Blogs from Istria, Croatia, Europe - page 20

We were up and about by 6am and looking for something to eat came across the dining room where for about A$7 each we had a buffet breakfast with cereal, a cheese omelet especially made for us plus cheese, meat, rusks, and tea or coffee. Two very satisfied people returned to pick up their gear. We teamed up with a young Irish couple, Jude & Kevin when we left. Judy had spoken to them before. Jude is one of the first people we have met on this trip who has been to WA. She was backpacking and worked in Northbridge, worked at the Koorda hotel, and loved it. They were going to Ljubljana for the day so we decided to revisit, as in 2001 when we were there, we were too busy having Judy attended to ... read more

Yesterday we walked across the street from our hotel and got two beach chairs and an umbrella and laid by the sea. Jon went swimming. We had lunch at the little grill near our beach chairs. Jon ordered a hamburger that was definitely not your traditional American burger. There was some red pepper puree’ sauce, maybe a little vinegar and who knows what else on a huge half loaf of French bread with some beef inside. The bread in Croatia is really soft and so good. We got some gelato and headed back to our hotel for the internet connection and pivo (beer). We had a lovely dinner and spent our last night in Opatija. I hope that we will return for a visit again. The next morning we drove the beautiful Croatian coast in ... read more

After transplanting myself from my swanky digs at Zagreb’s Regent Esplanade to considerably more humble surroundings at the hostel just outside town, I convinced my German roommate, Angelika, to accompany me to the Mirogoj Cemetary. It is called the most beautiful cemetery in Europe by travelers, while Croats smirk in their characteristically dry way that the souls buried there are housed better in death than they ever were in life. We set out to see for ourselves. The cemetery dates back to the 1860s when the little graveyards in Zagreb were getting full, and the government needed a fitting place to bury dignitaries and the nobility (although there are plenty of commoners buried in Miragoj too). They set out to build an ornate, gargantuan memorial for the dead, and they succeeded. Today, a century and ... read more

I suppose its not all that surprising that when you are away for a month not all your experiences will be highlights, and there is no doubt that our short stay in Pula was the lowlight of our trip so far. The day had started well enough, we had decided to leave Rab Island early, mainly because the weather had taken a turn for the worse and if we couldn´t spend the day swimming there was not a lot else to do there. The drive back to Pula took us along the coast providing spectacular views of the towns below and the islands that seem to surround the coastline of Croatia. The decision to go to Pula was largely on the back of Matt's tip that there was some great Roman ruins there similar to ... read more

Geo: 45.1977, 13.5439Caught the bus here and visited the UNESCO world heritage church.... read more