Opatija - The Maiden with the Seagull

Croatia has 14 tunnels that cut right through the plethora of mountains.  They are an engineering masterpiece..... 

Well, they look pretty well made, I don't have an engineering degree or anything to speak with any authority on the matter.

And the tunnels brought us to this lovely mini riviera - Opatija.

There was a whole lot of everything going on up and down the promenade.

A marching band and baton twirling girls.  Bless this girl at the back, she kept dropping the baton, but she would pick it up and get right back to twirling.  When they tossed the batons in the air, hers clashed with the girl in front of her and she was scrambling around trying to pick them both up..... it was a farce.  Poor girl.

The Maiden with the Seagull

The statue of the maiden with the seagull is a symbol, not only of Opatija, but the entire Kvarner region.  Elegantly standing on the reef beside The Lungamare promenade, it intrigues all passers-by with her interesting story and identity which was unknown for decades.

The story began back in 1891, when Count Arther Kesselstadt tragically lost his life in a spring storm in the sea in front of Opatija.  Deastated with grief, count's family put the statue of "Madonna Del Mare" 

on the reef to pray for her lost soul.  Because of harsh weather conditions the sculpture was damaged and later restored.  Its gilded replica can now be seen in a park near the riviera, while the original is kept in a Croatian museum.

So.... after all that palaver, they decided to put another statue in its place.  The "Maiden with the Seagull", which was put up in 1956.  

You might be wondering who the Maiden was modelled on?

Well, for 55 years, no one had the answer to this question, until Mrs Jelena Jendrašić from Crikvenica revealed that it was her who served as the model for the statue. Apparently Jelena and the sculptor were neighbours. He did not want to reveal the identity of his model saying: 

"Those who want to know should make a guess"!

The colour of the water in this bay is absolutely gorgeous!

The beaches are a little different from what we're used to though.... all rocks and cement platforms.  On the plus side, you don't have to was the sand off your feet.

As we wandering down the promenade, the marching band and twirling girls were following us!

They were heading to this building with a crowd of other people to take this photo opportunity for some sort of music program.  It was all very entertaining!

Then to cap off the day, we popped into Wagner - a famous restaurant/cafe with gorgeous cakes and chocolates..... and we sat next to these people.  Apparently, some cafes get their employees to dress up to promote their establishments, but these peeps were just customers!