May 21-22, 2002
May 21-22, 2002
I made it to Koper and the bus for Piran was waiting for the train and my first 30 seconds in Koper did not give me the impulse to stay, so that I easily flowed out to sea. Piran, long ago, was actually an island, but it is now firmly connected to the mainland - Slovenia's small coastline. Seeing the sea and feeling the Adriatic air made me want to spend the night here on approach, still two towns away. I'd crash on the beach if I had to.
With no help from the useless tourist office, I found a map and a private room through another agent. It was the only room left in town apparently, all others and the hotels and hostel full.
While strolling, stick to the map and find it futile. The best thing to do is throw away the map and get lost trying to find your way from one side of the peninsula to the other. Might as well throw away the watch too; eat when you're hungry and sleep when you're tired. It's that kind of place. How could you not enjoy a day here? If it's not for the sea, a hilly town with cobble stone streets the width that arms extended touch both sides of Gothic Venetian architecture. It's captivating… even the graffiti beckons you with "nice Piran" and "Welcome TO Piran."
Piran comes from the Greek word pyr, meaning fire. While this name came from the fires lit at the tip of the peninsula to guide ships to Koper (Aegida back then), there's a line up of filled restaurant tables to watch a fire that still burns today, the coastal sunset; however, the best views I found were from on top of the 15th century city walls. From here you can see all of Piran clear enough for making a map and to the left, Croatia; to the right, Italy.
Piran was definitely my gem in Slovenia and I get good feelings of Piran just by looking at these pictures again.
