically Croatian and carries a trademark that it sells authentic Croatian products.

On the occasion of the Final Four European League tournament, in which the Dubrovnik Waterpolo Club ” Jug – Croatia osiguranje participate, ” The Dubrovnik Tourist Board and the City of Dubrovnik organized a presentation of their tourist offerings in Belgrade.

The Dubrovnik presentation was attended by a number of Serbian journalists, travel agents and businessmen. On behalf of the City of Dubrovnik, the audience was welcomed by the Head of the Managing Department of Enterprise Tourism and the Sea Milan Perić.

The presentation was held at the Hotel Villa Manjež Exclusive and represented all aspects of Dubrovnik and its tourist offerings. Also, an important part of the presentation was dedicated to the excellent summer airline connections between the Serbian capital and Dubrovnik Airport.  JAT Airline Company began with flights on Monday, 13 May, 2013, and the frequency of the flights will be increased so that by mid-summer JAT will fly to Dubrovnik five times a week. The reservations for flights to Dubrovnik are very good, and confirmation of that is found in the number of airline passengers arriving from Serbia. Since the beginning of 2013 tourists from Serbia are ranked 27^th in arrivals, with 933 arrivals, which constitutes a 39 per cent increase over 2012 and represents 4238 overnight stays, which is 63 percent more than in 2012.

Within the presentation of the Dubrovnik Tourist offerings, a special emphasis is placed on the accommodation possibilities – hotels and private accommodations, specifically requested from the Serbian guests, as well this summer’s festivals. In Dubrovnik, the “city for all seasons,” which even in wintertime has quality accommodations and activities, Serbian guests can anticipate extensive flight accommodations from Belgrade.  And direct bus service from the Serbian capital city is available at attractive times as well.

The presentation also included direct connection via Skype from one of our most attractive streets,   which elicited heartfelt approval from the entire audience.  This view and presentation from the most beautiful street in Dubrovnik was made by the director of the Dubrovnik TB Romana Vlašić and the director of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival Ivan Medo Bogdanović.

Tomislav Hrabrić from the Croatian Chamber of Commerce in Belgrade. was proclaimed the winner of the Seasonal Award Winning Game.  He received a free weekend stay in the renovated Hotel Šipan in Luka Šipanska, sponsored by Dubrovnik Sun Gardens and two three-day Dubrovnik cards.

After the presentation, guests continued to socialize and enjoy the Croatian Plavac and Pošip wines, presented by the Badel 1862, and cheeses from Varaždin by “Vindija,” which was also the sponsor of the banquet.

Andro Vlahusic will be mayor of Dubrovnik for another four years following the second round of local elections held on Sunday.

Winning 10,294 of the votes (59.8%), Vlahusic secured his second mandate beating rival Teo Andric who secured just 6,418 votes or 37.28%.

A total of 17,215 Dubrovnik citizens went to the polls, 45.27% of the electorate in the City. Vlahusic told press that he was pleased with the result, ”Its slightly better than I expected, for that I need to thank our coalition partners for their support.”

Vlahusic emphasised that the long running campaign to ease the commute from Dubrovnik to Zagreb would continue, ”Citizens of Dubrovnik will receive 200 HRK for a single air ticket to Zagreb from July 1st and 400 HRK for a return ticket. We will seek support from Brussels and Zagreb but Dubrovnik is a ship that can sail alone.” http://www.justdubrovnik.com/2013/06/mayor-vlahusic-wins-second-mandate/11608/

As the summer warms up in Dubrovnik so is the international publicity the city is receiving. The last in a long line of good news comes from the magazine of the world famous celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver.“There are worst places to be lost than in the backstreets of Dubrovnik’s Old Town” writes the author Kate Guest in the article featured in the travel section of Jamie Magazine. The lengthy article then goes onto praise Dubrovnik as a tourist destination and, of course, highlights were to eat in the city. More than twenty Dubrovnik restaurants that are especially selected in the text and the author also recommends visiting the Dubrovnik market in Gruž for fresh produce and seafood. Of the many tourist attractions in Dubrovnik the City Walls, the Cable Car as well as the island of Mljet.

This latest article come hot on the heels of a full page review of Dubrovnik in the renowned National Geographic magazine, as well as numerous newspaper and magazine reports. And with Jamie’s magazine recommending eateries and cuisines in Dubrovnik this will only help motivate more gastronomic tourists to visit the city this summer season. 

http://www.englishmanindubrovnik.com/jamie-oliver-magazine-recommends-dubrovnik-cuisine/

Under the slogan“ On the right hand of the Mediterranean” Peter and Gabi Strub from Switzerland travel along the edge of the northern part of the Mediterranean on their pets – BMW bikes.  They started this interesting adventure on Good Friday, March 29th, 2013. They ride mostly along the coastline, but also visit the inlands in order to record the beauties of the countries. Riding bikes, as they point out, is their passion, even though during this adventure they want to visit different countries, areas and people.  This interesting duo left Switzerland in order to get to their starting point – Gibraltar, where their adventure to Barcelona, Genoa, Naples and Bari had its beginning, then they continue along the Mediterranean to reach their final destination, Istanbul.

Dubrovnik also was a must-see of their adventure. Supported by Dubrovnik City Tourist Board they visited our historical city centre and were thrilled with our City’s history and culture, as well as cleanliness and neatness that, as they said, reminded them of their homeland.

Adventures of Peter and Gabi can be followed on their web site www.pegasus-unterwegs.ch and on facebook travel blog  http://www.facebook.com/PegasusUnterwegs