Rijeka Impression

Rijeka - or Fiume is a port town in Croatian Istria. I traveled here by bus from Bratislava. The timetable claimed that the trip would take 8 hours, but there was any mention that it would be “Balkan eight hours” at the time when I was supposed to be there I was still in Zagreb. I had to change to another bus and the drivers "su morali popit kavu"¹ had to have coffee, which took them about half an hour. So 8 hours became 10.5 hours.

Rijeka – Hrvatsko narodno kazalište Ivana Zajca

If you are interested in Rijeka, have any questions or you want to share your experience, you can find us also here.

 The good thing is, however, that there is a regular line and that we arrived there, with a two-hour delay, which is still normal there. Some tourists were slightly nervous, because their nature was in conflict with the Balkan "nema problema"²but after a while warmed by the heat and hours of the journey, they slept. However, if you are a multi-culti society fan, I recommend this method of transport.

Half of Europe is traveling with you on one bus, and everyone is trying to talk to their neighbors. From behind you hear a group of Spanish children screaming, beside you a heavy Viennese metalist examines what you are listening to, and in front of you a Turkish man having a call explaining in basic Croatian"da uopce no zna gdje se nalazimo"³. However, you will definitely not find anyone who has a problem with xenophobia. „Baš ovo mi je bilo najdražje“⁴This pleased me the most.

The bus brough us basically in the center of the action. The city is beautiful. With all its appearance and atmosphere, Italy is reminiscent of a little “smudged” Southern Slavic culture. I was pleased to watch that mix. In the past, the city belonged to Italy and even today there is a large Italian minority.

You will meet the Italians here, but unfortunately speaking Italian is not common. Older generations according to information from locals speak Italian or at least understand it well. What you will find here, however, is 100% Italian food. So prosciutto is really Italian prosciutto and gnocchi 4 formaggi⁵ tastes just like in Italy. That's why I basically came here. That was one of the reasons.

Rijeka - city center

   Another reason was to pick up the Croatian culture as much as possible. This city hvala Bogu is not overcrowded with tourists and when you meet some it is obvious they just got lost. The city center is not large and apart from a few sights you visit all in half a day such as the town museumwhere you will learn that all pirates at sea were Italians and Croats, is all lined with a port. It is basically more ports - for passenger ships, yachts, ferries, container ships. Who likes ports here it is a paradise for him.

But on the other hand, you get angry when you look out the window and see the beautiful clear sea water and nearby no beach. The best thing was that the house owner gave me a booklet “Riječke plaže”⁶when I arrived. All of them are at least 40 minutes away from the center. The sea near the center is quite deep, which is optimal for the construction of the port, but not for tourists. The only civilized-looking beach in the middle of the harbor was "plaža za pse"⁷. So you can not bath here, but dogs have a beach with fine pebbles and gradual entry into the sea. Maybe they'll build a buffet there for them. In addition, it is only necessary to add “dobrodošli na Balkan”⁸.

People can bath where they find access to the sea. The town is completely laid on a rock and the only approaches to the sea are artificially built stjene with some steps. Of course, there are at least 5 meters of water under you. Adriatic sea is as clean as nowhere else. Here you can see the impact of tourism on the cleanliness of the sea.

Adriatic sea with the port

     Such beaches are an ideal place for people who like to learn about local culture and do not suffer from xenophobia. At the same place, which is about 5 x 5 meters, you are pushing about 5-6 people. I personally most liked to share this atmosphere with 5 Croats, who when I found out that I learned their language were very surprised. Finally, I wondered why everyone was wondering. So we were looking at the Adriatic Sea together, we all wondered.

The next few days we were pushing all foreigners here. To my great surprise, I found out Russian people speak English quite well, some even had a tendency to "govorit hrvatski"⁹. As for English, I was surprised by the Croatians themselves. Many seeing me studying a book in a kind of strange language spoke to me in English. Knowledge of foreign languages ​​in the Balkans is getting better. Therefore, I learn their languages ​​and in general I find it strange to speak English in Croatia. It just doesn't match together.

In my future life I want to be a dog living in Rijeka

You can also take your dog here

Rijeka and its kafiće

     But lying on the beach still has its charm. In the evening it is nice to walk around the centre that lives its life. Kafići, restorani, slastičarnice.¹⁰ Lots of people everywhere, live discussions about current topics, music. The most beautiful thing is to watch this reception of life from a bench with a sladoled¹¹ in hand. I don't recommend watching it from the restaurant, because as longer as you sit there, you increase the risk of meeting a local man who will comment you with words “Bog je na našoj strani“ or „ja bih sad dao pola plaće da mogu s tobom odmah otići ća“¹²which means to say something that it was fate that we met . Typical Southern practices.

Josip´s Titanic

      There is no need to talk about the nation of Croatia I think. Many Slovaks were in Croatia, so they have experience with them. “Nema problema” suits to someone, others do not mind. A nice example of the Croatian mentality was the lady on the market where I was buying 2 kilograms of grape bunches "samo za 25 kuna"¹³. Every morning I heard 'Ljuta sam. Stalno puše. Nigdje ne puše samo tu. Već 10 dana '¹⁴. In addition to this information, she once complained to tourists, which of course pleased me because she did not reveal that I am also one of them.

This is the sea in Rijeka

      So why to go to Rijeka? I think this city is an ideal choice for people who want to relax mentally anddon´t think. You will find plenty of small cafes and tucked out restaurants where you can have a cup of coffee in the morning. Stay either in a smaller hotel where you can be quasi incognito. Staff will give you peace of mind. The disco will not rattle under the window until five in the morning and you will not be hitting the mass of tourists with cameras in the city. People will be cordial to you, but they will accept your loneliness.

Turn off your phone, say you're missing at work, throw away your notebook. Sit in the evening on the riverside on the bench opposite Tito's crumbling steamer, drink coffee, light a cigarette, read a few verses of Miroslav Krleža, watch the sunset and just let life with all its colors flow around you. No one will notice you, you will be lost in the crowd, no one will scold you „ma kakvi turisti nam svaku godinu dolaze…“¹⁵.

At first glance, the city is not specific, but it is amazing exactly for this. And if a tourist with his "Enschuldigung" hurt you all, you just have to look strangely to say the Balkan "ha?" and you can come back and dream again.

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