Saturday, December 11, 2010, Opatija, Croatia

We are in Opatija after a very long bus ride for 8 hours. It is a resort town. Park Angiolina (Angelina) was originally a private park but since WWII it is a public botanical garden. There are 3000 species of Mediterranean plants covering 3 hectares or 8 acres. They have the sequoia or redwood tree, a Japanese camellia, several magnolias, various palm trees and shrubs.The palms have to be protected in the winter. The music gazebo was rebuilt 2 years ago; the Communists destroyed it in 1945. Noble families traveled long hours to arrive here to vacation. The original family owner was a gardner in 1844 and he built the villa and sold it to an Austrian nobleman. After WWII it was owned by the town. This gardner, Scarpa, built a second villa in 1847 and named it after his daughter, Amelea. At this villa is growing sage, lavender, roses, cedar and cypress. It has a 9 foot wide chandelier with over 7000 crystal pieces, the largest in all of Europe. It is found in the gigantic ballroom. There is a statue of Isadora Duncan here because thiis was her favorite place to visit.
The town's name, Opatija, means abbey or monastery. The Franciscian monastery is next to ST. James church. The bell of ST. James rings early on the hour and continues slightly past the hour too. Next to ST. James church is a gold covered statue of the Madonna from Florence. The first statue made came by ship, was caught in a storm and lost when the ship sank. The second one came by train instead. In town is a healing spring that the nobility visited. The town is situated on the sea, but no swimming occurred until after the 20th century. It just wasn't fashionable and wasn't considered healthy. Along the sea is a 5 mile long promenade that extends to a town south of here. The residents take very long walks.
In 1904 a girl named Maria drowned in the whirlpool up against the sea wall. The fresh water from an underground spring flows out there so fast it creates a whirlpool that she couldn't swim out of. Of course, in 1904 swimming wasn't even taught. The whirlpool was called Slatina. There was a bronze statue erected by her father for her, but in 1942 Mussolini confiscated it for the bronze to be used in weapons.
The town of Opatija is a relatively new town, being only 160 years old. Rich people came from Vienna and Buddapest to visit the villas. Their transportation then was by carriage meaning it took 7-9 days to arrive. When the train lines were built, it became a 12 hour trip. The gazebo in the park was originally the pastry shop in that time. But they never really baked the pastries here. They were shipped by train from Vienna the afternoon before.
We stopped in a coffee shop to use the restroom and ordered 2 cappuccinos, mainly because it was cold outside. This was the first place I have seen over here to eat in that is no smoking! There were 2 old men that bought beers and went outside to drink and smoke. This is a Sunday morning around 9AM!