IAESTE Ljera Osijek, 23.03.2006.


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IAESTE Ljera Osijek 23.03.2006.
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• Hello to all future friends -
  trainees who are coming to Croatia this
• year ! We are glad you have
  chosen Croatia to be the country where you will
  practice your knowledge and (this we promise!)
  spend an unforgettably
• fantastic summer.
• A traineeship is a great opportunity to
  gain new experiences and knowledge
• in your field of study. Therefore we
  hope that you will be satisfied with
• your job and the employer
  (similarly we hope that there will be no
• objections to your work).
• Beside that you will have a unique
  chance to discover Croatia
• its beauty open and warm people culture
  and finally
• to experience our way of life !

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HOW WILL THIS BOOKLET HELP U
This booklet is designed as a small first-hand
guide for foreign students. Its aim is to
answer questions that you usually ask and to give
you your first look at Croatia so please
read it carefully. If you find some unanswered
questions just let us know and we shall do
our best to help you !
WHAT WE CAN PROMISE
We will do everything to make your stay in
our country pleasant and comfortable ! That is
what we have been doing for the past 50 years.
AND PLEASE
bring with you some food and drinks typical for
your homeland that will show all IAESTE
members and trainees what your country is like -)
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• Okay first youve got to check your list!
• (1) PASSPORT valid until the end of your
  traineeship
• (2) ARRIVAL NOTE (N5b) sent
• (3) INSURANCE
• (4) Submitted ARRIVAL NOTE at www.iaeste.hr/arriva
  l

P.S. On the next fews you will found out
more about theese things!

• ALSO DO NOT FORGET
• All papers related to your traineeship
• Tickets
• Visa (if required)
• Driving license (if you have one)
• This booklet -)
• Money or Credit card enough until the first
  salary (about 275)
• Bathing suit Sleeping bag Backpacks
  medicine camera
• Some snacks and drinks typical for your country
• And of course A good sense of humour and a
  big -) on your face -)

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(1) PASSPORTS
VISAS To enter Croatia you
need a valid passport. When applying for
accommodation you will get a residence permit.
At some places of accommodation you will have
to leave your passport at the reception desk.
Always carry the residence permit
with you because it will serve as your ID
in Croatia. If your stay is longer than
3 months you will need to apply for an ENTRY
VISA. We need you to have it upon
arrival in order to obtain you a Work Permit
within the first few days of
your stay. Do apply for your Entry Visa
immediately at your nearest
Croatian Embassy / Consulate and inform us
(croatia_at_iaeste.org) about
the date of your appliance and the Embassy you
have applied at so that we can speed up the
procedure if necessary. For those who
need a Visa in order to enter Croatia we also
suggest that you apply for a
visa for the neighbouring countries (Slovenia
Hungary and Italy).
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(2) INSURANCE You are obliged to
obtain adequate insurance covering
illness accidents disability death and
personal liability before leaving
your country. Foreign citizens
must pay for medical assistance unless their
country has an agreement with Croatian
medical insurance. If anything unwanted
happens to you inform us as soon as possible
and we shall do our best to help you.
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(3) ARRIVAL NOTE (1/2)
Please send your Arrival note
(N5-b form) to your IAESTE National Committee at
least 20 days before your arrival.
Unless you send it on time we will not be able
to provide lodging necessary
documents etc. It is very important to send
(together with your arrival note) a copy of the
insurance policy which is compulsory for all
trainees. Also send us a photo of yourself
to help us identify you when you arrive.
Please fill out the Arrival Form at our web site
(www.iaeste.hr/arrival) with all
the necessary information concerning your arrival
to Croatia. Do not forget to
write in your Arrival note the place of your
arrival in Croatia and the
exact date and time of arrival as well as the
departing place. If it is possible
please note the airline and flight number (if
coming by plane) or the name of the train (if
coming by train) or the bus company (if
coming by bus-line). Try to arrange your arrival
on working days (Monday to Friday) and in
the daytime. By doing this you will help us
in picking you up upon your arrival. If you
arrive after 2200 it will be hard to arrange
for someone to meet you. We do understand
however that due to the nature of connections
with Croatia sometimes this cannot be avoided.
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(3) ARRIVAL NOTE (2/2)
Please do not contact the company that you will
be working for because we are taking care of
informing them about everything concerning
you. In that way the company and we will avoid
all possible misunderstandings.
On your first working day one of the
reception officers will accompany you to your
working place introduce you to the
company and explain the easiest way to reach your
working place. Do not worry about what to
wear at work. Although the tie (French cravate)
is of Croatian origin you are not obliged to
wear it everywhere. Jeans and shirts are
acceptable almost everywhere but you might have
to wear a working suit at certain places.
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THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CROATIA
In a few words Croatia (Republika
Hrvatska HR) is a small
country in southeast Europe
with about 4.6 mil. inhabitants covering an
area of 56 538 km2.
Geographically Croatia is divided into three
regions Panonian Mountain and Coastal.
Politically it is divided into 20 counties
(upanije) which are subdivided into cities
and communities. The capital is Zagreb with app.
1 mil. inhabitants. Other larger cities
are Split Rijeka Osijek Zadar Pula
Dubrovnik ibenik Varadin Karlovac
Bjelovar etc.
Beside Croats there are many other ethnic
communities. Most citizens are Roman
Catholics.
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THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CROATIA
The official language is
Croatian. Many people also speak English German
and Italian (especially in
the coastal area). Croatias economic
aspirations lie in tourism and agriculture. The
main industries are food
chemical petrochemical pharmaceutical textile
leather wood tobacco and shipbuilding
industries. Croatia also acts as
the exit to the sea for the land-locked Central
European countries
and a link between East and West.
Croatia is a Republic and the political system is
a parliamentary democracy which was
established in 1990. The government is
represented by the President the bicameral
Parliament (Sabor made up of the Deputy
house - Zastupnicki dom and the County house -
upanijski dom) and the Government
(Vlada). Croatia has seven national parks
Brijuni islands Risnjak mountain Plitvice
lakes Paklenica gorge Kornati
islands the Krka river and the island of Mljet
as well as many nature parks and
game reserves. The love for nature is also
expressed in the national anthem Lijepa
naa Domovino (Our Lovely
Homeland).
Croatia is a young country born in 1991
thanks to the courage and devotion of its
citizens. It has a long and rich
history signs of which can be found almost
everywhere.
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THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CROATIA
TRANSPORTATION (1/2)
In Croatia you can find the following
types of transportation Croatian railways
(Hrvatske eljeznice) Croatia is linked
by many EC IC and Express trains with
Ljubljana Budapest Wien Munchen
Leipzig Trieste Venezia and Geneve. There are
three types of domestic trains
InterCity (fast comfortable and expensive trains
which require a seat reservation)
Brzi (fast trains) and Putnicki (local and
suburban trains). Bus lines have a
dense network. Internal lines are operated by
many companies which are frequent
fast and reliable. Bus lines operate between
Croatia and many European cities.
Ferry and ship lines operate between the mainland
and numerous islands in the coastal
region. They also connect Croatia and Italy. The
main sea ports are Pula Rijeka
Zadar ibenik Split Ploce and Dubrovnik. Air
transport is maintained by Croatia Airlines and
many foreign companies with regular and
charter flights. Apart from three international
(Zagreb Split and Pula) there are
several other airports (Rijeka Loinj Zadar
Brac Dubrovnik and Osijek) and also
many airfields.
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THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CROATIA
TRANSPORTATION (2/2)
Road traffic regulations in Croatia for
those who are coming by car bike or
motorbike follow the European standards. Speed
limits are (unless specified
differently) 130 km/h on motorways 80 km/h on
main roads and 50 km/h in towns. The
allowed level of alcohol in your blood is 0.00.
If you want to operate a motor
vehicle you must have your national driving
license and the Green card. Road
assistance is provided by HAK (phone no. 987).
Police patrols can be found almost
everywhere so speeding is not recommended. You
are obliged to wear a seatbelt. The
types of gasoline (benzin) you can find here are
super 98 octane eurosuper 95 98
octane unleaded (bezolovni) normal 91 octane and
eurodiesel. Tolls are collected on
motorways (Zagreb-Slavonski Brod
Zagreb-Karlovac Zagreb-Zabok) at the
Ucka tunnel and at the Bridge to the island of
Krk. Croatian roads except motorways
are in pretty bad condition so you should take
care. The means of public transportation in
cities are buses and trams (in Zagreb and
Osijek). Taking a taxi is expensive here but
you can always hitchhike. If you want to
rent a bike motorbike or a scooter you will have
to look around a lot (except in tourist
centers on the coast where they are easy to
find). There are many companies that
rent cars but they are not cheap. Traffic
regulations are similar to those in
other European countries (right-hand traffic!).
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ROAD DISTANCES
between Zagreb and some major European towns
Budapest - 362 km Vienna - 399
km Rome - 957 km Berlin -
1111 km Amsterdam - 1402 km
Paris - 1458 km London - 1593
km Athens - 1600 km Madrid -
2324 km Munich - 436 km
Zurich - 604 km
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CLIMATE
In Croatia you can experience two different
types of climate. The Mediterranean
climate prevails in the coastal region with a
lot of sunny days hot summers and mild
winters. You can enjoy yourself on
numerous beaches during five warm months (June -
October). In the continental region
there is of course the Continental climate
pretty hot during the summer and pretty
cold in the winter. Average
temperatures during the summer period are between
25-35 C. It is rather windy by the
seaside so windsurfing is possible (and
enjoyable). It doesnt rain
a lot in Croatia. There is the same number of
sunny and rainy days.
If you are going to stay here in
September or onwards we suggest
you to bring some warm clothes as well
(e.g. jacket sweaters).
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ELECTRICITY In Croatia we use a 220V/50Hz
alternating current. Most plugs have
two round pins. You should bring a plug
adapter and a transformer if you want to
operate with electronic devices that do
not correspond to Croatian standards.
POST OFFICES TELEPHONE (1/2) Post offices
are marked with a yellow HP sign. There
you can make phone calls buy
postcards stamps phone cards and send
letters packages and faxes abroad.
You can phone from post offices or
from telephone booths. Telephone
booths can be found almost everywhere.
Booths are operated by phone cards
(telefonska kartica) which may be bought at
news-stands or in post offices. Phone cards can
be found in 25 50 100 200 500 and 1000
units (the last three are recommended for
visiting students).
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POST OFFICES TELEPHONE (2/2)
Important numbers ... to call abroad
first dial 00 then country code ... to
Croatia - after the exit code dial 385 ...
emergency call operator 112 ... police
92 firemen 93 ambulance 94
road assistance 987 ... information
988 ... collect calls abroad (operator)
901 ___________________________________
... Zagreb area code (0)1
... Rijeka area code (0)51
... Osijek area code (0)31
... Split area code (0)21
Annotation Unfortunately you cannot use
international phonecards and there is no discount
when you use the telephone booths. Country Direct
Services work for the USA Canada UK Italy and
the Netherlands. Telephone booths have
instructions in foreign languages so they can be
used with ease. It is much cheaper to phone from
the post office
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MONEY SHOPPING (1/4)
The Croatian currency is the Kuna
(kn HRK). It is divided into 100 lipa (lp).
Money can be exchanged in every bank exchange
office (mjenjacnica) exchange machine
travel agency and also in many (marked) shops
but unfortunately not in post offices.
In Croatia you can use most common credit cards
like American Express Diners
EuroCard/ MasterCard Visa etc. A receipt is
issued for each exchange transaction (Receipt for
the Purchase of Foreign Means of
Payment). A copy of the receipt is given to the
customer. Foreign nationals can convert
unused kunas back into a foreign currency
after presentation of the receipt of the
original exchange of foreign
currency into Croatian kunas. In principle
retransfer can be
effected only in banks. Goods and services bought
in Croatia cannot be paid
for directly with travelers cheques. Travelers
cheques and Eurocheques must
first be cashed in exchange offices for Croatian
kunas. Travelers cheques issued
by the leading international banks and travel
agencies are accepted in Croatia.
Bankers drafts issued by reputable international
banks can be drawn in Croatian banks for
Croatian kunas. Personal cheques are not accepted
for direct payment for goods and services but
they can be cashed for Croatian kunas in Croatian
banks (following a confirmation by the issuing
bank).
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MONEY SHOPPING (2/4)
Shops in Croatia are open all day long
(mostly from 8.00 till 20.00 except
Sundays) especially in the summer period so
you may go shopping at any time.
Banking hours are 8.00-19.00 on working
days (unless noted otherwise).
Prices vary a lot depending on the shop so
you should take a look around
before buying anything!
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Prices of some basic commodities
(average in Zagreb March 2006) bread
(1 kg) 5-7 kn
milk (1 l)
5 kn beer (0.5 l shop)
4 kn mineral water
(1l shop) 4 kn pizza
25-35 kn
hamburger (McDonalds) 8 kn
cevapi
18 kn beer (0.5 l pub)
10-15 kn coffee (cup)
5-8 kn disco
entrance 10-35 kn
cinema
15-25 kn
The exchange rates for kn (21th March 2006)
Annotation These prices and the exchange rate
were taken during March 2006. The average
inflation rate in Croatia is about 3 per year
so prices and the rate maybe slightly change.
Source http//www.hnb.hr/tecajn/htecajn.htm
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FOOD DRINKS (1/2)
Croatian meals are a mixture of
Mediterranean and Continental cuisine. You may
find some meals similar to yours or something
completely different that you wont find anywhere
except in Croatia. If you decide to go to
a restaurant to have dinner be prepared to pay a
price somewhat higher than you might expect
but it will surely be a real pleasure for you to
choose among all the kinds of fish and meat
dishes as well as other delicious meals.
Heres the some of recommended Croatian meals are
(listed according to their regional origin)
trukli (pastry filled with cottage cheese
boiled in an onion soup or baked) orehnjaca
(walnut roll) purica s mlincima (turkey with
boiled dough) janjetina s ranja (roasted lamb
on the spit) krumpir ispod peke (potato baked
under a coal covered pot) paki sir (goat
cheese from the island of Pag) dalmatinska
paticada (veal in a special tasty sauce)
cobanac (stew made of various kinds of meat)
fi-paprika (river fish stew) kulen (paprika
flavored sausage).
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Of course here you may also
find numerous restaurants offering international
(e.g. Italian French Chinese) cuisine.
We hope that you will be satisfied. Most of you
as well as other students in Croatia will go
to the students restaurants numerous pizzerias
hamburger and other fast-food places. Of
course you will have to try our (actually
oriental) fast food cevapcici (or just
cevapi) and burek. Theres much to say about
drinks. The first Croatian word most visiting
students learn is pivo (beer). You can
choose between several Croatian (e.g. Karlovacko
Oujsko dark Tomislav) and imported
beers. There is a large offer of wines. In the
northwestern part of the country (where Zagreb is
situated) there are many sorts of wines
which are popular but very sour. So we suggest
you try wines from the coastal region
(e.g. Malvasia Merlot and Teran from Istria and
Babic Katelet Postup Dingac
Poip Debit and Zlatni Plavac from Dalmatia)
or Slavonian wines (Traminac
Frankovka and Graevina from Kutjevo).
Among spirits the most popular is
loza (grape brandy).
Last but not least tap water is drinkable
anywhere in Croatia !
FOOD DRINKS (2/2)
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Public holidays in Croatia are the
following January 1st - New Years
Day January 6th - Epiphany April 20th -
Easter May 1st - Labor Day May
26th - Tjelovo June 22nd -
Antifascist Day August 5th - National
Thanksgiving Day August 15th - Our Lady of
Assumption November 1st - All Saints
Day December 25th 26th - Christmas
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
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MEDIA
If you cannot do without the
news foreign press (various newspapers and
journals in English German
French Italian languages) can be found at
news-stands usually at central squares
rail stations and in hotels. In Zagreb there
is a large foreign press bookshop Algoritam at
Gajeva 1 (next to Hotel Dubrovnik). If
you have a TV in the student dormitory there are
three national channels HRT 1 2 . During
summer there is a news service for tourists in
English and German on HRT 1 usually at the end of
the broadcast. There are also some local
televisions like RTLNova TV OTV (Zagreb)
Slavonska TV (Osijek) TV Marjan and
Adriatic TV (Split). People usually watch (if
they have a satellite receiver)
many satellite channels like CNN SKY Eurosport
etc. HRT is the national radio
network with 3 channels (many frequencies
depending on the area).
It has news in English and German. Popular radio
stations are in
Zagreb Radio 101 (the most popular channel in
Zagreb 90.7 and 94.3 MHz)
Radio Cibona (a sports channel 104.5
MHz) Otvoreni
Radio (105.6 MHz) in Split
Radio Dalmacija (106.9 MHz)
Narodni radio (103.5 MHz) IN
OSIJEK Slavonski radio (106.6 MHz) Gradski
radio (99.1 MHz) Otvoreni Radio (104.4 MHz).
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A FEW WORDS ABOUT OSIJEK
Osijek is the largest and most important town of
Slavonia and Barania (eastern Croatia).
It is situated on the Drava river that slowly
flows beside the Roman settlement of Mursa.
and its more than 800 years old. At
almost every step you can see remains of the
past old buildings and
monuments. Things you cant see on first sight
you may find in the Museum of
Slavonia the Fine Arts Gallery and the History
Archive. We shouldnt forget to mention
the oldest part of Osijek - Tvrda (the Citadel).
Today Osijek is a significant administrative
business and industrial center with about 125
000 inhabitants. It is also the cultural
(Croatian National
Theatre) and educational
(J.J.Strossmayer University)
center of Slavonia.
The town consists of three parts
Gornji grad
(the Upper Town) Donji grad (the Downtown)
and
Tvrda which are interconnected with many
alleys and
parks built in the Secession style.
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ARRIVAL IN OSIJEK
If you announce your arrival in our town
with proper date and time it will not be a
problem to meet you at
the appropriate station so if you come by
train we shall wait you at
the main exit from the station
bus we shall wait you at the arrival
platform In case you decide to come
by your own means of transportation just follow
signs to the city center. There you can
ask for the nearest post office or phone booth
where you can phone us from.
ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation
is arranged in
Studentski dom
Address I.G. Kovacica 4
31000 Osijek in
the period from 15.07. till 01.09. Outside this
period we will find something else.
There are two restaurants of the Students
Center Studentska menza -
cheaper but lower quality (
lunch time 11.30-14 h dinner time
17.30-19h) Gaudeamus Restaurant - it is
actually a restaurant open all
day Index-something like Studentska
menza Bendek restaurant- like Gaudeamus
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SIGHTSEEING
SIGHTSEEING
Osijek is known as the greenest and the cleanest
town in Croatia. There are 17 parks in
Osijek but two of them are the most
significant King Tomislav Gardens
(arranged in English style with many tennis
courts and linden planted for the 900th
anniversary of the medieval Croatian kingdom) and
King Kreimir Gardens (arranged in French
style). Being in Osijek and missing Tvrda
is a severe mistake. It is one of the most
preserved baroque town cores in Europe. In the
center of Tvrda is a square with a monument to
the plague and the famous Austrian headquarters
palace. There are also two
churches St. Michaels and St. Antons.
Going form Tvrda to Gornji grad you should pass
the European Avenue a unique row of
Secession-style buildings and palaces.
Just behind the central square (Trg Ante
Starcevica) is the Osijek parish church of
St. Peter and Paul better known as the
Osijek Cathedral although the real cathedral is
in the nearby city of Ðakovo.
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LOCAL TRANSPORTATION
Local transportation in
Osijek is organized by
GPP Osijek. You will have the
possibility to buy a student
monthly ticket valid for both
trams and buses in every zone. Upon arrival you
will be given a city transportation
map with instructions how to get to your working
place.
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SURROUNDINGS
Bizovac is situated near Osijek. It has a
thermal spring (the so-called remains of the
Pannonian Sea) with spa and recreation center.
Kopacki rit is one of the largest natural bird
reserves in Europe situated in Baranja also very
near Osijek. Ðakovo is a town in the very center
of the Slavonian plains and the center of the
Ðakovo and Srijem Diocese has the largest
cathedral in this part of Europe. It was built in
the 19th century by Bishop Josip Juraj
Strossmayer (also known as a great donor and
founder of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and
Arts). Near Ðakovo there are famous stables with
the famous Lipicaner horses.
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RECREATION
The most popular sport
center in Osijek during the summer is
definitely the Recreation Center Copacabana
(popularly called Kopika) on
the left bank of the Drava river. There you can
find swimming pools football and
basketball grounds and on the sandy river beach -
beach- volley grounds. There are also
indoor swimming pools. In almost every part of
Osijek you will find sport
grounds but the most popular are D K Sokolu
D Iktus and Srednjokolsko igralite. If
you are interested in large sport events there
are the sport hall Zrinjevac
(basketball handball) and Gradski vrt stadium
(football) swimming pools.
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AND FINALLY ENTERTAINMENT!!
Osijek is a relatively small town and the most
popular places for weekend entertainment
are Posh Matrix
De Mode Radic Pub
Coctail Bar Excalibur. The most
popular discos in Osijek are
Oxygene (techno and dance music)
Sound (disco with the longest tradition in
Osijek)
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CONTACTS
National cordinator for summer reception eravica
Ivan izeravi_at_gmail.com phone
385958129144 Local cordinator for summer
reception Pipus Egon egon.pipus_at_gmail.com phon
e 38598590193