Drive west from Belgrade and stop before you run into the Adriatic, and you will find yourself in the Croatian province of Istria. Croatia’s entire coastline is known for its dramatic scenery and incredible history. While Split and Dubrovnik are more popular with tourists, Rovinj was recommended to us for its beauty and Pula was recommended for its preserved Roman Amphitheater.

From Belgrade west to Zagreb, you drive through the Pannonian Plain. There isn’t much in the way of interesting topography, but once we passed Croatia’s capital city, Zagreb, the hills start to rise around us. Just east of Rijeka, we began seeing snow on the mountaintops and the Adriatic Sea beyond. From Rijeka to Rovinj, we traveled in the dark, winding around mountains, through tunnels, then back into gently rolling terrain.

In Rovinj, we parked the car and hauled our backpacks to our rooms. Once stowed, we set out to find dinner.

Rovinj has been compared to Venice. It’s a maze of streets that twist at odd angles and end in blind alleys. Most of the streets aren’t marked on maps — not the maps from the tourism bureau, not Google Maps. Its location by elimination: not that street – we saw that before; we haven’t tried this one yet – no, it’s a dead end; here we are at the church, we’d better head back the way we came; wait – is this it? Finally! We found it!

Talking it over the next day, the kids said they were glad we had arrived at night. The limestone streets glow in the lamplight. The dark alleys are intriguing, not intimidating. The harbor, lit at regular intervals along the pier, disappears into black sea.

Everything looks different in morning light. From our window, we can see the bell tower of St. Euphemia’s church.

And the sea.

And pathways to explore.