An Istria Travel Journal

Map by Europe A La Carte

Tips, links and experiences from a visit to Rovinj, Groznjan, and Motovun, traveling the wine roads and eating well in October, 2009.

"Much of what you'll eat in Istria is produced within a 10-mile radius..." "absurdly simple cooking, few but absolutely local and seasonal ingredients..." These are the kinds of things I had read about Istria, the peninsula at the top of Croatia that is surrounded by the Adriatic Sea. Intrigued by thoughts of super-local foods, I decided to make it my next travel destination.

My husband and I put together a three-week itinerary—some time with family friends in Northern Italy, a few days in Venice, and then a luxurious week and a half to explore this small but diverse area. And, we would coincide our trip with Truffle Days, conveniently timed around my birthday in early October.

As I was planning our trip I was surprised to discover a lack of travel guides, articles or travelogues written by Americans. The New York Times had a few articles. Lonely Planet's Croatia guidebook had a scant but helpful 20 pages on this region. I was able to find a few articles from British, Canadian, and a other travelers around the world. Official Istria websites (general and gourmet) were also enormously helpful. Tips found digging deep on Slow Food, Chowhound, Virtual Tourist and Google Earth rounded out our preparations. (Did I mention I was unemployed!?)

Logging our travel adventuresI was determined to log our experiences in detail so when I returned I could share a full account of our travels with other Americans who are interested in this beautiful country, and those who so generously shared their own tips and experiences.

I should first recommend that any visitor to this country should familiarize themselves on its rich and often stormy history, so you can understand some of the factors that have driven its geography, society and food culture. This ancient region was an important trade route in the 2nd millenium BC, and has been ruled by a host of empires and countries, including Rome, the Huns, Germany, Venice, Austria, France, Italy, and of course most recently Yugoslavia. Its recent independence (1991) is evident in some interesting ways, including the wine industry.

Also, you should know that our travel style revolves around architecture, food and local culture. We don't do a lot of tours and museums, we mostly stay in local apartments or rooms, and we try to travel relatively cheaply but well. So, here it is! Dobrodošli!

Rovinj, a Beautiful and Enchanting Fishing Port

A quick three or so hour drive from Venice, this beautiful city has been an important fishing village since between the 3rd and 5th century. Originally an island, it was connected to the mainland in 1763. The pedestrian-only (our favorite kind!) walled old town still exists on the peninsula that was created, and it was here that we spent most of our time.

Sunset on our first nightAlthough not typical for us, we chose to stay at the Hotel Adriatic - partly because we had originally planned to take the ferry from Venice and would arrive late in the evening (we ended up renting a car) - mostly because of its perfect location, with an amazing view of the harbor - and finally because I found a great deal at 50% off (about $65/night), which is the kind of thing you come across traveling off season and with research time on your hands. The hotel was fine and comfortable, but the interior renovation job is very austere compared to its historical and beautiful facade. Breakfast (included) was a wonderful buffet, complete with Western luxuries that are rare in Europe - eggs and ham to order.

We spent our days exploring the old streets and marveling at the marble stones and the architecture. Dinner the first night was at Veli Joze. This quaint and comfortable place is full of tchotkes. We have seafood risotto, fuzi (a pasta shape we are quick to discover is ubiquitous in Istria) with a meat ragu and grilled stuffed squid. It's sublime. After dinner we discover the local grappa two ways (with herbs and with honey) at a lively little bar in a tiny square.

The next day we wake to an absolutely perfect and glorious day. It's about 80, clear and calm. We've been eyeing a nice-looking tour boat in the harbor, and while we usually don't do these tourist-kind of things it is just too beautiful a day to stay off the water.

The Delfin from the Pirate's CaveWe negotiate a 6-hour excursion on the Delfin that will take us around the local islands and up the Lim Fjord complete with a fish "picnic" and all-you-can-drink wine and grappa for about $100. There are only about six other people on the large boat, so we feel like we have it to ourselves. The Delfin staff guys are a fun bunch - playing super-cheesy American classic rock and keeping our cups full. In the Fjord we stop off at the "Pirate's Cave" for a little exploration. It's a blissful, relaxing day.

That evening we find Giannino, an Italian place in the old town. We started with a fish carpaccio, which just melted in our mouths and was so fresh and awesome. Another dish of grilled squid (we love the stuff) and herbed noodles with mushrooms and shrimp. We have our first experience of Istrians offering us local grappa gratis (this would happen a lot, we find). This one is dark, sweet and strong - similar to Yagermeister.

Everyone here is quickly speaking English to us so it's pretty easy to communicate so far. One thing we immediately notice is that most of the tourists (which there are a fair number given that it's off-season) are Germans. A few Italians, a few Brits. No Americans. Interesting...

Pula and the Roman Ruins

This important industrial port city boasts several amazing Roman ruins, including a 1st-century Roman ampitheatre, roman walls and the Triumphal Arch of Sergius.

We swing by for a day mostly to see these ruins. A $8 ticket gets us into the ampitheatre, which is remarkably well-preserved, with two rows of 72 arches and an almost fully-intact outer wall.

 The Citadel

We wander through the arch and up through the 17th-century citadel and back down to the old section of town. Here is the Forum, the town's central meeting place, which has the Temple of Augustus, erected from 2 BC to AD 14 and the old town hall. We wander some more, poke our heads into Pula's 5th-century cathedral, have a quick wine and beer and then we're off!

An Agrotourism Experience and Speaking Croatian

Agritourism DOL - The view from our terraceOne thing that we try to do when we travel is to stay with local people so we can learn more about their culture and way of life. Given our interest in food and wine, agritourism is a great way to go. Istria has been building up and promoting this way of travel for a while. This website was particularly helpful as it listed many different opportunities. Since I was hoping to explore all areas of this region, I ended up finding a place through the Central Istria tourism office in Pazin. Agritourism DOL in Gologorički dol looked fantastic online and for about $50 per night sounded perfect.

The dining room, set for a big partyThis large family has been in this location for centuries. They make their own prsut (Istrian proscuitto), cheese, wine, grappa and olive oil and have cattle, horses, pigs, chickens, donkeys, rabbits and doves on the farm in a beautiful, quiet valley.

After a welcome quartino (quarter of a litre) wine, we get settled into our room, which is small but pleasant, has a small terrace with a great view of the valley and farm and a teeny tiny little private bathroom.

We head downstairs to the quaint restaurant for dinner. Most of the agritourism places have these somewhere on their property (often in their lower levels) and are usually open to the public with reservations. A very large table is set for about 30, so we wonder what is going on. We are sat at a comfy small table next to a cozy fireplace.

Up until now, since we've been in high tourist areas, we haven't really needed to speak Croatian. Depite the fact that everyone immediately thinks we're German (did I mention how many German tourists there were?), once they find out we're American (and usually surprised at that), people have been generous about helping us by speaking a bit of English, or a mix of that and Italian, which we're a little more experienced with, and which is pretty common in the coastal and northern regions.

Here our hostess does not speak English and despite her gracious attempts we are having more difficulty communicating. I was hoping to learn to cook the local specialties (as described on the website) or find out more about the farm and its workings and products. But we are hampered by the language and I'm a bit disappointed that we are unable to make more of this opportunity. We have been studying our Croatian phrase book and practicing on the plane and in the car but it's just not the same as speaking it in the environment. So we try to make the pleasantries at least and this is met with appreciation.

Her daughter does speak English and she serves our dinner and talks with us this evening. I have brought some of my fig ginger bourbon jam to share as a gift with our hosts and present it to her. She brings out an amazing and comforting chicken soup. The broth is so clear and light, and it's filled with fine egg noodles. Home cooking at its best!

The large party is starting to gather and we are trying to figure out what is going on. There is a priest (apparently from town), gifts, and merriment. And lots of grappa! We greet them with dobra večer (good evening) as they arrive.

Our second course comes out. It is homemade gnocchi, fuzi and ravioli stuffed with their cheese. And delicious chicken ragu to top it all. They share grappa with us (again, gratis) after dinner. It is strong and we're amazed that the group (including the priest!) is drinking so much of it. As we drift off to sleep upstairs we hear the group singing Amazing Grace. How soothing.

Breakfasts in the morning are simple (as most European breakfasts are), with bread, cheese, preserves and prsut - all homemade and all delicious. As we check out after our second night, she gives me a small version of the wine vase you see in the photo above as a thank you gift. It's sweet and most appreciated!

Exploring Small Towns and Konobas

There were so many Istrian specialties that I really wanted to experience and mostly we found these in Konobas, or small, authentic and local inns that are found in nearly every town. Exploring here is easy - it is a small area with diverse terrain and really good signage.

Our favorite Konoba meal in Brsec, a small town on the East coast, at Konoba BatelanI foud a great guidebook - Istra Gourmet - which I had downloaded from the website and then picked up a hard copy in a tourist offie at the beginning of our trip. This book covers the wine roads, the olive roads, and all of the specialties. It also has a great list of restaurants, taverns and agritourism places which was incredibly helpful. 

My first taste of truffles at Humska Biska, in Hum, "the smallest town in the world." After this, we were given the local grappa, made from miseltoeThe menus at Konobas followed nearly the same formula at each place. Starters of carpaccios (beef or fish), soups (including the special manestra, or minestrone), a variety of pastas with meat ragus in the interior and fish on the coast, a range of special meat dishes (including the Istrian ox, pork loin and sausages), and simple salads. I was amazed that these tiny places, usually run out of someone's home, could hold that much inventory!

Steak with mushrooms and truffles at Konoba LucianaKonoba Luciana in Nova Vas, the heart of wine country, was the only business in town, with a small terrace in front of Luciana's home. As an Italian, we had a lot of fun with her and her guests. We had asked for an Insalata Verde (green salad) and she said, "I'll see what I have in my garden." Perfect. This is exactly why we came here - I read that most of the food you eat in Istria is probably sourced within 10 kilometers of where you are, and that is certainly proving to be the case. The Italians buy us grappa rifosco, which is a different style. It is sweet and strong, with intense clove flavors.