Hi-Ho-Hum

In the month of Mai in southern Germany, every weekend save one is a holiday weekend.  The last weekend of May affords any working Bavarian a Thursday and Friday off (I believe this is to celebrate the ascension of Christ), making it a prime weekend for a roadtrip.  R & I took this opportunity to take a 5 hour journey to Opatija, Croatia.

The drive is absolutely breath-taking: first through the craggy Bavarian Alps, then, depending on your route, the soaring Italian Alps, which swallow you in and spit you out of its many tunnels to allow you into the sliver of Slovenia, with its own sloping mountains, green plains, and signs for spelunking, which finally takes you to the charming hillside villages of Croatia along the Adriatic Sea.

Opatija is to me, perhaps, what a smaller, more affordable Monaco might be.  I've never been to Monaco, but that is what I picture in my head.  While the beaches are nothing to sing about--most are slabs of cement--the villages are quaint, picturesque, with multiple daytrips and see-worthy ancient sites, including a colleseum in Pu'la, similar in size and grandiosity of the ruins in Rome, but less crowded.

We traveled along the outskirts of the provincial plains of Istria till we came to a town (?) village (?) so small, it was literally off the map--our gps system had no idea where we were and just pointed to blank space on its screen, as if to say, "Good luck! I hope you know where you are, because I'm just gonna say you're.....here (insert random arrow)".  Hum is reported to be the smallest town in the world, with a population of about 20, and around 8 buildings that date back to medieval times.  And it's no wonder it is the smallest town in the world. The road to get there looks more like a bicycle path that hairpins back and forth steep mountains, giving you a mild heart attack any time you turn yet another curve to find a car head on and one inch from your car.  Fortunately, we made it through without damage or death, and can live to tell you that Hum is famous not only for its small size, but also for its truffles.  White and black, there are jars of every imaginable type of truffle in one of the towns two gift shops (which are directly opposite each other).  The other gift shop sells olive oils, honey, and grappa (nasty stuff that tastes like cough syrup). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hum,_Croatia

We took a fishing trip the next day, but R had our only big catch--a mini-fish about the size of my hand, which we threw back.  But it was a beautiful evening with a dreamy sunset--quite a night to be out on a boat when the water and sky cast a pink and orange glow all around us.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opatija