A triangle of land called Istria juts southward from Trieste into the Adriatic Sea.
A century ago - and a bit - Austrian aristocrats used to flock to Summer resorts on the Istrian east coast, around the town of Opatija (oh-PAH-ti-ya).
The Austrian Empire is long gone, and their belle epoch playground has become a laid back idyll for commoners lucky enough to seek it out.
The city across the gulf is Rijeka (REE-yeh-kah), Croatia's major port.
A seaside path, the lungomare, winds its way the length of the "riviera", ten miles or so from Opatija town to the village of Lovran, my favored home base.
Lovran village is nice - I hope to show more of it next time - but today's page is for the beautiful walk along the lungomare. I did it every day, and never got tired of it.
The water is so beautifully clear that nobody grumbles about the concrete beaches, not even I.
In 2007, I drove across this area en route to another part of Croatia. When I emerged from the long tunnel through the coastal mountains, the vista could have killed me - by distracting me from the twisty 4-lane highway! The deep blue gulf itself, the bluish mountains surrounding, the whitish cities... if I ever come from that direction again, I hope somebody else is driving.
Across the gulf is Rijeka, a hub for ferries all over the Adriatic, and busses to Italy, Slovenia, and the rest of Croatia.
(An easy way to get here is the frequent bus from Trieste, Italy.)
Lovran has its own tiny harbor, just a cove among the rocks.
The lungomare starts - or ends - here.
A comfortable spot to nurse a coffee, and enjoy the local color.
Near my B&B, uphill from the water.
Sign Spotting at the Edge of Reality
Some signs can make you wonder just what kind of place you are in.
SMOKING PERMITTED
Even in places where everybody smokes, you do not usually see signs that explicitly permit it!
And what is with that No Camels? The brand?
Rick Steves would have had his local hired folks find out. Me, I leave it a mystery.
Pain Therapy
from Germany
Hm... the rest of the text seems to imply that we are talking about therapy against pain, not pain as therapy. You can't be too sure about something like that.
Next: Lovran Inland
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