Croatia's third-largest city is an ancient port town with a turbulent past. The Liburnians, Celts, Romans, Ostrogoths, and Byzantines, just to name a few, attacked and occupied Rijeka (pronounced Reeyaycka) until the Habsburgs' reign began in the 15th century and ended 450 years later. It is often considered the gateway to other Croatian cities. We got into port around 9:00 am and we were not impressed. One fellow said he didn't think he'd even get off the ship it looked so crummy. So we're hoping that once we got into the old city things would improve.

We opted for a walking tour of Trsat Castle and the Old Town. We got on our bus for the ride to the area called Trsat. The port area is quite ugly and doesn't give a good first impression. But once we got out of the port area the city is quite pretty. Our first stop was at Our Lady of Trsat Church and Franciscan Monastery. This is the largest centre of pilgrimage in Western Croatia. It's creation is connected to the tradition regarding the magical transport of the Nazareth house and its stay on Trsat from 1291-1294. In 1294 the house was moved to Loreto. Then, the prince of Krk, Nikola I, built the first small church on the site the house in Trsat was moved from. St Mary's Trsat became a meeting place for pilgrims and its reputation was enhanced by the painting of Our Lady of Trsat that was given as a gift, by Pope Urban V in 1367, to the Croations for the loss of the house. In the 15th century the Sanctuary was taken over by the Franciscan Order who are still its guardians today. Pope John Paul II joined the pilgrims parade to this location in July, 2003.

Perched 138 meters above Rijeka, Trsat Castle is a 13th-century fortification offering great views of Kvarner Bay and Rijeka. It was mentioned for the first time in 1288. In prehistoric times, on the same site, was a Liburnian observation post, where roads from the interior towards the sea were monitored. The Romans used this location as a defence post for the Tarsatica Fortress, the town where the Old Town of Rijeka is situated now. Trsat Castle is one of the oldest fortifications on the Croatian coast. It was renovated in 1824 by an Irish count in a neoclassical, Biedermeier design. We had free time to wander around and take pictures before boarding the bus to go to the Old Town.

Much of the city's splendor is contained within the Old Town, replete with ornate Austro-Hungarian buildings (similar to what we've seen in Vienna and Budapest), Roman walls, and medieval churches. We strolled down the pedestrian promenade, the "Korzo," window shopping in its charming boutiques. We had no choice as everything was closed. We also saw a treasure trove of heritage sites, including the City Tower, which boasts four clocks, and the beautiful and octagonal Church of St. Vitus.

We opted out of free time as nothing was open. The only people there were unhappy tour groups.

An interesting fact we learned about Rijeka is that the first torpedo was invented here.

It's a sad day as our holiday is almost over. We have to pack and get ready for our trip home. We went back to the ship and packed, then went to our last happy hour and trivia game to drown our sorrows. During the cruise, every time you bought drinks at happy hour they gave out tickets for a draw. The draw is today. The bartenders always gave us extra tickets and we amassed a grand total of 54 tickets!! There are 3 bottles of wine up for grabs: 1 is worth $100+, another $70 and third prize is a $40 bottle. We did not win..... :( ......But we did well at trivia. :)

See you soon!