An afternoon in the hills of Istria

Saturday afternoon,  12 September

Stole this view of gorgeous Fiesa from Google images - couldn't resist!

We reluctantly dragged ourselves away from the pleasures of Fiesa Bay and followed the coast road south to Croatia, winding through the forested hills, dipping down into the busy holiday town of Portoroz, passing the famous salt pans of Secovlje (no idea about pronunciation!) Salina Nature Park which cover 6 and a half square kilometres of the Slovenian coastline, and showing our passports at the border. (I was the only one who got a stamp - non EU passport).

Beautiful landscape of coastal Slovenia

We opted for a scenic route to Rovinj, rather then taking the motorway and this led us up and up into the wild hills of Istria to the ancient hilltop towns of Groznjan and Motovun before we descended to the coast at the Lim Fiord just north of Rovinj.  The hills are not that high but quite rugged, with deep chasms.  Thick forest covers much of the peninsula, interspersed with pockets of vines and olive groves.  It is a top hunting area and famous for its truffles, both white and black.

Feeling rather peckish we decided to make Groznjan our lunch stop and what a treat that turned out to be!  We parked at the edge of the village and wandered through old streets lined with stone houses - no concessions to modern life visible on the exteriors.  There a number artists living and working in this lovely village - no prizes for guessing why!  In some ways it was reminiscent of hilltop villages in France - away from the coast there is less of an Italian-Mediterranean style of architecture in the old towns.

Jess and Stefano enjoying Groznjan

Our exploration led us to a small piazza shaded by huge old chestnut and walnut trees and we immediately liked the look of a restaurant terrace with lovely views and heaps of character, Taverna Bastia.  The menu was very interesting and based on fresh local produce - local game (probably boar caught in the forest, said Stefano), home-bred chicken (absolutely the best I have ever eaten - along with an amazing risotto, truffles, local cheese and white wine of the region, Malvazija.

Taverna Bastia, Groznjan

  This was certainly a lunch to remember, of course totally enhanced by the stunning surroundings.  After our lovely meal we walked to a viewing point in a small park - a wonderful outlook across rugged hills and valleys with the occasional village dotting the landscape.  In the distance we could see the hilltop village of Motovun, our next destination, and truffle capital of Istria.

View from Groznjan to the hilltop village of Motovun

  The afternoon was perfect  - sunny, warm and not a breath of wind.  The air is so fresh and clean - it is quite invigorating.  We chatted with the friendly waiter - yes, there are lots of squirrels but they are a bit shy, yes it does get very cold here in winter (and windy) and yes the restaurant does accept euros ( we are now in the land of the kuna, and we have none!).

View from the restaurant terrace, Goznjan

So, next stop Motovun and a rather bumpy ride on a gravel road to the valley below, where we joined a main road and followed a small river before climbing up again to park on the edge of the town.  Only locals seem to be permitted to drive the narrow streets - quite right too.  Motovun is interesting, although not quite as drop-dead gorgeous as Groznjan and it obviously caters more for tourism.

Motovun - lots of winding lanes leading to the top of the hill

 Olive oil and truffles seem to be the mainstay of the village economy judging by the number of shops offering these products.  Throw in a little local wine, cheese and honey for good measure!  We walked up the hill to the centre of town and then made a circuit of the town walls.

Looking out over the lower part of Motovun and the Istrian landscape from the town walls

 Great views of cultivated fields in the valleys, steep forest covered hills, olive plantations, occasional villages and a sense of remoteness (in fact these hilltop villages are not very far from the coastal resorts or from Rijeka  and its international airport).

More views over the rooftops of Motovun

There are several other villages in the hills of Istria which are apparently worth visiting but we still had an hour's drive to Rovinj and a check-in time for our apartment, so it was on the road again and a gentle descent to the coast.  Coming from Motovun meant that we had to drive to the upper reaches of the 10 km long Lim Fjord  which cuts inland from the sea north of Rovinj.  As fjords go it doesn't quite match up to the splendour of Norway or New Zealand, nevertheless it is an interesting geological feature ( in reality, not a fjord but a ria  - formed by a river, not a glacier) and apparently a favourite spot for the local dolphin population to hang out.

Lim Fjord

Finally we made it to Rovinj, an ancient town perched on a small hill which juts out into the sea.  The approach is through the more modern town to a large public car park where we found a spot and unloaded - here the car would remain as the streets of the old town are pedestrian only.

Another "borrowed" image - just to give an idea of the geography of Rovinj.  Our apartment is on the seafront at the lower left side of the peninsula.

 It was a short walk to our apartment which is in a busy old town street, but perched right on the seafront - thus pedestrian traffic at the front entrance but just the lapping waters of the Mediterranean right outside our windows.

View from our lower balcony

Our lovely apartment in Rovinj - bedroom balcony on the upper lever, living room balcony underneath

 The apartment is on two levels of an ancient building but beautifully restored, modernised and decorated.  Both the bedroom and living area levels have balconies overlooking the water - gorgeous spot and extremely comfortable.

Our apartment -in  an old, sympathetically restored fisherman's house - just gorgeous

After settling in we took a stroll around the old town - Jess and Stefano were keen to find the beach. Rovinj is a delight with narrow little streets twisting and turning up the hill and a wider promenade circling the town beside the sea.  We discovered that the "beach" is accessed  by a series of stone stairways that lead down to paved areas on the rocky shore.  I guess the whole town is built on one big rock!  There were still sunbathers and swimmers enjoying the late afternoon sun on these rocky platforms and the water looks so inviting - crystal clear and beautifully blue.

The beach, Rovinj style - Jess and Stef bought sunbathing pads for a little more comfort and loved the crystal clear waters

 As we walked on the sun began to sink towards the horizon and we realised that the sunset promised to be rather stunning.  A restaurant on the rocky shore offered cushions to sit and have a drink with sunset views - no tables left for dinner but we were not really hungry after our wonderful lunch.  We sat and enjoyed nice wine and and even nicer sunset.

We watched the spectacular sunset from the rocks below this restaurant

 Also met one very cute Austrian dog ( and her friendly owners) - a little Havanese - a new breed to me.  There seem to be many little dogs on holiday in Rovinj - all out and about with their owners and so well behaved..  Benji would love it here!

So many cute little dogs to pat!

Sunset, Rovinj - and one cute little Havanese dog

After the marvellous sunset display we continued strolling.  Rovinj is a busy place and I have never seen so many eating places or jewellery stores in one small area.

The pretty streets of Rovinj

 Around the other side of the hill from our apartment is a large harbour, also lined with pretty colourful buildings and endless cafes.  The whole place is humming with activity - everyone enjoying the beautiful balmy evening.  We stopped for gelato and then on the way home visited the green market to stock up on some oh so delicious fruit - figs, raspberries, peaches, nectarines, grapes - yummy, yummy.  Made a fruit and cheese platter for dinner.  What an interesting and lovely day we have had.

Beside the harbour, Rovinj