Rijeka


The <i>bura</i> whips the sea into a frenzy.*
The bura whips the sea into a frenzy.

Rijeka is a lovely town who hides its industry behind a plethora of gracious Italianate buildings. Its position at the head of the Adriatic means that it is blessed with a warm climate, with sparkling seas and beautiful islands on its doorstep. Nearby Mt Ucka (Uchka) draws rain like a magnet, which means that Rijeka has plenty of rainfall to make the countryside green and fertile. (Mind you, in winter, the same mountain draws the snow and it can be bitterly cold!)

Paradoxically, the mountains rise up immediately behind Rijeka and within half an hour of basking in its warm sunshine, you can be enjoying Olympic class skiing at Delnice and other ski centres.

Our first film visits three of the old churches in Rijeka, one of which is a notable centre for pilgrims - including a grateful sailor from the Titanic. The second shows the bura, a ferocious and freezing wind from the north, in action.