This travel day involves a very short drive across the Istrian peninsula to Opatija where we’ll spend the next 3 nights.

No one slept well last night, so it’s a slow morning. Oly eats the leftover pasta before I even have a chance to make eggs for breakfast.

Stefan and I both get some work done, and the kids play an elaborate game of Minnie’s Pet Shop. It’s impressive. Then I get in a short run. This city is awesome for running, and I know I’ll miss it.

We pack things up and leave after lunch time, stopping at a grocery store for sandwich supplies. Oly falls asleep with his sandwich unfinished in his lap, and Oliver takes care of the rest for him.

The drive is only an hour and a half, and it’s beautiful. There are green hills, and we pass through a few tunnels on the edge of cliffs. Scenic without a lot of carsick-inducing winding.

We arrive in Opatija. We are staying in a special little beach town called Volosko that is part of Opatija. We drive down a narrow street until we reach our Airbnb. We find public parking down the road and message our host. He says his sister is at the apartment, so we load up all our stuff and walk down there (two blocks). No one is there. I message our host, and he doesn’t respond. I call. We wait. For an hour.

The woman across the street introduces herself as Sylva. Her family has lived in this town for over 5 generations, and her home is an adorable little cottage that could be in Berkeley. She invites us to wait on her patio. She cleans off the table and starts bringing the kids treats. We may be liberal with the ice cream this summer, but we rarely let the kids have things like juice or candy. Sylva brings each child a cup of juice, a piece of candy and a cookie. Whoa. They love her. She seems super happy to have guests, but she doesn’t sit with us. I think she doesn’t feel confident enough with her English. The patio is covered in paintings by her husband. He comes out in his tighty-whiteys and plays with Oliver. They both seem to love Oliver the most. Then Sylva brings ice cream. Oh my goodness. This woman is so kind, but my kids are going to have a massive sugar high.

Someone walks into our building, so Stefan runs over there and asks about the Airbnb. The guy mentions the owner is a total flake, and he’ll show us where the key is hidden. So we’re in! We say our nicest goodbyes to Sylva and walk across the street. We hope to see her again this weekend.

To reach this Airbnb, we go up a side alley, into an inner courtyard and through our door. The apartment has just been refurbished. The new floors are pretty, and I love the open living space. We can see the ocean from one of the windows.  

We’re excited explore our new town, so we just drop our stuff and go.

There are many stairs down to the water, but it’s not a direct route. We wind past people’s back patios where they’re beginning to grill and have cocktails. There’s a cool little restaurant with only 4 tables tucked between buildings. Looks very hipster.

Then we reach the main marina. There are about 4 restaurants circling the marina, all busy with couples and families having drinks. People are walking around in their swimsuits, and kids run around in even less.

There’s an area for people to play water polo, and many families sit on blankets playing cards on the pier. We watch the fish swim in the clear waters below.

We walk for half an hour on the tiled pathway along the water. People are swimming, and it reminds me a bit of Arild, Sweden. The kids have fun climbing on the rocks lining the other side of the pathway. One tree even looks like it’s staring at us! We plan to walk this more tomorrow.

We go back to the marina for dinner at Plavi Podrum. It’s a rather fancy restaurant with white table cloths, and everyone else here seems to be on a date. The server suggests a local white wine for us, and it’s amazing. When I tell him it’s great, he answers,”i know. I wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise.” I love this place.

Before we order, he invites us to look at the fresh fish inside. The lagoustines are still kicking! Lilian picks swordfish, and Stefan and I select sea bass. Then Stefan sees the fish soup at the next table. Fish soup is probably Lillian’s favorite food. Stefan and Lillian start with that, and I get a local shrimp dish. They are incredibly good.

The fish is some of the best fish I’ve ever had. And it doesn’t hurt that this ambiance is unbelievably romantic and charming. I feel so lucky to be sitting here right now.

We eat slowly and enjoy sitting in this beautiful place. Then we walk the 3 minutes home.

//Stefan Note: Croatia is really nice, the town is a little Croatian arild