Opatija - Jul 22, 2005 - Opatija, Croatia

Our final stop of the Croatian tour of the Adriatic Sea was a town called Opatija just a couple of hours from the Italian border by car. Unlike our place in Rogoznica, this time we ended up staying in a room with a shared bathroom and no use of the kitchen, but the couple we stayed with was nice except that the father seemed to have no shirts to wear so just wandered around shirtless all day, everyday. Not having the kitchen was a bit of a blow since Croatia is somewhat pricey, but luckily for us, the proximity to Italy made for good pizza and panini to satisfy our hunger.

There wasn't a lot to do in Opatija and certainly didn't have the charm that Korcula and Rogonizca had, but it was a very different place architecturally and geographically which made for a pleasant change. The best thing about it was the 10+ kilometer waterfront promenade that Ali and I spent hours strolling along. We also spent hours in search of a sandy beach only to find one made of medium sized round stones that hurt less then the rocks/concrete pads in the other town but was not the end all be all in beaches.

We also went hiking one day to an old town in the hills above Opatija. When I say town, that was an exaggeration, it was really just a few buildings and a beautiful old church, which was the reason for the hike. There were also great views of the coastline and the Adriatic, so it was worth the trip.