We flew from Slovenia to Vienna, Austria.  The flight was  on a little airplane with about 12 rows.  It was surprising how smooth the flight was considering we had to fly over the mountains, and it was stormy.  On our way into Vienna I thought I saw lightning and shortly after our little plane hit some turbulence that made our plane go back and forth.  Looked like our wings were trying to wave.  I haven’t experienced turbulence where it feels like our plane is going to sideways.

We made our way to our hotel in the middle of Vienna.  We headed out right away to try to find dinner since it was already 8:00 PM.  The place we wanted to eat had at least an hour wait so we decided to get a sausage from a good stand nearby.  We then walked around for awhile and I tried taking some photos at night.  I took some photos of some cakes, city hall and Stephansdom.  It was a good start to my favorite city.

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We drove from Rovinj, Croatia to Lake Bled, Slovenia.  I was thinking this would be an easy drive and not much traffic.  It was easy until we reached the border.  It took us about 45 minutes to cross the border.  I was just happy that it was downhill or else I would have been in trouble with the manual car.  Most of the drivers were European Union citizens so they were able to just wave a little card and go through.  I had to go in the non-EU line which was slower.  They asked the passports and then just stand around and talk to their buddies while they hold up the line.  Finally he looked at the passports and then asked me where I was going.  I said Lake Bled but he didn’t understand where I was going.  He asked if I was driving a rental car and if I had my international drivers license.  I have never been asked for this card but I did have it…somewhere.  As we hurry to try to find the card, he hands me back our passports and said we can go.  I can’t imagine how slow this line is in the summer.

Lake Bled was as peaceful as I remember.  It was raining but we were still able to walk around.  Last year, we didn’t manage to have time to take the boat out to the island to see the famous church that people like to get married in.  We had plenty of time on Friday since our flight didn’t leave until 18:00.  It takes a half an hour each way on the boat and you get 30 minute on the island.  The 99 stairs up to the church are steep and hard to imagine that a groom has to carry their bride up those stairs.  There is a rope in the middle of the church that you can pull 3 times to make the wishing bell ring.  I really wanted to swing on the rope like Julia Roberts does in Runaway Bride but since there was a sign that said you can’t do that I just pulled the rope.  We finished our boat trip and grabbed some pizza before heading to the airport.

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Short video from Pula’s arena.

Here is a video of charming Rovinj.

Today, was our last day in Croatia.  We will be driving from Rovinj to Lake Bled, Slovenia.  This morning there was thunder over the sea and dark clouds but it seems like the rain stays over the sea in Rovinj.  I enjoyed visiting Croatia and learned more on this trip about recent history than I knew before.  Croatia is planning on joining the EU this July, and I wonder how things will change over the next couple of years.

They build their chimneys to look like little houses in Istria.
This was our view this morning from our balcony.  Kind of a sea view but funny in the description of the place they didn’t mention or show a cell tower in the photo.This house was very creative with their planters.  It is made out of little rocks and seashells.
I didn’t try this cafe but I like that they use the stairs as part of their seats by using cushions.

Rovinj:

After eating a lot of pizza we finally found a Mexican restaurant in Rovinj.  We thought we would try it.  It was OK considering I think my rice was more of a saffron flavored mush.
Orebić:

This was my free appetizer in Orebić.  I already cut my sardine when I decided to take a picture.  My favorite part was the prosciutto and cheese. 

This was my fish.  I tried the fish and mussel but for once the vegetables were my favorite thing on the plate.

This was Bridget’s small portion of fish.  We told the waiter we weren’t hungry and only wanted a small meal.  He was offended when we didn’t finish our plates.Rovinj:

In Rovinj, we found a little Italian restaurant.  I ordered lasagna which was outstanding.  Everything was homemade and probably the best pasta I ever had.

Originally I told the waiter I was too full for dessert.  However, I wasn’t smart enough to say that we would like to pay now.  He left and I couldn’t get his attention until a half an hour later.  At that point I said I would try the chocolate mousse.  It was well worth all the waiting.      This time when the waiter picked up the plate, I instantly said I would like to pay.  It would take me a couple of hours to walk off all this delicious food.

Limsky Kanal is a short drive from Rovinj.  This was supposed to be one of the most scenic places in Istria however I’m not sure it was worth the trip.  Parking was free and I got to try some local cheese that was very good.  I can see this being a nice place to come in the summer and kayak but it was pretty quiet while we were there.  The passage isn’t called a fjord because it wasn’t created by a glacier.  Instead it was created from a river eroding the ground on the way to the Adriatic.

Rovinj has been a very charming little town.  I have enjoyed seeing the colorful buildings as well as all of the art galleries.  This has been one of my favorite towns to visit on this trip.

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We took a day trip from Rovinj to Pula.  I had Igor (the man we are renting the apartment from) get the car out of the narrow driveway, and we drove an hour to Pula.  Pula has one of the six surviving Roman arenas left in the world.  The arena is still used today for concerts in the summer time.

There was a little display under the arena of some pottery that was used in the Neolithic time (6000 – 2000 BC).  Pula is in the region of Istria.  This area is popular for wine and olive oil.  The pottery on display is what they used to use to store olive oil.

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Since arriving in Croatia, I have seen more cats than I can ever remember.  Coming from the States, I always think that every cat belongs to a person and that it has a nice home and food.  However, the cats in Croatia are not a household pet but an animal that roams the city finding food as it goes.  I remember seeing a lot of cats in Rome but I see a lot of cats in every city I go to in Croatia.  This cat below was sleeping in the fishing nets.  Shortly before this a crab must have crawled out of these nets as there was a crab walking the boardwalk.  The cats are harmless.  They want nothing to do with you unless you are trying to give them food.  I’m pretty sure they also help with any rodent issues.