Back to the coast of Croatia !! Senj, KrK, Rijeka, and one or two other stops ...

In our attempt to stay off the toll roads and believing the alternate routes within Croatia to be a breeze, off we went. (after viewing the GPS). About 10 minutes into the journey it became clearly apparent that this was not the case, "surely this would end soon" we thought. Not only was the road narrow but to top it all it was windy and through the mountains...... Oncoming traffic consisted of huge trucks carrying logs .........  blind corners being the norm......   this was going to take awhile for sure !!

On arrival at the coast things got back to normal thank goodness. Now we could relax and enjoy the scenery from here on in. Stopping off at the various towns, villages etc was absolutely wonderful. Seeing and "experiencing" the way of today's life and that that's gone before was both interesting and most enlightening. Sadly our ability to remember which photo's were taken where has become a mission of not so please simply enjoy the shots for now.

Yep , another uphill to see a castle high up in the mountain.. This time by bike . Well, sort of ...

Yep , up and into the mountains we go, this time by foot, leaving our bikes locked securely at the coastal restaurant.

On the hill two kilometers above Mošćenička Draga lies Mošćenice at 173 meters above the sea level. This town is situated in the place of the historical settlement of the Illyrian tribe Liburnia, after which the entire region was named. Due to the breathtaking views over the entire Kvarner Bay, Mošćenice is a favorite excursion place for numerous tourists, as well as a starting point for hikers and mountaineers on their way up the hiking trails to the old, abandoned villages (995m) on Učka Mountain.

Here is where a bit of luck stepped in. Normally this church is closed to visitors but due to a special group arrival we managed to sneak in with them. 

Besides viewing the inside it didn't help in terms of the history lesson as it was in German ... lol.   So there we were listening to German until I got itchy feet, then it was straight to the door we went.... wow, the looks we got , huh !

The rest of the town high up in the mountains was a most pleasant experience, I could see us living here in total peace and tranquillity... until the tourist arrive that is !!

 

 The happy squid hunter returning triumphantly with his prey .  I guess someone was going to eat well that night .