Krk island, Croatia

After having been in Croatia for 8 days, I left Dubrovnik, back again on my own again after Dan and Irina had left the previous day to fly back to Vienna, in my rental car and headed north.  This was as far as I had planned for my trip. Actually,  my original plan had been to leave Dubrovnik and drive to Montenegro, spend a few days there and then drive back to Vienna via Bosnia and spend a day or two there, but when I got my rental car I found out that I wasn’t allowed to drive outside of the EU, so that threw off my plans (this is why I don’t like advanced planning- because then you get disappointed when things don’t work out).  So there I was, in Croatia, by myself, with no idea of what to do next.  I had gotten some suggestions from Dan, and I asked my mom if she would do some research for me, and she suggested checking out Krk.  So that is where I decided to head on July 10.  

Because I wasn’t supposed to drive outside of the EU,  even getting from Dubrovnik to the rest of Croatia meant that I had to take a ferry, because the southern tip of Croatia is blocked by Bosnia, and though I wanted to risk it and drive to the customs border and see what happened, the ferry that we had taken TO Dubrovnik was quite pleasant and easy, so I decided to do that again.  After the ferry I drove about 4 hours to get to the city of Zadar, which I explored for about 4 hours (and I will talk about that fun city in a later blog post).  There, I decided that I needed to book an Airbnb for the evening, and I sat on a park bench, quickly finding a place that looked great for the evening for under $60.  I messaged the owner, apologizing for my late booking and later arrival (it was 6 and I’d arrive by 9) but he quickly wrote me back and told me it was all good, so off I went.  The drive was beautiful, and very winding, but I was blasting my music, singing at the top of my lungs with the windows down and I didn’t mind at all.  Once I got near Krk, which is an island accessible by a bridge, I could tell that I was going to love it.  

I went to the Airbnb where I was met by my host Damir.  The place was great- it was the best Airbnb I stayed at in Croatia- so if you find yourself in Krk, you must stay here!  I’ve included the link to his listing, just so you have no excuse not to do it! He recommended a place for me to eat, and though it was already after 930 I walked there and had a great meal.  The island looked so cute, and I loved my place so much that I decided that I would stay an extra night (and Damir gave me a great discount for staying an extra night.  That, and the fact that he had stocked the fridge with beer and fruit, definitely helped influence me to stay an extra day), but after all my traveling around, I thought a day of relaxing sounded really great too.

The next morning I got up and decided that I wanted to do several things with the day: 1) explore some of the little towns that are on the island, 2) find a great spot for hiking, 3) check out the beaches, 4) find some wine that the island is known for.  And I’m happy to say that I accomplished all those goals!  But to hear more about them you must keep reading!  

Krk City

Krk is the largest island in Croatia- for that matter, it’s the largest in the Adriatic Sea, so visiting all the parts of Krk is definitely easiest by car, but there were a lot of people riding bikes along the roads that led from one small town to another.  One of the most popular towns is Krk City, and that’s where I went first. 

Krk is a fortified city, so after I parked my car I passed into the walls and started wandering around, not sure what I was going to see, and immediately loved all the narrow winding streets. 

 

   

 

I came to the main town square, and saw the Frankopan Castle.  I went into the ticket office to get some information about the castle, and found out that for less than $3 I could climb and walk around the castle’s ramparts.  I love a good climb for a panoramic view so I couldn’t pass it up. 

    

         

The castle was a fortress built between the 12th and 15th centuries for the Frankopan family. 

    

  

I learned while in Krk City that there are several Roman ruins in this town.  However, here it is ruins in the truest sense- as in there is nothing really left of them.  There are signs all over pointing you towards different landmarks, such as the Venus Temple, built in the 1st century, but I was having difficulty finding some of them.  It’s a relatively small town, it shouldn’t be so hard.  But then I DID find the Venus Temple- right here in this clothing store. And then there was also this stone with inscriptions from the 4th century.  So a little disappointing on the Roman ruins fronts, but still a cute town, worthy of a few hours of exploring.

 

The hike was about 6 miles with a elevation of about 860 feet (at least according to my iPhone health app); it wasn’t too difficult for me, but it was beautiful!  I didn’t pass too many people on the trail at all, but along the way there were these blue and white markings that let me know I was on the right path.  

I thought these stone walls I was passing at the beginning of my walk were so cute, I had no idea how or why they were there, but they were beautiful, as was the view I encountered every 10 minutes or so.

  

     

After about an hour and a half I came out of the trees and came across this vast clearing.  This is what I had read as being called the “lunar landscape”.  Maybe too many shrubs and greenery to be confused for being on the moon, but I did love how different the terrain was from the other places I passed during my hike. 

  

I read on a sign before I entered the “lunar landscape” that this area has been used for centuries by shepherds with their sheep, hence the stone walls.  I also read that this was the nesting site for some rare birds- including vultures.  It also mentioned to be mindful of where you step because this was the home of the horned viper, you know, the most venomous snake in Europe.  And those of you who know me may know that I’m afraid of 4 things in this world including a) birds & b) snakes.  At least there were no signs of my other two fears (mice and bananas). 

As I was hiking this part of my trail I started to think to myself “You know, it does almost feel like you’re on the moon because it’s so secluded. Besides the signs that say to not disturb the sheep. Especially the dead ones. Because they’ve been bitten by the most poisonous snake in Europe. And now are being eaten by vultures. So it’s probably safe because vultures only like dead things right? But also maybe girls hiking solo. Especially girls walking solo named Katie…” No,  this was silly, I was perfectly fine.  But I did heed my friend Dan’s advice and didn’t step in the tall grass. But just as I’m telling myself that everything was fine, that’s when I saw it…

No it was fine, it was just a stick!  Were you scared?  No, me neither, not at all, not once.  It just so happened to be time for me to head back, the snake scare had nothing to do with it. 

 

After my 3.5 hour hike I got back to my car and headed for my next destination, a beach!  I also read that the Baška area had the best beaches, so I headed to one I had read about. 

Oprna Beach (Stara Baška)

As I approached the area that Google Maps told me was the beach I noticed a lot of cars parked on the side of the road, so I assumed I was in the right area.  I found a spot to park my car, and then climbed over the guardrail and descended the hill that led to the beach (I like an unconventional way to get to a beach, it makes it more worth it). 

I like this method of ensuring that your car doesn’t roll down the hill, find a large stone to put behind the tire.

I had to climb over a lot of large rocks to get to an available spot on the beach, however after having seen that it a stone beach I decided I was not going to be lounging and swimming, but I did find a large stone to sit on, people watch and read my book, enjoying hearing the sound of the water lapping against the shore. 

 

Vrbnik

After cleaning up I headed to my last town of the evening, Vrbnik.  My first stop was a winery I read about, the Katunar winery. 

When I arrived I was the only person in the place, and the girl who was working asked me what kind of wine I liked.  I told her red, but that I wanted to try the wine they were known for, žlahtina, a delicious yellow wine. The girl was very friendly, but this is also where my friendliness paid off too, because my tasting turned started with two types of wine, which then turned into 4, and ended with 6 total.   And guess how much this tasting was?  Zero dollars! And they were very good!

But here is the best thing about this winery (or perhaps every winery in Croatia): while I was sitting there sipping my wines a couple came in, bearing empty plastic bottles, and they were able to fill them up with wine!  And I mean these were empty water bottles, Man, that had me wishing I had plastic bottles on me, what an awesome concept.

But fear not dear readers- I  got my own plastic bottle of wine!  In the form of this 3 liter jug!  And guess how much it cost me?  8 dollars!!!  So that concludes my blog post about Krk because the rest of the evening was spent drinking this wine and I can’t remember anything else.  Just joking, I took it back to Vienna with me to give to Dan and Irina for hosting me while I was there, but man I just couldn’t resist the good deal. 

After leaving the winery I continued on to Vrbnik, and after finding parking a bit outside of town I started my little tour of the city.  It was ADORABLE, definitely my favorite town on Krk. 

   

It had those little narrow winding streets that I love, so I was not surprised when I came across what was proclaimed to be “the most narrow street in the world”; I squeezed through it and believe it to be true. 

 

      

     

I decided to splurge on dinner because I hadn’t in the last few days, and I realized I hadn’t had a proper meal all day. I went to what I read was the best restaurant in all of Krk, a place called ‘Nada’.  I was shown to a table on the rooftop patio with beautiful views, and told the waiter to bring me the best fish on the menu. I was presented with a plate of monkfish, polenta and greens . That was my first time having monkfish, and it was delicious! 

   

I forgot to mention my meal from the night before, when I first arrived in Krk and walked to a restaurant at 10.  There I also requested the most popular meal on the menu (plus a small salad) and I was given a plate of squid and fries, and let me tell you- it was delicious!  

After dinner I headed back to my car, and back to my Airbnb for a night’s sleep.  The next day I was heading back to Vienna, making a stop in Bratislava for the afternoon.  

There you have Krk Island.  It was a great way to relax after having been traveling for so many days.  I loved that it was less busy than many of the places I had been to already in Croatia, prices were also cheaper, and it was just quieter and calm, I definitely recommend it, and I hope I gave you some good ideas for your trip to Krk. “