Reading the following passage from Rick Steves' Croatia and Slovenia guide book (because Rijeka is not mentioned in his Mediterranean Cruise Ports guide book), it's easy to see why we were not expecting much from our stop in that city today:
The industrial city of Rijeka (ree-YAY-kah; it translates as “River”) became Croatia’s biggest port under Austro-Hungarian rule. It’s dainty little Opatija’s bigger, burlier brother (with a population of 129,000). Like Opatija, much of Rijeka’s architecture is reminiscent of the glory days of the Habsburgs. But unlike Opatija, most of Rijeka’s buildings haven’t been renovated in the last century or so, giving it a seedy, gritty, past-its-prime feel. Since it’s a major transportation hub, there’s a good chance you’ll pass through.
...the Korzo, an almost-charming (emphasis mine) pedestrianized zone packed with shops, restaurants, and a TI.
Well, there are surprises everywhere and today's was that we really enjoyed our visit to Rijeka. It was extremely foggy first thing this morning and so we didn't rush off the ship, but instead enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the Club Restaurant. I have now run through egg white veggie omelets and then peanut butter toast as my breakfast choices but today tried oatmeal with the baked apples slices on top (and skipped protein since I knew I'd likely be back on the ship in time for a late lunch) and it was delicious. I need to have that more often, especially on our many upcoming sea days.
G went out for a quick run while I rested a little in the cabin. I had slept poorly last night, and half-recall having not only those infamous 'school dreams' that plagued me for years, but 'work dreams' too, and then added a new twist on these with 'cruise dreams' where G and I had lost each other and were late for our return to the ship. It's easy to see why my subconscious was struggling with this; in the larger cities, and without him wearing his bright yellow t-shirts, (and given his wandering, wondering nature), it's a constant concern.
Still, by 10am we were heading off the ship. I wanted to get to 11am Mass at St.Vitus Cathedral, several blocks from the waterfront. We took our time getting there, wandering the streets of the "almost charming" Korzo (and we were quite charmed by all the family groups out walking on a Sunday morning and the set up for their Winter Festival beginning later today) and peeked into the Orthodox Church of St. Nicolas, and made it to St.Vitus in plenty of time. It is a beautifully ornate cathedral (the lack of the church bells ringing during the Consecration was a bit of a disappointment) but no photos were allowed inside. G snapped one through the window in the door during Mass that will have to serve as a somewhat blurry reminder of its beauty. Another candle lighting...really, are my friends and family fairly skipping through life these days? ;-)
Entrance to the Church of St. Nicolas
The day was initially a little sunny, but it was downright balmy, warm and humid and we could have gotten by without even our vests but wore them to carry camera and phone. All throughout the Korzo area were detailed signs with the city map on them (and we also had been handed a paper one as soon as we stepped off the Pacific Princess), describing the local sites. Not to be outdone by its Croatian neighbors, Rijeka had Roman ruins and one remaining Roman Arch, or Old Gate which had actually been a main entrance to the military headquarters of the late Roman empire, Tarsatica, an ancient town on whose ruins medieval Rijeka rose.
The Gradski Toranj (City Tower) of Rijeka
The Old Gate, or Roman Arch
St. Vitus Cathedral
It's almost as if Rijeka felt they'd received a snub from Rick Steves and took special care with maps and signage to point out the wonders it offers. ;-)
Still, as much as we enjoyed walking around and people watching all the families with small kids learning how to roller blade and ride bikes, by 2pm we were ready to return to the Pacific Princess. Apparently that was everyone's Rijeka limit. The Panorama Buffet was packed, which isn't often the case on this ship. We were joined by Paul and Marlene and than by a couple from Dallas who wanted all the ins and outs of booking Princess cruises and using Future Cruise Credits (FCCs). Paul and Marlene are avid Princess cruisers, too, and we all advised the couple not to leave the ship without having purchased at least a few FCCs. While we were still sitting in the Panorama Buffet; the rain started and increased to a downpour by the time the Pacific Princess sailed.
G adjourned to a hot tub but I had a few more minutes of Internet from two cruises ago to use up so I could sign up for this cruise's 250 minutes before turnaround day tomorrow. Uploading just text blog posts has saved me so much internet time!! At some point I'm going to be able to use ship's internet for something besides paying bills and checking account balances and publishing blog posts...like maybe getting caught up with the news.
Or maybe not. :-(
We had touched based with our new cabin steward Maria yesterday, and she told us that the people currently in our new cabin have an early flight from Venice tomorrow morning and she would have no problem getting our cabin ready by 8am. Hopefully that will allow us to be out of our current cabin by just a few minutes after that time, get settled in our new digs and be off the ship exploring Venice by 9am (weather permitting; see below). This will be our third visit to Venice, and I'm hoping we'll feel as comfortable as we did yesterday in Dubrovnik.
It was Stilton with port wine sauce in the PES Lounge tonight, and we were up there to enjoy that and the view of the lights of Rijeka. Since we moved our clocks back to Central European time two nights ago, it is totally dark by 5pm, at least this far east. Sailaway was at 6pm tonight, and we saw mostly lights from our Club Restaurant table at dinner, but it was still pretty.
Captain D, in his 'welcome back on board)' announcement, gave us the horrible news that yesterday and today the fog in Venice has been so thick that the harbormaster has periodically shut down the port. However, the rain that we are experiencing tonight is supposed to move on to Venice, which would clear the fog. So those are our choices: fog and the possibility the Pacific Princess won't be able to dock on time, or rain. Neither sounds very appealing, does it? However, if forced to choose, I'd vote for a rainy day in Venice. At least that way the disembarking passengers would make their flights.
G and I both had garden salads and the Curtis Stone chicken and leek pie for dinner. We were pleased to see that it's not as horrid as some of the other Curtis Stone offerings we've had, but we both would have appreciated a lot fewer leeks and more carrots and celery. We might possibly order it again, but probably not. However, the dark cherry sorbet we chose instead of the baked Alaskans never fails to please.
Our entertainment tonight was ventriloquist Kieran Powell. G guilted me into attending with him; but we again sat in the 'just-in-case-iest' of the 'just-in-case' seats. I really did try to get through it but G must have known I was silently suffering. About 10 minutes into the show, he turned to me and whispered that he was fine with me leaving and I was out of there in a flash. I simply don't enjoy ventriloquists or hypnotists. At all.
Captain D is keeping the pedal to the metal overnight to get us to Venice even earlier than the scheduled 5am. His hope is that it buys us some wiggle room for getting into the port in the event the fog is still there. It doesn't sound like we'll have any kind of a picturesque sail in Venice, which is disappointing, but it will give us the opportunity to instead focus on getting packed and moved in the morning. As for what we'll do the rest of the day...we're waiting to see what the weather holds.