Friday (Petak), April 01, 2011. ROAD TRIP. And we didn’t get lost or make any wrong turns. FINALLY!!!
But first, most important today is to wish my brother, Allan, a very happy birthday!!! No fooling, the poor guy’s birthday is also April Fool’s Day.
We spent today driving around visiting nearby historical sights with another couple we met at the conference last week. Peter is from Germany and Mara is from Estonia, where they both live and work now. They also have a house near Pula and are familiar with the nearby historic places to visit. It was like having a private tour of the area, very special for us and lots of fun too. Peter and Mara are funny and entertaining and have lots of knowledge to share about Istria and we had a wonderful day with them. And they knew how to get from one place to another – so that’s why we didn’t get lost! Thank you Peter and Mara. It felt so good to drive around and not worry about how to get from A to B and C and D…and then get back home again!
There are many hilltop towns built or fortified during the Middle Ages in this area. Very picturesque and interesting to see these very old buildings and castles still in use today as shops, homes, apts., restaurants, etc. Nothing like it in the states!
Our first stop was at a place along “Saints’ Way.” This was the road used by the “saints” on pilgrimage and churches were built all along this route. The churches are separate but always right by the steeple/tower in this area of Istria. Svetvinčenat is a lovely, quiet village now but in the summer months is teeming with tourists. We really enjoyed the easy parking and our little walk around the Venetian medieval fortification there.
Next we drove to Pazin where we walked around a castle/fortification from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. From Pazin we drove to Motovun, a medieval hilltop town. To us, this was really unique, but in Croatia there are many medieval hilltop towns. The small town has a wall around it and a huge castle built by the Venetians that is still in use today. We had lunch at the Hotel Kaštel overlooking vineyards and the surrounding countryside. Beautiful!
Our final stop was at the Limski Fiord, also called the Lim Kanal; another beautiful spot on the peninsula of Istria. We didn’t have much time here and hope to go back soon to see more. Oysters are taken out of the sea here and served within minutes of being harvested!
Photos are in my Picasaweb Albums. Click on the link below.
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