This was it. Lake Bled, Ljubljana, and this little seaside town, Piran, were all amazing, but my time in Slovenia was over. I would be back on the highway this morning, my second and last time to be travelling that way. I had booked a taxi to take me on the short drive across the Italian border to Trieste, since there was no train, and the buses did not run on Sundays.
After a decent sleep (my phone app told me it was fair) I was at breakfast 7:20. It was still quiet since most of the guests were probably enjoying their Sunday morning sleep. I had vowed not eat a croissant, but they looked so good and fresh. I took one and tested. Yes, it was good with that wonderful flakey texture and buttery flavour. I had to take a second one since they were small. My will power is somewhat lacking when it comes to croissants.
I did my room check, grabbed my suitcase and pack and went down to the lobby to wait for the taxi. I arrived a few minutes early and was told by Mirianna that my taxi would be a little late. I was impressed that he had called the hotel to let me know. She suggested that I could get another coffee, but I gave up on that idea when I found the coffee machine tied up by a man making espressos for his large group.
The driver came into the hotel to get me and led me out to a nice Mercedes van. As we climbed the hill out of the little town, he told me that traffic was bad due to the number of Austrian holiday travellers. The views were nice as we descended into Trieste. He gave me lots of advice for my day in the city. The drive took 45 minutes, just a few minutes longer than originally estimated.
I had included Trieste in my itinerary since it was the closest place to get a train to Venice. I decided to spend the night, giving me a few hours to see some of the city. Trieste is a city of about 200,000, so quite a change from little Piran which was under 5,000.
I had chosen the B&B Hotel for its location, just around the corner from the train station. It also had a convenient 12:00 check out, perfect for my 12:15 train. I did not choose it for its luxury. It was a basic tourist hotel. I was pleased with the service when the receptionist spent a few minutes on her computer finding me a room so that I could check in early.
The room was small, but then almost all my rooms on this trip were small. As I have mentioned in past posts, my hotel rooms are for sleeping. I think that a luxury room is one where I do not have to step over my suitcase to get to the bathroom.
I took my second Tylenol of the day and rested for an hour. I had a long day of walking ahead.
Like most of this part of the world, Trieste had its time as was part of the Roman empire and spent some time under the auspices of Charlemagne. By the 13th and 14th centuries Trieste had become a trade rival to Venice which led to the Venetians occupying it on a regular basis. Eventually Trieste petitioned to become part of the Hapsburg Empire in 1382 where it stayed for most of the next 500 years except when Venice attacked and took it back for a decade or so. With its strategic location on the Adriatic Sea, it became an important cultural and economic hub within the Hapsburg empire.
After the defeat of Austria in WWI, Trieste became part of Italy. That lasted until WWII and the fall of the Italian government and subsequent German occupation. After the war, Trieste was left in limbo as the victorious allies fought for control. It became the Free Territory of Trieste in 1947, which lasted until 1954. Trieste was ultimately given to Italy, and the area south became part of Yugoslavia.
One of the main geographic features of the city is its canal. That was my first stop. I had read reviews that compared Trieste’s canal to Venice. I have now seen both cities. There is no comparison. However, it is a very beautiful area lined with cafés and restaurants.
Trieste was an important centre for literature and music in the early 20th century. James Joyce spent 16 years in residence, first arriving at the age of 22, and did much of his early writing here, including the early drafts of “Ulysses”. There is a museum dedicated to him, but it had limited Sunday hours, and I had limited time. I did walk past his sculpture. I wanted to take a photograph of just James, but there was a steady line of tourists waiting for selfies, so I finally just took a group photo.
The early 20th century was considered a golden age for Trieste literature. Besides Joyce, I passed sculptures of Umberto Saba and General Gabriele D'Annunzio. There were no lines of tourists waiting for selfies.
There were sculptures everywhere.
There are restaurants along the canal and restaurants in the pedestrian free streets.
One restaurant made sure that tourists knew what was not on their menu.
For some reason in my first hours in Italy, rather than looking for pasta or pizza, I was attracted to a restaurant that offered Chinese dim sum. I studied the menu and marked my order on their little papers. I had lots of time to reconsider my choices and finally left when I got tired of waiting, never to know if I had picked the right things.
I switched to an Italian place. I decided to have a straight macchiato for my first Italian coffee. It was smaller but much stronger than my lattes back home or the latte macchiatos in Slovenia. I ordered a cheese gnocchi to accompany my macchiato.
There were the usual doggie and smokers. A seagull landed on a table and the young women sitting there screamed. Africa vendors came by first offering pamphlets and then others came with art. I tried to get the waiter’s attention to get my bill. Finally, the lady behind me told me that the check was in a container on the table and that I had to pay inside.
I passed a small Ukrainian rally.
I was now at the main square of Trieste, the Piazza Unita d’ Italian. The square is surrounded by Viennese style buildings. In the middle are more large sculptures.
From there I began the walk up the hill to the Castle of San Guisto. Just like in Piran, I really enjoyed the narrow streets. Some came with restaurants.
I came to a Roman arch in the middle of some houses. It is the Arco di Ricarrdo which was part of the city’s Roman walls and dates to 32 BC.
The San Silvestro Basilica was built in the 12th century. It was locked so I could not see the interior which contains 14th century frescoes.
The Venetians had built a fortress on Trieste’s hilltop during one of their occupations. It was subsequently torn down and rebuilt under the orders of Austrian Emperor Frederick III. The Venetians fortified the castle in the 16th century when they were temporarily back in charge. Then the Austrians came back and did their own upgrades.
There is a museum in the castle which features many artifacts from the city's Roman period.
I was all by myself in the ancient armaments section.
There is a great view from the walls.
Next door is the St. Giusto Cathedral. It was built in the early 14th century by combining two existing churches. A thunderbolt shortened the bell tower in 1422. The frescoes are from the 13th century.
I climbed the tower for my second great view of the afternoon.
After all this climbing I needed my afternoon coffee, so I made a quick stop at the cafe next to the church.
I took a different route to go back down the hill.
I came to the Tor Cucherna, which is a 14th century tower which would have been used for nighttime surveillance of the city walls.
I had seen a Roman arch on the way up. Now I passed a Roman theatre. It was built in the 1st or 2nd centuries AD and could hold up to 6,000 spectators. Like the arch, the theatre sits in the middle of normal city things. There was no one around. I could imagine a Triestino giving directions, "Turn right at the Roman theatre" as if it were just a shop or government building.
After a brief rest, I had more time to explore. My next route took me along the waterfront.
There is a sculpture of Josef Ludwig Franz Ressel. He is credited with being the inventor of the propeller which he tested in Trieste.
It was definitely the golden hour for photography.
My route took me back to the square.
I was getting a bit frustrated after not finding a table at a couple restaurants, so when I was told that I could have a place, I just took it. I had not looked at their menu. I then realized that they were basically a pizza place. Although it was not what I was looking for, I ordered a pizza and a beer. It made for a great first dining experience in Italy.
I took a few shots of the canal at dusk.
I returned to the hotel. Po messaged me that the neighbours had taken Zoe for a long walk. Zoe generally misses out on the longer walks when I am not home, since she is a big girl and can be a bit grumpy when she encounters other dogs.
Of course, I had been thinking a lot about my sister. I was getting updates through Po, since she was able to call my brother-in-law. My sister was now able to talk, so Po called her in the hospital using our land line and then did a WhatsApp call to me using her cell. It did not provide the finest sound quality, but we did manage a short conversation. Po then declared it finished since she was "not sure of their phone plan". She is always worried about spending money, ours or other peoples.
The call really helped. I was also relaxed about my next day’s departure which was just after 12:00. I could have a leisurely breakfast in the morning before taking the five-minute walk to the train station.
I was excited that I would be restarting my train odyssey, and that this train would take me to Venice.
This featured blog entry was written by Bob Brink from the blog Searching for Magical Moments.
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