Leaving Ljubljana at 9.30 we drove South-West towards the next stop – Rovinj. Slovenia to Croatia. On the way the first stop was at the Postojna Cave (wiki ref here). As forecasted the weather was still wet and we arrived in heavy rain, dashed to the nearest cover while Darko, the driver, bought the tickets. The tickets were for the 11am train into the cave. Luckily there was enough room in the entrance of the cave for all of us to shelter until it was time to board the train. The tour is described on Wikipedia – “While the cave system is 24 km long, only 5 km is open to the public. Of this, 3.5 km is traversed by a train that takes visitors through the cave; the remaining 1.5 km can be navigated on foot and with a guide. The whole tour takes about 1.5 hours. The temperature inside the cave is around ten degrees Celsius (fifty degrees” – So true. Back to the large cafe for a little lunch – veggie soup for Doreen and nothing for me (I pigged out on b’fast). Back on the van to drive to Rovinj. Two hours later we arrived at the first of three Croatian stays – Rovinj (wiki ref here). The street that the hotel stood on was about ten feet wide, as were all the inner-city streets that meant we unloaded in one of the Squares and transferred to a golf cart. The hotel “Hotel Angelo D’Oro” can only be described as “quaint”. No modern stuff here keys to the rooms and leave them at reception when you leave!
A quick walk around the hotel, down to the sea-front taking in all the Croatian and Adriatic sights. The Sun had emerged a couple of hours before so it was perfect weather. The vacation had re-started when the sun came out! Back to the hotel to meet with the Tour Guide – Barbara for a walking tour of the Town. Turning left out of the hotel, walking upwards to the largest structure in the Town – the Church (wiki ref here). Every church has a tale. This one was the tale of St Eufemia(wiki ref here). A mediaeval Saint martyred and killed for her faith. An amazing story Wikipedia reference:
“Recorded by Alice Lee Moqué, an American suffragette and travel writer, is the local legend of how the sarcophagus was received by the Church. The legend begins with two fisherman caught in a storm who, having lost control of their ship, fall to their knees in earnest prayer. Their prayers are answered and they wake safely near Rovinj’s shore to see a shining white light over an object that sinks into the sea. Unable to retrieve the object, they hurry to tell the townspeople of the miracle, but none can move the heavy object until a pious boy makes a plan to retrieve the gift with oxen. The oxen pull the sarcophagus from the water and carry it up the mountain. A skeptic is struck unconscious in the presence of the sarcophagus, later revealing that he’d received a vision from Saint Euphemia that the sarcophagus contained her bones. In the town’s folklore, it is said that the hill has been named the “Hill of St Euphemia” ever since, even as the relics were stolen by the Genoese, who lost them to the Venetians, not being returned to the town until the 14th century.”
Anyway after climbing the hill we came back down on the prettiest street we have seen so far, most of the stores and alleyways were ‘artsy-fartsy’ but the architecture was stunning. This street ended at the main square, we found a resto and ordered pizza. This Town feels more Italian than Croatian – it should with a long history of being ruled by Venetians and in fact was part of Italy before Tito took over.
End of the day by strolling around and watching the ‘shopper’ amongst us flit from store to store.