I think many Americans have heard of Archduke Maximilian. He's the guy who was asked to and finally accepted the title of Emperor of Mexico. Little did he know what he was getting himself into. His end came at the firing squad of Benito Jauraez. We made a trip down to a beach in Croatia this weekend and along the way stopped off to see Miramare Castle, manily because it was used in a movie we saw recently. It's in Trieste. It was built by Maximilian as his home which he lived in only 3 years before heading off to Mexico. I had no idea really of the history so I've since done a little studying, that's the funny thing about traveling about, it does make you have to wake up a bit to what's around you.
We took the camper of course, "camped" in a parking lot on the water front in Trieste the first night which gave us a chance to make a bike tour of the center of the city. It's really a pretty city, and on a Saturday night with warm weather, the outdoor bars and restaurants where full. One can see the influence of the Austrians in the architecture.
Croatia, was the second night but only after taking a tour of the biggest cavern in the World also in Trieste. Very impressive, especially the 140 meters of steps to go down and then back up. Then it was the beach, mostly rocks big and small, but very clean and clear water. Not really a great place for kids, but being so early in the season at a camp ground we had a beautiful spot overlooking the water. The nearby giant waterslide free as part of the campgrounds made up for the lack of sand on the beach for the kids.
All this followed Monday by it taking 4 hours to travel 90 kilometers. Just traffic and border crossings. Interesting being in a traffic jamb in a camper, spent time cleaning and organizing, then fixed dinner, ate, got Giovanni and Julia ready for bed, teeth brushed etc. Then they went to bed and slept through the rest of the trip, but not before watching some of a movie on the laptop.
Isn't Miramare Castle and the surrounding park beautiful? I lived in Trieste last year (and have visited the city about 4 times in the past 5 years), and I think the area of just lovely. Can you believe that we never made it to the caverns in Trieste? Certainly a must see on our next visit! Glad you and your family had such a nice time, especially since Trieste is often overlooked or just passed through on the way to another place but I think its worth couple day visit.
ReplyDeleteI was very impressed with Trieste, it reminds me some of San Diego. I always thought of it as a little place, but driving from one side to the other one realizes that it's very big, seemed to go on forever.
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