September 2019

Urbino is a beautiful town in Le Marche region. It is the birthplace of the famous painter Raphael. He was born here in 1483.

You can easily go there by coach from Pesaro, Rimini or from Fano, as I did some months ago.

Some streets in Urbino are really steep!

The ducal palace is one of the main sights in Urbino. It was built in phases in the second half of the XV century . In the XVI century it was enlarged. This palace was built on orders by Federico II da Montefeltro.

Duke Federico II da Montefeltro (1422 - 1482) was a military leader, ruler and patron of the arts. He was the lord of Urbino from 1444 to 1482.

Today the palace houses the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche. This museum includes works by artists such as Raphael, Piero della Francesca and others

In this picture you can see part of the ducal palace.

Another sight in Urbino is saint Joseph' s oratory. It was built between 1503 and 1515. It was reconstructed between 1682 and 1689. Inside there is a cycle of frescoes depicting the main happenings about the life of saint Joseph.

Next to the oratory there is a room with a beautiful nativity scene. The statues were made of plaster and are very tall. This crib was made between 1545 and 1550.

Quite near saint Joseph' s oratory there is another one; saint John' s the Baptist oratory. It was built in the sixteenth century and rebuilt in the late seventeenth century.

Inside it is decorated with frescoes which date to the 1416. They illustrate the crucifixion and stories of the life of John the Baptist,

I had a good ice cream at il Sorbetto del Duca both times I visited Urbino. I strongly recommend this gelateria.

This simple ice cream parlour is situated in via Raffaello at n. 1. Here they serve ice cream as also sweet crepes.

This is a open air museum located just outside Kramsach. This town is situated some 45 kilometers far from Innsbruck.

It is practically made of a good number of farmhouses and other buildings as a watermill, barns, storehouses, a school, a chapel. These are scattered over a eight hectare site. A very large park.

These buildings have been brought here from various places in Tyrol.

Some farmhouses are fully furnished as you can see from some of my pictures.

This is the interior of the chapel. I don' t know if there is more than a chapel at this park.

Here you see the chapel from afar.

You need to climb a bit to go inside some houses.

Inside the alpine hut.

There is a budget restaurant and a souvenirs shop near the entrance of the museum. Moreover here you can find some exposition rooms and the toilets.

I think one could stay inside this park almost the whole day.

Innsbruck is the capital of Tyrol. It is located in western Austria. Its name means "bridge over the Inn". The Inn is the river which runs through the city.

This city has a beautiful old core and several attractions to enjoy.

It is a pleasure walking under the porticoes of the old core of Innsbruck. You can find various kinds of shops, several cafes and some restaurant under these porticoes.

Herzog Friedrich Strasse; one of the main street in the old center is lined with porticoes.

The Golden Roof; in German; Goldenes Dachl is practically a three storey balcony with a roof made of 2657 gold plated tiles.

Archduke Friedrick IV ordered the construction of the palace where the balcony is located in the early fifteen century.

Maximilian I commissioned the Golden Roof in 1493. It was built to honour Maximilian' s second marriage to Bianca Sforza of Milan.

The Goldenes Dachl served as a royal box where he could sit and enjoy tournaments and other street performances in the square below.

The city tower (Stadtturm) was built between 1442 and 1450. It was completed with its roof fifty years later. Its lower storey once served as prison.

Until 1964 inside the tower there was a sentry day and night, to warn the inhabitants about fires and other dangers.

When you' re on the top of this tower you' ll enjoy a wonderful landscape over the city center. You' ll also see the houses on the river Inn. You have to climb 148 stairs to go to the top.

The Imperial Palace (Hofburg) was originally built by archduke Siegmund the Rich in Gothic style around 1460. It was remodelled in Baroque style by emperess Maria Theresa between 1754 and 1773.

Inside the palace 25 state apartments are opened to visitors. These are dating from 18th and the 19th centuries. There is also the a large banquet room with lots of portraits of the Habsburgs; the Giants' Hall.

Some years ago it was allowed to take pictures inside the palace. Today it is not permitted any more.

The Tiroler Volkskunstmuseum (the Tyrolean museum of popular art) is located in the Neues Stift (the new abbey). It adjoins the Hofkirche.

There you can see a rich collections of households, farming tools, furniture, typical dresses and some stube. These are living rooms covered with wood panels.

You can buy a combined ticket to visit the museum and the Hofchirche.

This church was built between 1553 and 1563 by Ferdinand I as a burial place for Maximilian I. Inside there is his cenotaph (but he is buried in Wiener Neustadt; at 50 km south of Vienna).

Walde Kerzenzieherzei and Lebzelterei is a small shop full of nice things. It is run by the same family for 235 years. You can find it opposite the cathedral

Here you can find candles of every kinds, soaps, shampoos, bath foams and cleaning products. There is even a good choice of decorations.

You will surely not miss the Baroque 16th century palace; the Helblinghaus. It is a Gothic mansion. The stucco decorations on its facade date back to the 1730. It was named after Sebastian Helbling who owned a cafe inside this building in 1833.

At Hofgasse n. 12 you can see an arch with a special acoustic; the Fluesterbogen.

If you stand at one end of it and whisper something, another person at the opposite end can understand clearly what you are saying.

Not far from the Helblinghaus you could look for the Ottoburg.

This tower like palace was documented since 1476. Today it houses a restaurant.

There is a park near the Hofburg; the imperial palace. The Hofgarten. This park was originally laid out as a hunting ground in the 16th century. Later it was declared a public garden.

There are various plants, a palms house, a small lake and a children playground there. At one of the entrances of the park there is a cafe-restaurant.

One of my favourite restaurant in the old town is surely Stiftskeller. It has six dining rooms and also an outdoor area where you can sit if the weather is fine.

The palace where this restaurant was built was a convent for noble girls long ago.

At Stiftskeller hey have a menu with mostly typical Austrian dishes.

The first time I visited this restaurant I had spaetzle (small dumplings) with cheese and fried onions. Another time I had pasta (noodles) with minced meat. Everything I ate there was good.

Maria Theresien Strasse is one of the main streets in the city. It is partly pedestrianized. It is bordered with 17th and 18th centuries houses, lots of shops, cafes and restaurants.

In the middle of this street stands the Saint Anne' s column (Annasaule). It was erected in 1706 to commemorate the withdrawal of the Bavarian troops on Saint Anne' s Day in 1703.

At its southern end of this street there a thriumphal gateway (Triumphpforte) stands. It was built in 1765 on the occasion of the wedding of archduke Leopold of Tuscany; son of empress Maria Theresia with princess Maria Ludovica of Spain, but also to commemorate the death of emperor Franz I; Maria Theresia' s husband.

This large covered market is situated on the banks of the Inn river.

It houses various stalls. Here you can find the butcher, the fishmonger and a farmers market with fresh fruits and vegetables. There is also a supermarket and several cafes inside this market.

This market is open from monday to friday; from 7 a. m. to 6.30 p. m. On saturday it is open from 7 a. m to 1 a. m.

I think the area along the river Inn is one of the quitest places in the city.

I booked a twin room at Bistrò bed and breakfast and I had a large triple room with bathroom en suite.

There are not communal rooms at this bed and breakfast. It is housed in a small building. It is far from the old center of Insbruck, but it is easily reachable by bus from the train station.

Breakfast was buffet style. Every morning there were jam, yoghurt, several kinds of bread; ham and cheese. There was also a bowl full of fresh fruit. Hot drinks as coffee and milk were served at our table.

There few eateries near this hotel. I usually had dinner at hotel Alpin Park' s restaurant. This hotel is a few meters from Bistro' s bed and breakfast.

It is a restaurant of a four stars hotel, but it is not an expensive place to have a meal. There are various typical Austrian dishes on the menu at this restaurant, but also some Italian ones. I always had a good dinner there.

Cafe conditorei Walter is not the oldest confectionery in the city, but I' ve read it has been opened since the late 50's. It is a popular place as I could see from the many customers who went there to buy pieces of cakes to take home, have one there or have a drink.

This cafe-confectionery has two rooms. One is the confectionery itself and the other the cafe.

At Walter' s you can find many kinds of cakes, pastries and other kinds of sweet treats. There also serve sandwiches.

Every time I went there I had an ice cream with whipped cream. These were very good. My mother tried some cakes. She said the Sacher torte (chocolate cake with apricot jam) was really good.

The Wilten basilica; also called basilica of our Lady under the four pillars is a yellow church with two towers that was built between 1751 and 1755 in Rococo style.

A first church had been erected in the 13th century on that site. This has been a site of pilgrimage since the Middle Ages.

Unfortunately I only could admire the interior of the church thought a gate. When I went there it was the closing time.

Castle Ambras is a reinassance castle built by archduke Ferdinand II in the 16th century on the remains of a 10 century fortress. It is located some miles from the city center. You can go there by bus.

In 1855 it was remodeled to serve as a summer residence for archduke Karl Ludwig. It is divided into lower and upper castle.

The castle has a very large room called Spanish Hall; a paintings gallery, a collections of armours and weapons and a room with many exotic things.

There is a restaurant in one of the buildings of this castle. I suppose it is in the stables. It is not expensive.

If you are going to visit several attractions in the city I suggest you to buy an Innsbruck card.

This card gives you (a one time) free admission to all main sights of Innsbruck. You can also travel by the city buses and trams for free (also to Igls, Rum, Hall in Tirol, Nattes and Mutters); even by the Sightseer; the tourist bus.

You can buy it at the information office in the main train station (Hauptbahnhof). There are cards valid for 24, 48 and for 72 hours.

The Sightseer is a small, red tourist bus that stops near the main sights in Innsbruck. You can use it free of charge if you buy an Innsbruck card.

Once you bought your ticket you can hop on and off this bus as many times as you like. On the sightseer there is a pair of headphones per persons to listen to some information in various languages about the places you see passing by.

Tickets are sold on the bus.

Unfortunately in the winter the Sightseers don' t operate ferquently!

Caorle is a beautiful sea side town situated in the Veneto region.

I usually spent around a week on holidays here when I was a kid. Some years ago I went back to Caorle after a hiatus of around thirty years.

I dicovered a town with more shops, restaurants and cafes.

The old core of Caorle is made of a maze of narrow streets called "calli".

Strolling along several calli; all of a sudden you can find yourself in a small square, or you will discover some nice colourful houses.

There are also two churches in the old core of Caorle; the church delle Grazie and Sain Roque church. In the old core there is a good choice of cafes, restaurants and shops.

In old times, Caorle was crossed by several canals, but later they have been closed except canale Varragio, that now is the harbour you see in the center of this town.

The cathedral in Caorle (duomo) was built around 1038 probably on the remains of a previous church dating from the VIII century.

One of its main sights is the so-called pala d' oro. It is a work made of gold and silver made of six pieces. The oldest of these date to the XIII century. It is a pity it isn' t possible to see it properly, because it is located too far; it is in the apse.

Next to the church there is a cylindrical bell tower; built in 1065. There is also a museum with various religious artefacts near the cathedral.

Caorle has two long beaches. spiaggia di levante (east beach) and spiaggia di ponente (west beach).

There is a small church overlooking the beaches in Caorle. The name of this worship place is chiesa della Madonna dell' Angelo. It was built in 1751, but it is tought it was built originally in 402.

According to a legend; long ago some sailors spotted a statue on a rock floating on the sea. They tried to take it to the beach, but their attempt failed. Then some children succeded.

Every five years; on the second sunday of september, a procession with this statue is held around Caorle.

Since 1992; every two years; probably in june; some sculptors from Italy and from abroad come to Caorle to enter a contest called Scogliera Viva. They choose a big stone on the beach and create their masterpiece that will live forever.

The result of this contest is practically a beautiful and quite large sculpture museum in the open air.

You can see these sculptures near the church (chiesa della Madonna) on spiaggia (beach) di Ponente.

One day I took a 2.30 hours boat trip from the harbour in Caorle. I could enjoy the sea, part of Caorle and some beaches from afar. A short visit at the "casoni" (20 minutes) is included in this trip.

The casoni are big huts used as temporary homes for fishermen. There are lot of them at the Caorle lagoon. The first ones were built centuries ago.

They are made of a room with a table, chairs, stove and everything people need to live in that area. Today these huts are still used by several fishermen.

You can visit some casoni inside only if you take a boat trip.

La Luna nel Pozzo is a free of charge festival of "street art" which takes place every year at the beginning of september. It lasts for some days.

Lots of artists from Italy and from various European countries (even from other continents) come to perform in various squares of Caorle. So you can enjoy some shows of acrobats, dancers, musicians, singers, clowns and other kinds of artists.

If you miss some performance you will have the opportunity to watch it later on. The same shows are repeated for two or three times the same day or the next ones.

I booked a double room for a week at hotel Firenze; full board. This was quite small, but ok for a single traveller. It had a bathroom en suite with shower. This hadn' t a base to contain the fallen water. So that the bathroom almost flooded every time I used it.

This hotel has a communal room with a large screen television and a small cafe with a terrace.

The buffet at breakfast consisted of bread, pastries, jam, cold cuts, cheese et al. There is a machine to get hot drinks as coffee and cappuccino. At dinner you have to choose your meal the day before, but you have a choice of several dishes. The food at this hotel was very good.

Hotel Firenze is a medium sized hotel located some 500 meters from the center of Caorle.

It is possible to go to Caorle from Mestre (a city near Venice) by coach. Don' t forget to ask the driver if the coach goes directly to Caorle or if you have to change bus somewhere.

Just a warning; the bus station in Caorle is quite far from the town center. A taxi would be useful if you have problems to walk for a long time or whether you have a heavy luggage.

Chioggia is a nice town situated some 50 kilometers far from Venice. It is called "Little Venice" because it has some similarities to this town. In fact Chioggia has several calli (narrow streets), bridges and canals.

I spent some days in Chioggia some years ago.

Corso del Popolo is the main street in Chioggia. It crosses the town from north to south.

On this long street you can see several old palaces. There is a good choice of cafes and shops here as well.

Every thursday the weekly market takes place along this street.

On the third sunday of august; every year the Palio della Marcillana is held on corso del Popolo. This series of events includes a costume parade that celebrates the liberation of Chioggia from the Genoese in june 1380.

Ponte di Vigo is one of the eight bridges that cross canal Vena. It is located near the harbour.

It was built in masonry in 1685. It was embellished with Istrian marbles in 1762. This bridge substituted a previous one made of wood.

Canal Vena is one of the canals in Chioggia. It runs parallel to corso del Popolo. Along this canal there is a promenade with porticoes and lots of very old palaces. There are several shops and cafes along this canal.

I had lunch at Al Vecio Foghero some times. Here they have a good choice of first and second courses with meat, fish or sea food. They also have a good selection of pizzas. Once I asked for one of these. They brought me a large and tasty pizza.

I sat at a outdoor table all the times I went to that restaurant. It was too hot to eat inside. The outdoor tables of restaurant al Vecio Foghero are right on a narrow street (calle).

There aren' t any beaches in Chioggia, but there are many in Sottomarina. Practically there is a strip of 10 km of fine sandy beach there.

Sottomarina is part of Chioggia and it is situated on another island.This neighboorhood has everything the tourist likes or needs; hotels, restaurants, shops and cafes.

You can go to Sottomarina from Chioggia by bus; otherwise you can go there by foot. I suppose you have to walk around 1 km to get there. Start from San Giacomo bridge in Chioggia; near the church with the same name and go straight on.

It is possible to do a day trip to Venice from Chioggia; by boat. I didi it.

You have to take a boat to Pellestrina. Once there, take a bus near the boat pier. This will takes you to another spot in Pellestrina (an island not far from Chioggia) to take a boat to the island of Lido (this belongs to Venice).

The bus goes on the boat. After a short journey you get to Alberoni (part of the island of Lido). Get in the bus (if you went out) and wait until you are at the right stop. This is where you' ll be able to take a boat to Saint Mark' s square.

I arrived in Saint Mark' s square in order to visit the basilica. There was a long queue, so I decided to skip it.

Then I chose to visit some churches. I bought a card named Chorus Pass, that enabled me to visit 16 churches within a year. I visited four churches in a day.

I headed to several campo (small squares), crossed a lot of bridges, had a "fast food" meal and took some pics.

Pellestrina is a 11 km long and narrow island. It is less than 2 km square meters long.

There are three villages on this island; Pellestrina, San Pietro in Volta and Portosecco.

Here you see lots of colorful houses and several others painted in pastel colors. Pellestrina isn' t a touristy place, but there is a good choice of restaurants, cafes and shops.

It is a nice island to spend some hours in the morning or in the afternoon.

Daily boats to Pellestrina depart from the harbour in Chioggia. The journey to the island takes around 20 minutes.

Pasticceria Flora is a cafes - confectionery on corso del Popolo. I went there several times to have dinner.

Well, I visited that cafe for the so-called "happy hour". I usally asked for a non alcoholic fruit drink which came with a plate full of mini sandwiches, small slices of pizza and chips.

Once I finished these nibbles I could go to the counter and help myself with other food as much as I liked.

There were mostly slices of pizza and chips on the counter when I visited this cafe. The slices of pizza were good and also the non alcoholic fruit drink.

I could easily find a room in Chioggia even if it was high season. I booked a room at hotel Caldin' s. This is a bunch of rooms in a modern building; not a hotel. I had a three bed room, which wouldn' t have been large enough for three people but it was fine for me. My bed was comfortable.

The bathroom was quite small. It had the shower inside without a real base and a curtain that was useless. I had to be very careful not to flood the entire the bathroom floor when I took a shower.

In every room there is a boiling device to prepare coffee or tea. Some bags of tea, one or two packets of instant coffee and some packed cookies.

Long ago I spent some days in Brussels in order to attend a meeting in Kortrijk. This town is around an hour by train from Brussels.

On this post you will see some sights of Brussels.

Grand Place, or Grote Markt (in Flemish) is the main square in Brussels.

It was first laid out after the construction of the town hall (1402-1455). On august 13th 1695 it was bombed to ruins by the French. In the following four years the city guilds rebuilt it.

Today it is surrounded by several guild houses from the late 17th century, by the town hall and the Broodhuis (or Maison du Roy). Some guild houses house restaurants or cafes.

The Maison du Roy houses the City Museum. There you can see the collection of costumes of the Manneken Pis.

Everard' t Serclaes was a local hero who freed the city from the Counts of Flanders in 1354.

You can find a bas-relief depicting this hero dying to the left of the town hall and under the house where he died in 1388.

This sculpture was made in 1902 by a Flemish artist; Julien Dillen. Rubbing the hero' s arm on this bas-relief will ensure one's return to Brussel and to bring good luck.

The Royal Galleries of Saint Hubert is a large glass roofed arcade built in 1847. It was the first shopping arcade in Europe.

It consists of two mayor sections called Galerie du Roy (King' s Gallery) and Galerie de la Reine (Queen' s Gallery); and a smaller side gallery called Galerie des Princes (Princes Gallery).

This shopping arcade is lined with more than fifty shops, cafes, some restaurants, a theatre and a cinema. Here you can find some chocolate shops, several boutiques and jewellery stores.

In the past, visitors had to pay to access the galleries.

The comic strip route is a path composed by more than fifty comic strip murals which decorate the walls of several buildings in the ciy.

These murals represent many cartoons characters. One of the reasons why these were created was to improve some areas in Brussels.

The Belgian Comic Strip Center is a museum dedicated to the Belgian comics.

The name of this museum is Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée. It is housed in a Art Nouveaux building designed by the architect Victor Horta.

Here you can learn about the process of creating a comic strip album. There are several nice three dimensional recreations of strip scenes and other things relevant to the strip art.

On the ground floor of this palace there is a restaurant, a comics shop and a library.

The Manneken Pis is a bronze statuette of a naked peeing boy situated atop a fountain. It was built in 1619.

Sometimes you can see this little boy dressed. He has a rich wardrobe you can see in the City Museum in Grand Place.

There are some legends about it.

According to one of them a witch saw a little boy makings his things against her door. She lived where the fountain now stands. The witch was very angry so that she turned him into a statue.

Another legend says that a man had lost his little son. After two days he found him near the place where now you see the fountain. When the father spotted his child, the latter was peeing. As a token of gratitude the father had the fountain with a statue of a peeing boy built.

Another museum I visited in Brussels was the Royal Museum of Fine Arts. This museum is divided into two sections; the Museum of Ancient Art and the Museum of Modern Art.

I only visited the Museum of Ancient Art. It houses paintings, drawings and sculptures from the 15th until 18th century. There you can see many paintings by the most famous Flemish old masters, such as Breugel, Rubens and Van Dyck.

At this museum you can also find the Death of Marat by Jacques Louis David; a painting you have surely seen in some school books.

The musical instruments museum is housed in a Art Nouveaux building designed in 1899. It has more than 1.500 intruments from all areas of the world and from all times. These are on display on four floors.

Once you bought your ticket you are given a set of infrared headphones. If you stand besides an instrument; on a spot marked with a headphone on the floor you will hear music played by that instrument on the headphones.

This palace has also a concert hall, a library, a shop and a restaurant on the top. This provides a view over some areas of the city.

Le Petit Sablon is a nice garden. It is surrounded by 48 statues representing the Medieval guilds of Brussels.

In the center of the square you can see a statue of the counts of Egmont and Hoorne who were executed at the Grand Place in 1568 by order of Philip II of Spain.

It was originally a horse market. In 1890 it was turned into a garden.

I also a visited a nice museum quite far from the city center; the Museum of the Far East. It consists of a Chinese pavillion and a Japanese tower.

These were commisioned to a French architect by king Leopold II. They are located on the northern corner of the Royal Park in the Laeken area.

Inside the Chinese pavillion.

Antother pic taken into the Chinese pavillion.

I couldn' t see much inside the Japanese Tower, because only the first floor was opened when I went here. Inside there is a collection of Japanese ceramics.

The Chinese pavilion was originally designed as a luxury restaurant. It has various small rooms richly decorated. There are also various Chinese items here, but what impressed me were the decorations of the rooms.

These buildings seems to be oriental. Only some parts of them came from Japan and China.

The Royal Greenhouses is a large complex of greenhouses built between 1874 and 1895 by king Leopold II to house his collection of plants from the Congo. They consist of 16 connected greenhouses.

These greenhouses are located in the park of the royal palace of Laeken.

These greenhouse can be visited only for two weeks every year; usually between april and may. This is a tradition has been carried on for a century.

I visted Brussels at the beginning of may, so that I could enjoy those rich collection of flowers and plants.

I have to visit Brussels again, because in this city there are several other things to see and do. I stayed there for six day if my memory serves me well.

Krk is an island in Croatia. It is one of the largest one in that country. It is connected to the mainland via a long concrete bridge since 1980.

I went on holiday on this island twice and precisely in Punat both times.

I travelled by coach to Punat. I went to Rijeka from Trieste (IT) by direct coach. I took another one from Rijeka to Punat. If I remember correctly, the journey from Rijeka to Punat should takes around 1.30 hours. I suppose Punat is one of the latest stops on Krk Island if not the last.

There are many buses from Rijeka to Krk Island every day. They stop at various villages on the island.

It is also possible to go to this island by airplane from various countries. In fact there is an airport there. It is named Rijeka Airport and it is located close to the town of Omisalij.

Krk Town is located on the south west coast of the island. It has a nice waterfront with several restaurants and cafes.

Getting lost is a thing to do in Krk Town. This is a way to discover several nice things, as old houses, cafes, restaurants and a small park overlooking the sea.

One of the main sights of the town is the cathedral that forms a complex with the church of Saint Quirinus.

The church of Saint Quirinus has a bell tower with an angel playing a trumpet on the top. Inside there is an exibition of sacred art. You have to climb some stairs to go inside.

After your visit, you pass through a door and go downstairs where you get inside the cathedral. This was built in 1188 where there had been a V century basilica. This had been built on the site of a Roman spa.

Vela Placa; one of the squares in Krk Town has a Medieval tower with a clock built in the XVI century and an ancient well.

As I have already said, Punat was my base both times I was on the island.

In my opinion the main reason to visit Punat is to take a boat to Kosljun Island. On this islet there is a Franciscan monastery. It was founded in 1447.

Kosljun Island is a very green area with several paths and chapels. It is a kind of little forest.

On this island you can visit a church which was built on the ruins of a Benedictine church. Moreover there is a museum of ethnography, a collection of paintings and a small archaeological museum.

At the museum of ethnography.

Baska is a large village situated on the southern part of the island.

One of the main reasons to visit Baska is to spend some time on its long beach. It is a beach with peebles and sand named Vela Plaza. Along the waterfront there are lots of restaurants, cafes, ice cream parlours and souvenirs stalls.

There is a small ethnoghraphic museum in Baska. I didn' t find it very interesting. It takes around twenty minutes to visit it. It is quite small. The entry fee is only some kunas.

Baska.

Vrbnik is a beautiful village on a hill. It is situated on a 49 meters high rock overlooking the sea; on the north - east coast of the island.

This is a small village with old stone houses where you can get lost strolling along several narrow cobbled streets.

Vrbnik has some shops, restaurants and cafes. There are some beaches nearby.

You can go to Vrbnik by bus. Unfortunately only a few of them operate every day either from Krk Town or from Punat.

I booked my room (twice) at Hotel Omorika in Punat. It is a quite large hotel situated some meters from the sea. It has a garden with a playground area for kids and a big terrace. It is not far from the main bus stop.

Here they served beakfast and dinner buffet style. I have to say I was really satisfied about the food at the hotel.

I had lunch at Cafe bar Bistro twice. Both times I had some very good palacinke Riva. These are three crepes with finely grounded nuts, ice cream, some liquid chocolate and whipped cream. It is a complete meal in my opinion.

Here you can also have pasta (noodles), njoki (dumplings) and various fish and meat dishes. I had a taste of njoki with gorgorzola cheese as well. These were really good.

Cafe bar Bistro has also an outdoor area to enjoy your lunch, if the weather is fine. This restaurant is located in Punat; near the sea and not too far from hotel Omorika.