Istria

Saturday 24 May. This morning saw the start of another fine day as we caught the 6.45 catamaran to Rijeka. This was the start of our few days in the area known as Istria. Being the closest part of the country to the Italian border it has very much an Italian feel to it and Italian is spoken widely here.

We decided to catch a local bus from there to Opatija and had time for a quick look round. Being a week-end  it was full of visitors and certainly had a buzz to the place. After an hour we caught an onward bus to Rovinj.  The first section of the 3 hour journey was very scenic as it wound its way along the coast. The route then headed inland through heathland, wooded areas and a mixture of olive groves and small holdings.  On arrival in Rovinj we headed for Natalie’s travel agency to sort out accommodation.

We are staying in a room with a terrace in a family home. There seems to be 4 generations living here and the family have been renting out rooms for over 30 years. The style of the room probably hasn’t changed in in that time but it is clean and comfortable. We had quite an interesting chat with the son about the way the country is run and what he feels is a lack of democracy. He would like to embrace Europe as ‘a whole’ but feels the country is still insular.  We wandered  down to the harbour front which coincided with some sort of family entertainment day. It was all very busy with live bands, local produce and craft stalls along the habourside.

Sunday 28 May. After the bustle of yesterday things were fairly quiet today. We hired bikes for the morning and explored around the coast using some of the designated biking trails.  After lunch we explored the alleyways of the old town. It looks as though many of the houses and apartments are still lived in and there are also a lot of art studios and craft shops.

Monday 26 May. We took the 8.45am bus back to Opatija for an overnight stay. What lovely accommodation we had before the city hotels of Zagreb and Budapest. Our lovely, large and spotless bedroom and own bathroom next door is on the top floor (4th) of a 100 year old listed building.  We shared with the family a breakfast cum garden room with great views over the rooftops of Opatija . A large drink of of homemade plum schnapps from our hostess went straight to our heads! A quick lunch was called for before we made the most of our one afternoon here.  The grand old hotels and buildings are from a bygone era but still gives Opatija a grandiose feel.  It seems to be more suited to an older clientele and we didn’t include ourselves in that age bracket!  We walked the length of the 6km promenade to Lovran and then caught a local bus back to Volosko, some 2km on the other side of Opatija, and then walked back! Both are nice but small resorts. Istria has been a pleasant end to our travelling in Croatia.

We now have one last port of call in the country, Zagreb, the capital.