Ciao Trieste e Udine (I pozdrav Rijeko)

Today was a walking tour day. The weather was really nice and the rain and wind held off and it made for a nice day walking around.

The guide was quirky here too. It must be an Italian thing. I didn’t really pay much attention to what he was saying. I was more engrossed in taking pictures. I remember him saying things about how the city was conquered by the Hapsburgs, the Venetians, the Ottomans, and the Austro-Hungarians and how after the end of the war it was a free city independent of Italy for a number of years.

You can see the route we took below

He showed us a shortcut up the hill instead of the stairs. There is a lift that takes you up to the castle. As much as I like walking, I enjoyed using the lift.

I went to the Santa Maria Maggiore church to have a look around before heading back to the lift and up to Piazza della Cattedrale and went to look at the frescoes they have in there.

There is a bell tower that I decided that I wanted to climb and see the views from there. It costs €2 and there are 90 steps. On the way up, there is a glass floor that you have to walk across and there was a woman here that struggled with it and was really scared. I felt for her.

The views from above were really cool. It’s a place I can recommend visiting. If you do it on the first Sunday of the month, it’s free… as is the castle.

I decided to walk back down to the seafront from here and it was a nice slow walk down this time. No guide rushing me.

I went along the pier they have there and sat there for about an hour just watching the world and people go by.

I had to head back to the hostel to drop some stuff off as my bag was heavy. I then headed out to get some food and then headed towards the station to get some train tickets for going to Udine tomorrow.

I got some food also for the trip tomorrow as I’m sure most places will be closed given that it’s a Sunday.

I walked back to the pier and sat there for an hour – again taking in the sights and sounds. I decided it was getting cold enough to head back to the hostel to relax for the night.

Today was a good day.

Total steps: 17,456

Total miles: 8.48

Below are some pics from today

When I got here to Trieste I decided to look at the map to see what else was close by. When I say close by, I mean within about 90 minutes by train or coach or bus.

I found a place called Udine that met the travel criteria. I looked at the map and the pics looked pretty cool. I asked at the hostel what they thought of Udine and they were very nonchalant. It’s pretty much like everything I asked of them. I can’t wait to write this review. It’s gonna be juicy.

Anyway, I digress. Right before I headed back to the hostel yesterday I went to the shop to get some food and I decided to get some train tickets for today. I decided that I would spend all of the daylight hours in Udine. Against my better judgement, I booked there and back on the train. I’m not sure why I did it this way but here we are.

I woke up in the night feeling really sick and I wasn’t sure whether or not I should still go. I decided to try and get some more sleep (and I managed it) so I could try and feel better.

I got up, showered and headed out to the train station. I went early enough to go get some food and relax a little so I didn’t have to rush for the train.

The train ride to Udine was really cool. It went along the coastline for a bit of it and the views were amazing. We also crossed the river several times and it was really fast flowing. You could tell it was a result of the storm that hit the area on Friday. I was worried that it would start to rain more and that the river would rise more and it may affect the train ride and the city.

I got to Udine after 90 minutes and then decided to take a slow walk towards the centre of the city. It was about a 20-minute walk from the station to the centre of the city. The walk there was pretty cool. Lots to see and do. I managed to find somewhere to get the obligatory souvenirs too – only magnets could be found this time.

The centre of the city is pretty cool. It has some really cool old buildings and a number of churches. I didn’t have a plan of what to do whilst I was here so I decided to let my feet do the guiding. And guide they did. I saw the hill up to the castle and decided that I should just head up there.

I hate hills but I did it anyway. How else do you get the views?!?!?! I got some really cool panoramic pictures from up there and some great shots of the skyline and the spires of the churches.

I then headed back down from the castle to walk around the centre of the city. Again, I had no idea of where I was going and just went wherever my weary feet would take me. I meandered around the cobbled streets and then along the narrow lanes and along the stream/river.

I found somewhere to have a sit down and as I was sitting there I saw a spider crawling on my backpack. I got a video of it and it looks pretty cool to see it crawling around the bag.

I then headed back into the centre of the city to walk around some more. By this time I was starting to feel tired and a little unwell so I decided I would head towards the train station but take a slow walk doing so.

I realised I would have to buy another ticket to get back to Trieste as the tickets here are for specific trains only.

I got to a park and had a sit-down and just had some food and drink. I then headed back to the station, got my ticket and sat on the platform for about 90 minutes until it was time to get the train.

I got the train and got back to Trieste and just headed back to the hostel.

I have an early start tomorrow so I need as much sleep as possible.

Today was a really good day and Udine was different to whatever I had thought it would be. I didn’t have any preconceptions of the city so it was good to go there with that in mind.

If you are in the area, I can recommend going to Udine but I wouldn’t make a special trip for it if you are more than about an hour away by car.

Total steps: 17,551

Total miles: 8.51

Below are some pics from today

Before I came on this trip, I was looking to see where Flixbus would take me within about 2 hours from Trieste. Rijeka was one of those cities that I saw that was less than 2 hours away so I decided I would book a trip there for the day. The tickets were only £5.99 each way. A bargain.

I got back late from Udine yesterday and forgot about how early the coach was today. I’m on holiday so who cares… right?

I got to the station and I was told the bus picks up in 2 different places. Not overly helpful. Luckily the guy who told me one place came and found me and told me the right place.

I got the back row of the coach to myself and I was grateful for that. I could relax and not worry about bothering other people. It also meant I could take pictures from the window without hitting anyone or anyone hitting me when I was trying to get that perfect shot. Dear reader: it didn’t happen. I don’t even know why I thought it would from a coach window.

Anyway, the views along the route up through the mountains and down into Rijeka were amazing. I wanted to have a nap but the views were too good.

On the way there, we crossed the border of 2 countries: Italy/Slovenia and Slovenia/Croatia. I tried to get a shot of the “Welcome To…” signs but failed miserably at the border for Croatia. I blame the dirty coach windows and the speed at which we were driving. I don’t blame myself at all for not zooming the camera in.

We got to Rijeka and I decided I would make a beeline for the tourist office to get some information and some pointers on what to do here for the day. The lady there just told me to look at the map and go toward the highlighted numbers. Oh well. It meant I had to explore on my own. Shucks!

I decided that I would head in the general direction of the stairs to get up to the castle. Oh man, I was not prepared for the sight that greeted me!

[row][column size=”1/3″][/column] [column size=”1/3″][/column] [column size=”1/3″][/column][/row]

I could have gotten a bus up there but where’s the fun in that! I decided I would walk all million steps to get there. It was totally worth it. The views are stunning. The mountains, the Adriatic, the Rjecina river. Absolutely worth walking top just for those views alone.

At the top, there are a couple of churches and the castle itself. The castle isn’t overly huge but it’s cool enough for a visit. My intention was to only spend an hour or two up here and then go back down into the city to walk around some more.

I was up here for nearly four hours just walking around and admiring the views from there. I just didn’t know where to look and when to look for something else. Do it. Get to Rijeka and then climb the stairs to the castle and see the church up there too.

It started to rain when I was up there so I decided I would go into the church there and see what it’s like. It helped that it was a respite from the rain. Mind you, it didn’t last very long thankfully so I was able to go back out and see some more of the area up there.

I decided to head back down towards the city and as I did I passed 5 missionaries and we stopped and had a chat. I’m glad they didn’t try to preach to me. It was good to chat to them and just pass a few minutes. I probably would have talked more but the rain started again and I didn’t want to get soaked.

I headed back down the stairs to the harbour area to have a walk around and find something to eat and drink. Mind you, it didn’t matter what it was as I still have no sense of taste so nothing was good. I just needed some sustenance.

By this time, it was about 15:00 (I got here at 10:00) and I just decided to have a walk around the city and see what else was there. It turns out there isn’t a huge amount of stuff to do right in the centre of the city… I’m glad I went nonetheless though.

I went to sit at the top of the wall of one of the churches that greet you as you get into Rijeka. Whilst I was there, I spotted a “Welcome To…” sign so I decided I would go there and get a picture of it (since the last one was so awesome). I headed down the stairs and saw the gates were closed. I was worried they were going to be locked but thankfully they weren’t. I went and got my picture and then headed to the train station to see if there were any trains due that I could take a pic/video of. There wasn’t. I headed back to the centre after this.

I started to lag around 17:30 and I was super tired and hungry again so I went to BK and just sat in there for about 90 minutes. It was super cold in there and I was feeling it and went outside as I knew it would be a little warmer. I went to find a shop so I could get a croissant as I was hungry and knew this wouldn’t upset my stomach.

The walk took me along the harbour; so many fancy yachts were docked. Nice for some. As I was walking to the shop, it started to rain. Thankfully I found my umbrella that I thought I had left at home.

I just carried on walking after this and it started to rain more and there was thunder and lightning. I found a spot by the river to try and get some good shots of the lightning but it never happened anymore. Aren’t I lucky!!?!?!?

I then headed towards the area of the bus station and found somewhere to wait. I was so tired and I just wanted to be on the coach.

There were only 11 of us on the coach so we were able to leave a few minutes early. I was hoping that would help get us to Trieste a little earlier. It wasn’t to be.

We were stopped at the Croatian/Slovenian border for a document check and were there for about 20 minutes. We were set on our way and then we were stopped at the Slovenian/Italian border and the police got on the coach and took all of our documents to check (sadly no passport stamp) before boarding and returning them. This took about 30 minutes.

We got to Trieste and I headed straight for the hostel as I needed to pack everything (I am heading to Ljubljana tomorrow) and try and get some good sleep.

Today was a really good day and I can recommend Rijeka for a day trip. I don’t think I could say go for longer.

Total steps: 22,476

Total miles: 10.94

Below are some pics from today