Winter is finally leaving us and it’s time to replace our comfy couch with sunny days! Have you started thinking about where to escape on your spring break? Or even summer vacation yet? Let us inspire you with a couple of ideas.
When given a choice, I always find myself leaning towards a more peaceful and lazy vacation with no physical effort required at all! If you are also the type of person who loves to spend a vacation surrounded by peace & quiet while enjoying the traditional local food and wine- the town of Vrbnik is your place! It is situated on a stunningly steep cliff that drops into a crystal clear sea. Inside of its walls you can find a well preserved architecture, museums and galleries connected with a labyrinth of cobbled streets. How can you best spend a day in the town of Vrbnik?
1. Learn the ancient glagolitic script of the Island of Krk
While getting lost in the labyrinth of cobbled streets of Vrbnik, let the stone rosette of Vrbnik in front of the church of Mary’s Assumption draw your attention for a second. Surprisingly, it has neither a religious nor an esthetic function, although found in front of a church. This rosette is called Vrbničko Kolo or Wheel of Vrbnik. Priests used it for teaching the old Croatian alphabet called glagolitic script. The rosette is a circle divided into eight identical fields. All glagolitic letters can be derived from them. The priests used to “write” with a stick on it, when they wanted to give lessons to their students. Paper and ink were expensive in those days. Hence, such a didactic tool was ideal as it was cheap to make and lasted forever.
It is no accident that the Wheel can be found in Vrbnik as it is the place with the most preserved Glagolitic monuments in Croatia.
2. Walk through the Narrowest Street in the World
Vrbnik is one of probably hundreds of places in the world that claim to have the narrowest street in the world. Here it’s called Klančić. It’s only 40 cm wide and quite obviously the result of bad urban planning. But it’s fun! And believe me, I have some friends that need to tuck their tummy in to get through this one! But this is not even close to why Vrbnik is famous worldwide, it’s the wine…
3. Go Wine Tasting
There is nothing more appropriate to do in Vrbnik than drink wine. It’s a fact. There is a very long tradition of producing wine called Vrbnička Žlahtina in this town. Book a wine tasting tour which will take you to the cellars of the top three wine producers of Vrbnik. You will have an opportunity to try 9 different types of wines. Also, you will have a lift from and to your hotel, so you don’t have to drink and drive. Perhaps the highlight of the tour is meeting the wine producers personally and hearing the wine story of Vrbnik first- hand. The wine tasting tour will also take you to the first Vinotel of Croatia- a hotel dedicated to wine. Here, you can try the traditional dish of the Island of Krk called Šurlice. You will also hear the whole story of Valomet– the sparkling wine which ferments at the bottom of the Island of Krk sea.
4. Discover the Beach called Potovošće
Just after driving into the town of Vrbnik from Baška or Punat, you will see the sign “Beach Potovosce” in front of a small stone house. Follow the sign pointing to the right and after 2 km of road you will arrive to the beach. The peebly beach is still somewhat unknown to the masses. You will find it to be less crowded than most of the beaches on the island. You can rent a sun bed or a parasol (there is no natural shade on the beach) and park right next to the beach. There is also a bar, where you can cool down on a hot day with a cold beer.
5. Escape the beach crowds south of Vrbnik
The beach Potovošće extends into a hiking trail. We recommend taking a walk along the trail after you’ ve had a swim. You will profit from beautiful scenery and perhaps discover coves to swim in just like we did on our last visit. The hiking trail connects several secluded coves. They tend to be completely empty as not many people bother walking all the way to there. It will take a bit of an effort to find them, however the privacy you will have will makes it worthwhile!
