Motovun, Istria

This morning we said goodbye to our wonderful hosts Davor and Visjna at Tesla’s Gastro House. What a treat to meet them and experience their warm hospitality. They are a delightful couple who, after retiring from their careers, built the guesthouse from scratch - ‘from the digging’ as Visjna put it. Visjna had been an economist and Davor an electrical engineer.

The guesthouse is named after another electrical engineer - Nikola Tesla, the famed engineer, futurist, and inventor, known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current electricity supply system. Telsa was born in the village of Smiljin, now part of modern Croatia, just 50 kms from the guesthouse.

About four hours after leaving Plitvice we arrived in the hilltop village of Motovun, in the municipality of Istria in Western Croatia. It rained most of the way, sometimes heavily, but fortunately about 45 minutes before we arrived the skies cleared somewhat and stayed that way for a few hours so we had an opportunity to explore the village. Motovun is small in size but has a big reputation for:

‘World-Class Food and Wine: The surrounding forests are rich in truffles. Local restaurants serve fresh dishes topped with truffles alongside affordable, high-quality Istrian wine.

Stunning Views: The town sits nearly 300 meters above the Mirna River valley. You can climb the 13th-century bell tower for panoramic views of the green countryside.

Rich History: Venetian defensive walls, stone gates, and historic architecture give the village an authentic medieval charm. ‘

When working out our itinerary after Plitvice, we could easily have continued on another hour directly to the coast, but Motovun was just a short detour so we decided to stop here overnight. We are so glad we did - a delightful village and different to any of our previous stops in Croatia.

Tomorrow we will have a leisurely morning, another tootle around the town if the weather improves, and then make our way to the coastal town of Rovinj, on the Istrian Peninsula, where we will stay for three nights.Read more