The Croatia event was created completely spontaneously. It was a half liter of Chlibny's gift from Ukraine
. At my brother's birthday party, it was discussed that they were going on holiday to Croatia this year. We already had ours planned, but after a pint of vodka, a plan was born to take a long weekend by the sea and visit them. I had to sacrifice one running race for this, which deprived me of the title of Runczech Star, but when it is an overnight train journey, I get a bit soft after a bit of alcohol. When my mom found out the next day, she asked if she could join and by the evening I was already buying tickets to Rijeka and a little early to Pula on Regiot. We later learned that they hadn't found anything decent there and booked an apartment in Rabac instead, but that will be sorted out.
Rabac
It's the end of August and time to go. I go straight from work and in Cologne, after a year, we get on the yellow train with Zanet again, destined for Rijeka. We equipped ourselves with three bottles of wine for the journey and by the time Mum got on in Brno, the third one was already opening. Thanks to it being the end of the season, the train wasn't sold out and we had the compartment all to ourselves. The air conditioning and service worked, the toilets in some limited mode too. As for the cleanliness of the carriages, well, it was obvious that they hadn't cleaned it much in Prague, because on the floor, there was still rubbish from previous passengers. But for someone who has traveled half of Ukraine in Plackartnyy class, it's still a pretty luxurious ride. We go to bed around 10:00 and then are woken up at 1:00 a.m. by border control.
In the morning I wake up around 8am in Zagreb, which means about 2 hours late. The rest of the crew that drove overnight report that they have already arrived in Rabac. We arrive in Rijeka before eleven and go straight to the connecting bus expecting it to stop in Rabac, as we still had tickets to Pula which could not be changed at the last minute. Luckily the whole bus went to Rabac and only one lady continued on.
Drink regularly in small sips
Rijeka - Railway Station
We're going to look for accommodation. The local houses here are built on a steep hillside, so you have to climb a lot of stairs. We didn't find the right public staircase the first time, and climbed up the first street through private gardens. We even climbed some people's ladders. Fortunately, no one bothered. Then we noticed that there was a blue sign pointing out the connecting public stairs. You can also tell the public stairs have white railings.
Rabac - Mark for public staircase
Rabac - Public staircase
When we finally reach the right street after about a thousand steps, the owner is waiting for us and shows us to our apartment with a nice view of the bay.
Rabac - Entrance gate to the apartment
Rabac - Views from the apartment
We settle in, cook lunch, how else but from our own supplies, and go on the promenade. On the way, we stop at my brother's apartment, where he sleeps after the hard journey. So, you drive for a shorter time, but then you kill the whole day resting along the way, whereas we, from the train, were rested and full of strength. So we go down to the promenade by ourselves, to see what they have here. The first betrayal is that they take credit cards almost nowhere, and the second is that withdrawals from all the ATMs here are charged for Revolut. As a result, the only one who did business with us was the one who took the cards, because we had cash, enough for two ice creams. We had one at the stand, where the guy immediately started at us with "Hi buddy, hi cat" and all the snippets of Czech expressions he learned from his Czech friend and finished it off at the checkout, a discount for Czechs and we got the ice cream for about half price :D.
Rabac - Boardwalk
Rabac - Souvenirs
Rabac
Then we heard from my brother that they were going to the beach to see if we would join them. So even though it was under a cloud and the sea was cold, we managed to swim. We then stopped for a beer at the bar and returned to the apartments in the early evening to have dinner, with the idea of meeting them later. This welcoming party went on until about 1am, when in a heavily inebriated state I walked back up the stairs to our apartment.
Night Rabac
The following day
I felt pretty fit for the way I looked in the evening. We have breakfast and head to Maslenica beach for a swim. Once we're sufficiently bathed, we make our way to the former bauxite loading site of Telerefika. The bauxite was mined near Labin and transported by cable car down to Rabac where it was loaded onto ships.
Good morning
Rabac - Maslenica beach
Rabac - Sunbathing
Rabac - Teleferika
After that, we go back to the beach and continue to the promenade to have lunch somewhere. Eventually we didn't have to go far because we came across a pizza place that takes cards, and that was a clear sign that we would end up here.
After a hearty lunch, we go to check ATMs to see if any will dispense Kuny without a fee, but we are unsuccessful. During this search we come across a shop where we buy some food for the evening and edible souvenirs. Mum separates from us goes back to the beach where the rest of us have arrived and we are still testing ATMs and looking for a shop that sells local Rakia. We celebrate our success in a small shop near the Narcissus Hotel. After that we return to the beach and enjoy the last swim of this long weekend.
Rabac - Maslenica beach
In the early evening, we head upstairs to our apartment again, where we have a dinner of Ravioli, imported from Germany, and in the evening we head back to the other apartment, where we sit with Rakie until midnight. Tomorrow we will travel to Pula and return to the Czech Republic.
Useful links:
Regiojet
Apartment with beautiful sea view
Other accommodation in Rabac
