Guest post - not written by Fedyan :)
Every year our family faces the question - "Where are we going to the sea in summer?"
Of course, you can get plane tickets and fly to the most remote corners of the planet, or you can get in a car and drive somewhere closer. Each option has its pros and cons, but for now we choose the car. From Czechia it's easiest to drive to northern Italy or Croatia. Today I'll tell you about vacation in Croatia, and in the next article (if of course Fedor allows) I'll compare it with Italy.
Accommodation
This year we're staying in the town of Medveja on the Istria peninsula. It's in a chain of resort towns that emerged around the once popular among Austro-Hungarians resort of Opatija. This history begins in the 19th century, when one rich merchant built his villa here. So walking through the town, you constantly run into villas testifying to former luxury:
These places made me remember Remarque's novel "Three Comrades." At some point it seemed to me that the last days of the main hero's beloved Pat were spent right here, in the mountains not far from the sea... Maybe someone remembers where it actually took place? :)
Well here's our hotel:
Basically rooms here are quite standard - bed, nightstands, table, bathroom. Somehow we managed to book a large room for the price of a standard one:
It costs 564 euros for 6 nights. The price includes breakfast for two, which is also quite standard. Buffet: muesli, yogurts, cold cuts, cheeses, bread, fruits, vegetables:
Basically, a standard European hotel.
Nature
Croatia's nature is simply beautiful. Rocky coasts, mountains, forests, crystal clear sea:
Resort towns around Opatija are good if your large group is divided into mountain biking/hiking lovers and lovers of splashing in the sea. Tourist routes leading to the mountains pass through all these towns:
For lovers of splashing in the sea I want to say that this year it was cool in this area, so we drove to swim further down along the mainland.
The mountainous terrain of northern Croatia often creates difficulties for people who want simple access to the sea. Most often to lie by the sea you need to go down a long staircase (in the case of resort towns) or along a path laid by people (but not the safest). As you understand, in the case of resort towns, beaches will be packed, and despite
the surrounding beauty, it'll be hard to enjoy it. In Medveja there's almost perfect access to the sea, especially for people with children. At the same time, approaches are equipped with all kinds of stairs and ramps for disabled people:
If you want to enjoy peace, then it's better to try to find non-touristy beaches. And in this case you'll need a car, because you definitely can't manage with a bike here. There are tons of non-touristy beaches. For example, yesterday we were on Krk island, Stara Baška beach. Having overcome a difficult descent, you won't regret it at all. Few people, magnificent views:
Food
According to Fedor's precepts, I thought about what it means for me to visit another country. So I think that if you haven't tried the local cuisine, consider that you didn't visit the country. Basically, pizza and pasta are very popular in northern Croatia due to proximity to Italy. But the Istria peninsula specifically is famous for truffles growing here. So they're often used in local dishes. So if you're in this part, definitely try something with truffles, and preferably not a burger with truffle sauce :D.
Well out of standard Croatian dishes so far I've only tried pljeskavica and ćevapčići (top and bottom respectively):
The dishes would be magnificent if they were half the size (but that's my standard problem).
If everything's more or less clear with food, I didn't really figure out drinks. You know, in Czechia you can always order beer or Kofola, in Italy, France - wine. What to order here - unclear. Wine's not great, beer's disgusting, juices are expensive.
And generally food here is much more expensive than in Czechia. For example, pizza costs 50-60 kuna (6.76-8.11 euros), pasta - 70-90 kuna (9.46-12.16), pljeskavica, ćevapčići - 60 kuna (8.11 euros), beer - 20 kuna (2.7 euros), juice - 35 kuna (4.73 euros), 0.1 l wine 10 kuna (1.35 euros). Basically our average bill came out to 150-250 kuna (20.27-33.78 euros).
And generally be careful with ordering wine. Somewhere I asked them to bring 0.2 l of wine. They brought me a glass. Basically I immediately understood that there definitely wasn't 0.2 l there. Well okay, I drank it. Asked them to bring another 0.1 l. They brought the same amount as the first time. Here I got terribly curious what they'd calculate in our bill :D. Basically in the bill they calculated that I drank 0.4 l of wine, that is more than half a bottle. No, if I wasn't sure, I wouldn't even write about this incident. But fortunately, I drink wine quite often and know perfectly well my state after 0.1 l, 0.2 l, 0.3 l and 0.4 l. I'll honestly tell you, after 0.4 l I'm not able to do anything. But by some miraculous way, after half a bottle of wine (which I drank according to our waitress), I'm writing this article :D. So order wine in 0.1 l portions because they won't bring you more anyway.
Towns
"Ugh, your vacation sucks," - Fedor will say, - "I like walking through towns, castles, so there's something to photograph and write an article!" There's tons of such goods here too due to great historical heritage. The Istria peninsula is famous for the town of Pula. All my colleagues recommended visiting it. But our hotel owner was extremely skeptical about such an idea. She recommended first visiting the town of Rovinj, and only then Pula.
The town of Rovinj at different times was under the rule of the Byzantine Empire, under German feudal lords, the Venetian Republic, under Austro-Hungarian, French and German rule. But still it seemed to me like an Italian town. Look at these streets:
At the same time the rocky shore is equipped for swimming:
Basically, we really liked the town of Rovinj, if there's opportunity, we'll definitely visit again.
Pula, as I said, is an extremely famous town among tourists. It's the biggest town on the Istria peninsula. Here a large number of traces of the Roman Empire are surrounded by Soviet-type residential buildings. Pula is famous for the amphitheater in the city center:
You can see all this from inside too, entrance ticket price is extremely low - 50 kuna (6.76 euros). But lines, like to all other amphitheaters in the world, are endless.
But such ruins can be seen for free and without lines ;) :
Basically we walked here, were happy that we went to Rovinj first and drove home.
Continuation about Italy