We left Venice, Italy on a ferry and headed to Pula (Croatian)/Pola (Italian), Croatia enjoying a gorgeous sunset on the water. The next morning, we found ourselves in a delightful city along the Adriatic Sea with Roman ruins connected by a pedestrian walkway filled with restaurants and shops.
We were most delighted to find Pula’s City Farmer’s market. We enjoyed fresh honey, vegetables, and fruits, but most of all, the amazing fresh figs! We began exploring by walking from our apartment near the Pula Kaštel (Citadel) by the Temple of Augustus to the Roman Pula Arena. Along the way, we stopped for a delicious burger at Agrippina Street Food!
We rented a car during our time in Croatia and our first trip was to Pazin. We walked through town and found the Bell Tower of St. Nicholas! We then headed to our destination… the Pazin Castle complete with an armory, a bell exhibit from local churches, and a view of the zipline!
Back in Pula, we enjoyed fresh fish and cold drinks at Duomo Trattoria. We headed for a fun evening out to see the Gladiator Fights at the Pula Arena! It was fun and interactive and we had such a great time!!
Our next road trip took us to the gorgeous town of Rovinj. We walked through Balbi’s Arch and up the hill to the Church of St. Euphemia. What a glorious view!! We walked back to get the classic view of the town from the harbor.
On our way back to Pula, we visited the abandoned medieval town of Dvigrad. It was first mentioned in 879 and was part of a Roman province settlement. It was decimated by the plague and by 1630 was almost completely abandoned with only the poorest families remaining. In 1714, the last three families abandoned the town. Rumor has it that Captain Henry Morgan buried his treasure at the castle while escaping the English. There are fun dinners at the castle (with pirates!) and even the possibility to stay at Captain Morgan’s Villa (with modern conveniences). We made it back to Pula just in time to see the Lighting Giants!
The national parks in Croatia are as amazing as they say so we headed for a hike. We discovered the Nature Park Učka where we hiked to the top of Vojak via the Lovran-Poklon-Vojak-Lovran loop. The Vojak Tower is at the top of the peak and built in 1911 to showcase the panoramic views of Istra and is an amazing lookout! We also saw the ramp for hangliding and paragliding and even one gliding down (though didn’t see the takeoff).
After our hike, we decided that we needed a day at the beach. We headed just outside Pula to Verudela. It turns out, we ended up both hiking and enjoying the beach! We enjoyed the Verudela canyon and had to go down to jump off the cliffs (that. gorgeous. turquoise. water)! After that, we headed to Hawaii beach, where we lounged on our towels in the shade and headed to cliff jump into the water when it was too hot! It was delightful to see all the people out and about and enjoying their beach day. We had so much fun!!!
We heard that Brijuni Islands (and national park) were not to be missed. They were known by the ancient Greeks, have some ancient Roman settlements, and belonged to Venice in the middle ages (500-1500 CE)! The islands were primarily used for limestone quarries until 1893 when it was made into an exclusive beach resort with gardens, an 18-hole European golf course, and a polo court. However the resort went bankrupt, and after World War II it became part of Yugoslavia and President Marshal Josip Broz Tito made the islands his summer residence. Croatia gained independence in 1991 and re-opened the four hotels on the island and the golf course. They also opened Safari Park to care for and share the animals gifted to Tito. We took the ferry from Fažana to the Islands, the train tour, and then went hiking. We particularly enjoyed the Mediterranean gardens, Roman Villa, and the beautiful elephant, Lanka at the Safari Park!
Back in Pula, we headed to the Historical & Maritime Museum of Istria located on the Pula Kaštel (Citadel) built by the Venetians in the 1600s. Pula was a Naval base for the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I and the Kaštel and underground tunnel system, Zerostrasse, served as a military strong hold and safe location for the city’s population during air raids. During World War II, Italian authorities continued to expand the tunnels for the same purpose.
We ended our lovely time in Pula with some rain and the best restaurant we went to while we where there… Pizzeria Jupiter! As it poured (and staff worked to keep the awnings under control), we pulled our tables closer, enjoyed our beer (Bob), radler (Amber), and pizza. We savored the experience and took the time to try the dessert pancake with fruit and gelato (it was amazing)!! Then we ended our trip with our favorite location, the Arena!
We enjoyed Pula so very much! Thank you for making it this far… As a reward, here are some videos of our favorites including the ferry ride to Pula leaving Venice, meeting Lanka the elephant at the Brijuni Safari Park, and the Gladiator Fights!