Another day, another ferry but well before we reached the port, the queue of vehicles snaked down the hill before us and we wondered if we’d get on! In the end, they laid on an extra sailing to cope with demand and we relaxed as we said farewell to Cres.
Only 20 minutes afloat and we arrived on the island of Krk and drove to the main town of the same name, entering the old town through the Mala Vrata or Small Gate.
From the early part of the 12th century, Krk was ruled by a succession of Croatian counts, whose power and influence rose considerably over the next few centuries. The main noble family during this time were the Frankopans who built the castle which stands on Kamplin Square.
Here’s Vela Place with the Torrion which once housed the town hall and courtroom and a well with a plaque to St. Quirinus, the town’s patron saint.
Krk Cathedral is the most recognisable building of the town, a mix of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles on a C5th Christian basilica built on the site of Roman thermae! It has been heavily restored, noticable in the mixture of capitals.
… and building work continues …
… so finding an angle for the photo across the harbour without the crane was a miracle!
There are various Roman bits and pieces here including a mosaic which was closed and remains of the temple of Venus cleverly incorporated into a sportswear shop.
As we walked back round the harbour, we spotted glass bottom boats, cunningly disguised as submarines, maybe in a bid to make them look more exciting!
We could have lingered, but after running out of time for a dip yesterday, the beach is calling this afternoon! We drove across the island to Baska which is famed for the Baska tablet, found here in 1934. The stone dates to the C11th and is written in Glagolitic script, recording King Zvonimir’s donation of a piece of land to a Benedictine abbey and how the church was built by the abbot and nine monks.
This huge statue stands at the entrance to the valley, overlooking the town below.
It is the first of the Baška Glagolitic Path, made up of 34 stone statues displaying the letters of the Glagolitic alphabet have been placed in a trail to lead visitors to historical and cultural points of interest. Naturally, it is the letter A.
Today there is a replica at St Lucy’s where it was found. Unfortunately, the church was closed, but here is a snap of the plaque and the other letters we spotted.
We are staying at Pension Burin, a small family run restaurant with rooms where we swiftly checked in …
… before walking down to the beach. It was busy …
… but we found loungers by the edge of incredibly turquoise sea.
The breakers were pretty fierce and we were pleased to have packed our shoes to save our feet from the stones. Chris paddled and did actually swim properly too!
Later, we had sundowners and I can recommend the local white wine, made from Žlahtina grapes grown on Krk.
Next morning we drove back to the beginning of the valley for a bit of an adventure.
We love a zip line and have been on several during our travels and couldn’t miss this one, especially as it will give us mountain views without the hiking!
We were in a group with 8 young men and a couple of intrepid youngsters with their dad and were taken to the top of the mountain in the minibus.
A quick training session and we were good to go.
Here is the starting block …
… and looking down!
There were 8 separate lines of different lengths and speeds so plenty of opportunity for snaps …
… and just admiring the views.
The longest lasted a minute and was 700m long and the fastest was around 70kph if you didn’t use the brake! Whizzing through the air was amazing and the views were stunning so thanks to Angelo and Donj of Zip Edison who were great.
Our last stop on Krk was the pretty town of Vrbnik where we stopped for a well deserved coffee break before driving back to the mainland.
Off Travelling Together 