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Croatia: A photographic trip report in (almost) real time.

Croatia: A photographic trip report in (almost) real time.

Old Sep 28th, 2021, 11:45 PM
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Originally Posted by TDudette
Another excellent TR and stunning photos. How did you find the Hvar hotel, please?
Thanks! Here is the link to our AirBnB. In case there are any mobility issues, note that there is a staircase of about 15 steps en route to the apartment, and a short incline at one point. The apartment is on the first (European) floor (so up a flight of stairs) and once inside, the bedrooms up a flight of stairs as well.

https://abnb.me/lOnOOfzoWjb


Last edited by russ_in_LA; Sep 28th, 2021 at 11:48 PM.
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Old Sep 29th, 2021, 04:04 AM
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Istrian Peninsula: Rovinj and Pula

After lunch near Plitvice, we headed out for the three hour drive north to Rovinj, located on the Istrian Peninsula, where we would be staying for three nights. We made a quick stop at the two hour mark to stretch our legs and get an ice cream at Opatija, an attractive seaside town of late 19th century palaces, where the average age of the typical tourist seemed to be triple that of Hvar. Needing a break from eating out, we later made a quick stop for groceries and had a simple dinner in our clean and modern apartment, a 10 minute walk from the marina of Rovinj.

The further north we have come along the coast from Split, the more we have felt the influence of Italy and specifically Venice. This shows up in the architecture, the cuisine and the language, but in no place as strongly as the Istrian Peninsula. All of the town names here are written in Italian as well as Croatian, a testament to its history as part of the Roman Empire in the 2nd century BC; in the 13th century as a part of the Republic of Venice; and in the 20th century, as part of fascist Italy, when local Slavic family names were “Italo-cized”, often by force.

Back to the present, we first encountered the view of the Rovinj old town from the marina. Prettily perched on a hill-topped peninsula, it was at one time an island, until the small gap between it and the mainland was filled in in the 1800’s. While the entire town can be seen in an hour or two, it is a great place to come back to after a day of sightseeing, and we enjoyed our first lunch there on the terrace of Maestral, with its perfect postcard view.

After lunch we headed south to Pula, for a bit of Roman history and architecture, the most impressive of which is the Roman Amphitheatre. Built in the first century BC, it is surprisingly well preserved for its age, and is the 6th largest one still standing. Other remains from this time period include the double arched Golden Gate, the Temple of Augustus, located in the former forum, and the city hall, with remnants of Roman columns still visible in the walls of its medieval structure.

Up next: vestiges of early Christianity, and a charming medieval hilltop village.
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Old Sep 29th, 2021, 04:14 AM
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Roving through Rovinj









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Old Sep 29th, 2021, 04:17 AM
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Puttering around Pula







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Old Sep 29th, 2021, 06:31 AM
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Love the photos of Rovinj and Pula in particular, neither of which I made it to.
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Old Sep 29th, 2021, 09:15 AM
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Wow, your trip looks the absolute best! I'm now putting Croatia on my must-travel places!
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Old Sep 29th, 2021, 09:33 AM
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Originally Posted by MinnBeef
Love the photos of Rovinj and Pula in particular, neither of which I made it to.
Thanks! Originally we were supposed to do Dubrovnik to Ljubljana, so Istria made sense, but we just did the 5-1/2 hour drive back south again, which makes a lot less sense. In any event, I’m still glad we went.

Last edited by russ_in_LA; Sep 29th, 2021 at 09:54 AM.
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Old Sep 29th, 2021, 11:56 AM
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Istrian Peninsula: Porec and Motovun

On our second full day in Istria we visited beautiful seaside Porec, and the Basilica of Euphrasius, a 6th-century Byzantine complex that also includes the bishop’s palace, atrium, baptistry and campanile. The basilica was the last in a series of late Roman and early Byzantine churches built in the same location. The first was a secret place of worship when Christianity was still an underground religion. Inside the basilica, the mosaic floor of a later church can be see through openings in the existing floor. The highlights, however, are the dazzling 6th-century Byzantine mosaics in the apse of the church, behind the altar, featuring mother of pearl, semi-precious gems and gold.

From there we headed inland to Motovun, a medieval hill-top town, surrounded by vineyards and the area’s truffle capital. Of course, we couldn’t pass on lunch there, which consisted of a thinly sliced beef carpaccio, topped with truffles, followed by homemade fettuccini in a truffle sauce. Delizioso!

Back in Rovinj, we celebrated our last evening there with dinner at La Puntulina,a popular seaside restaurant with tables strewn about the rocks above the water, the effect of which was like dining on a ship at sea. A great place to watch the sunset and say good bye to Istria.

Coming soon: Back down the Dalmatian Coast.


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Old Sep 29th, 2021, 12:01 PM
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Basilica of Euphrasius, Porec












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Old Sep 29th, 2021, 12:05 PM
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More fun in Motovun!










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Old Sep 29th, 2021, 12:07 PM
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La Puntulina, Rovinj




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Old Sep 29th, 2021, 12:35 PM
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Which camera are you using?

those low light shots look pretty good though they’re not zoomed in.
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Old Sep 29th, 2021, 12:53 PM
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Originally Posted by scrb11
Which camera are you using?

those low light shots look pretty good though they’re not zoomed in.
An iPhone 11 pro
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Old Sep 29th, 2021, 08:04 PM
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Istria looks wonderful. I see the Venetian influences.
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Old Sep 29th, 2021, 10:02 PM
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Istria is wonderful! It does feel like you are traveling through a part of Italy- the landscape is reminiscent of Tuscany, too!





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Old Sep 30th, 2021, 04:27 AM
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Croatia, is an amazing place to be in the photographic tour of this place is next level.
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Old Sep 30th, 2021, 04:56 PM
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Russ, you’re making me really want to add Istria to a future European trip. Maybe Venice trip #4?!
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Old Sep 30th, 2021, 10:05 PM
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Originally Posted by MinnBeef
Russ, you’re making me really want to add Istria to a future European trip. Maybe Venice trip #4?!
It would combine nicely with Zagreb, Ljubljana and lake Bled in Slovenia too!
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Old Sep 30th, 2021, 10:20 PM
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Mimice: Taking a break along the Dalmatian Coast

So, today was one of those proverbial “blessing in disguise” kind of days, or rather, the past 36 hours were. It started yesterday morning, after leaving Rovinj for a 5-1/2 hour drive south. This unfortunate necessity came about when I had to shorten and rearrange our original Dubrovnik to Ljubljana itinerary. Now it is Split to Rovinj and then back down south again, to finish in Dubrovnik.

To break up the drive I had booked us for two nights at an AirBnB in Mimice, about an hour south of Split. I was drawn to the area because I had really wanted to do the zipline through the Cetina River gorge in Omis, which looks amazing from the photos. I had booked our spots a few days earlier, and was very excited; however, I have an old neck injury and still had not recovered from the very choppy boat ride of a week prior, so by the time we were nearing hour 5 of the drive I was in total agony. I knew I was going to have to cancel the zipline and I was so disappointed (I think Sam, however, was relieved &#128517.

Anyway, the silver lining is that we arrived to our apartment and the location is perfect and the view is stunning. In addition, the weather forecast for the next day was for sunny and warm, at 80°f/27°c. Our only previous beach day (on Hvar) happened to be on the coolest day of the trip, so it was nice to have a warm beach day instead (even if the sea temperature has dropped a bit since we first arrived). We decided that for the next 36 hours we were not going to drive, so we walked to the market to buy some things to make for dinner, and then enjoyed a spectacular sunset from our balcony.

The next day was a whole lot of nothing. First it was beach in the morning, then walk to the only restaurant open for lunch nearby. The waiter tried to talk me out of getting the grilled squid because he thought they were too small, but they ended up being the best ones of the trip. He explained that the summer tourist season was so busy that the area was “fished-out”, so only the baby ones were left, but luckily for me, they were sweet, tender and delicious. He also mentioned that the restaurant usually closes for the season by September 15, but they had stayed open later this year because the tourists were still coming. Another stroke of dumb luck in our favor.

While back at the beach in the afternoon, I noticed a homemade “billboard” painted on a wall, for a restaurant about a 15 minute walk away, so I called and made a reservation for dinner. We arrived at a large house in the hills above our apartment, to what was a traditional family-run restaurant featuring fish cooked over a charcoal grill. Super simple and super delicious, we had to thank fate for such a serendipitous day.

Room with a view















What we missed (not my photo)

Last edited by russ_in_LA; Sep 30th, 2021 at 10:25 PM.
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Old Oct 1st, 2021, 01:36 AM
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How perfect was that! How the unplanned becomes a highlight. Wonderful!
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