Istria, Momjan, Croatia

We were escorted the final few kilometers (including the final 17%+ grade) of what felt like a very long day by our gracious Warm Showers hosts Michael and Marijana on their tandem. (Warm Sowers it is a hospitality network for cyclist). Shortly there-after we were showered and found ourselves sitting on a balcony watching the sun set over the Adriatic enjoying Aperol Spritzers (a popular liquor, prosecco, and tonic cocktail), funny how rapidly you can go from suffering to luxuriating.

Istria, or more specifically the Istrian Peninsula has a tumultuous history. After the dissolution of the Austria-Hungarian Empire at the end of World War I Istria was given to Italy. After World War II Istria became part of Yugoslavia, and finally became part of Modern-day Croatia in 1991. It is a mix of Historic hill and coastal towns, many of the former are in varying states of decay, some villages have held on, or reinvented themselves as tourist destinations, others appear totally abandoned. Some parallels can be drawn toTuscany, especially as it relates to a long history of wine and olive oil production. The fact is that this small region of Croatia offers up lots of terrific cycling and enough topography to ride everything from rolling hills, leg searing climbs, coastal cruises and longer mountain rides.

Momjan seems to be sustaining itself despite ample ruins suggesting a more prosperous and populous past. In fact numerous building and renovation projects can be seen in town and the feel of the village is comfortably worn but also quite beautiful. There is a terrific restaurant (Rinos) that served some of the better food we have had on our travels; the white and black truffles on toast appetizer, the gnocchi with truffles, frittata with fresh wild asparagus, and pasta with wild mushrooms were all amazing (Susan says the gnocchi with venison was good too). Our hosts are in fact renovating the first floor of their house into a hostel to cater to cyclists. Momjan is near other Hill Towns that have established themselves on the tourist track (Buje, Motovun, Grožjan) combined with the excellent cycling it seems poised to do well.

We had a great visit and stayed an extra day in part because it was raining and also Susan's bike frame needed some repair but also because we were enjoying the visit. It was very fortunate that we caught the repair before Susan's frame broke clear through; a rack screw had fallen out of the dropout eyelet and the weight of the loaded panniers pulling on the upper rack attachments had torn a small gash in the seat stay. Michael and Marijan brought us to a nearby welding shop they had used and they were able to fix it while we waited; cost 100 kunas, or about 14€.

We also were able to enjoy a great afternoon ride around the neighborhood and through several nearby villages. Our hosts also took us into nearby Portoroz, Slovenia for some awesome Gelato. We finally broke free to get back on the road and headed off towards Rovinj by way of Porec. The plan is to spend a week or so exploring Istria and the nearby island of Cres, before completing a circuit back through Momjan, then heading north into the Julian Alps to ride and try to catch a stage of this year's Giro d'Italia.