PULA

After a few fast-paced days in Munich, we were off to Pula, Croatia! Unfortunately, our bus left at 5 am and the only train early enough to get us there was at 3 am so we ended up just not sleeping that night. At the ripe hour of 2:30 am, we left our Airbnb to catch the train. We got there a few minutes before the train was scheduled to arrive… and it never did. A fellow Oktoberfest traveler also needed that train to get to the airport. After a stressful hour, we miraculously managed to make it to the bus station on time. We thought we had made it, but the shenanigans had just begun! Our bus didn’t arrive on schedule, which isn’t uncommon, so when a bus marked “Pula” showed up we thought for sure it was for us. When the bus pulled in to the station and then immediately drove away I was a little worried! With my limited German and non-existent Croatian, I happened to ask a bus driver of an unmarked bus how we could find the bus we were looking for. When I said Pula, he perked up and said “I’m going to Pula! Get on my bus!” He loaded up our backpacks and we got on the empty bus, each taking a full row. A few minutes later we were on our way to Pula. They scanned our tickets after we had already left and said a few things in Croatian we didn’t understand. We’re pretty certain we got on the wrong bus, but the driver didn’t seem to care and we made it to Pula an hour before we had anticipated, so in the end it all worked out.

We were in the beautiful coastal town of Pula for three whole weeks, and honestly we spent most of it holed up in our Airbnb eating some of the best pasta and cookies I’ve ever had and rotating between sleeping and working. It was much slower paced than our other excursions, but honestly we needed it.

For our first proper day in Pula, we went to the Amphitheatre. Built in the 1st century under the reign of Augustus, it is the most well preserved amphitheatre left buy the Romans. We have yet to see the Colosseum, but Pula’s Amphitheatre was very impressive! We were in Croatia in October, which is a low tourist season. This meant that we got the warm weather of the coastal Mediterranean town and we had almost every site to ourselves. After exploring the massive interior of the arena and taking some Insta-worthy photos, we stepped down to the museum portion. It was a little creepy and dark, but we learned all about Roman Pula and the gladiators who fought here.

After visiting the Amphitheatre, we strolled a bit more through the downtown area of Pula keeping our eyes peeled for some pizza. Since Pula was once part of Italy, the food there was incredible. We ended up splitting a huge bacon garlic pizza with Croatian Coke. This may come as a shock to you, but the Italians really know how to do pizza. We boxed up our leftovers and caught the sunset on the marina.

Our next day out we tried to explore as much of the historic part of Pula as we could. We started out at Arc de Sergius, an archway downtown dedicated to the three brothers of the Sergii family who were particularly valiant warriors. Through the archway is a cute street with clothing shops, gelato stands and apartments. At the end of the street is a huge square with about a dozen restaurants, all of which were usually packed with customers. In that same square is the Temple of Augustus, a Roman temple with tall pillars in front. We were shocked at how tiny the temple was inside! In fact, it was taller than it was wide.

We decided to just let the streets take us where they may and ended up outside of a fortress. Unfortunately, we arrived too late to go inside. However, we did stumble upon the ruins of a theatre, which seemed like a popular place for locals to bring dinner and eat with friends. Marcus just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to show off his skills as a bard.

To finish the day off, we found a Roman floor mosaic depicting the punishment of Dirce – a character in Greek mythology. It’s hidden between a parking lot and an office building. And finally, we found the Gate of Hercules, which sounds very impressive but turns out to just be an arch with a face at the top.

We were lucky enough to spend our 4 year anniversary in Pula, and we celebrated with a delicious dinner at a really fun restaurant. Our dinner was delicious, but the real winner here was the white chocolate cheesecake. I’m not exaggerating when I say that this cheesecake was the most delicious dessert either of us have ever had. It was so creamy and the crust was perfection.

Our final day in Pula, we had planned to go kayaking and explore some of the cavernous areas nearby. We put on our swimsuits and were on our way there when we got the message that our excursion had been cancelled. We were disappointed, but decided to take the opportunity to visit the fortress that we weren’t able to go into a few days earlier. The fortress in Pula is actually of Venetian origins and was built in the 17th century. Built high on a hill near the coast, the fortress and the towers within it gave an incredible view of Pula and the water.

Our three weeks in Pula came to an end very quickly. Early the next morning we gathered our things to head off to our next destination: Timisoara, Romania!