How To Avoid Arguing With A Croatian Law Clerk

Summer is the best time to catch up with reading, whether it's trashy novels on the beach or finally tackling that highly recommended tome you got for your birthday. And this month, bookworms are in for a treat with the Edinburgh International Book Festival, August 11-27 (read on for more details).

As you know, Europe boasts a multitude of festivals, so why not combine a cultural tour with our fact-packed Live and Prosper in Europe Seminar this September? Join us in Barcelona for three days of expert information and advice on living, traveling, and investing in Europe. Make sure to take the time to visit Catalonia or Andalucia afterward, or take your pick of low-cost flights all over the Continent-you're sure to want to see the hills of Istria in Croatia for yourself after you read our new report, Motovun's Magic Moment, available next week.

In this week's The European, learn about one of the trickier issues in setting up a company in Croatia, follow a book crawl in the Athens of the north, and discover a laidback corner of Portugal.

Enjoy!

Leigh Fergus
Editor, The European

All in a name: Setting up a company in Croatia

by Hank Brill

If you're thinking of investing in Croatia and want to take advantage of this country's pre-EU membership status, the first step is to form a Croatian limited liability company. This enables you to purchase real estate, reside in Istria for six to twelve months at a time, earn money, and even participate in Croatia's fine national health plan.

Registering a company under Croatian law is comparable to forming an LLC in the U.S. One or more owners must create articles of incorporation, appoint directors, choose a company name, and establish a local address. It is also necessary to deposit 20,000 Kuna in a Croatian bank as start-up capital (a U.S. dollar currently equals about 5.5 Kuna). Once the documents are executed and filed with the Croatian commercial court, and if everything is in order, the company is registered within two to three weeks. The new company can then obtain a Croatian tax number, equivalent to an Employer Identification Number in the U.S. With the registration and the tax number, the fledgling firm is ready for business.

In Croatian or Latin

One of the pitfalls in the process, however, is that the Croatian courts are very picky about company names, which the law requires to be in Croatian, Latin, or the same as the name of one or more of the owners. We had personal experience with the court's stringent standards. Our first attempt at registering a company name, "Amerièke Komunikacije," was rejected on the grounds that it would be necessary to obtain the permission of the U.S. government in order to use the Croatian form of the adjective "American." We quickly learned that it was far easier to change the name than try to argue American law with a Croatian law clerk. Another American tried to use the name "Golgotha" for his firm that would open a "Christian café" along the Dalmatian Coast. The court rejected his choice on the grounds that "Golgotha" is an Aramaic word, not Croatian or Lati n.

In neither case did the Croatian notary or attorney provide corrective or cautionary advice before the fact-partly because the application of the law is somewhat unpredictable, but there is also an attitude on the part of some Croatian professionals to let the client, especially foreign clients, learn through trial by error. After all, applications are rarely rejected outright. Instead, the applicant is invited to amend the petition, and local professionals charge again for their services, even if they failed to help the client avoid the mistake in the first place.

This is an extract from International Living's "Motovun's Magic Moment" out soon, full of facts and tips about moving to Istria.

[Editor's note: Hank Brill's Pula-based company, INKOM, works on behalf of English-speaking clients investing or seeking residency in Croatia. You can write to him at correspondence@inkom.hr]

The Edinburgh book crawl

by Paula Griswold
 

Inside St. Giles Cathedral (the High Kirk of Edinburgh), on the Royal Mile High Street, at the west end of the south aisle, is a 1904 bronze low-relief wall memorial of Stevenson. He was a sickly man and is portrayed here writing on a chaise, with knees up and covered with a rug. In the nave is a magnificent stained glass memorial window of Robert Burns, installed in 1985. (You can stop at the busy Cathedral Restaurant in the Undercroft for fresh-made soup and desserts.)

George IV Bridge becomes Bank Street at Lawnmarket and at number 35 is the 18th-century Deacon Brodie's Tavern. Deacon Brodie was the original Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of Stevenson's classic book. Brodie was an influential citizen by day and robber by night until he was found out and hanged (the city gallows were just right of the tavern). Across the street on Lawnmarket inside the 17th-century three-story Lady Stair House is the Writer's Museum. One floor each is devoted to Burns, Scott, or Stevenson, with displays of MSS, photographs, and memorabilia.

At 6A Nicholson Street, across from the Festival Theatre, is Buffet King. Until recently it was Nicholson's Restaurant and another place where J.K. Rowling worked on Harry Potter, her baby daughter sleeping by her side (outside is a commemorative plaque). This is University of Edinburgh territory and also across from the theater is the Ionic-styled Royal College of  Surgeons' Hall. The trust museum inside contains exhibits on Dr. Joseph Bell, under whom Sir Arthur Conan Doyle studied medicine, and on the famous body snatcher William Burke. Bell was Doyle's model for Sherlock Holmes. James Boswell, diarist and author of Biography of Samuel Johnson, and David Hume, economist and philosopher, both taught at the university, and J.M. Barrie (Peter Pan), Sir Walter Scott, and R. L. Stephenson were also students.

Defoe: Editor and spy

At number 51 High Street is Moubray House, the oldest house on the Royal Mile where Daniel Defoe (Robinson Crusoe, Moll Flanders) edited the Edinburgh Courant in 1710 while acting as a government spy for England. The Economist-writer Adam Smith (The Wealth of Nations) is buried at nearby Canongate Kirk graveyard, and just off Canongate, at 5 Crichton's Close, is the Scottish Poetry Library where readings are regularly held.

For liquid refreshment try one of the pubs on traffic-free Rose Street: At number 3 is Abbotsford, named after Sir Walter Scott's home in Melrose, and at 152-54 is Kenilworth, where the theater crowd and actors hang out. And at nearby 15 Market Street is the Doric Tavern, where journalists and artists go.

And this is just a start. Classics are often staged at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, and more recent book connections to the Scottish capital include the tough crime world of Inspector Rebus, Ian Rankin's famous fiction sleuth, and Alexander McCall Smith's latest books. As mentioned earlier, the biggest literary event of the year, however, is the 17-day International Book Festival every August. This year it runs from August 11-27.

National Library of Scotland George IV Bridge. Open: Mon - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Sun. 2 p.m. - 5 p.m. Website: www.nls.uk.

Writer's Museum, Lady Stair House, Lawnmarket, Old Town; tel. +44(0)131-529-4901. Free entry. Open Mon. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Surgeons' Hall, The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Nicolson Street; tel: +44(0)131-527-1649/678; website: www.rcsed.ac.uk. Summer opening hours (until Sept. 8): 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., rest of the year Mon. - Fri: noon - 4 p.m. Currently showing is an exhibition on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dr. Joseph Bell: "The Real Sherlock Holmes." Entry £5 adults.

Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton's Close, Canongate. Free entry. Open: Mon. - Fri. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m; Sat.1 p.m. - 5 p.m; website: www.spl.org.uk.

Royal Lyceum Theatre, 30B Grindlay Street; website: www.lyceum.org.uk.

International Book Festival events can be reserved on www.edbookfest.co.uk.

Low-key Leiria

by Steenie Harvey

Break for a brisa

A low-key and mostly modern city, Leiria seems attractive to me. It's not totally modern, either, with an old Moorish castle and a small medieval quarter webbed with 15th-century streets. If your stomach has any space, sit at one of the arcade cafés on the main historic square, Praça Rodrigues Lobo, and try a brisa. Most towns have their own specialty sweet treats. Leiria's are brisas: small, round tarts made from eggs, sugar, and almonds. 

For budget travelers, Leiria's good bus services make it a handy base for exploring central Portugal's Ribatejo area. For once, the bus station is on the main shopping street, Herois de Angola. (Who the Heroes of Angola actually were, I've not yet discovered.) The medieval Templar stronghold town of Tomar and the pilgrimage sanctuary of Fatima are both less than an hour eastward. A 45-minute journey west takes you to Nazare on the Costa Prata, Portugal's "Silver Coast." Nearby are the great abbeys of Batalha and Alcobaca.

P.S. Noticing a classy-looking new development only five minutes walk from "Heroes," I called into the on-site sales office. Phase One and Two of Beira Rio are complete-the development is now in Phase Three. The construction company in charge of the project is Habineves, a local family company that has been in the business for almost 30 years.

A young English-speaking guy called Nelson Neves showed me around. Above two floors of galleries for shops and services such as doctors, opticians, and dentists, the apartments are kitted out with Aristo kitchens. They're well finished and come with a fair amount of hi-tech gadgetry and garage space. Two-bedroom, 860-square-foot apartments are $130,000; three-bedroom, almost 1,400-square-foot units are $195,000.

These are high-end prices for Leiria, (1,180-square-foot, new-builds near the railway station start at $120,000) but it's as close as you'll get to the city center. Among those who have already moved into the Beira Rio are numerous doctors and professors. Outside the development, the city council are re-landscaping the park and laying down riverbank walks and cycle paths.

Nelson says his father and uncle who own the business remain resistant to websites--odd, given the high-tech feel of the apartments they're building. If you're in Leiria and want to view the show properties, ring Nelson on his cell phone at 918-145275.

How to Find a Plumber on the Costa del Sol

by Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen

"Can you repair the leak in that water heater?" I asked the first "plumber" we'd called, pointing out the small valve on the suspended hundred-liter tank, and the bucket we had placed underneath it, which had been slowly filling with water.

"Well, I'll have to empty the tank first to fix it," he informed us, "And I'm afraid it will make quite a mess when I let all the water out."

"Couldn't we just shut off the intake valve, run hot water upstairs to empty it, and then take that piece off?" I asked innocently.

"Right, right, I hadn't thought of that," he replied in a distinctly northern English accent. "I haven't actually sorted out the Spanish plumbing yet-it's different than back home-but I wouldn't mind having a go at yours. I could fix it for you tomorrow, if you don't mind my learning on the job, so to speak."

"Oh, you know what?" my partner Mike said, not missing  a beat, "tomorrow we have to pick up family from the airport, and then we have a lot of sightseeing planned, so why don't we just call you a day or so in advance when we know we'll be home, and you can come by then?"

 "Right, right, sounds good," the alleged plumber replied, and we hustled him through the garage and toward his waiting car.

Later that day, we found another English plumber who knew exactly what the problem was and how to fix it with no sorting-through of the Spanish plumbing and no mess at all.

Most Spanish towns with an English-speaking population have numerous local magazines and guides with business listings. They are excellent sources of information, but be aware that a British plumber will do the same job as a Spanish plumber for about double or three times the price.

As we had more work done on the house, we learned that it pays to speak Spanish. We visited Spanish-owned plumbing supply and kitchen shops, learned new vocabulary words, such as grifo (faucet), bought what we needed, and then asked for a fontanero, or plumber-usually these stores have one in-house, or you will be supplied with phone numbers. And remember to ask your neighbors-one of ours drove us to a "to the trade" plumbing supply house that we never would have found on our own.

Even if your Spanish is not so good, when the plumber comes to your house, you need only show him the sink you've purchased and where you want it installed, and he will write out a price for you. He won't have to "sort out" the Spanish plumbing, and should know how to empty a typical water tank. IL