Dalmacija Wine Expo 2014, in Split and Makarska

2013 has been a good year for the wines of Dalmatia, with grape varieties such as plavac mali, posip and bogdanusa becoming more recognisable on the world stage, and exports from California to China.

An increasingly important platform to present the wines of the region is Dalmacija Wine Expo, now in its fourth year, and hosted every year until now in Makarska.

Next year's event will be expanded and take place in both Split and Makarska, with the main event at the Radisson Blu in Split on April 24 and 25.

While the main event will be moving from its home of four years, Makarska, it will also be holding a two-day event in Makarska - Wine and Fun Days - on May 1-2. 

Traditional Dalmatian Food at Christmas: Bakalar

With much of Dalmatia now focused on the festive holidays, it is time to think of food, and Christmas means one thing for most households in the region - bakalar. Given the region's richness of fresh seafood, it is perhaps a little curious that the main fish dish for the Christmas season is based on dried cod... from Norway.

It's hard to say why people around the Mediterranean, including Dalmatia, accepted codfish so eagerly, knowing that it usually comes as a dried fish, looking more as a wooden board than a seafood delicacy. And why anyone who is used to all the fresh treats coming from the warm southern sea would love to eat something so ugly and smelly when cooked? The answer might be hidden in some great journeys of the past.

Old chronicles report that cod was brought to the Mediterranean by Venetian nobleman and merchant Pietro Querini in the first half of 15th century. As described in The Northern Light Route, a project conducted on University of Tromsø, Norway, Querini set sail in early summer 1431 set from Cretan Iraklion to Bruges, in Flanders, with three ships loaded with wine and spices. Caught in a terrible storm, vessels with 68 men sank and the crew had to move to their lifeboats. Many drowned or died of starvation and fatigue while the boats drifted across the North Sea. The same source claims that just after the new year 1432 survivors stranded on an island near Røst, in Lofoten. They were found by local fishermen, and after three months of recovery sailed on small cargo boats loaded with stockfish to Trondheim. The result? Signor Querini became the first exporter of Nordic stockfish, especially cod dried on sun and wind, to southern Europe.

Still, the connection between cod and Christmas was yet to be established. It happened in 1561, when The Council of Trent sharply condemned greed, vanity, blasphemy and any kind of body pleasures. Fasting was reevaluated as a mean to purity, loyalty and gratitude to God. On the other hand, rich Europeans just didn't want to get rid of their culinary habits, enriched with food from newly discovered lands. Chefs of the time got a new assignment: how to cook by strict religious norms, and still enjoy. About six thousand scholars participating in Council tasted top dishes of "adjusted" cuisine, and the almost unanimous verdict discovered something Scandinavians already knew for centuries; cod is the perfect fasting meal. Hundreds of recipes were published in cookbooks of the time, and the biggest popularity was gained on the Mediterranean, an area so filled with fresh, tasty fish.

Sometime during the 1800s codfish settled in Dalmatia, as an Italian import. Narrow streets of Dalmatian cities were swept by the not so pleasant odour during the holiday season. Just everyone was cooking cod. After the World War Two, when communist came to power in former Yugoslavia, including Croatia, cod even turned into an ideology "weapon". Visiting churches in a socialist country was often considered inappropriate, so preparing cod and other traditional Christmas specialties became even some kind of resistance. Only the dilemma mentioned in the beginning - which of two the most popular recipes to prepare for Christmas eve dinner - remained the same, all the way to our times. Every family has its own variation, some will even make adventurous move to some other way of preparing, but here are basic recipes for basic codfish meal. Learn how to do it on time, it's an important ingredient of being accepted in the local community. How and where to buy codfish? You won't miss it, it usually comes on the shelves at the same time as Christmas decorations. If you are not an undiscovered cooking genius, don't worry. Any restaurant will prepare it, and almost all most communities have publicly cooked cod meals on December 24.

Start 2014 on a High: Parachuting School in Sinj

Why not start 2014 in style, high about the skies of Central Dalmatia, surely one of the most beautiful views on Earth. 

Central Dalmatia has beaches and islands galore, but the wealth of adventure tourism opportunities in the Dalmatian hinterland are often overlooked by visiting tourists. 

How about a learning to parachute for example? The town of Sinj, just half an hour north of Split, has an excellent sports' airfield, and the local aeroclub is organising a parachuting school next month.

The application deadline is January 11, 2014, and on the same day the presentation of the course will take place. Classes will be organised over weekends, with three-hour lectures. After that all students will take a test, and then will have to pass a medical exam. The first dives for those who qualify will happen in April 2014.

Eligible candidates are those who are older than 18, able to attend the classes, pay for the medical exam and participate in practical training costs. All additional information are available on mobile phone number 095 907 8507 or via their website. 

Direct Flights from Split to Dubronik in 2014

While the increase in international flights to Split and other Dalmatian coastal airports has been fairly well documented, Croatia Airlines has just announced a rather interesting domestic flight, starting in April 2014.

The weekly flight every Friday will offer passengers the chance to move between no less than five Croatian cities, from an early morning departure from Osijek to Zagreb, Rijeka, Split and Dubrovnik, before returning to Rijeka from Dubovnik. The return leg from Rijeka to Zagreb and Osijek will take place on Sunday.

While the Split to Dubrovnik direct connection is only in one direction at the moment, it marks the start of what will hopefully be an option for tourists travelling along the popular route. The proposed timetable, courtesy of Aerocroatia, is below.

Adrenaline Inland Dalmatia, Ideal for Volvo Stunt Advertising

As the new Volvo truck commercial featuring Jean Claude Van Damme goes viral (more than 60 million views already - probably more than this article will get...), it is a reminder of Volvo truck commercials of the past, including the spectacular highlining performance from Faith Dickey on the motorway near Vrgorac last year. Inland Dalmatia at its most daring...

The motorway had not yet been opened, so Faith did not have to worry about other traffic, but traffic was the least of her worries in this quite incredible video.

Things have changed since she made the attempt, however, and the Vrgorac section of the motorway opened earlier this week, linking the port of Ploce with inland Dalmatia. Hold on to your seats and watch Faith in action. Needless to say, you should not try this at home. Or on a motorway.

New Section of Motorway To the Coast at Ploce Opens

Great news for tourists coming to Central Dalmatia from the south for the 2014 season - the latest stretch of the Zagreb - Dubrovnik motorway is now open. 

The coastal port of Ploce and border town of Metkovic are now connected to the network after the mountainous and complicated section near Vrgorac was finally completed. This will now relieve peak season traffic congestion along the coastal road, and considerably speed up transit times between Dubrovnik and Split.

Further construction of the motorway to Dubrovnik is on hold, however, until a solution for the Neum Corridor (the 23km stretch of Bosnian territory which intersects Croatia) is found. 

The Christmas Fair on the Split Riva

(all photos by Jakov Prkic)

The stunning December weather has been the icing on the cake for what has been a very successful 2013 for Split tourism. Some hardy souls are jumping around in the Adriatic playing picigin, but the saner part of the population has plenty to enjoy outdoors without getting too cold.

One great addition to the recent Split events calendar has been the introduction of the Christmas fair on Riva, which has really brought the waterfront to life. The various small blue and white cottages, offering drinks, food and souvenirs, have been doing a brisk trade since they opened a few weeks ago.

From morning coffee to early evening entertainment, music later on or a very late night drink, the fair has been an excellent addition to the December atmosphere in Split. And to think that people are flying to snow-covered Egypt in search of late season sun and fun...