From Pula to Koper

Day's Summary
"We drive to Rovinji, a particularly attractive town that developed on an island and later joined to the shore. (It was probably the pick of the coastal towns that we saw.) There were superb views of the town of red tiled roofs and chimneys from the church tower. Then we continued north crossing into Slovenia and finding a camper park in Koper, another ancient formerly Italian town that is Slovenia’s only large port. Cycled to Izola a short distance down the coast before going back to Koper where we had supper out at a very local restaurant."

We had a quick look at the coastal Fort Stoja, dating from 1884, which is a central feature of the campsite and adjacent to the ablution block that we were using. It was very run down and starting to become rather overgrown. We could find no information about it. Then it was time to get going and head for Rovinji.

We stopped at the gate to take some pictures of the incredibly calm and clear water in the bay between the campsite and the city and then followed the same route that we used to get to the parking the day before. It took us past a shipbuilding/shipbreaking yard and along the waterfront where we stopped to take pictures of the rowing activity in the harbour. Then we took a minor road to towards Rovinji. This was very quiet and very rural, taking us past olive orchards and vineyards. There was a bit of excitement when we got to a tiny town called Bale Valle where the road when straight through the town. There was a section past the church where there was barely space for the camper to get through, but it widened up soon afterwards, although we had to stop to let a tractor and trailer go by. Then it was back to driving through farmland until we got to Rovinji. We found a parking area and cycled into the old town, a distance of only about 2 km.

It was quite remarkable to ride down the ancient cobbled streets, and then turn through an archway to come out onto the waterfront. This was one of the most scenic towns we had been into, with mostly three and four storey buildings, some brightly painted and all with red tiled roofs, lining the harbour. There were lots of boats in the harbour, mostly pleasure boats, but also active fishing boats. There were even some glass bottomed boats. Of course there were lots and lots of pavement cafes with lots and lots of tourists. After exploring the waterfront we rode and pushed the bikes round a little headland to the north and then left the bikes at the steps that went down to concrete bathing platforms at the water. This was also the bottom of the steps up to the church of St Euphemia, from where there were views out over the town and the nearby islands.

The church itself had a very lovely interior and it was possible to go up the tower to get even better views of the town for a small fee. We were very keen, but Marianne stopped abruptly when she saw the open wooden staircase. I went up alone and it was quite scary in places where steps were damaged. But the 360⁰ view from the top was absolutely amazing. It must provide some of the best roofscapes that can be seen anywhere. After taking a lot of pictures I gingerly made my way down to Marianne. It was quite strange that there is no warning that it is dangerous. There is a real potential for falling.

Then we went back to the bikes and rode them to up to the church so that we could go back down a different street and get to area that had been filled in in the 1760’s when the island on which the town was founded was joined to the mainland. This area was very scenic with some lovely spaces where the two road systems came together.

It was time to move on so we cycled back to the camper. We had hoped to have a pizza for lunch, but the pizza place where we were parked only opened much later. Marianne found some lunch at a nearby bakery and we went “up the road “ to the nearby Plodine where we bought provisions and enjoyed coffee at their takeaway sit down area. Then we went to the next door garage to get diesel and buy a toll vignette for Slovenia, which was now very close.

We took the route we had come to the motorway and then sped towards the border. We crossed the Mirna River Valley (the river itself was a narrow channel) on a 1400m bridge and soon thereafter crossed into Slovenia. Although there was a border post, we were waved through so I never got an exit stamp in my passport. I hope it’s not a problem in the future!

It was a short distance to Koper, Slovenia’s main seaport. (Slovenia has a 46 km coastline on the Adriatic.) We had found a campsite near the centre on Park4Night and Google girl got us there faultlessly as usual. It was a bit of a shock to find that it was right next to the freeway. It was also a tarred parking area with a big fence all round it and it was full of campervans. We got to the gate and needed help to get in. There was no shortage of assistance and we found that we had to get a card and load euros onto it. It could then be used to open the gate and could also be used for power.

It was quite funny to be parked in a row, rather like our Dutch friend Albert’s camping pictures, but everyone was very friendly and helpful. Someone loaned us an adaptor plug and showed us how to activate the power with our card. Our fellow campers were mostly locals who had come to the coast for the weekend and they said that we should first go to Izola which was a short cycle along the coast on a cycle path.

We decided to do this and had a bit of trouble finding the correct path. A young fellow cycling past tried to describe the route and then decided to ride with us to make sure we went the correct way. We had a quick look at the Koper waterfront and then headed for Izola. It was a lovely ride next to the water, on a cycle track with a 20 km/h speed limit. That was about our limit, but here were some “sportfietsers” who rode much faster. It took us about 45 minute to get there and found it to be a delightful town with lots of locals enjoying themselves. The flower beds with red roses at the harbour really left a lasting impression. We found wonderful ice-creams (no McDonald’s) and then spent some time cycling round another historic town before heading back to Koper. Cycling on the Golfo di Trieste (Gulf of Trieste) was a very satisfactory way to end our Croatian, or rather Adriatic, coast experience.

Koper, (fourth city of Slovenia) also known by its Italian name Capadistria, was a much bigger town than Izola, and was very Italian with regard to its architecture. (It had been part of Italy at various times in its past). When we got to the old market it looked as if a music festival was being set up and it was very noisy. This meant that we didn’t spend much time there and moved on to Tito Square, the main town square. This was obviously Italian in character with quite grand buildings. We particularly enjoyed the Praetorian palace, the Assumption cathedral and a building that had an Italian arched colonnade fronting onto the square. Sitting on its steps was a group of girls in pink shirts who were celebrating the forthcoming marriage of one of the group. Marianne chatted to them for a bit and then it was time to think about supper. We rode down the narrow street that went through an arch in the façade of the Praetorian palace. This street was absolutely delightful, wonderful entry points, lots of interesting shops and enticing cross streets. We had a look at a pizzeria up a side street that was perfect, except that it would only open later and then found the Gostilna Trattoria “Pri Tinetu” where there was a table on the terrace overlooking another square. We ordered a burger and calamari and had a really good meal, our last on the Adriatic coast (for a while, at least).

Then it was an easy mostly downhill ride back to our parking/camping. We went past the local soccer stadium which was filling up with supporters and I was surprised to see about 25 policemen dressed in riot gear. I asked one of them if they were expecting trouble and he said there often is. The camping had filled up a bit more while we were away and people we sitting in camp chairs outside their campers enjoying, (it couldn’t have been the countryside or the view) the experience. As we were heading for Ljubljana the next day, we got everything sorted out bike wise to leave quickly, showered (the ablutions were super clean and modern) and got to bed after a day that had been close to 10 out of 10!

Geschreven door Leartravels