Road trippin' through Croatia's Central Coast

Just a little note: Because I ended up with a ridiculous amount of photos of Croatia in just one month, I am going to break it down into four rapid-fire parts: Istrian Peninsula, Central Coast, Southern Croatia & Montenegro, and end on a flourish with the Croatian Islands. This blog is the second installment, covering the Central Coast.
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A Happy Birthday.

We left Pula on Vinko's birthday. Armed with a bottle of French Champagne that we've saved since picking it up on my birthday in France, we snake along the coastal road heading for Plitvička Jezera (Plitvice Lakes) National Park. We had visited these breathtaking lakes in 2008 with Vinko's parents, and we were very excited about spending a blissful day enjoying the scenery and strolling through the lakes and waterfalls...

...but we got lost. Not massively lost, just a little bit. We took a "side entry" into the park and ended up facing a locked gate on the outskirts of the park. Which turned out in our favour because swimming inside the park is illegal, but there was no mention of  swimming on the outskirts of the park. The silence and peace that we found in that little piece of paradise left a great impression. It was the definition of "getaway".

From Plitvice Lakes we drove over the Velebit Mountains towards the coast
 (I am glad I wasn't on a bicycle) 

The town of Nin, being the first Croatian royal town (around the 7th century), has a rich historical background, particularly because the struggle for a national language and therefore independence has its roots here where the Bishop of Nin was seated. (Much fuss is also made about its sandy beaches, which we avoided because it was blistering hot and there was no shade.) The tiny town has a bizarre collection of even tinier Romanesque and Pre-Romanesque buildings, including the Church of the Holy Cross - also known as the Smallest Cathedral in the World.

Nin old town is technically a little island

Lots of statues everywhere... although I will admit I forgot why this one is important!

Grgur Ninski (the Bishop of Nin), who pushed for a national Croatian language.

Church of the Holy Cross... the smallest cathedral in the world

(Tiny) Church of St. Nicolaus. According to folklore, seven kings were crowned here.
But not at the same time. They wouldn't fit. 

Just after we arrived, 3 different groups showed up and all clambered to get their respective photos taken.  There were many exasperated sighs and dirty looks, which I found rather entertaining. 

Zadar is the capitol of the region and we were surprised just how much we loved it. It might have been because of the spectacular hospitality we received at Apartmani Petra (along with some delicious homemade cherry brandy!) or just the great way this old city was merged with modern functionality. There was an open air film festival playing in the central park of the old town, the streets were of polished stone, the sights and impressive buildings were exceptionally well- marked and described (in multiple languages) and overall it was a very lively, cultured and welcoming place to find ourselves. There were two amazing features in particular that blew us away. The first was the Sea Organ, an architectural and musical work of genius. The motion of the "waves" pushes air through a series of pipes, making an experimental symphony of somewhat harmonic sounds.We sat forever on the organ steps that night, dreaming of whale songs and faraway winds. It is magical. The second achievement by the same Croatian architect (Nikola Bašić) is the Salute to the Sun installation, a solar-powered, shimmering technicolor display of our solar system, with the sun in the middle and the planets lined up in order and relevant distances along the promenade.

This is half of "the sun". Each planet has its own circle of animated lights
in its respective size to and distance from the sun.

Poor Pluto did not get a solar display of its own so we made one from sticks and stones.
We commemorate you, Pluto!

Another big attraction of this area is the Krka Waterfalls National Park. In my opinion it is not quite as awe-inspiring as Plitvice is (that's not really fair to say - few things are), but it is still very beautiful and it is an important wetland wildlife area and water system for the region. It was a sweltering day, and Krka is perfect for splashing and swimming and general water-based fun. Krka is also the site of the first hydro-electric plant in Croatia (or the world, depending on which dates you use).

The wetland area of Krka

The Visovacko Lake, which connects with Krka

The most handsome water fountain I've ever laid eyes on

One of the smaller waterfalls. We were spellbound by the volume and speed of the water.  

Looking down onto the island of Visovac, which houses a beautiful Fransiscan monastery. 

There were massive fires in the area and I captured this waterbomber flying low after a discharge

Middle-left you can just about make out the waterbomber taking off from Krka lake
with a fresh load of fire-fighting H2O

I don't want to give anything away, but in hindsight this part of the trip was where everything started getting better. The food, the scenery, the people. And it keeps getting better and better the longer we stayed in Croatia so stay tuned for the next installment!

Where do Italians go on holiday?

The simple answer to that is: To the coastline of the Istrian Peninsula in Croatia. Being just a hop away from Italy, the whole peninsula is swarming with bronzed, barely-clad-in-anything bodies and fluttered stacattoed conversations. It's what I imagine the Italian seaside resort towns must have been like...before they became the Italian seaside resort towns people now dislike and can't afford.

Typical midday scene in Lovran, a preferred little seaside resort town.
I couldn't help but feel like I was back in the 60s

Having rented a car in Zagreb, we zig-zagged our way down the peninsula from one beautiful spot to another (and there are plenty such spots). One of my favourite memories is the lunch we had just past Brestova, where there is a long but narrow bay, almost like a little rip in the coastline. Sitting high up on the deck of Hotel & Restaurant Flanona, we feasted on fresh squid and roast lamb, enjoying 180 degrees of what is arguably the most beautiful view in this part of the country.

The view from Hotel & Restaurant Flanona, just south of Brestova 

The water is so clear that even from this high up
you can see underwater rocks along the edge

Once you wander off the beaten coastal track, you'll be rewarded with
rustic villages perched on hilltops all throughout the countryside

Rustic, if not slightly decrepit.

Now, because this was the height of summer European holidays and there were a few music festivals over this specific period, accommodation was scarce (to say it gently). On top of that, our CouchSurfing host in Rijeka cancelled on us last minute. Through family friends from Zagreb, we ended up getting accommodation in Pula, famous for its Roman Arena which I admit is quite stunning. We are eternally grateful to Peter, Stella and her family who gave us a last minute helping hand and kept us off the streets for two nights. 

The big...

...and the small. Be honest: would you have seen the line of ants
if I didn't tell you they were there?

Temple of Augustus in Pula's main Forum.

Decidedly old-school.

The street signs and maps for Pula are not user-friendly by any stretch of the imagination and quickly had us so irritated that we escaped to some small seaside villages to get away from all the hustle and bustle. Fažana is a small traditionally fishing village which is seeing its fair share of tourism thanks to its proximity to Brijuni National Park. Despite this, it remains small, homey and has a lovely "local" feel to it that is missing in so many other places in the peninsula. In a word, it is charming. We fell in love with Fažana, its friendly beach and its delicious food, and in the end it was the highlight of the Istrian Peninsula for us.

The whole village of Fažana is centered around the harbour

Many beautiful buildings in tucked away squares

Cryptic message

The most beautiful sunset scene - I am VERY proud of this photo!

Both these photos are taken at the Fažana promenade

Here on the Croatian side of the Adriatic Sea, the water is still crystal clear, the umbrellas are cheerfully bright, and the days are long and warm. The wine and olive oil is exceptional, and seafood bounty fresh and tasty. I can't blame the Italians (or anybody else for that matter) for wanting to visit here for a little fun in the sun.

How to hunt an influental Slovenian architect through Ljubljana

So, how many people have heard of Jože Plečnik? I will just go out on the limb here and say probably not many. But, many should have! The first time I heard about this man was in my first post-graduate year in architecture. One of the first design lectures we had on urbanism, urban design and street architecture - Joze Plecnik was shown as a great example of how to do it right. To be honest, prior to this moment in my life I had not really considered a visit to Ljubljana as an important thing. It was love at first sight!

Looking north on a lovely evening toward the Triple Bridge, Prešernov Square and the Franciscan Church...just so charming! 

Even now I remember the lecture slides...all these images of street furniture, sculptures, stair cases, bridges. All these places to sit, relax, enjoy taking it all in. A picnic in Ljubljana, I thought, would be a nice thing to have before it's too late.

The ever busy and vibrant Prešernov Square 

The Franciscan Church on the Northern edge of the Prešernov Square

Well, we did just that - we took it all in over the course of one busy, busy day in the capital of Slovenia. I told Colette right from the get go that I was really keen on checking out "some" of Plecnik's urban design projects. She being the lovely person that she is - ready for any adventure - agreed and told me to find what I wanted to see and that we would tour the place checking out various projects throughout the day.

I went out, I went ALL the way out...

This raw and provocative sculpture decorates the Butchers' Bridge and was created by Slovene sculptor Jakov Brdar

Couples place padlocks on the newly completed bridge, inscribed with their names and the date, very similar to the Parisian Pont des Arts

More of those creepy sculptures, seems like fish heads, and  more of those love-locks...not really a nice thing to do do a sculpture like this

Details on this modern take on the Butchers' Bridge which was completed just last year and it fulfills one of Joze Plecnik's plans for the Ljubljana Central Market drawn up way back in the 1930's

The Dragon Bridge, my bitter adversary!

We arrived there late on Friday evening, went out and had brilliant pasta dinner at Allegria, and retired back to our hotel. The very next morning while Colette waited for a potential CouchSurfer hook-up, I searched the web for information on Plecnik projects in Ljubljana and came upon Plecnik.net. This website is dedicated to listing his works and exhibits lovely photographs describing their appearance within the urban fabric. So with an image of the "Urbanism" list on my iPhone and a tourist map of Ljubljana in hand, I went pen crazy and marked a whole bunch of sites...well, all of them actually!

The intricate fountain at Pogačar Square

The fountain sculpture forms the edge between the square, it's steps and the walkway that leads out of it through an archway

This was the cutest little display just sitting in a parking spot in front of one home-wares shop, in the background is St. James

Trnovo Quay

Trnovo Bridge

She's a little devil I tells ya!

Despite sore feet, thirst and exhaustion - we had a blast of a day! And aside from making the 10km tour on foot which took an entire day, we still managed to truly enjoy the sights and sounds of Ljubljana's charming urban architecture, street-side cafes and Gothic bridges.

A window into a secret garden just off Emona Street

The garden entrance and it's beautiful decoration

The upper part of the garden and some of Plecnik's signature elements

French Revolution Square - I can just hear my professor - "Now, that is how you frame an obelisk!"

The "borrowed" space created by Plecnik between the road and buildings on Vegova Street, some of the most interesting entrances into buildings but not very universally accessible...

Plecnik also worked on the entry to the Slovene National Theatre

We are in love with the beautiful Gerber Staircase

"Take that Paris!" - the dreamy scene of the river Ljubljanica at night

Being a huge geek, I knew that the map scribble I had in my hand was destined to one day become a great online guide for people wanting to walk a tour of some of Plecnik's most influential and lovely urban design projects...well, here it is for your enjoyment and temptation:

View Ljubljana Plečnik Tour in a larger map

Do visit Ljubljana, it is definitely worth it. They have a fantastic night dining scene and day cafe scene, it's extremely charming and romantic, and finally it's one of the best examples of what great urban architecture can do for the success of a city - Ljubljana is just splendid!

Could not resist the temptation, nor the difficulty of standing still enough for this shot - there are parts of Ljubljana like this available all over the place and the city is especially charming at night

A city has to have a certain level of humor or courage to pull this off in a shop window - granted it was a lingerie shop, but still...

...and what's that in her hand, well if it isn't a list of Poker hands - I'll be damned!

* For a great lunch, do try Julija - a traditional Slovenian kitchen serving up delicious and hearty meals.