My Istria

The Istrian coastline in Croatia feels like a small world of its own—olive groves and vineyards rolling down toward a coastline that shifts from quiet coves to lively harbours. Croatia, a bit like Italy in many ways, can feel very different from North down to the South, as it is a long country. The peninsula carries layers of history in its hilltop towns and Roman ruins, but it never feels stuck in the past; it’s a place where long lunches, salt air, and golden evening light set the pace. For a traveller, it’s the kind of region that rewards wandering: a scenic drive can turn into an impromptu swim, a backstreet can lead to a family-run eatery, and every viewpoint seems designed for lingering.

Rovinj is Istria at its most romantic. The old town rises like a painted backdrop from the sea, its narrow lanes twisting upward to the church of St. Euphemia, where the views open out across red roofs and scattered islands. Down at the waterline, cafés and fishing boats share the same edge, and the whole place glows at sunset—warm stone, soft reflections, and that unmistakable Adriatic shimmer. The architecture is very Venetian in its feel—natural, given that the Republic of Venice owned the Istrian coastline for over 500 years. Rovinj, at its heart, has stayed a small Venetian town. It also had lots of tiny, independently run shops, which were really focused on artsy, hand crafted items. Also while I was there, they had a PhotoDays exhibition on. Some of the photos were over 100 years old, but you can easily recognise Rovinj as it is today, as the buildings have barely changed. Maybe a lick of paint, but honestly, that's about it. You can see that it is expanding, with modern hotels and building on the outer parts of the town. It is a very easy-living holiday destination. It’s easy to spend a day here doing very little: a slow walk around the town, a bike ride through the vast park trails just south of Rovinj, a gelato, a swim in the clear water, then dinner watching the sunset, with the harbour lights coming on one by one.

Pula, by contrast, feels bold, industrial and monumental—more city than postcard, that comes from its working port, more industrial past and its extraordinary Roman heritage. The Arena dominates the skyline and the imagination, a reminder that this was once a major imperial outpost. The architecture here, while does have that same Venetian flair of Rovinj, it also has a strong former Yugoslavic style to parts of it. I guess, that is from when and how the city expanded from a large town to a city. Pula’s charm is in the history you can step inside. Unfortunately I wasn't particularly well on the day I went to Pula, also the weather was a bit patchy at best, so I didn't really have the urge to explore the streets as much as I would have liked. However, I went there to see and photograph the Arena and did manage to get a few photos of it that I like.

The gear I took with me was my trusty Fujifilm X-S10 and my 16-80 f4 lens. I did take my Sigma 10-18 f2.8 as well, but honestly I took 1 photo with it and I only used it for that photo to validate my choice in taking the lens with me. All images are edited with my own presets that I created. I use them as a base starting point and then adjusted it slightly for the type of look that I wanted from this trip. I do have a blog about me creating my presets, which you can read HERE

I'll drop all the photos of my trip below, hope you like them. If you do want to see photos from some of my other trips and read about them you can. They are about Malta, Rhodes and Santorini. Thanks for reading, see you again soon.