So, it was up early to make the 7:30am bus, which got me to Opatija at around 10:45am; as you can see from the map, I was almost back in both Italy (in fact, it was part of Italy for a while, and it was also part of the
Austro-Hungarian empire when this whole area was) and Slovenia!
The name Opatija refers to the Benedictine monastery that was located here (where the Church of St James, built in 1506 and enlarged in 1937, now stands); Opatija is Croatian for monastery. Today the town is home to a population of about 7,000, or 12,000 including the surrounding district and towns.
The town's modern history began in 1844, when Iginio Scarpa, a rich merchant from Rijeka, founded Villa Angiolina. In 1872 Railways came to Matulji and thus opened the path for the development of tourism in Opatija and Lovran. In 1882 Friedrich Julius Schüler, the Managing Director of Vienna Southern Railways started the construction of villas and hotels in Opatija and Lovran, and was responsible for the unique Lungomare (sea-side promenade - that now stretches for some 12km) and parks (the Company engaged Carl Schubert, director of the Viennese Emperial-Royal Society for the construction of parks). In 1882, Cesar-royal Society of the Southern railway from Vienna, led by Julius Schuler, purchased the first land with Villa Angiolina in Opatija.
It became a fashionable destination for the Austrian imperial family and Austrian nobility and soon more luxury hotels and villas were built. The first luxury hotel – Hotel "Quarnero" (1884) (today "Grand Hotel Kvarner", which is currently undergoing some significant renovations, so was closed today - and has been and will be for some time by the look of it) was built to the plans by the Viennese architect Franz Wilhelm. The hotel Kronprinzessin Stephanie was opened in 1885, named after crown princess Stephanie, wife of Rudolf of Habsburg, and they both appeared at the opening. Architect Franz Wilhelm offered all luxury to the guests of the hotel, from the central heating to the pool, and, later, the cinema hall, which was connected to the central part of the hotel.
The Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I used to spend several months here during the winter. Many of these late 19th-century luxury hotels and villas have survived to present times.
First-up, it was a pleasant stroll/walk along a 1.5-2km section of the Lungomare to the next little village of Volosko, and then back to Opatija. The water is so clear, it is quite amazing.
An interesting and sobering note was that during the terrible civil war of 1991-1995 (which was only 20 years ago), many of the hotels were opened up to house refugees, some of whom stayed for years, as they had nowhere else to go.
There is a very nice statue just off the shore entitled "Maiden with Seagull"; for most of the time I was there, it was "Maiden with Many Seagulls", with an almost permanent flock sitting around her, and at least 1 taking up residence on her head. However, with a little bit of patience, I was able to get a few photos of her with just the one seagull (and that in bronze).
And then it was time to head back to the bus stop and wait to take the 3 1/2 hour trip back to Zagreb, It was a strange and sobering feeling on the drive, remembering that it was not long ago that this part of the world was in the midst of some serious, bloody and at times savage fighting.
As we left the seaside for the inland areas, ascending as we did, and with the sun going down, the temperature started dropping, from 18 degrees to about 12 degrees by the time we reached Zagreb - chilly but not too cold. And that was another day - long, with quite a lot of bus travel, but worth it to spend a nice day in the sun beside the seaside along the Croatian Riviera.