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.