BEACON reader David Kenny recently embarked on a trip to Opatija in North Croatia. This Eastern European country has never been viewed as a top destination amongst holiday makers, but David is keen to dispel this idea, as his account of his trip suggests. "Alone amongst its destinations Easy Jet puts "Croatia" in brackets after Rijeka, the gateway to Istria. How smug is it then to be flying to an unknown airport and on to a resort your friends have never heard of. It wasn't always so for Opatija when they built the railway line from Austria and famously turned it into Vienna by the sea – a slice of middle Europe on the Istrian peninsula. The Austrians left and after a chequered history Croatia finally emerged from the Yugoslavian federation in 1995 - one of a clutch of proudly independent Balkan states, destined to forever consign the United Kingdom to "also rans" in the Eurovision Song Contest! Now Opatija is again the queen of the Riviera. A few miles from the cranes and high rise blocks of Rijeka and you are in the wooded hills and rocky inlets of Istria with weathered villas in Habsburg yellow. Soon we were amongst the grand hotels of Opatija – some a little faded and, in late May, not fully open for the season. By contrast our hotel Mozart was far from a fusty Leviathan but a roccco gem, pink and freshly painted and with balconies overlooking the sea. Reports of an elderly clientele were exaggerated. The suit I had packed ready to confront the odd Archduke looked out of place. The town boasts a prominent Wellness Centre and a plaque to the doctor who invented Prozac. More typically Opatija was clearly the destination for some good humoured local kids celebrating the end of term whooping it up in the sea –tideless and mostly lake calm but occasionally surprisingly frothy and dramatic. From the harbour boats set out on day trips to the nearby islands –or you can try the evening opera cruise. It is an eclectic place – a melting pot of cultures particularly when it comes to food. You get pasta from Italy and tubs of exotic ice creams, the apfel strudel at the Sveti Jakov restaurant comes with proper paper thin pastry, and the thick sharp coffee has a whiff of the Bosporus. What of the fierce Croatians themselves, the praetorian guard on the southern flank of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Today that competitive energy goes into sport. Goran Ivanisevic the 2001 Wimbledon singles champion from Split is hardly a local hero but he still merits a gold star set in the marble promenade of Opatija. The local lads all want to come to Britain and a knowledge of the Barclays premiership will impress. "I knew you were English when you said " lovely" said our waiter. "I'm Welsh," I replied testily. He looked mystified, then the clouds lifted. "Ah, of course - Ryan Giggs," Opatija traces its prosperity back to the mid 19th Century when a nobleman from Rijeka built the grand Villa Angiolina – all classical pillars and trompe l'oeil. Set in its original parkland it is today the venue for concerts. What more civilised than a stroll after dinner to hear piano duetists give a free recital. Opatija is the place for walkers and we soon found the coastal path – twelve kilometres long and illuminated by night. On Saturday night we set out for the village of Volosko, in and out of rocky inlets and below the ramparts of grand hotels and the muffled sounds of partying. The centre of the village is a small horseshoe harbour fringed with restaurants – Le Mandrac being one of Croatia's best. We sat out while on the harbour wall a bluesy band and sultry singers rolled out some jazz classics. Cool sounds on a hot Balkans night! The lamps were lit to guide us back and the moon played on the water. Paradise regained and thanks to budget airlines ours for the price of a good meal. Travelled in May 2007. Return ticket from Bristol to Rijeka was £36 including airport taxes and insurance." David Kenny June 2007
