Where to begin, my dear hivers?
I was gone for a bit, and I missed writing and posting posts. My most serious difficulty was the loss of my external hard drive, on which I had saved all of the photographs I had taken ever since. I'm sure I'd get over it eventually; of course, it's all very sad, but my biggest grief about the hard drive is that it contained images of my child. From the time she was a baby until the present.
I was taking calls and looking for a company that could solve my current problem, which is to save all of my photos, if not the photos of my child, which are the most important thing for me to save.
Despite everything that was going on in my life, I also had a lot of extra time to work. And, to be honest, I was having trouble writing. I couldn't put together sentences for the blogs , and I didn't have any images to write about and illustrate the destinations I was visiting.
The possibility that no photo will be saved still bothers me greatly. All of our memories are accessible at a look, including some we don't recall but are reminded of by the photograph.
All I can do now is hope for the best.
This weekend, I spent in Grožnjan, a small charming town in Istria. Full of history and autumn colors abound. #haveyoubeenhere.
The Giant MTB Winter League: XC Frozen Sheep bike race was also on my itinerary. That will undoubtedly be covered in the following post. I photographed something similar for the first time, but as I mentioned earlier, we'll talk about it next time.
It's easy to fall in love with Istria since it has it all: stunning scenery and beaches, ancient towns perched on hilltops, outstanding wines, homemade prosciutto, high-quality olive oil, scented truffles...
The medieval village of Grožnjan - the city of artists and music - is located on a magnificent hill in the center of Istria. Walk with me through the stone city walls and into an entirely different world, where the main mode of transportation is the bicycle and the official currency is the love of art.
The ethnic composition of the municipality is: 39.4% Italians, 29.62% Croats, 18.21% regionally declared ("Istrians") and 2.17% Slovenes, which makes Grožnjan the only Croatian municipality with a majority share of ethnic Italians.
STONE WALLS, TILED STREETS, AND IMAGINARY VINEYARD VIEWS
The stone walls, cobbled streets, and maintained architecture exude a distinct beauty and clean tranquility, and many visitors believe that a tour through Grožnjan is a brief walk through time. Without a car, walk the cobblestone streets, listen to music, and pet one of the friendly kitties.
They even like to pose. :)
Grožnjan had two city gates, Mala and Vela(small and big), which were originally only accessible by a drawbridge when it was a fortress. Only one is still standing today, the larger one, but if you go to the spot where there was once a little door and where there is still a Venetian pillar, you will be rewarded with a beautiful panoramic view that shoots at the surrounding villages and goes all the way to the sea. Vineyards, olive groves, and orchards abound on the postcard.
And, while we're on the subject of attractive and slightly magical locations, don't miss the Spinotti Palace. The Baroque district has always been a significant part of the city. The only difference is that in the 17th century, it was a gathering place for wealthy individuals, landowners, and notaries, whereas today it is a gathering place for wine enthusiasts. The palace is now a wine business.
GROŽNJAN IS A CITY THAT LIVES ART...
One walk is all it takes to understand why Grožnjan is known as the "City of Artists." In Grožnjan, is that the entire city seems like one large display. This is not far from the reality, with as many as twenty galleries and art studios, as well as the Fonticus Gallery, which houses works of art by artists from all over the world. Almost every stone house is a studio or studio, so it's difficult not to find anything that appeals to you. Artworks, handicrafts, and even furniture...
Metal ships, not as large as they once were, "sailed in" on Grožnjan's main plaza, but they undoubtedly transport the City of Artists back to the ancient past when Grožnjan was a port, about which historical records and material proof exist. The truth is that the ships are now much further away from the sea, and the port is now Grožnjan's main square.
Even street signs are creative.....
Grožnjan is active from early spring until late autumn, sleeping only in the winter.
Unfortunately, due to Covid and the current situation, Grožnjan's cobblestone streets have fewer festivals and vivid art exhibits.
Historians provide a less romantic, but no less practical, reason for why settlements in Istria's interior were erected on hills: to protect against floods, pirates, and other threats. And Grožnjan, an ancient Venetian castle, has seen its fair share of action throughout history. He survived both the plague and the Uskok War in Venice, but the city remained desolate and forgotten after World War II and the large outflow of Italians. In the 1960s, however, artists began to dwell in abandoned houses, and many did so on the urging of sculptor Aleksandar Rukavina. That is why Grožnjan was given the moniker 'City of Artists' in 1965, which it still proudly wears today.
Are you ready for a fascinating legend?
An old legend says that once upon a time, before Istria was inhabited by humans, giants lived in the valley of Mirna. The main giant was the giant Dragonja (that is the name of the northernmost river in Istria), also called the giant Orač, because he plowed the furrow from Ćićarija towards the sea. Water began to flow through the furrow, which the giant Dragonja called the river - Mirna. (Mirna means peacefull)
Then the giants built a number of towns in Istria such as Motovun, Vrh, Sovinjak, Oprtalj, Završje, Roč and Grožnjan. They were so big that, each working on his own hill, they added tools to each other. According to the legend, after they built all the cities, there were a few stones left and then Hum was formed - the smallest city in the world. In the treasury of Istrian legends, there is also one that claims that the giant Gorazd, the son of the giant Dragonja, who is hiding in the Istrian forests, is still alive today.
The stone seen on the left, at the very top, is believed to have been placed there by a giant.
PARENZANA -THE RAILWAY THAT CONNECTED TRIESTE AND POREČ - 1902.
On April 1, 1902, the narrow-gauge railway that connected Trieste and Poreč, known as Parenzana, was inaugurated. It was established as a link between Istria and the Southern Railway, which served the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy's interior, allowing the development of Istria's most remote and impoverished areas. The railway ran for 123.1 kilometers between Trieste and Pore, connecting 33 Istrian towns. As a result, it would presently pass through three countries: Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia. The railway corridor, as well as a great number of accompanying railway facilities, bridges, viaducts, and tunnels, have been preserved to this day. A section of the historic railroad route
Used to be a station...
The line's last train left on August 31, 1935, because it could no longer compete with faster and cheaper sources of road transportation.
The Parenzana rails' fate is intriguing. The rails were removed by Mussolini's government and transferred to their freshly captured territory of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). The ship sank in the Mediterranean Sea and never made it to its destination.
I hope I've captured some of the beauty of this modest village constructed by the hand of a giant.
If you find this content interesting please let me know. :)
Hope you stay safe and happy.
Till next post xoxo
“In order to write about life first you must live it.”
– Ernest Hemingway
I am sorry to hear about your troubles with the hard disk. I recently had a similar problem, I could´t get to my laptop hard disk and it looked like I lost all my files and everything but eventually, a friend of mine helped me access the hard disk and I could copy everything to an external back up disk. So there was a happy ending for me and also a valuable lesson. I am sorry your story didn´t have a happy ending :(
That's great for you. I'm so happy you were able to save your photos. My external hard drive is problem. There's still some hope for mines. 🤞🤞🤞
Thank you for being so nice. 😊
I'm sorry to hear that you lost your hard drive but I'm sure the time will help you create new memories ❤️
Thank you so much for your kind words. I was devastated, I always loved photography, and some of my favourite work was there. Not to mention my child's photos😢 But OK, just like you said, the time will help to make new photos, new memories. ❤️❤️ Thank you for your support.
I feel you, and it's impossible to get back the time, but what it matters from now on is to make sure you create enough memories to fill a few more cards and always have them, most importantly, in your heart. Hang in there ❤️🙌🏻
Awwww... Thank you so much for kind and supporting words. It really means the world to me. ❤️ You are the example of why I love this community. Thank you once more!
❤️🙌🏻
Beautiful photos. Nice post. Thanks for sharing! :)
Thank you so much for stopping by. Your comment means so much. I'm glad you liked my post. 😊
There are ways of recuperating data from a broken hard disk , only that you need a specialized person doing that and it can be quite costly. You could try.
I liked this place, indeed it is very artistic, lovely legend about the giants!
I found someone who's specialised for fixing that kind of problem. I really hope The will be able to help me. 🤞
I'm so glad you liked my post, thank you so much for your comment. ❤️
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STOPThat's a very beautiful village @lensational
I love the scenney around and the peace of the village.
The autumn makes the village awsome. Thank you for taking me there.
Hey! 😊
Thank you so much for your lovely message. I don't know if you'll agree with me, but Autumn is really special time of the year. We get so many colours. I just love it. Thank you so much for stopping by. 💕
beautiful place beautiful landscapes and imposing buildings with a touch of nostalgia, thank you ...
Thank you so much for stopping by. I'm so glad that you liked my photos and post. Isn't Autumn one of the best time of the year? So colourful. 😍❤️ Thank you for such a lovely comment.