Cres Island, Croatia

One of the many Croatian Islands worth exploring.

Cres (pronounced [t͡srɛ̂ːs]; Latin: Crepsa) is an Adriatic island in Croatia.

"There is no stress on Cres"

Sunset  June 4,  2015

A History lesson from wikipedia: *Cres has been inhabited since the Paleolithic time period and was later ruled by the Greeks, then since the 1st century B.C., the Roman Empire. After the fall of the Roman Empire for centuries, the island was taken over by the Byzantine Empire. In the 7th century the Slavs invaded Cres and the islands around it. Then, around 866 the inhabitants saw the first conflicts with the Republic of Venice. The Venetians eventually took control of Cres and the neighboring islands in the 10th and 11th centuries.  

The Croats regained the islands and the islands went through a change of rulers for centuries, being ruled by Croats, Hungarians, and for 400 years the Venetians. After Napoleon's victory over the Venetians, the island went under Austrian rule. After the defeat of Austria by Napoleon in 1809 the islands became part of the French Empire. After the fall of Napoleon, Austria once again took control of the island for 100 years. During this time the economy developed with olive trees, sage, and other plants becoming key to the success of the island. At the end of World War I, with the Treaty of Rapallo signed in 1920, the island was once again handed over to Italy. This lasted until 1947 when the Islands, along with Istrian Peninsula, were assigned to Yugoslavia."

our attempt at capturing the sunset ...

While my sister, Maureen was here, one of our adventures was an over night trip via a bus from Zagreb to Cres, [very doable and easy]!
Of course to get to an island there has to be some sort of boat... our bus took the ferry from Valbiska on Krk, to Merga on the east coast of Cres. Back on the bus we traveled to the west coast, getting off in the town of Cres. We then walked to our hotel, changed into our bathing suits, walked a few steps to the beach and jumped in the Adriatic - very cold water in June - but oh so beautiful! 
We also rented bikes, saw a few sites, ate great food, then spent the next day on the pirate ship Korsaro... 

Making our way to this beautiful beach...(about 1 nautical mile after we passed St John's beach, which is written up as one of the top 10 beaches in the world).

 

Blue grotto - a hidden cave with a large blue lagoon inside. 

                 
 Lunch included...(about 75 ppl. on our trip, but the ship can hold more:)

As we sailed along, the captain shared some of the local history and landmarks .... thousands of years of dry stone walls, of course olive trees, and a very cool island with a lighthouse, which we were told involved 1000's of chicken eggs to build! We could also see the 4000 year old village of Lubenice, which sits on a cliff (383 meters above sea level). And just under that we passed one of the most famous Croatian beaches - Sveti Ivan (St. John). 

Once we docked about 20 of us swam out to Plava Grota aka - Blue Grotto; which can only be reached by sea, (that is by jumping off your boat, as our captain did, or swimming from shore, as those of us brave or determined enough to do it, did.
 'There is a narrow entrance at a depth of 3 m and a tunnel that runs into the cave above sea-level. The cave is about 20 m long',
an awesome site and worth the freezing water and short swim.
(no pictures bc no water proof camera:(
Yes, an awesome relaxing day at the beach!!

Interesting fact **Sailboat Korsaro was made ​​in Holland in the 1930's as a yacht of the The Dutch queen. During the 80 year history it changed owners and purpose. On it stayed many celebrities, among others, and Josip Broz Tito.

Then in 2011 the boat was restored and adapted to the needs of modern travelers, taking on the appearance of a pirate ship. korsaro.com

I shall write and post more pictures of our adventures soon,
Happy summer  to you all...

Zadar on the Adriatic

We only had a few hours in Zadar.

We are planning on going back!

ZADAR CROATIA

A great city on the Adriatic Sea.

The historic core of the city is more than 3000 years.
Today it has population of around 75,000

 When you read about Zadar, you will find it had centuries of turbulent history of which the destruction and re-creation have recorded and preserved archaeological treasures from all historic periods. 

To say Zadar is a treasure trove of old architectural achievements is an under statement!
Everywhere we walked there were visible architectural works of art. 
I read there are around 70 of them located in the historical center of the city, 
and over 600 in the surroundings area. 
All of which make up today's cultural heritage of this city. 
Once again the old fitting in with the everyday life of the people living and working here now.

Below are just a few of the pictures I took.

Boats, water, commerce and housing...
"The first bridge across the city port was built in 1928. It was destroyed in 1944 during the bombing of the city. On the same place, in 1949, a temporary floating bridge was anchored on brass barrels. It was not easy to cross the bridge during strong southern (Jugo) and northern (Bura) winds. Finally in 1962,  today’s pedestrians bridge was opened for use. It is 152 meters long, and six meters wide. "
Zla kob graskog mosta

Off loading the catch of the day.

History...

 Illyrians, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians, Napoleon, Habsburgs... 

"Darda is part of Zadar that has been inhabited since the Neolithic period. 
It has always been an important defensive point of the city,
 from the top of Puntamika,
centuries supervised access to the port of Zadar"

 So many churches, (after a while I got the names all mixed up)… 
the 9th c. Church of St. Donatus,
 {but until the 15th c. it was the church of the Holy Trinity}
 the church of St. Mary, of St. Grisogono, of St. Sime, 
and the Cathedral of St. Anastasia, to name a few.
 We viewed ruins and walls and buildings, ancient monuments, 
the Square of Five Wells, the People's Square 
and on the tip we stopped the see the Sea Organ and Sun Salutation.
 (It was low-tide and day time, but still a great spot in the sun:)

And what they call contemporary: The sun dial and sea organ.

Park and beaches and a view! Don't know the name,
but we stopped here for a cup of coffee and walked along the path by the sea.

It was beautiful April day and we fit in quite a lot for only a few hours.

www.zadar.travel/en/about-zadar/history
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zadar

A three week visit

So excited that my mom, aka Gumma, was able to visit us. 

We had a great time hanging out, catching up and exploring together.

The three weeks went by very fast. 

We did do quite a bit and took loads of pictures . . .

So I'll just post some to inspire you all to save your pennies and make plans to come visit soon.

Sitting at an outside cafe', drinking hot chocolate,
not to be confused with hot coco
this is more like hot pudding - yum!

Around town...Zagreb

Medvednica mountain, Zagreb north -  
We drove up to Sljeme, the ski area and highest peak at 1033m.(mid-photo). From there we drove over to Medvedgrad, a 13th century old town fortress. There was also some hiking involved.
(top right photo; you can see the fortress on the hill between mom and the city)

Looking out from Medvedgrad fortress at dusk

Border Country...Slovania

 Took a day trip to Slovenia. After walking around the capital city of Ljubljana, 
and sampling many chocolate goodies from a chocolate festival in the square, 
we took the Funicular Railway up to Ljubljana castle.

You can see the castle from the city and you can see the city from the castle.
Plus the Sava River and Kamnik Alps are in the distance.

The ordinary...most days are ordinary

Just so you know, we did very ordinary things as well:)
Me taking pictures of mom making her famous apple cake (a big hit at church and in Rijeka).
Mom taking pictures of me picking out produce at our neighborhood market.

An ordinary Tuesday in Zagreb center...riding the trams and buses, coffee outside on the square, shopping, and more chocolate - peppermint coco and fruit fondue- yummy. Yep, we even got in some outreaching;-) If you look close you will see it is dark outside in the last bus photo.

 Ahhh...the Sea  Adriatic

We did an over night by the sea...

Spending time in Rijeka, exploring on the Island of Krk,
and strolling the seafront walkway from Ika to Opatija,

Just us girls!

Hugs

What more can I add? Well actually a lot . . . more pictures, from more site-seeing, ordinary times, church activities and at least a couple trips to Ikea! 

She was a blessing while here and she will be missed!!

xocc

My summer vacation

Yep I have an addiction....

Now don't quote me on this, but I think those of us brought up near the ocean have saltwater in our blood and if we do not get a yearly fix, something just doesn't work right.

Hence a 6:30 am bus ride to get my fix.

 SO thankfully the Usanov's live in Rijeka. They invited me to come stay over night (ok, maybe I did initiated the invite), but none of us regret our salty, slightly sunburned skin. A great way to end the summer!

A mari usque ad mare

Our own private peace of paradise....

 On day one we ventured, via a 20 minutes taxi ride, south of Rijeka.
For most of the day we had this slab all to ourselves.

Beautiful; the weather, the water, the view and the company.
Bonus; snorkeling - the water is super clear and filled with all kinds of pretty fish -
 I felt like I was snorkeling in an aquarium.

FYI: The beaches have no sand, either cement slabs, large boulders or killer rocks! but still so worth it. Just next time along with my water shoes I will bring something soft to lay on!

"The sea is clean and blue, the sun is drawn here and the beaches are ... diverse, large and noisy, small and secluded, pebbly, concrete, rocky, hidden..."   Rijeka Tourist Board

Ice bucket challenge on the Croatian coast

While I was there...
Sherri-Lynn and the girls helped me completed my Ice Bucket Challenge!

A pool with a view...

Day two we caught a bus going north...about 10 minutes and 5 stops up from the center, the walk down to the sea took us by this fabulous pool complex, which you could pay to swim at...

(Of course - we chose the  sea :-)

Day 2, my view at 4:00PM from (i think the name is) Ploče

Before hopping on the bus to Ploče, we hopped off in the center
where we had lunch and stumbled on a Festival.

Rijeka center - on the water.

After a hot shower and a nice dinner I caught the 8pm bus back to Zagreb, 

so much fun in the sun,

I slept, it's a 2.5 hour ride and the seats are very comfy!

Rijeka by bus from Zagreb

A nice 2 day vacation. 

I was treated as an honored guest, they even served GingerAle and starbucks!

do iduće godine. CC 8-2014

visiting-rijeka

Rovinj, Istia - Day Trip

In September, before we gave up our rental car, we took a ride to the coast and ended up in Rovinj, about a three hour drive for us. It was our second trip to the coast, but our first to the Istrian Peninsula. (Also see previous post We have company)

Old Town, Rovinj  - September 2013 - CC

The limited space governed the construction of narrow houses, narrow streets and small squares.  On the seaside, the town is protected by a high rocky shore and house walls built on cliffs, while the mainland side is protected by solid walls.

Still active fishing port -Rovinj September 2013 - CC

We walked all around town. It has some amazing artist and fun shops. Everywhere you looked - on the water front, in the allies, pier, up & down stairs... if fact almost all the doors in these photos are some sort of shop, cafe or restaurant; packed full. 

As you can see - packed in!

We picked a lunch spot right on the pier, which is not hard, lots to pick from. 
I tried a fish soup, (not very good:(   Tom stuck with pasta, always a winner in a place that once belonged to  Italy and still it's neighbor. 
Have I mention before the ice cream here in Croatia is superb? Sort of in between gelato and regular ice cream. So while walking around, we had to have one - 
yummy! way creamy and wicked good!! 
Then of course just before hitting the road, we had to sit at an outside cafe for cappuccino.   (You got to love the coffee culture!)

Narrow is the way!  - Rovinj Croatia September 2013 - CC

*Old Town used to be an island secured by medieval walls. 
In 1763 it was connected with the mainland by filling in the channel.

Three of the seven city gates have been preserved to this day. 
The first archeological traces of life date back to the Bronze Age, 
and the old city started developing in the 3rd century.

The largest monument in the city, the Church of St. Euphemia is a Venetian Baroque building restored between the 1725 and 1736. The bell tower, (seen in top photo) is a replica of the Church of St. Mark in Venice, construction started in 1651 and lasted 26 years. On top of the tower there is a large copper statue of St. Euphemia that was set in 1758 after the wooden statue was destroyed by a thunder. 

Steps lead to allies, shops & water - Rovinj, Croatia, September 2013 - CC

*History:

Rovinj was already a settlement of Illyrian tribes before being captured by the Romans.

It became part of the Byzantine empire, then in the sixth century part of the Exarchate of Ravenna and in 788 part of the Frankish empire 

Then it came under the rule of different feudal lords for several centuries. 

From 1209 it was ruled by the Aquileian patriarch.

From 1283 to 1797 Rovinj was under the Republic of Venice. The city was fortified by two rows of walls with three town gates. The remaining town walls date from this period. Close to the pier one can find the old town gate Balbi's Arch, dating from 1680, and a late-Renaissance clock tower. 

The city got its statutes in 1531.

After the fall of Venice and the Napoleonic interlude, Rovinj was part of the Austrian Empire until World War I. 

Then it belonged to Italy from 1918 to 1947, when it was ceded to SR Croatia within SFR Yugoslavia.

Following Croatia's independence in 1991, the town became one of the most important centers of Istria County.

Enjoying our September day trip to Rovinj - t&cC

My sister-in-law, DeeeDeeee, mentioned Coastal Living magazine did an article on Rovinj in last months issue. We can't get that here, so I couldn't read it, but if you are asking me, definitely worth a visit ... Oh and a great place for a honeymoon ... if anyone is looking.

* some information taken from and more info at : 

http://www.inforovinj.com/eng/index.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rovinj