Croatian Hill Top Town of Motovun

Apparently feeling like we hadn't visited enough hill top towns this summer (here, here, here and here), we set out to visit one in the Istrian Peninsula, Motovun. Another, preserved Medieval village on top of a hill with beautiful views. Oh, Europe. You are pretty amazing!

                               

 You park at a lot at the bottom of the hill and ride a shuttle bus to the near-top. 

                            

Town gate

The town and walls took about 10 minutes to walk around. Another 5 minutes in the church and then that appeared to be it!

Croatian Countryside. Really beautiful, no?

This is a big truffle region so we stopped for some lunch at this scenic cafe and shared the truffle gnocchi. As cute as we find pictures of our own child with food all over his face, I didn't think you wanted to see that today :) 

Ending our Croatian Trip in Rovijn

The final leg of our Croatian tour was two days in the town of Rovijn in the Istrian peninsula, the northermost part of Croatia close to Slovenia and Italy. By this point of the trip, the Durneys were feeling a bit traveled out. It had been quite the summer already! So apart from an afternoon trip to the hill town of Motovun, our time consisted of exploring the old town, going to the beach and dinning sea-side, enjoying the sunsets. 

Overall, we had a really nice trip to Croatia- fun family memories, beautiful scenery and awesome weather. We found the people to be pretty reserved and not as warm as other European countries, though. Some of the places we went reminded us of Italy, but not quite as nice and with not quite as good food. Still very cool to get a new passport stamp and have to use new currency (the kuna)!

The mountainous drive from Krk to Rovijn. Jude loved all of the "nunu"s :)

So determined with his water and his cup.

Sunset night one.

Day 2 exploring Rovijn in the morning.

More friendly kittens. 

Contemplating the cathedral.

Day 2 dining seaside.

Lots of seafood and pasta on this trip.

Oh, and pizza :)

Jude drenched himself at dinner and the temps cooled so Pete gave Jude the shirt off his back for our walk home. What a father wouldn't do for his son! 

Day 3 beach time before our journey home.

Bye, bye Croatia

It was a long journey back to Amsterdam. A three hour car ride turned into 4 with massive toll lines and then the 2 hour flight home. This little man's 25th flight! What a crazy year it has been!

NBD

A Guide to Picking up the Ladies. Courtesy of our Little Flirt.

What can I say, our baby's got game. At the tender age of 16 months, he has mastered the art of flirtation. While lunching in the Croatian town of Dobrinj, Jude really put on a show. 

Here are his tips for getting the ladies.

Step one. Best to begin by removing one's pants. The diaper look is a sexy look. 

Step two. Take on a group of boys much bigger and stronger than yourself to impress the ladies.

Step 3. Show off... 

And then play shy.

Step 4. Go after one of the girls to incite jealousy in the other. 

It worked!

Well done, you've got them hooked.

Now remember. Always keep your options open.

And final advice to future Jude: Make sure to have your mother around to give the final approval :)

Local Croatian Experience on the Island of Krk

After exploring Plitvice Lakes National Park in the AM, we hit the road for our next destination, the island of Krk, 2 1/2 hours away. We were really struck by the interior of Croatia and how beautiful, fertile and mountainous it was. With the rocky coast, I imagined a more arid environment. We hit clouds and rain early in the drive and I thought what a bummer it was to have one of our beach days be rainy. But then we drove through a tunnel through a large mountain range at the coast and emerged to sunshine! 

We were headed to stay at the home of our new Amsterdam friends, Aaron and Nensi. Nensi is Croatian and when they heard we were planning a summer vacation to Croatia, they invited us to stay at their family's summer home on the island of Krk. There is no substitute for being shown around a new country by locals, so we took them up on their generous offer and stayed two nights in the village of Punat. The hardest part was not being able to communicate with Nensi's parents on our own. The only Croatian we learned was thank you, the bill and good night. 

Scenery on the drive to Krk

We did really well this trip timing nap time with our large car rides! 

Out the car window shot of Krk, just after the bridge.

The village of Punat in the distance.

Nensi's family's home, once the home of her grandparents and now passed on to her mother and father. 

Jude was psyched to be reunited with his pals Maren and Indy. Really sweet boys. 

After being welcomed with a glass of homemade Rakia (local liquor), we headed for the town beach. Rocky like the rest of them.

I promise I didn't let him eat the rocks, try as he might!

On our full day together, we went on a walking tour of Punat, where we took in the sights of the local playground, harbor and "boardwalk." 

Then we went for a driving tour of the island with the highest village, Dobrinj as our destination. Croatian wines are gaining popularity and there are a number of vineyards on the island. We tried many Grasevinas (white) and I am a fan! Will have to see if they sell that variety here or in the states.

Church with the mainland mountains in the background. This was the 1 out of 25 "out-the-window" shot that turned out!

Views from Dobrinj looking out to the mainland.

We stopped for lunch at Zora, known for the best local surlice (ragu dish made with a special homemade pasta typical of the town).

Lunch got a bit messy so we removed Jude's shorts to save them from the ragu!

There was a stage set up next to the restaurant in the town square. Endless entertainment for Jude (and anxiety for us as we feared he would run right off the edge!)

After lunch with drove to the village of Krk (the namesake of the island or visa versa). Here, there was an old medieval village surrounded by a stone wall. After a quick walk through town, we stopped at a nearby beach for more rock play time :) 

Krk

Beach with village of Krk behind