Istrian Peninsula

May 11, 2005- Catching Up
(photos:On walk to dinner,
Rovinj,
Disinterested horse,
Amphitheater in Pula)

Last night we walked a half hour along the promenade next to the Adriatic to the town of Volosko. We ate at Plavi Podrum. It means blue cellar. It was an upscale white tablecloth restaurant specializing in seafood. They wheeled the dead fish over to the tables on an ice filled cart, but Judi Cope was the only one who indulged. She had seafood risotto. David had a steak in pepper sauce and I had pasta Bolognese. They brought a starter of sardines marinated in olive oil and a bean salad on the house. I’m glad we had the long walk to and from. David left a PFLAG card as usual. It says, “Your business has just been supported by a relative or friend of a gay man or lesbian. We will continue to support businesses that do not discriminate against them.” The waiter, an older gentleman, followed us outside to thank us for the card. After dinner we wandered uphill through the town and were pleased to find ourselves in a real neighborhood. There were views to oooh and aaah over but it was too dark for pictures.

Rovinj Our driver,Drago, is sick so Vojo took over. He started for the Istrian Peninsula in the rain but brought us back in sunshine. Viki said it would’t be so green here if there was no rain. Our weather karma could be worse. It snowed in Bled last night.

Romans took over from Greeks and colonized Rovinj in 177 BC. They enslaved the locals or intermarried until they were tossed aside by Byzantines who built lots of churches. All the while Slavic tribes were moving down from the Carpathian Mts. The 7-8th centuries brought the French, and in the 13th century Venetians staked their claim. The Tartars entered the scene and Ottomans settled inland. Austria left its mark along the coast. In the 19th century Napoleon thought it would be good to add Slovenia, Croatia, and Dubrovnik to his collection. It was the first time Dubrovnik surrendered to anyone. In the late 1800’s the Hapsburgs were in residence followed by the Fascists. The Italians loved the Istrian Peninsula and appropriated it. They still think it should be theirs and everything is bilingual. Istrians served in the Italian army in WWII and get Italian pensions.

Josip Broz, nicknamed Tito, was one of ten children born to a Slovenian mother and Croat father. His nickname, which he got as a young man, means one who is bossy. He was an apprentice locksmith before enlisting in the Austrian army. Impressed by the Russian revolution and Lenin he formed an illegal Communist Party at age thirty. At the time Yugoslavia was run by one family who fled when Hitler came in 1941. After WWII Tito became a guerilla fighter and was eventually appointed Marshall and President for Life. He had three wives during his lifetime: Austrian, Russian, and Serbian. He died in 1980 and is still fondly thought of.

Our welcome to Rovinj was at the public toilet. One of our group couldn’t figure out how to get the electric-eye water spigot to work and asked the young male attendant for help. When he showed her how to do it she was impressed. He responded by telling her that he knew because Jesus knew. Then we noticed that the book he was reading and highlighting in bright yellow was the Bible. I wasn’t aware that Jesus was into high tech.

Rovinj is the quintessential medieval town. Its 13,000 people live in a fairyland of cobblestones, winding streets, tile roofs, iron balconies, open-air markets, and souvenir shops. We hiked uphill to the 5th century church of St. Eufemja (Euphemia). The poor girl was tortured on the rack then thrown to lions that didn’t eat her. She died of her injuries. Somehow her sarcophagus found its way from Italy to the shores of Rovinj. If that wasn’t miracle enough two young boys with the help of two cows found the strength to haul it to the top of the hill where the church now sits. We chose to shop on our way back down the hill rather than take the scenic route. We didn’t buy anything wonderful but enjoyed being on our own and poking into quaint corners.

We lunched at a farmhouse where we enjoyed minestrone soup, goulash with gnocchi fussily made from potato dough and sauerkraut. Dessert was fritoles, fried dough with raisins inside and dusted with powered sugar. They were a lot like beignets. I talked to some horses in the pasture after we ate but they weren’t interested in anything I could give them to eat. They were content to graze amidst clover and wild poppies.

Pula

Pula, a city of 60,000, is at the end of the peninsula and is famous for having the 6th largest Roman amphitheater in Europe. The guide told us that there’s only one Coliseum and it’s in Rome. Built in the 1st or 2nd century BC this amphitheater is near the sea for accessibility to ships that brought the fighting animals. The surrounding three-story shell is the original from 71 BC. It’s made of pure white limestone that sparkled like marble in the sun when new. Lead coated iron re-bars were used inside the stones as support. Pula didn’t warrant real marble. It held 23,000 spectators all of whom were admitted and fed for free. The catch was they were charged for the toilets. The steps in the entrances were high even for us and the people of that era were much shorter. There were no guards so the risers were built to slow down the rush of the crowds when the gates opened. Only the nobility and rich sat on the lower level. The middle held the merchants; slaves and women were allowed to climb to the third floor where they stood to watch the games. The contests lasted all day so sailors were hired to climb to the top and unfurl cotton sails to protect spectators from the sun. If it rained waxed fabric was used. We walked under the walls where animals were kept and gladiators waited to enter. There was an elevator system to carry them to the arena level for a grand entrance.

The games can be traced back to Etruscans. When an important person died they killed someone to accompany him in the after-life. The Romans originally only had contests to the death when a nobleman died. I guess they liked it so much it expanded. No Christians were killed at the amphitheater in Pula. Traditionally female gladiators were permitted to fight each other but that didn’t take place in Pula either. Animals were fed before contests and were usually killed in the arena. Gladiators mostly killed each other. Dead gladiators were cremated not fed to the animals. If gladiators fought and survived four years they were given their freedom and enough money to set them up in business. The games ended in 404 BC.

We ate dinner at the Kaneta, a restaurant that was accessible by climbing a long steep hill. It was worth it. David had streak and I had turkey both in Gorgonzola and mushroom sauce. Laura Lee and Judi Cope had green tagliatelli and turkey in a cream sauce.

The one computer in town that could read our floppy disk couldn’t get onto the Internet tonight. This email will catch you up.

Tomorrow we have an all day drive to Split for an overnight stay.

Toby