We left at 8:30am, and headed into the centre of the Istrian peninsula to Hum, smallest city in the world. We were told that in Croatian terms, based on Grad, the Croat word for city, which is derived from the word fence, a city is everything inside an encompassing fence/wall. But the sign outside the settlement describes it as a town, where legend has it, that was made from the leftover stone after giants had finished building all surrounding towns.
The City/town comprised of 8 to 10 buildings inside an enclosing wall. The City /town has a pop of 28. It was an interesting little town., with a deviated main entrance into the town, and defensive windows and devices at the entrance. There was an old church inside, St Mary’s of Assumption, a Baroque church built in 1802 on the site on an earlier 13th century church, as well as a few shops, a museum, and some residences. We saw at least three operating stills in the town,
making either brandy or gin. We tasted many local delicacies such as sausage made from deer, ox, donkey, pig and their own rare unique breed of cow, we had truffled cheeses. We also tried their Olive oils, balsamic vinegar, jams and chocolates. I did my best trying their 29 different types of brandy (including a Mistletoe Brandy unique to the town)and 4 types of gin!! It was an interesting visit, particularly in the museum. We got to write our names in chalk on slates using the Glagoljica alphabet (the oldest Croatian letters)
We/I forgot to add the .com
There was also a small church outside the walls of the town, St Jerome. A Romanesque church built in the 12th century and restored in 1904. 
Inside on the walls of the Church an old fresco had been restored. 
It even had old graffiti carved into it. 
The church had a cemetery out back of it, it was here we were told the burial is the most common way that dead bodies are dealt with, cremation was only introduced into Croatia late last century.
From there we went to Motovun, the Truffle capital of Istria. It is perched high up on a hill, and has very narrow cobblestone roads. Only residents cars are allowed in the town, so we parked outside and walked up the hill to the top of the town. Black truffles are hunted in March to November, and White Truffles are hunted in October to December. They use mixed breed dogs to hunt for Truffles because they are easier to wrangle than the pigs the French use.
We visited a Truffle shop where we tried Truffle in so many different ways. 
We had dried Truffle, black Truffle with cheese, black Truffle with olive paste, white Truffle with cheese, white Truffle with olive paste, black truffle oil and more. It was all very tasty.
From there we walked into the town proper passing through two gates about 50m apart. We had a look around the main square and inside St Stephan’s Church. The church had lots of frescos but wasn’t over the top ornate. 
The thing we both enjoyed was the chanting recording being played in the church while we were there. It was very peaceful.
From there we walked up and had a look out over the city walls to the beautiful countryside below, a mix of farms and forest.
We then went for lunch. The restaurant was owned by a local winery, Fakin Wines. We had a wine tasting that was accompanied by our lunch. We started with a plate of prosciutto, cheese, olive and gherkin, 
followed by pasta with white wine sauce, Truffles and cheese, 
and finished with ravioli stuffed with cream and with fig and Truffle on the top.
All the food was delicious. To go with lunch we had glasses of Malvazija, a Rose, a young Teran, a 2 year old Teran and a glass of Muscat. (The Muscat was unusual, again, as it was clear.)
And did we think the wine was any good?
We left Motovun at 210pm and began the drive back to Opatija. On the way back we called into a town called Pazin. The town was the alternate capital of Istria under Venetian rule. The town is unusual as it sits next to a large hole in the ground where a limestone cave collapsed sometime in prehistoric times, causing the local river to disappear underwater that place, only to re-emerge at the coast. 
The cave through which the river runs, has had a great impression on many people, notably Dante Alighieri and Jules Vern. The town also has the largest and best preserved medieval fortress in Istria.
We left there at 2:35pm and arrived back at our hotel at about 3:30pm. A busy day. We just relaxed for the rest of the day.
Some trivia I picked up today that explained a lot about the currency here in Croatia. Croatia only adopted euro at the start of 2023, before that the Kuna. Still today a lot of things are priced in both currencies.
