Fall Vacation Part 3: Istria & the Dalmatian Coast

  Dubrovnik, Croatia
Sunday, October 7, 2007

We left Slovenia fairly quickly to ensure we would have enough time in Croatia and along the Dalmatian Coast. We found both to be incredibly beautiful and relaxing.

Our first stop in Croatia, the Istrian province, felt very much like Cinque Terre in Italy. This part of Croatian was under Italian rule for many years so there is much Italian influence in the language and the food. We stayed on the coast in Rovinj, a small fishing-turned-tourist village on the Adriadic Sea. We spent 2 nights in Rovinj walking along the waterfront, eating fresh fish and biking through coastal parkland before heading to Porec to see the beautiful mosaics there.

The hand of God coming through the clouds

These mosaics, dating from 530-700 AD,are thought to be from the same artist as the ones in Ravenna (see April 18, 2006, travelpod) and are almost as impressive.

After the mosaics we drove through the Istrian countryside, visiting the beautiful small hill town of Motovun. Truffles are plentiful here so we had a delicious lunch of pasta in truffle sauce before making our way further south. Along the way we also found a great honey co-op and stopped for sampling.

One interesting thing about Slovenia and Croatia is that the big hotels are mostly cold communist era architecture in need of major upgrades. Smaller pensions and B&Bs are just starting to crop up, but many people open their homes to rent out rooms. You can arrive in any town and see "sobe" signs - meaning "rooms for rent". These can be quite homey and nice. When we left Istria, we had expected to make it to Plitvice Lakes National Park, but had spent too much time noodling through Istria. Although we were not near any big cities we were able to get a room for 35eur (including breakfast!) in somebody's house in a very small fishing village with a wonderful family run fresh fish restaurant. Unfortunately we now can't even find the town on the map!

The drive down the Dalmatian Coast is stunning. It reminded us a lot of the U.S. coastal drive through Oregon and Northern California. The roads are small, right on the coast, and just off-coast are many large islands. The water is very clean and clear. Unfortunately we drove this in the rain so we didn't get any pictures, but the memories will remain.

Diocletian's Palace

The town of Split, although impossible to drive in/around, was incredibly interesting for having been built in and around the ruins of the Roman Emperor Diocletian's Palace. Walking around Split's Old Town, one notices many columns and other very old structures, but with a guide these structures become recognizable as the ruins of a 1700 year old palace. The foundations of the palace can be toured and many of the temples have been converted into Christian churches. Outside the old town the harbor is very beautiful and provides much needed open space compared to the crowded old town.

After Split, we continued driving down the coast on our way to Dubrovnik. When we realized we had a long way to go and the sun was going down, we decided to check out a campground just off the highway. What a find!

Campground Sirena

We camped in a beautiful setting on the edge a cliff overlooking the sea. The family-run campground was super friendly and offered fresh grill dinners. Melanie had freshly grilled fish and Chris had a meat grill. These were preceded by home-made appertifs offered gratis by the owner. The atmosphere was fun and friendly with campers of many nationalities (minimally Scottish, German, and Austrian) sharing dinner, music and drinks. The music was provided by an ancient woman at an electric keyboard and her even more ancient (presumably) husband. They even played old American classics like Bicycle Built for Two! The next morning, after surviving a storm that we feared would blow us off the cliff, we learned that the festivities were enhanced by a wedding that was to be held at the campsite the next day. Had we stayed we would have been invited to the wedding and participated in the accompanying feast of roast pig and other local specialties. Unfortunately, we were already running behind our itinerary and anxious to get to Dubrovnik so we didn't stay.

We arrived in Dubrovnik under pouring rain and spent the first couple of hours looking for an apartment. There are many available and we were able to find one up the steep stairs of the Old Town. Dubrovnik is a well-maintained walled city. Much of it was damaged during the Croatian war, but has been rebuilt almost completely. It is possible to find pock marks from the artillery, but unless you're looking for them they aren't noticeable. One of the best things to do in Dubrovnik is to walk around the city on the walls surrounding it. The wall is completely intact around the whole town and the views over the town and the sea are spectacular.

After a couple days in Dubrovnik we took a day trip to Montenegro and then headed back north again via Bosnia-Herzegovina. Details of that are coming in Part 4! Also, remember that if you view the pictures in album mode rather than slideshow, you'll get a little story with many of them.

Happy travels!
Melanie and Chris

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Resources:

Where we slept:
* Rovijn: Pension Villa Baron Gautsch. Lovely pension with one of the best breakfasts we had the whole trip, including grilled eggplant and tomatoes.
* Dalmation Coast, South of Split at Lokva Rogoznica: Autocamp Sirena. This was the best campground ever! Family run. Excellent grill dinners and clean showers.
* Dubrovnik: Dubrovnik Major Apartments. Funky apartment at the top of lots of stairs. Comfortable, convenient and inexpensive, but missing some details - like towel racks, coffee maker and a full-face bathroom mirror.

Where we ate:
* Rovijn: Veli Joze. Excellent seafood and gnocchi! Melanie tried a cockle, not knowing what it is. Raw shellfish. Ugh!
* Motovun: Hotel Kastel This is truffle country and this restaurant specializes in truffle-infused dishes. We ate on the terrace overlooking the valley below.
* Ston (north of Dubrovnik): Restaurant Bakus. Amazing garlic mussels! And kitties running around begging. Chris wasn't the only "softie" feeding them!
* Dubrovnik: Mea Culpa Pizzeria. Great pizza! We ate here twice it was so good!
* Dubrovnik: Konoba Kamenice - a real local place serving good pasta and mussels at a reasonable price on a terrace next to a nice plaza off the main street.