Every first weekend in October, the city of Kastav is flooded with guests. The Bela nedeja (White Sunday) tradition is held in honour of young wine and early fall, and has been known since 1400 when it was mentioned in the Code of the City. Today, this is not only a wine fair but also a promotion of old crafts as well as the new Chinese goods that flood the Kastav streets. However, the flavours and aromas of the Kvarner region prevail, with numerous guests from other parts of

Svakog prvog vikenda u listopadu, grad Kastav bude preplavljeno gostima. Tradicija Bele nedeje održava se u čast mladog vina i početka jeseni, a poznata je još iz davne 1400. godine kada je spomenuta u Zakoniku grada. Danas ovo nije samo sajam vina, nego i promocija starih zanata, ali i nove kineske robe koja preplavljuje kastavske ulice. Ipak, prevladavaju okusi i mirisi kvarnerskoga kraja, uz mnogobrojne goste iz drugih krajeva Hrvatske. Tako se na potezu od kružnog toka na

A town of seafarers and noblemen, Kraljevica is an old Kvarner city with a long and important history. Unfortunately, its tourist capacities have stuck in time, but new ideas and new spirits are becoming more and more prevalent. Thus, we decided to check what is going on in this town, which is so often seen only from the magistral road leading from Rijeka to Crikvenica and beyond. In Bakarac, Kraljevica, Križišće, Mali Dol, Šmrika and Veliki Dol, all the places within the bou

With a lot of enthusiasm we have visited the Hedonist&Wine event in Opatija, Croatia's oldest tourist resort. In the proud Hotel Kvarner, the organisers have mixed passion for wine and for life, two strongest point of the Mediterranean hedonism. The place is known centrepoint of Croatian culture and showbizz, and jazz music in the Crystal Hall of Hotel Kvarner stressed the feeling of joyful event. Numerous wineries were present at this event and it was practically impossible

In 1996 Mr Dragan Jurdana decided it is time to approach the guests with a direct offer „from sea to the table“. Simple, original and natural – these are the buzz words in the restaurant Johnson, situated on green slopes of Mount Učka, between medieval hilltop town of Mošćenice and the beautiful beaches of Mošćenička Draga. The result? Gault Millau gave the restaurant this year 17 points and two culinary caps. We’ve decided to learn why. A hot and humid afternoon didn’t stop

FARNET – the European Fisheries Areas Network – is the community of people implementing Community-Led Local Development (CLLD) under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). This network brings together Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs), managing authorities, citizens and experts from across the EU. CLLD funding is delegated to local partnerships that bring together the private sector, local authorities and civil society organizations. Known as Fisheries Local Act

In the small fishing port of Mošćenička Draga stands a quite special house, dedicated to the maritime tradition of this part of the Adriatic Sea. It is the Interpretation centre of fishing and maritime heritage of the Eco-Museum Mošćenička Draga, where visitors enjoy the exhibits like old catching traps, hooks, ship materials. Especially interesting part is multimedia exhibit of an old ship cupboard; when one opens a tray, one can hear the sound of sea, ship horn, seagull, do

On a picturesque and widely popular beach of Mošćenička Draga, amongst various cafes and bars, there is a special restaurant Zijavica, a destination for imaginative and elaborative kinds of seafood. The owner Stiven Vunić welcomes us on his terrace with a spectacular view, while his staff gives a final touch to the small and enchanting bites waiting for us. In Zijavica they say: “Extremely harmonious blend of romantic past and exciting challenges of today – that is the feelin

The sun is shining, scent of spring is all around us, and the Asparagus days are in full sway in a picturesque town of Lovran on the western coast of Kvarner Bay. It is the biggest spring festival in Lovran, present already 17 years. The Asparagus Days begin with a big egg omelette with asparagus (fritaja sa šparogama), and continues in several Lovran’s restaurants. One of these is Knezgrad, situated right in the centre of the town, in a beautiful park next to the town’s only

The WineRi festival also included the association Jarbola, named after an autochthonous grape sort from Zvoneća, a mountainous area in the Rijeka’s hinterland. For centuries people cultivated this sort in “Zvonejske njivi”, a splendid example of rural architecture of stone dry walls, akin to the Bakar Prezidi. Zvonejske njivi date somewhere between 15th and 17th centuries, and cover an area of 60 ha, on rather high 300 up to 450 metres above sea level. This height determines

In northern part of Viškovo centre, on a crossroad marked by a wooden statue of Halubje bell ringer, for already fifty years stands the Restaurant Mladenka. It was opened by Bezjak family in 1968. and has a near-legendary status ever since. We have visited the place in time of famous carnival, which features in Viškovo the Halubje bell ringers (Halubajski zvončari). We were greeted by Mr Bezjak and his staff and taken to the table next to the big animal head, used by bell rin

The search for traditional Liburnian gastronomy in times of carnival led us to a homestead located in the less familiar place Rukavac, near Matulji. A rural estate has found its place among family homes. It was built in 1880s and since then has remained in the same family, who converted the estate into a refined experience of gastronomy pleasures, with quite unique view of Lisina Mountain. It is a gorgeous wood park at a foot of mountain chain Ćićarija, which provides numerou

The wearing of masks, with which man performs fertility rites, drives away evil spirits and marks the passage of winter into spring, has been present in almost all civilizations and all parts of the world since times long past. This custom has particularly taken deep roots in the localities of the North Croatian Littoral, namely its backcountry – Kastavština. In the course of the historical context of emergence of carnival customs in our region, various bell – ringer groups (

Viškovo is a place situated north of Rijeka, effectively Rijeka’s suburb, but retains its special status as a town and proud itself for a long tradition of mask festivals. The area is known as Halubje, so the carnival is called Halubajski karnival, which has very longstanding tradition with Halubje bell ringers (Halubajski zvončari). Many tend to associate Rijeka carnival with Halubajski zvončari, who are indeed kings of carnival festivities. Horrific animal mask on head, big

The narrow streets and squares, with all the layers of history to be discovered, is still unknown world of Bakar, one of the oldest towns in the Northern Adriatic. Bakar was built like an amphitheatre on a hill and its historical nucleus was declared a cultural monument. The area of Bakar town stretches from the Bakar Bay to the peak of Risnjak Mountain occupying about 12,560 hectares and encompassing seven small towns: Bakar, Hreljin, Krasica, Kukuljanovo, Praputnjak, Škrlje