Croatia! Into the Hills on Day 19!

Rain, rain, go away! Come again another day!

We are prepared with rain gear today as we head towards the hill towns of Istria. There is a high chance for precipitation, but we are optimistic, and prayers are offered up to keep those rain drops from falling. Gray cumulus clouds crowd the horizon over the Adriatic, and we are told that Opatija is the rain capital of Croatia!

In fact, there is three times more rain here than London! Residents are “part people and part frogs!”

Our local guide tells us that with the wind and clouds, residents are truly “under the weather” resulting in moody and grumpy behavior. When the northern Bura winds blow and bring the sun, it takes all their troubles away!

It is very foggy today which happens when the air and water temperatures are the same. The mountains which reach peaks of 4,000 ft are completely covered with clouds. At a smile break, it is sprinkling as we head in, and a downpour heading back to the bus!

In the 1400’s, Austrians arrived on the Istria peninsula. Realizing it was the closest coast to Vienna, they built a port to improve the economy of the Austria-Hungarian empire along with three roads and a railroad.

Money flowed in, and with the empire at peace, there was no place to spend it. King Franz Joseph decided to make a home in Opatija, a sleepy fishing village with a view of the port. Rich seafaring merchants connected to the port soon followed, and families came to stay. They found a wonderful mild winter climate of little snow which was a change from their native Austria, and by the mid-1800’s, construction was booming.

Hotels and villas line the street.

One even has a “For Sale” sign!

There are gardens,

and wall murals,

and Robyn lures feline friends with cat treats!

These winter-time vacation homes were not enough, and in 1884, the first hotel on the eastern Adriatic coast was built.

In 1914, the world changed with the start of WWI, and the Austrian-Hungarian empire fell apart. In 1919, borders changed, with part of the area belonging to Yugoslavia and the rest to Italy.

In 1945, another world war ended, and Yugoslavia had a new ruler. Tito fought hard and succeeded in returning the entire Istria peninsula back to the Slavic people.

How do you build loyalty? One way is to create a physical bond which Tito accomplished. He wanted to connect the Adriatic coast with the hill towns, but the mountains laid between. Many people thought he was crazy when he said, “Build a tunnel through the mountain!”

Started in 1960’s and continuing through the 70’s, treacherous limestone and underground caves and lakes hindered the engineers. Finally in 1981, the year after Tito’s death, the 3 1/2 mile tunnel opened.

The third longest tunnel in Croatia became a lifeline to residents and a game-changer to businesses. Many people said it was a human victory over nature! They are currently working to add two additional lanes to the tunnel in an adjacent tube. It is projected to be finished by the end of the year. The question is which year!

Istria did not suffer during the Balkans War and only saw one day of fighting. Without the scars and healing necessary, they became one of the strongest areas in the country. It is currently chestnut and mushroom season. Evidently, the residents become obsessive in March-May searching for wild asparagus!

Istria has over 136 medieval hillside towns, and the population is increasing with 250,000 people and a strong economy focused on blending agriculture and fishing with tourism. A strong work ethic results in low unemployment, and residents say if you don’t have a job, you are lazy!

Istria is divided into three parts:

“White” due to the limestone around the mountains and the eastern coast which is not densely inhabited and where visitors go to enjoy nature.
“Red” due to the iron oxide in the fertile soil on the west coast and
“Gray” where the soil is clay and not good for agriculture in the central region. However, two crops thrive in this soil, grapes, and olive trees.

As we pass a hillside town with the church in the middle of a cluster of homes, ancient partial stone walls are evident. When the walls were no longer necessary for defense, they were torn down and recycled for other projects in the town!

With Slovenia only 7-8 minutes away, and a few more to Italy, people here only have about 2% unemployment. There is a small brewery and a motor factory, and city council likes to invest in people. Some kooky ideas have resulted in a growth of residents and entrepreneurs which is perfect for also encouraging tourism. This is a car destination since most tourists are from the neighboring countries of Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Italy.

An emerging idea has been the rise of “Robinsonism” named after Robinson Crusoe where visitors test their skills and abilities in the middle of no where! It’s not for everyone but it is a different vacation for sure!

Investors have claimed a number of dilapidated estates, renovated them, made them family friendly, and advertised to come and enjoy Istria as it once was! Of course, the past didn’t include modern appliance’s, indoor plumbing and swimming pools! However, people are surrounded by nature, relative isolation, and just “kinda” off the grid but not totally.

We begin to see billboard signs for truffles! I’ve heard of them, of course, and I’ve seen them on cooking shows, but I’ve never tasted one. And today, we are going truffle hunting!

But first, in Motovun, we climb a steep cobblestone street lined with shops… handmade scarfs, bags, a print shop, jewelry, a grocery, and souvenirs. Inside a store lined with truffle products, we have a tasting of black truffles, white trufffles with porcini mushrooms…my favorite, and white truffles with button mushrooms. What a treat!

There are dried truffles, truffles mixed with olive oil and honey, truffle powder, and chocolate mixed with truffles. If you like truffles, this must be truffle heaven!

We walk along the walls which once protected this city from invaders. It’s an amazing view, and did I mention the rain has stopped, and a fresh breeze blows?

There is a persimmon tree full of fruit by the wall…

and green glass jugs and huge olive oil jars.

Roof tiles show their age…

and then it’s time to head from the top back along the steep cobblestones stopping at shops

and maybe to visit the truffle shop again!

There are two types of truffles, black and white. Black truffles can be farmed in addition to finding them in the wild with a season of March-December. White truffles are the opposite. They are usually found during the short season of September-December, but an unusually dry fall has delayed the season this year. They cannot be farmed, are much more expensive, and grow wild in clay soil around oak, elm, and popular trees.

Truffles are only found in three places in the world…southeast France, northwest Italy, and central Istria. Along with the soil and forests, truffles like hot summers, mild falls and springs, and a very wet winter. Truffles grow underground, and in Istria, dogs are the hunters with about 1,000 people licensed to find and sell the truffles. Pigs are used in France and Italy, but they are hard to control.

Our guide says truffle hunters always whine! A kilo of black truffles in the past cost about 400 euros. With the poor season this year, a kilo recently sold for 1200 euros. In 1991, the largest white truffle in the world was found here weighing three lbs. They built a monument to the truffle in the middle of the traffic circle! I know…wish I had a picture to show you, but I did see it as the bus drove past!

We meet with a local truffle hunter and two of his seven dogs for a demonstration. He was hunting truffles this morning with visitors for three hours before finding the prized fungus. Since we don’t have time for an actual hunt, two people in our group hide a couple of truffles in the woods as we wait.

The dogs are released and the hunt is on! Of course, nature calls first, but after that, the dogs are sniffing and searching. Truffle hunting dogs are trained to love the scent from birth. Truffles are rubbed on the mother’s teats when the puppies nurse, and they learn to associate the smell of truffles with food and pleasure.

As the dogs mature, they are rewarded for finding truffles placed on the ground, then slightly deeper and deeper in the dirt. Not all dogs become expert truffle hunters. Our hunter left a job as a civil engineer to hunt truffles professionally and usually spends 6-8 hours per day during the season in the public woods.

After a few minutes, the dogs locate a scent and start to dig. He calls the dogs off, digs, and there is the prize!

Hum, officially the world’s smallest town, is 300 ft long, 100 ft wide, with two streets, three rows of houses, and 25 inhabitants! There are flowers…

and, of course, a cat!

A local home has been converted into a museum filled with displays and antiques…

and a distillery of twenty-five fruit brandys!