Living on Winchester Ranch

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Istrian Peninsula

On Wednesday morning, we set off from Opatija to see more of the Istrian Peninsula. We drove along the coast road to Pula. We parked our car within a few feet of the Roman amphitheater, one of the largest still standing. We walked around the amphitheater, amazed at its size, age, and construction, given when it was built! Pula's history dates to the Neolithic Age, 6000 to 2000 BC.

It has been the administrative center of Istria since Roman times.

We drove further up the coast, to Rovinj. The old part of the city is on the water, on a hill, crowned by St. Euphemia's Basilica. Rovinj is oriented to the water, with cafes and walkways along the waterfront, and boats moored in the harbor. It is a picturesque little city, with history dating back thousands of years. We enjoyed walking about and having lunch in Rovinj.

After lunch we drove to Porec, another small waterfront city with ancient history. The Euphrasian Basilica is in Porec. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. It's mosaics were built by many of the same artisans that made the mosaics in Ravenna, from 500 to 600 AD. We explored all around the Euphrasian Basilica, climbing up into its bell tower. The views were amazing!

Arrival in Croatia

After a long day of train and bus travel, we were happy to arrive in Croatia. We spent two nights in Opatija, a coastal city on the Istrian Peninsula. We were pleasantly surprised at how

sophisticated, ornate, and well planned the city was. Opatija has been a vacation spot

since pre-Roman times and was the summer home of the Habsburgs and other

nobility of Vienna. Beautiful gardens and walkways line the Adriatic for miles.

Train through Slovenia

On Tuesday, we were up early to catch the train from Vienna to Opatija, Croatia. Mostly, our day was spent on the rails of Slovenia. The railroad runs through small towns and rural areas, so we enjoyed seeing springtime on farms and the snow capped Julian Alps. We got off the train in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, to change trains, and were told we had to take a bus to Opatija, as recent heavy rains and storms had caused serious damage to the tracks. Those last 90 km took about three hours on the bus. We aren't fans of bus travel, but the storm damage along the way was extensive. Slovenia is a beautiful country, and they are in the process of a major cleanup in the south.

A Day in Vienna

Papa and I got up early Monday morning, and took the Paris metro to Charles deGaulle Airport. We left Mom at the United terminal while we went to the NIKI Airlines desk. We arrived in Vienna by 10:30. We took the train into the city and were exploring by noon.

We found old city Vienna to be quite full of over the top, ornate buildings. We visited the day after Easter, which was a holiday in Vienna, so there were lots of local people out and about, strolling, having coffee, enjoying the parks, and going to Easter craft markets. We joined them! We enjoyed the day in Vienna, but longed for the grand boulevards and city planning of Paris.