An Afternoon at the Seaside

The Slovenian coast stretches for a whole 46 km, but it packs a surprisingly large amount into 46 kilometers! Our first stop on Sunday afternoon was Koper. At first glance Koper seems to be a jumble of industry, however, if you look a little closer, and enter the town through one of the old entrances, one finds a delightfully preserved center.





What made Koper even more special was that I had with me my own personal tour guide who grew up in Koper, and she entertained us with childhood adventures and anecdotes. Although Koper was quiet, Ziva brought it very much alive, as I could picture a young girl merrily careening through narrow streets on her wooden scooter..

The town is believed to have originated in around 3 BC, and at that time it was an island. The Venetians assumed control in the late 13th century.
Barbabianca Palace, former seat of the venetian tax office 18th Century

Today Koper is Slovenia’s largest coastal town and chief maritime port, yet maintains it’s medieval charm.

Well, dated 1795.

From Koper we drove to Potoroz (Port of Roses), Slovenia’s major beach resort. Although the town is quite modern, it’s history dates back to the 13th century. It wasn’t the sleek hotels that caught my eye, but rather this old tower, sitting in the center of them all.

From Potoroz we walked 2 km down the boardwalk to Piran. Piran is located on the top of a long tapering peninsula that projects into the Adriatic.
Piran has maintained it’s medieval shape and character and was a jumble of arched alleys and narrow streets with tightly packed houses. The town’s center is Tartinjev trg (Tartini Square) and features a marble surface and a bronze statue of the acclaimed violinist Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770) after whom the square is named.
Behind the statue is a ruby-red gothic Venetian house (Benecanke Hisa) and this is the oldest preserved building in the square, dating back to the 15th Century. Making our way to the Punta Lighthouse,


I found Piran to be a collection of stone walls, red tiled roofs, interesting visuals that changed moment to moment, and had me stopping to take photo after photo.





Finally, as the light began to fade we began to make our way back to the car, stopping for an ice cream cone (have I mentioned that the best ice cream is here in Slovenia?) and Zoran seemed to pace things to perfectly time the stunning sunset.

What an incredible day at the seaside.