Karl Kaser – Pictures of the Adriatic Coast

Another superb exhibition by the Croatian Museum of Tourism in Opatija which featured the stunning photographs of Karl Kaser. Until recently the Croatian public was unaware of the photographic archive of the Viennese lawyer Karl Kaser in which, thanks to his diligent descendants, there are over four hundred preserved photographic motifs of the Croatian Adriatic coast taken in the last decade of the 19th century and first decade of the 20th. On 208 pages the images offer a glimpse into a bygone era and feature almost every aspect of life on the Adriatic coast of over 100 years ago. With extensive text written by Mirjana Kos, it has been published as a three-language edition (Croatian, German and English).

The catalogue has hundreds of unique images.

I am very happy to have been involved in the English translation of this marvellous book.

You can find more info about the collection and exhibition here

ISBN 978-953-7601-64-5

Dr Karl Kaser – self-portrait

Kisha – the umbrella you’ll never lose

I’m very proud to have been involved in the world’s first Bluetooth technology umbrella, developed in Rijeka.

The hi-tech, top-quality umbrella has an in-built chip which uses Bluetooth technology to connect to an app on your smart phone. In this way it will alert you if you walk away or forget your umbrella wherever you are. Plus it also gives you the weather forecast so you’ll know whether to take your Kisha umbrella with you when you go out.

kisha_app It has been developed by a team in Rijeka and I helped them with the English language of their app, website and supplied the voice-over for their promo youtube video above. 🙂

Psst! If you were wondering why they chose the name “Kisha” – in Croatian the word (spelt “kiša” and pronounced “kisha”) actually means “rain”. 😉

kisha_openAll the info, how to order an umbrella and download the app is on their website here

Kisha umbrella survives the Adriatic’s infamous “bura” wind in Rijeka harbour:

Kisha umbrella test in Poland:

 

Treasures of the Adriatic Sea – book translation

This superbly written, illustrated and detailed book describes almost 60 of the most interesting wrecks of boats, ships, submarines, aircraft and all other manner of vessels which lie under the whole length of the Croatian part of the beautiful Adriatic Sea.

Treasures of the Adriatic Sea

Translated from Croatian into English – a must for all divers.

My translation of the original Croatian text into English took almost three months to complete – in total almost 350 pages!

The original book in Croatian – ‘Blago Jadrana’ written by Danijel Frka and Jasen Mešić was published by the Adamić publishing house in 2012 and was an immediate hit and so it was translated into German, Italian and now into English.

shipwreck Lina

Superbly illustrated by the author Danijel Frka

treasures of the adriatic sea

Vessels from all periods – ancient to modern day

Each wreck is extensively described, illustrated, photographed in situ, with their stories researched in detail – including one especially interesting story of one ship’s captain who stayed with his vessel until the very end only to be found still grasping the wheel on the bridge long after his ship sank.

battleship details

Battleships and submarines from both world wars have been researched in detail.

Some of the famous ships described include the Re D’Italia, the Szent Istvan and the Giuseppe Garibaldi. Along with the well-known wrecks there are also aircraft such as American B-24 Liberator bombers in the sea near the island of Vis and ancient Roman merchant boats with cargoes of amphorae and sarcophagi and Napoleonic brigs with cannons.

aircraft wrecks in the adriatic

Also detailed and researched are aircraft, submarines and ancient merchant boats.

Each site has been dived by the authors; giving precise details of the locations, the diving conditions, the currents, flora and fauna, what to look for and what to be aware of. Also important are the rules and regulations of diving and all the safety aspects required. They have also investigated the backgrounds of the vessels, the human stories, the destinies and incidents and even battle descriptions from first hand and archive sources.

shipwrecks of adriatic sea

Superb underwater photography accompanies every site.

I was very happy to be involved in the translation of this book because it opened up a new window on the place where I live and I was even more interested to read about one particular British motor torpedo boat (named MTB 655) from the Second Word War which was in fact built in my childhood town of Littlehampton in England and which sank in March 1945 near the island of Cres!

MTB 655

The British motor torpedo boat MTB 655, built in January 1943 by William Osbourne Ltd shipyard in Littlehampton. Sunk after hitting a German mine near the island of Cres 21st March 1945.

More info about MTB 655 here.

You can order the book directly from the publisher here: https://shop.naklada-val.hr/product_info.php?cPath=97&products_id=561

Full details:
“TREASURES OF THE ADRIATIC SEA –
A diver’s guide to the wrecks of the Croatian Adriatic”
by Danijel Frka and Jasen Mesić
Published by Adamić, 2013
ISBN 978-953-219-479-1
Hardback, 390 pages, size 21.5cm x 28.5cm

"Martin Mayhew, prevoditelj i dizajner iz Rijeke, a originalno momak iz Brightona u Velikoj Britaniji, sjajno je preveo Blago Jadrana na engleski. Sve čestitke!" - Dragan Ogurlić, editor at Adamić.

“Martin Mayhew, prevoditelj i dizajner iz Rijeke, a originalno momak iz Brightona u Velikoj Britaniji, sjajno je preveo Blago Jadrana na engleski. Sve čestitke!” – Dragan Ogurlić, editor at Adamić.

The Croatian Apoxyomenos… ancient Greek statue found in the sea near the island of Lošinj.