Pula

Pula, Croatia is the largest city in the Istria region. It has served as an important Roman, Byzantine, Venetian, and Austrian port. The Arch of the Sergii was built by the Sergii family ~30 B.C. to commemorate family members who fought in the Battle of Actium between Augustus and Mark Anthony.

Croatian McDonalds is pretty good. The burgers have whole-wheat buns!

A mosaic unearthed next to a parking lot.

Pula still has a massive port and shipbuilding industry.

Every park should have ancient Roman columns lying around.

The Temple of Augustus, built around the same time as the Arch of the Sergii, stood as testament to the first Roman God-Emperor's greatness.

The Communal Palace next to the temple used a wall and some stone from another part of the ancient Roman temple complex.

There is an enormous tunnel complex under Pula where its citizens were able to seek shelter during the World Wars.

It's a great place to beat the heat.

More random ruins around town.

Pula is home to an impressive Roman amphitheater built during the first century of the Roman Empire.

The Venetians built a fort in Pula to combat Uskoks, Croatian pirates.

It has some of the best views of Pula's naturally enclosed harbor.

There is another small Roman theater next to the fort.

Pula Demons, the local soccer hooligans, have some pretty good graffiti.

We watched Croatia make history by qualifying for the World Cup semi-final.

After the last penalty kick, the flares were lit and the celebration began.

If you drove down this street, you had a bad time.

The stream of people was endless.

Go Croatia!

Dvigrad is a medieval ruin 30 minutes north of Pula.

It was inhabited for over 700 years before being decimated by the plague, malaria, and Venetian-Austrian conflicts in the 1600s.

Inland Istria would be difficult to navigate.

Medieval oven

The view of the castle is excellent driving over the bridge.