Kristal Hotel Opatija

... she is the cuttest little baby ever well done.

So got to Opatia and had to find the hotel we got a really good deal on the hotel paying only 60 euro a night and you should see how amazing it is. I cant believe it, it was build in the 1900s and it really is a palace with huge big marble pillars and chandeliers it is so grande. Got to the room and it was as big as what our old appartment was lol with huge windows and a ...

... all so we caught the bus to Krk Town and found a sheltered spot to swim there. We then found a note in our guide book about a wind called The Bura, and you can tell its coming when white clouds form over the mountains, which they had. It can get so strong it can tip cars over! The next morning it was worse so we gave up and headed inland..... after getting the shock of our lives with the campsite bill... so expensive!!!!

Après une bonne nuit, malgré le retentissement des cloches de 5h du matin, nous voici partis, chaussures de marche aux pieds, sur les côtes de l'île. Nous décidons d'aller directement sur le versant opposé au camping pour fuire la foule. Le temps de trouver le chemin (les croates sont assez avares d'indications!), nous commençons notre randonnée sur une ...

L'arrivée sur cette île marque réellement le début de notre voyage. Cette petite ville paraît sortir de nulle part!

Les îles de Cres et de Losinj ne formaient qu'une à l'époque des Liburniens (1600 av J-C). C'est pour faciliter la navigation qu'il construisèrent un chenal d'eau de mer au niveau de la ville d'Osor. Aujourd'hui, Cres et Mali Losinj font partis des villes principales des 2 ...

Enfin le train arrive en Croatie! Malgré le retard, nous ne regrettons pas ce trajet à travers la Slovénie car les paysages étaient superbes, naturels et verdoyants. Un bon coin pour faire de la randonnée.

Pour une raison pratique (prendre le bus pour l'île de Cres au plus vite), nous décidons de ne pas descendre au terminus (Rijeka) mais à l'arrêt Opatija-Matulji ...

Still at the lake this morning, filling up the water, having a quick breakfast, taking last pics of this lovely place and bye. We are off to the Snežnik castle, check the pics.

Sneznik Castle - really nice building in the middle of woods, very well preserved, all newly renovated. Here we sould like to thank again to the lovely crazy man for telling us about this place. We don't ...

... s.d.) I arrived just fine, and had drawn a map and written directions down from google map. And, it was a snap finding the hostel. Unlike the 3 hr trudge I took in Venice to go less than 1 mile! I used Google map, but I believe the hostel had an incomplete address. And Google map led me almost right into the ocean!

There isn't much to see ...

Sorry, too dark for any good pictures, but here are a few attempts. This place is HUGE, with awesome, massive caverns that blow your mind, very impressive and interesting. The remains of the original internal stairs are visible in many spots, built by the original explorers ...

... we guessed that winter in this region must be pretty cold.

A few stops and a short sleep later and we started to see the coastline with the forests going right to the waters edge. The only blight on the view that we encountered and then drove in a huge loop all the way around it, was a factory of some sort with a really tall chimneystack. It is amazing how these monstrosities end up being built in such beautiful areas!

... I must say I was a very proud dad as I walked with them to the restaurant. The weather had changed and we had a crisp but beautifully sunny day for our celebration. The Bevanda turned out to be the perfect choice. The service was impeccable and the table had been set to look magnificent, with candles, and a floral centrepiece. Silver service made it complete. We started with some sparkling wine and an appetiser provided ...