Rovinj, Istria, Croatia - the prettiest city in Europe?

I would argue that Rovinj is the most romantic european city that nobody has ever heard of.

Our quick two day jaunt into Croatia began with a couple stops in the Istrian hillside towns of Groznjan and Motovun. Both recommended by Riknojan Stevic (his Crotian name), these two towns are great stops on the way to your destination; ours being Rovinj. Groznjan was our first stop around mid-morning that coincided with a French tour bus, so we generally blended in better than them. The town was nearly abandoned not long ago, but recently many artists have made this place home, operating little gallery's or souvenir shops or cafes. It was a great little town and good to see people keeping the ageless village alive.

Our next stop, Motovun, had a little more giddy-up in its stride. This is a big truffle town and the world record truffle was found in the surrounding hillside and sold for over $200,000. The town is perched on the top of a large hill, brilliantly protected from invaders during the middle ages. Just in case they surrounded the village with some fortifications that make a great walking tour of the city. Below is the walk up before entering the town walls that reminded me of the village on the way to the top of Les Baux de Provence in Southern France.

We left Motovun with full bellies and a clear blue sky, you can catch the no-look shot of the town from our rental.

From Motovun it is a 30 minute drive on the new highway to Rovinj. You arrive in town along the north end of town with plenty of parking and depending on the time of day, you get an outstanding view of the town, see the first pic of the post. We arrived to our hotel, Hotel Garzotto, which ended up being the best decision we made all trip, and perhaps the best overall hotel experience we have had in our three years in Europe (and that is saying a lot for a €100 spot). Despite being €100, it oozed character as the hotel is built in the skeleton of a former venetian palace. Dario, who makes you feel right at home by offering you a typical Istrian aperitif, did a great job preserving the integrity of the palace. It was a dump when he bought it and it took him two years to get the restaurant (that used to be a donkey stable) prepared for service.

After our drink, we squeezed our way through the narrow "streets" to our swimming hole that welcomed our return to the Adriatic for the third time in three years. The city itself was amazingly preserved and actually lived in by its locals, mixed between residential and commercial spots that were local, but yet interesting for the tourist. Below is the venetian seal, evidence of the bustling venetian outpost that thrived during the 16th century, the time most of the buildings are still surviving from.

After swimming we walked around the port and picked up some fab photos and romantic views. There were lots of little boats to check out. We then grabbed a bottle of wine we had from Slovenia and enjoyed the sunset on the pier.

This is the view we had to enjoy our bottle of wine over. Rovinj is truly a beautiful place!!

Following the sunset we fulfilled our promise and checked out the restaurant, which had great rustic charm. He recently hired a new maitre-de and head chef who cook some outstanding Italian food. The restaurant was pretty packed by the end of the night and Dario actually joined us for part of his meal and furnished us a great bottle of wine for being good company. Following dinner I bought a round of Raki for the patrons, which included a group of Dario's friends who also own restaurants in town. Needless to say we had some friends to close out the night with!

We stumbled home after our drinks and wonderful dinner through the narrow lanes and slippery uneven marble sidewalks...no injuries were sustained.

You can see the "smooth" pavement we walked on all day (and the following day).

The next day consisted of walking around the old town and renting (free) bikes from the hotel and going to the park to see the crystal clear water.

It was really hard to leave this place, we had to pay for an extra day of rental to do it, but without question, it was worth it. If I had to choose between Dubrovnik or Rovinj, it'd be a toss-up!

Slovenia: The Karst

No, its not a mirage, its Piran. 

Our adventure to the southern part of Slovenia began where the previous post left off, taking mind-boggling hair pin turns across the western Slovenia mountains from Bled down to the Karst, which contains one of the famous wine regions of Slovenia, which is gaining popularity on a global scale. In fact I walked into an Italian wine bar on Portobello Road last weekend that featured many Slovenian wines.

After a friggin 5 hour drive we finally made it to our destination of Tomaj, a small wine producing village in the Karst. Our hosts were the Skerlj's, who were recently featured in a slow-food article in the NYTimes. It was definitely the first time we stayed at a working farm, where the cows and pigs were literally right under us! However, the nice smell of freshly pressed grapes and apple juice cut down the smell; but hey, we're on a farm!! You can see they make the most of their space to grow grapes!

After getting a brief tour of the wine making room, we headed out to the Skocjan Caves, a UNESCO heritage site. The caves are without question unlike any other caves we have ever seen. The most impressive feature would be the amazing stalactites and stalagmites if it wasn't for the 350 foot cave that has a crossing bridge over a river that runs through the cave, which I think is what makes it so unique. If you don't click this picture to get a view you will not fully appreciate it!! It is amazing the vast size of the cave; I have never seen anything like it! It is a must see when visiting the area.

When we returned to the farm, we felt guilty as the family was still working so hard to finish their normal duties, let alone make dinner for us! So we offered to help. Linsey recently said the way to cure a phobia is exposure. Boy when I saw that MASSIVE basket of fresh mushrooms brought out for cleaning, I knew Linsey was right; I couldn't say no after offering to help!!! There were the craziest mushrooms I have ever seen. Green ones, red ones, ones that looked like they had jellyfish tentacles....is this a new Dr. Seuss book?

Yes, those are all mushrooms that have just been hand cleaned by yours truly. And you can only imagine what we had for dinner that night!!! I am proud to tell my mother I didn't leave a single mushroom on the plate! Those that know me would be utterly shocked!

Of course dinner was good despite the secret ingredient, what also made it good was all the wine we got to wash it down with. Also, dinner is only a tenner added onto your bill, so its a great deal!

The next morning we were up early to make the trip to Piran, actually, it was to pick grapes but the Isador decided to leave them on the vines for a couple more days, so we made it to the coast to see our long lost friend, the Adriatic!

Piran is one of the two Venetian towns well-steeped in history that we would visit the next three days. The town as you can tell is perched on a peninsula and jam-packed with old buildings from the 15th-16th centuries, when the town flourished as a venetian trading post. There is a marvelous square that you can see below.  On one side of the old town the wall goes down about 60 feet from the church straight into the sea.

At the top of the town, there are old ramparts that provide for an excellent view of the city. There is a machine you are supposed to pay €1 for, but when I went to get change from a bar next door, he advised me to just push the gate, which I did without the €1. I guess the honor system is in place. Erin and I got lost in the maze of tiny "streets" that probably couldn't even fit a cart during Venetian times! There was a path around most of the old town as well which provided sweeping views of the sea. It was so tempting to jump in but we unfortunately forgot our suits! We also had a nice lunch at a seaside restaurant and had baked Octopus for the first time (as opposed to grilled) and it was quite tender and delicious!

After we got home from Piran, Erin and I walked around the local vineyards and to the nearby town, stopping at the local for a pint of Union, Ljubljana's beer. The walk was beautiful and all the vineyards leaves were remarkable colors!

When we returned to the farm we checked out their own vineyards, looked at the barrel room, and played some cards before having dinner. Again, the leaves are fantastic!

Another item to note, the Rough Guide recommended a village called Goce as a failproof place to taste Slovenian wine. 100% false; not only was there not a single place to taste wine, the place was a ghost town! The Skerlj's later mentioned that it is probably due to the smell when producing wine (which we love - see last paragraph), it really didn't make sense for a town where there is supposed to be over 60 wine houses to have not a single one open to visitors. I guess if you want to see these spots, don't visit in early October!

The experience at the farm was terrific, gave us a true appreciation for the work that farming families put in to make great products, whether its sugar beets like Erin's grandparents, or one of the 50+ things the Skerlj family makes. Literally, everything on the table (except for the wheat to make the flour, I think) was from the farm, which was really cool as you definitely know the source of your food!

Despite being a cool experience, I don't think we would do it again, we often felt like we were in the way and the food itself, while fresh and tasty, could've been a lot better. I would recommend they have a full time chef during the high season as their ingredients could without question produce a Michelin star quality meal on a daily basis!

Back to Croatia we go!!!....

Slovenia: Lake Bled and the surrounding villages

We set off to the Julien Alps early in the morning after leaving Ljubljana, intentionally avoiding the freeway and taking side-roads to get to Bled. We first stopped in Skofja Loka, a pretty village with some cool streets, bridges and a castle. For such a small country as Slovenia, the variety of scenery is remarkable! And if you decide to take the freeway, you can span the country (north to south) in a couple hours.

We then took a really windy road from Sk. Loka towards Bled, avoiding the highway. The leaves were all beginning to change and had great color in the foothills of the mountains. Upon descending the other side of the mountain we drove up, we stopped for lunch in Radovljica, another little village only 5 minutes from Bled that has a few restaurants and a gingerbread factory. We ate above the factory and got a gingerbread souvenir afterwards before heading to Bled...to check into our super cool accommodation for the next two days.

For €30 a night, you can stay in this little A-frame hut that has a really nice bed with comfy sheets and comforters. The have good insulation too! The campsite (Bled Camping) has two huts now and call it "Glamping". We loved it!

After we checked in to our Glamp, we headed to the lake, which has a path around the entire lake, which is highlighted by the little church island below and a massive cliff topped up by a castle that holds a commanding view of the village and the lake. We had just a few minutes of sunlight on the church but got a couple cool shots!

And the castle and village...

We walked around the lake, stopping in the town and getting a few snacks and gearing up for dinner at a pizza place in the town called Rustica. It was nice to have pizza after the hardy Austrian-themed lunch. It rained all night that night and we had a great sleep in our little hut!

The next morning we slept in pretty late as it was still raining and eventually headed toward lake Bovinj, which some argue is prettier than lake Bled. It was hard for us to compare given it was raining all day long. We drove past the lake, stopping once as the leaves in the forest were amazingly beautiful and colorful despite the rain. We then parked on the far side and to hiked to the Savica waterfall, which was about 5 times stronger (bigger) than when it isn't raining.

You can see the raging falls behind a wet couple!

When we returned home the rain finally subsided and we took a nice (but pricey) boat ride to the island. It is really peaceful, especially given we represented 50% of the tourists on the island, which consists of a church, a small museum and a little cafe.

That night, we ate at Ostarija Peglez'n, a really charming restaurant between the old town and the lake that is recommended by Rick Steves. The unfortunate thing about these great restaurants recommended by Rick Steves is that they are filled with Americans, which takes a little bit away from the Slovenian atmosphere. The food is great and we enjoyed a long candlelit dinner before returning to our hut for the second night!

The next morning we took the LONG, very LONG, drive through the mountains to the southern wine region called the Karst. You can see how beautiful the scenery is in the mountains. Despite being beautiful, it wasn't worth the much longer drive that we took, an alternative to getting on the motorway and saving 2 hours of drive time. If we were to do it again, we'd take the motorway as it is a dizzying drive through the mountains.

Over the mountain and through the woods....to the agriturismo we go....

Ljubljana, Slovenia

For years we have been talking about going to Ljubljana, ever since it was headlined in several National Geographic Traveler articles, being compared to places like Krakow, Prague and Riga, Erin and I have had a strong interest in seeing what the hoop-la is about. We decided we had waited long enough and last week planned a week long holiday to visit Slovenia and Istria. Erin went to Ljubljana on a Saturday and I met her after a foggy Ocktoberfest with Joelskie, Strauss and Jim.  

When I arrived Erin showed me around the pedestrian only old town as if she had lived there her whole life! We cruised the town, climbed the hill to the castle that overlooks the splendid and time-trapped old town along the river, and even went to a dessert spot that served some of the meanest choco cake this side of the Ural mountains!! Erin made it to both the Saturday food market and the Sunday flea market before I even arrived.

When I did arrive, at about 68%, I was able to take a few shots of the town on the river. Its amazing how vibrant the city life along the river is...everyone is out having coffee or a Union Beer on the river. The people watching is some of the best and the vibe along the river is unforgettable!

Once the sun goes down and the lights go on, the vibe really depends on what day of the week it is. Our server at the wine bar called, simply, The Wine Cellar, stressed that Wed, Thurs and Friday are the big nights out in Ljubljana, and Saturday is pretty mellow as most students are home visiting parents for the weekend. Evidence of the empty Saturday night streets:

As I want to get Ljubljana all into one post, fast forward to a week later, the last night of our trip. A few years ago when we bought Lonely Planet's 1000 things to do before you die, one of the 1000 things was to stay at Hostel Celica, a former prison converted hostel. For 25 euro each, you have an opportunity to live like the former prisoners, but in a more comfy cell that has been designed by the city's local artists. Ours was rather plain, but staying in a prison cell was definitely a unique experience.

The morning after our stay in the prison, we were greeted by a parade, commemorating our triumph at the hostel.;-)

All in all, Ljubljana is a great weekend away to explore the old town on foot, visit the castle and try a few local restaurants and river side pubs. Choose you own as they are an abundance that fits every one's interests differently.