Today, the pictures are going to be much better than the words. We started down the valley to see the picturesque town, Draguć. There is just something about the architecture, red roofs and bell towers that give Eastern Europe a quintessential look.
Next stop was Petra Pilosa – a castle first known in 965 AD, and is now in ruins. Our favorite kind 🙂
The best part of this adventure is that the card machine wouldn’t work, so despite trying three different cards and receiving connection errors for every one (not decline, so clearly an issue with their machine), we had no choice but to jump the fence. Or better yet, climb under the turnstile…. Oooops. Such a good decision as it was the perfect spot to picnic and climb to see the 360 view.
Luckily we had grabbed our passports just in case, cause we decided to cross a border. Our next castle was in Slovenia. Really high up. Hanging off the side of a cliff. It’s a good thing we aren’t afraid of heights (just kidding, Kevin was NOT a fan – don’t mind his face). The view was amazing and well worth the dicey rock climbing we had to do to get up there. From the top, you could see Croatia on one side, Slovenia in the middle and off to the right, you could see Italy. The cliffs, the valley, the ocean. Truly just beautiful.
Onward in Slovenia is Hrastovlje – Holy Trinity Church. Such an interesting history, as the church was built in the 12th century, and in the 15th century a full, fortified wall was built around it as a defensive mechanism against the Ottomans. We’ve never seen a church with such protection before, but it makes a whole lot of sense given the wars. Now on the inside were beautiful paintings on every surface with the most striking being the Dance of Death — this is depicting every walk of life — farmers, doctors, royalty and the pope all dancing to their grave. Showing that nobody lives forever.
Another really striking piece was the ceiling where they depicted the first seven days of God creating the universe. With the water, sun, moon, etc all across the top with the seventh day of rest.
What’s crazy is these were painted in the late 1400s, but were plastered over and not rediscovered until the 1950s. However that means they were really protected, which allowed them to be the shape that they are today. Such a unique find and worth the entry fee.
Back to Pazin where we hiked two different waterfalls and had some traditional Croatian food (ćevapčići with ajvar sauce — essentially skinless minced meat sausages with roasted red pepper sauce). This is reminiscent of the Yugoslavia days before the fall, and so more comfort like food. Finished the day at dusk looking at our neighboring castle.
