Road Trip

Piazza Unita d'Italia

One of the great things about visiting Europe is that traveling from one country to another is like driving from state to state back home.  We started our trip based in Pula on the Istrian peninsula in northwestern Croatia.  We're an hour from Slovenia and 90 minutes from Italy, so naturally we took a side trip to both.  Counting our stopover and brief visit to Copenhagen, we hit four countries in our first three days.

Mona in Trieste

On Monday, we drove the 90 minutes (through Slovenia) to Trieste, Italy and explored the city center.  We spent time at the Castello di San Giusto, a large stone fortress overlooking the city and the Adriatic Sea.  It was actually built by the Austrians in the 1400's when they controlled this part of the world.  The castle provided great views of the city and the Adriatic Sea.  We walked through Piazza Unità d'Italia, the largest square in the City, and walked out on the Molo Audace, a 200-meter long stone pier built in 1751.

Castello San di Giusto

After grabbing lunch at a local market, we drove back though Slovenia and stopped in Piran, which sits on a point along the coast with sweeping views of the Adriatic.  We walked along the promenade next to the water and wandered the narrow streets.  We ate dinner at a local Italian restaurant, after which Doug proclaimed the stuffed pasta he'd eaten one of his all-time top five meals. I'm surprised he didn't lick the plate at the end.

We made it back to the house in time for bed.  After a fun-filled day and full bellies, we had no problem getting a good night's sleep.

Piran, Slovenia

Motovun

Motovun is medieval hill town in the northern part of the Istrian peninsula, one of several small hill towns scattered throughout the region.  It was ruled by the Venetians starting in the late 1200's, who constructed defensive walls around the core part of the town at the apex of the hilltop. These walls survive and you can walk along them for sweeping views of the surrounding valleys.

The forest and river valley below Motovun are prized for the black and white truffles that grow here. These truffles are gathered with the aid of specially-trained dogs.  This region is also the center of olive oil production in Croatia, as the climate is perfect for olive trees.  Olive oil is a staple of Mediterranean cuisine and the locals will tell you theirs is the best.  We did an olive oil tasting at one of the town shops, and after sampling -- including one infused with white truffles -- it would be hard to argue with them.  It was delicious.

Tracking Down the Artist

Mona and the artist Marija

While strolling along the Main Street in Rovinj, we came upon a lovely shop that featured Naïve artwork. Naïve refers to work by an artist who has not had any formal training. When we previously visited Croatia a few years ago, we saw an exhibit at the Croatian Museum of Naïve Art in Zagreb and Mona commented how much she liked the work in that exhibit.  

What she actually painted

In today's case, we were seeing the work of local artist Marija Peti Božić who paints in reverse on glass. She paints on the back side of the glass the final image seen on the front. Because of this, she paints her layers in reverse with fine details and foreground painted first then background painted last.  We loved her work, and bought a small painting as a souvenir.  We wanted a photo with her, but her husband was manning the store as she was at her studio in the small town of Bale. 

It was too late to go the same day, but since we were leaving Pula for our next destination the following

What you see when viewing

morning, we went on a quest to find her before leaving Istria.  Her husband gave us the address to the studio, and we drove about 25 minutes from Pula to Bale.  Because the center of Bale is also pedestrian-only, we parked in a nearby lot and strolled the narrow lanes until we arrived at.....their home.  She keeps her studio on the ground floor, and they live upstairs.

Her limited English was far superior to our non-existent Croatian, and we managed to communicate just fine.  She seemed very happy that we made the effort to see her, and she readily obliged us with a photo.  Success!

The whole gang with Marija

Byzantine history in Poreč

We ventured north to the town of Poreč to visit the 6th century Euphrasian Basilica that was constructed during Byzantine rule.  Officially the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of Mary, this catholic church is an outstanding example of early Byzantine architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

4th century mosaic floor

There were earlier churches on this site, and in the construction and preservation of the current building, numerous mosaic tile floors were discovered that date to the 4th century. Well-preserved floor fragments are on display, and other sections of flooring can be seen uncovered in their original placements. Very well-preserved mosaics also adorn the Apse.  We did a self-guided tour of the complex including climbing to the top of the 16th century bell tower for sweeping views of the town and the Adriatic Sea.

Rovinj

After our tour, we stopped in the town of Rovinj.  Rovinj was ruled by the Venetian empire for 500 years between 1283 to 1797.  The lion -- a symbol of Venice -- is prevalent throughout the town, and the remains of defensive walls and three city gates constructed by the Venetians still stand today.  The old city center is entirely pedestrian, and we walked the main cobblestone streets from the port up to the baroque church that sits centered at the top of a hill.

Laura in Rovinj

Coupled with Pula's well-preserved Roman history, Poreč and Rovinj showed us the character of other empires that once controlled Istria.  Even though Istria has not been a part of Italy for centuries, Italian is still spoken widely, and street signs still list names in both Croatian and Italian.  The past continues to influence the present.

Roman History in Pula

We've started our Croatia journey in Istria, a peninsula in the northwestern corner along the Adriatic Sea.  We flew direct from Copenhagen to the town of Pula which is our home for the first four nights.  After crashing hard and catching up on sleep, we spent our afternoon exploring Roman history.

First up was the Pula Arena, the younger sibling to the Colosseum in Rome.  It is a contemporary of the Colosseum, constructed in the first century A.D.  Although smaller, the Pula Arena is much better preserved than the Colosseum. In fact, they still use it today for concerts.  Tonight happened to have a concert with Lenny Kravitz and they were conducting a sound check while we toured.

Temple of Augustus

I expect it's an awesome experience to see or perform a concert in such an ancient venue.

After the arena, we did a self-guided walking tour of the old center city and saw the forum -- still the city's main square as it was two millennia ago.  The first century A.D. Temple of Augustus still stands here next to the current city hall.  Down the main street from the forum stands the triumphal Arch of Sergius, which dates to the first century B.C. This arch marks the edge of the original Roman town.  Tucked away on a back alley is a hidden mosaic floor from the third century that wasn't discovered until the cleanup from the bombs of World War II. It's been carefully excavated and sits six to eight feet below the current ground level, illustrating how the town has been built up over the centuries.

Doug & Laura
Arch of Sergius

Today was a great start to our trip as we eased into sightseeing and enjoyed an evening at the house we've rented.  Tomorrow we'll continue to explore more Istrian history and see how other empires that once controlled the peninsula (such as the Venetians and Ottomans) left their mark and influence.

Retirement has started!!

After 31 years in public education, Mona retired at the end of the school year last week. Huzzah!!  We're kicking off her retirement festivities with a three-week trip to Croatia and Slovenia and some side trips thrown in.  To help us celebrate, Doug & Laura (Mona's brother and wife) are traveling with us the first two weeks in Croatia.  While we've traveled together before, this is the first time internationally -- and also the longest trip -- so we're very excited. 

Nyhavn neighborhood in Copenhagen

Our flight across the pond had a long stopover in Copenhagen, so we had time to leave the airport and take the metro into the city center.  It wasn't a lot of time, but we were able to see a couple of our favorite spots from when we visited Scandinavia for our 25th anniversary.   Mona and I have been to Croatia previously and are excited to return because we loved it so much.  For Doug and Laura, all the places we're traveling are new and Mona is excited to share some of her favorites.

It's going to be a fantastic start to retirement.  Croatia here we come!

Last Day Adventures

The time has flown by and it’s hard to believe our travels in Germany have come to an end.  The Christmas markets have been fantastic, and we’ve enjoyed them immensely.  While we’ve seen a lot of similarities between the markets, they definitely have unique character as well.

For our last day, we left Munich and drove south into the Alps in search of elusive snow and mountains.  The past two days have been very foggy which limited visibility to right by the autobahn. For a time, we thought our day might be a bust with continued fog, but after driving through two lengthy tunnels, we emerged to the sun poking out from clouds and beautiful views of the mountains.

Our destination was Eibsee Lake with a great view of Zugspitze, the tallest mountain in Germany.  Our plan was to hike around the lake and soak in the views.  There’s a popular cable car at the Eibsee that goes to the summit.  Zugspitze is along the border of Austria, and there is a companion cable car that ascends from the Austrian side.  Although lots of folks were going to the top, we decided to enjoy the hike and views from the lake. It was a wonderful trail through a mossy forest like something out of a fairy tale.  At any moment, it seemed possible to stumble across a family of gnomes.

One of many beautifully stenciled buildings
in Oberammergau

After the Eibsee, we drove back to the Munich Airport to spend our last night as we had to be up at 3:30am for the flight home.  Along the way, we detoured to Oberammergau to check out the town and grab a meal.  Oberammergau is in a region known for its woodcarving.  With several shops in town, it was fun to wander and be amazed at the talent on display.

A fabulous last day that even included an unexpected final Christmas market in a large courtyard at the airport next to the terminals and hotel.  Of course we had to soak up the festive atmosphere one last time.