CRES, The beautifully untouched island in CROATIA with medieval towns, Lake Vrana, Lubenice, Osor

In this vlog we explore the Istria region in Croatia. We travel for 14 days through the beautiful green nature and explore cities such as the pearl of the Adriatic Sea, namely Rovinj, Porec, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage list, the Roman amphitheatre in Pula, Casanova in Vrsar near the Brioni or Briuni islands, the Dinopark in Funtana, the truffle from the forests of Motovun and its Mirna valley, the ancient village of Buje, the smallest town in the world Hum, Veli Losinj with its Venetian harbours and lookout tower, the harbour of Mali Losinj with the museum of Apoxyomenes, the Aromatic Garden, the wellness spa, the medieval town of Osor which forms a connection between the island of Cres and Losinj, Lubenice, Lake Vrana where the griffon vulture still lives in the wild, the island of Krk with a unique taste in wines, some preserved on the seabed, Baska and its Glagolitic script, the smallest street in the world in Vrbnik, and the fortresses around the town of Krk. This and much more will be discussed in this series of videos.
Today we cross over to the island of Cres and then continue our journey to the islands of Losinj, Krk and Rab. No Stress on Cres, the Croatians say, and they are right, because once you arrive, you will find yourself in an oasis of peace.

We leave the Istrian peninsula and take the ferry to cross over to the island of Cres. We arrive at the port of Brestova and see our ferry sail away. But…no problem. No Stress on Cres. The next one will be here in 1 hour. So it is time to have a drink and buy our tickets at the counter. We are one of the first. 10 minutes later there is already a long queue behind us. The crossing to the port of Porozina only takes 20 minutes.

When we arrive at the island of Cres we notice that the nature is a lot more untouched. The landscape is beautifully green and the mountains are quite high. There are also untouched ancient forests on Cres. There are many stone walls that keep the sheep in their territory.
The first town we visit is the old town of Cres. In Cres town there is a beautiful Venetian tower and remains of an old city wall. There are also many olive mills because olive oil is also produced here. But especially the harbor is idyllic with many restaurants and Gelaterias or ice cream parlors.

A beautiful lake on the 65 km island of Cres is the Vrana lake. Due to an underground connection with the Adriatic Sea, the water is brackish water between seawater and freshwater. The maximum depth is 6 meters.

The town of Lubenice is also picturesquely situated high on a mountain, about 380 meters high, is a highlight of the island of Cres. It is surrounded by city walls. The Romans have also been here. The griffon vulture also lives there.
The griffon vulture is one of the largest flying birds in the world. The wings can have a span of almost 3 meters.

At the foot of Lubenice lies the St. John beach by the sea. The beach was described by the German magazine Bild as the 15th most beautiful beach in the world. You can reach it by boat or on foot from Lubenice.

The island of Cres is a hiking island. There are more than a hundred hiking trails on Cres. At the same time you can enjoy the enchanting views.

The town of Osor connects the island of Cres with Losinj by a bridge. In Roman times Osor was an important port with a great deal of activity in trade. The bay of Osor is surrounded by a beautiful nature reserve.

Only 100 people live in Osor, while in the Middle Ages there were about 3000.
You can still see remains from the Roman period. An old city wall, the Bishop's Palace and the town hall are examples of this.

Many sculptures also adorn this town.

We get hungry and enter Konoba Mare. What a beautiful charming restaurant this is. With beautiful patios and nice decoration that fits with the history of Osor. The food is super delicious.