Rab, Island of Rab, Croatia

I know I alluded to our travel ‘issues’ earlier, so I might as well summarize them on the post. Our original plan was to fly into Pula on Saturday and fly out of Dubrovnik two weeks later. That being said, we arrived in Croatia with both the to/from Dublin plane tickets and a hotel for two nights in Pula. Nothing else, just this vague notion that we would be able to ferry it down the coast.

According to our guide book and map there are ferries heading south out of Pula that connect all the islands of Croatia. Well apparently these ferries only run in July and August. Maybe June as well, but not May. So we ended up spending three nights in Pula while I sorted out the travel situation. The solution we found was to take a bus to the port town or Rijeka. This was about a two hour bus ride, actually two busses because we had to change busses mid trip.

We were in Rijeka for long enough to get tickets for the Catamaran that headed to Rab island and grab a bite to eat. That’s about all. From Rab we planned on continuing south down the coast. The view as we left Rab:

The sister ship of ours:

As this post is about Rab, we will continue the travel dramas in the next post. Now about Rab:

Rab is a very beautiful island. All told there are around 12,000 inhabitants on the island, of which 6,000 or so live in the city of Rab. That is where the Catamaran dropped us off. We arrived via boat around 4:30 pm and needed to find a place to stay. We went to the tourist office and in true Croatian tourist office fashion, they picked a place for us. No we didn’t get options, they just said “go here, you will like it”.

Having little choice, we went there. Unfortunately ‘there’ involved scaling this mountain of stairs:



Paty took the pictures whilst I did my sherpa impersonation. (on a totally unrelated note, if you are ever doing a trip like this BACKPACKS are a much better option than suitcases)

The place that we were referred to was a private apartment type residence. There were three rooms for rent, all with private bathrooms, in the house and a shared kitchen and lounge area. We originally committed for one night, but couple the difficulty of getting to the luggage moved with the view from our room and we easily convinced ourselves that three nights here was fine. Our view:


And the view from the patio of our little rental apartment:

After toweling off from the climb, we settled into exploring Rab. A few things were readily apparent, that if Pula was slow in the off tourist season, Rab was a virtual ghost town. Curiously enough, over the three days and nights we rarely saw or talked with many fellow tourist but one there were an inordinately high amount of pregnant women in town. The town was populated with small children, grade school up to early high school aged kids, old people, and women in their late 20’s or early 30’s that were pregnant. I think it is the island mentality, when you are young and able to move you leave the island. But as you get older and want to start a family yourself you come home. Because we were in town during the middle of the week when the men might have been working and the women seemed like they stayed at home with the kids.

Another thing that was very obvious from the start was that Rab was an absolutely beautiful place. This is where the fact that it seemed like we were vacationing in a post card was really hammered home. The water was clear and aqua blue in color. For someone that has grown up going to the Oregon coast ‘beach’, this was such a cool thing it is hard to describe. But even little miss ‘I grew up in the Yucatan’ was taken aback by how stunning the scenery was.

Enough of my typing, how about some pictures? Here is a bar that is on the North side of Rab, right along the walkway that circles this part of the island by the water:

Sunset from the same bar:

Typical Rab street, the main part of the town is walking only:

We stumbled upon some type of festival, this must be everyone from Rab:

Being by the sea you get to pick what you want for dinner:

Why Rab you ask? I mean with all the options in Croatia, how did we end up in Rab? Basically after our rocky beach experience in Pula we were looking for a sandy beach to just chill at for a few days. With that in mind we found this website:
Croatia Sandy Beaches
Lopar Beach on Rab
Since we were in the North part of Croatia, we kind of just picked the closest sandy beach we could find. We expected a few people on the beach as it was really famous.

Instead we found:


The beach was as nice as advertised and it was about 2 miles of sand around the bay all told. And I think we were sharing this beach with a family that had their beach camp set up close to a mile away from us. A really cool beach as you could go out like 500 yards into the water and still not be over your head in the water. As it was so shallow, the water was also quite warm.


The next day instead of taking another shot at the beach, we decided to take a little water taxi tour of the island. We chartered a boat for two hours to give us the island tour. So we putter out of the bay by the main town at a measured pace, of course giving off no wake. I figured once we get into the open water we would pick up the pace a little, but nope two hours without ever worrying about getting the boat up onto a plane. Once we got used to the snails pace we were ‘cruising’ around at, the ride was quite nice.
Rab is famous for it’s vista of the four church spires in the city central:

No good boat ride would be complete without a local pivo:

The ‘beaches’ here were quite rocky as well:

The island was filled with these hidden coves, some had really large private houses on them. Most were empty. This sailboat is only unique in that when they got closer we realized it was a nudist boat, populated by four very old men, they waved at us.

Two hours of cruising around the island with these vistas is not a bad thing:

Back to the harbor after a tough day on the boat. This is the square that hosted the little party the night before. Also if you look closely you will see the stairs I had to scale on the left and if you look more closely there is a flag almost completely unfurled in the middle of your picture, behind that flag you see a house with a room with open white shutters directly in line with the end of the top right of the flag. That is our room!

Last night in Rab, back to our beachside bar. One of the nicer places we found on the island:



All three nights in Rab cost us the princely sum of 490 Croatian Kuna. That works out to $98 US dollars. Not per night, that is the total for three nights! Most of Croatia was a good deal, but this part of the trip was especially thrifty. Dinner with two main courses, salad or soup, a bottle of local wine and coffee would never cost more than $40 in Rab or Pula.

Next it was back to Rijeka, I never thought I would see that city again, to catch the long overnight ferry to Dubrovnik. Our plans to ferry our way down the coast had by this time been shattered by the realization that off season in Croatia really means OFF season.

But if you ever get a chance at some point in your life to visit the island and city of Rab, the Tobin’s recommend it heartily.

Pula, Croatia

This is the first of my summary on the Croatia trip blog posts. Forthcoming are:
Pula
Rab
Dubrovnik
Montenegro
Final Croatia Summary

Or something like that. But on to Pula.

This was the only part of the trip that we had a hotel reserved for. The rest of the trip we were just 'winging it'. We arrived in Pula about Noon local time on Saturday via our love/hate airline RyanAir. And we took a cab to the hotel. On the way from the airport to the hotel I commented to Paty that there was no one out and about. The city seemed almost dead. (Little did I know that this would become a theme of the first half of our adventures in Croatia.)

The view from our hotel room balcony:


Slightly overcast, but a beautiful view nonetheless. This picture was taken at 1 pm on Saturday as we arrived, notice the total lack of people in the view.

We decided on Sunday to hang out by the beach and do a little 'chillaxing' as the last few weeks had been very stressful. Everything about our future was up in the air, Paty was travelling around trying to have meetings and such. So we (meaning Paty) needed some beach time.

The beach:



Yes, that is a typical Croatian beach. Mainly rocks. One thing we learned is that when you ask for Croatian beaches, you have to specify that you are looking for sandy beaches. Most are super rocky like the one pictured. A very foreign concept to Paty and I. We ended up hanging by the hotel pool with the four other hotel residents, it was a beautiful day:

The next day we decided to explore more of Pula itself. The city is relatively small, very nice for walking. Most of the influence on the architecture and history of the city is Roman, with some Venetian tossed in for good measure. The entire core of the city is set up on the water next to a hill. Predictably there is a fort on top of this hill and the city is set up with ascending rings around the fort. To walk the entire circumference of the city only takes around 20 minutes. A few pics:


The reason people come to Pula:


This is one of the four largest Roman Coliseums still standing. It is a very impressive sight. And unlike the Coliseum in Rome, you can go inside this and climb around the marble structures and such:


One other thing you will notice about these pictures is that we are the only ones in the photos. We were in this great historic building all alone. It was a little surreal to tell the truth. But very cool nonetheless. During the summer they have concerts and short plays here. A beautiful setting with the stage backlit by the Adriatic Sea.
Since we were all alone I had to do my Gladiator impersonation:

I didn't have a mace handy, so this two hand camera bag (1-2 dmg, 2.0 swing speed, 0.5 dps) had to suffice.
This is a photo from the fort around which Pula is built. The city and coliseum are in the background:

In summary, Pula was a great city to visit. The main reason that people come is the Coliseum and it does not disappoint. The heart of the city is quite charming. You immediately notice the extensive Italian influence as almost every restaurant is Italian. Plus there are many cafes and more than that, there is a Gelato stand on almost every corner. We saw more Gelato stands and people eating Gelatos than in anywhere in Italy we have ever been. The Croatians love their Gelatos, this was true in every city from Pula down to Dubrovnik.

If you were planning a trip to Croatia, one or two nights in Pula would be sufficient to see the sights. Pula does have an airport, but up until 2-3 years ago it was solely a military airport. Thus there are about 7 international flights a week in and out of the city. So it is still a largely undiscovered tourist destination. I would definitely plan a trip during the summer when the ferries from Pula down the coast are working.

Next post, Rab and how we got there. With no flights out of Pula and no ferry until July, this was an adventure.

Blog Update and odds and ends

Most of you have been wondering where the rest of the Croatia post is, don't worry it is coming. Most of my time this week has been occupied with packing duties. Packing you ask? Yes, packing. For those of you that don't know, WE ARE COMING HOME!

It's confirmed, we will be home next weekend. Unfortunately this means we are going to miss the annual Cape Lookout Camping trip. But the good news is that we will be in Amsterdam for Memorial Day, or as they call it in Great Britian: 'Bank Holiday Weekend'.

I mean what would you do, hang out in Amsterdam or do this:




And the kickers:



Looks like fun, eh?

Unfortunately while in Holland I can't partake in all the vices that Amsterdam has to offer. Again I hear you thinking, 'what could you possibly mean Chris?' One vice is off limits because I have a wife who would severely disapprove and the second becasue in the off chance that I get a job as soon as I get home I might have to take a drug test. Thus the red light district and 'coffee houses' are off limits.

I'll work on the Croatia posts soon, a lot of good pics to sort through and post.

Cheers!

BIG DAY TODAY

On a totally unrelated to anything note, tonight is the NBA draft lottery.

The only way I see for the Sonics to stay the SEATTLE SuperSonics is to beat the odds and get the first or second pick in this draft.

Greg Oden
or
Kevin Durant

could just possibly save the franchise for our city.

Plus it will make my season tickets next year MUCH easier to sell.

Yes, I am a sucker and I renewed my season tickets. Same seats, same price. And as an added 'bonus' the price will not change on my tickets for the next three years. Of course that is the last three years in Key Arena and then they will most likely be moving. BUT, not if we win one of these two lottery spots!

Good luck to us!

follow up:

CHEER!!!

I don't know what I am happier for, Brandon Roy to Greg Oden in Portland or Ray Allen and Kevin Durant 41 times a year from Sec 228, Row 10, Seats 25 & 24

I am at this moment stunned beyond belief as to how well that went.

For those of you living under a rock:
NBA Draft Lottery:
#1 pick Portland
#2 pick Seattle
The playoffs are coming back to the Northwest!

Comments.........?

Okay, so a few days ago I did this great (all right, good) blog post from Croatia. My first in a while. And looking at the site tracking stats, more people are reading than ever.

BUT, with Shannon in Vegas no one is leaving a comment.

I wasn't even sure if the blog was updated until a few days later when Dan left the very appropriate white blur joke!

So, if you surf on in and see that there is a new post and no one has left a comment then feel free to enlighten us all with your wit and wisdom. Barring that, then just a 'confirmed, post up comment' will do.

New passport stamp for us tomorrow, Montenegro. We are taking a day trip to the capital. Sadly I don't even know the name of the city, but I do no it is South down the coast from Dubrovnik.

On an entirely unrelated side note, I am starting to run out of passport space for stamps. I guess we will just have to come home then........early June, confirmed.

Cheers! off to dinner. no pics today as I just realized that I carted my camera all over Dubrovnik today but did not take a single picture. We are starting to become jaded tourists.

Dubrovnik post 1

Today is our second full day in Dubrovnik. Yesterday we spent almost the entire day at this beach:

Paty got so tan, she almost looks like a Mexican again. She actually got a little too much sun. A new experience for her, as we were at the pharmacy looking for some type of aloe and she kept telling the lady "but I am from Mexico, this shouldn't happen".

Last night we ran into the two professional basketball players again. We actually hung out for a while, I bought them a few beers. I got the impression that being a professional women basketball player in England is a lot closer to a 'life enriching experience' than the riches of an NBA contract.

They were VERY tall:


Today we took a ferry to the island right across from Dubrovnik. It is an uninhabited island that is more of a nature preserve. A lot of peacocks:

And unbeknowst to me before today, I guess the peacocks can fly:


The island is really beautiful. You can get there via a 15 minute ferry, which we did, or by private boat or even by kayak. We again saw our basketball friends on the island, they had taken the kayak option. Being as they were professional athletes and all, I figured this was a better option for them than Paty and I. Paty and I would have to take one of those two person kayaks, and we all know who would be doing the bulk of the paddling!

Paty took her first true dip in the Adriatic Sea:


While I went for a little more adventure:




The basketball girls had actually jumped first, so between that and the gaggle of Japanese tourists on the boat in the background cheering me on I really had no choice but to climb up and take the plunge. It was quite fun and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Don't worry mom, the water is quite deep.

All for now, my internet cafe time is up!