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| Motovun in Istria Region of Croatia |
Adrienne and I had a nice sleep on the overnight train
headed for Zagreb. We woke up in time to see the beautiful crystal clear rivers
in Slovenia before we crossed the border. Lucky for me it was a glimpse at what
was to come in 2 weeks when I headed back to Slovenia.
We make it to Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia, safe and
sound. We check-in to Chillout hostel in the heart of downtown before heading
out to explore. Unfortunately it was quite a chilly and wet day out there which
makes sightseeing a bit tricky. We decided to make the best of it by browsing
through shops, walking through old town Zagreb and sitting outside sipping wine
at one of the many popular cafes on Ulica Ivana Tkalčića. Crazy thing
about Europe is how much wine you’ll drink...pretty much daily as wine is
cheaper than buying a bottle of water.
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| Ok you caught me...I had a beer and wine too :-) |
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| "Musuem of Broken Relationships" - We didn't get a chance to go in...but was very interested in what the heck this is about. |
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| Old town Zagreb. |
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| Cafe Life on Ulica Ivana Tkalčića |
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| New part of Zagreb...Rainy day but the clouds that night were incredible! |
Pronunciation
Tips for Balkan Languages.
J is pronounced like a ‘Y’. For example, the port town
Rijeka sounds like ‘Riyeka’ to me.
C is pronounced like ‘tz’. For example, Ulica (street)
sounds like ‘Ulitza” to me.
Recommendation:
Rent a car in the Balkans.
Having a car allows you to discover so
many gems that are off the travelers beaten path. The Balkans are not the
cheapest or easiest to get around by bus unless you’re sticking to major
cities.
Before going to pick up our rental car for the next 3
days, I rack the hostel receptionists' brain for route and sightseeing
suggestions in Istria. Especially what route to take as neither Adrienne nor I
had google maps or gps to rely on. We were back to asking people, looking at a
map and following signs. I was a challenge but worked out. Anyway I am so glad
we talked to the receptionist who is originally from Pula as her
recommendations ended up being our absolute favorites: Motuvun, Pula, Rt Kamenjak
and Opatija.
Motovun is an
adorable medieval village in the Istria region that is situated on the top of a
hill overlooking wine & truffle countryside. Italian is commonly spoken in
this region and their restaurants reflect the Italian influence. I enjoyed the
best pasta dish of my life here, makes me salvate just thinking about it. Absolutely
breathtaking. Here’s how the NY Times described this region:
“Istria,
the part of Croatia that’s closest to Italy, was under its neighbor’s rule
until the end of World War II and was previously occupied by the might
Venetians. It’s beautiful, cheap and largely free of the hordes of tourists
that spoil so many postcard-worthy views in Italy. Think of it as Tuscany 50
years ago.”
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| On our way to Motovun we stopped in Božić for some Olive Oil and Wine Tasting. |
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| Loving Cesar's olive oil in Božić |
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| Božić |
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| Motovun from a distance. |
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| Restaurant Pod Napun in Motovun - stunning views! |
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| Adrienne savoring her asparagus truffle soup and salad with shaved truffles. It was incredible! |
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| Best past dish of my life at Restaurant Pod Napun. The pasta just melted in my mouth and the meat sauce was full of flavor. mmmm |
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| So happy to have explored Motovun together. |
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| All the restaurants seem to have stunning views. |
We continued our drive along Istria’s western coast
before stopping to stay a night in Pula. It was a bit to drizzly to see much of
the coast but could tell it was beautiful clear water. We were so excited for
the weather to warm up so we could take a dip. After getting lost for a while
and seeing more of Pula then we wanted, we found our way to our private room
for the night. We stayed with the very sweet Miss Viktorija Rade about 10
minutes outside of Pula Stari Grad (Old Town Pula). Miss Viktorija was
adorable, even with the language barrier, we were able to communicate we were
from USA. She squealed with joy “Ahhh Americans, Mi primero Americans”…we were
her first American guests. Renting a private room was a nice change from
hostels. It is actually very common to find a private apartment or room in
someone’s home in the Balkans. After all many people only live off tourism and
it’s a great way to bring in an income.
Pula is
the largest city in Istria with heaps of natural beauty from the surrounding
countryside and turquoise water of the Adriatic. Pula also has one of the sixth
largest surviving Roman Amphitheaters. Pula’s arena was constructed in 27 BC –
68 AD and is the only remaining amphitheater to have all 3 Roman architectural
orders entirely preserved. It was a pretty amazing sight. I wish we had more
time to spend in Pula as I loved what I saw so far!
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| My first view of the Adriatic |
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| Sunset in Pula from Miss Viktorija's Home |
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| Old town Pula |
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| Pula Arena |
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| Old Town Pula |
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| View of the bay from Miss Viktorija's Home in Pula |
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Me, Miss Viktorija and Adrienne
Our next stops were Rt Kamenjak and Medulin for a bit of
coastal walking and sun basking by the Adriatic. We left Miss Viktorija’s
early, went shopping for picnic goodies for the day and were about to peace out
from Pula when a kind man starts waving his hands at us to stop. SURPRISE…flat
tire L
Lucky for us this wonderful man put on the donut for us and budget rental car
came to our rescue to help us get the tire fixed. It all work out but was a bit
stressful for 2 ladies who are clueless about cars. Thank you gentlemen of the
world for looking out for us! After our slight delay we were off once again.
Cape
Kamenjak is a small, isolated peninsula located some nine miles
south of Pula. The peninsula is a protected nature reserve only accessed by
dirt roads. Kamenjak offers pebbly bays broken up by naturally-occurring
terraces of slab-like stone and secluded (mostly rocky) bathing spots lurking
behind a belt of pine forest. There were many hiking trails and a few
bars spotted along the coasts that are open during peak season. I believe you
can also camp and rent small rustic cabins within the reserve. I’ll definitely
be back someday to stay for a few days to explore even more.
Opatija
is
where we ended our lovely day with a champagne toast on the gulf of Kvarner. Opatija
is a popular resort town that sits at the foot of Učka
mountain. The town is full of trendy bars with delicious restaurants speckled
in between. We had dinner at Roko pizzeria and explored for a couple hours before heading to Rijeka to crash
for the night.
We both loved our few days exploring Istria. Croatia is a
country of many rolling hills, mountains, stunning rocky coastlines and many
many tunnels – the longest we went through was 6km! Also a note about renting a
car, the toll roads do app up; would be worthwhile to find the scenic, but
longer routes off the toll roads.
Aw I couldn’t believe that I still had nearly 2 weeks
left in Croatia. Pinch me! Up next on our road trip are the infamous waterfalls
at Plitvice and Krka National Parks. More about all that in my next post!
So happy to be in Croatia I had to dance it all out :-)
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