Discover the Magic of Istria with Eva zu Beck | Istria: Croatia’s Green Mediterranean Oasis

Follow travel vlogger @evazubeck to the beautiful region of Istria in Croatia. Join her as she strolls around the medieval village of Motovun, takes you on an e-bike trip through the green mountains of the Istrian peninsula and learns about the olive oil tradition in the region.

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Hi everybody, this is Eva Zu Beck reporting for DW Travel from the beautiful region of Istria in Croatia. Today we’re going to be cycling around the beautiful hills tasting local olive oil, but first, we’re going to take a little walk. Let’s go. This is Motovun, one of the many towns here in Istria perched on a hilltop. Translating literally to town on the hills, you can probably see where Motovun gets its name. You can really sense the blood of history running through these medieval walls. In fact, Motovun’s history reaches back centuries to the Romans, Celts and Illyrians, but today the town is home to only a few hundred residents and, of course, many curious visitors. Look at this cute little cafe. Oh my God, this place is so pretty, and there’s so many beautiful buildings like this. You really feel the history, and the culture, and the centuries when you’re walking around this town, it’s stunning. It’s time to leave the cobbled alleyways of Motovun. We’re about to travel into the hills of Istria, where you can find ancient vineyards and olive groves. That’s the next step of our journey. To make my journey a little bit easier today, I’ve decided to travel in Istria by e-bike. I’ve never actually been on one of these, I’ve only ever cycled on normal, analogue, ordinary bikes. I still don’t really know how to operate it, but we’ll learn on the go. Oh my God, it’s a lot bigger than a normal bike and a lot heavier. All right, this is going to be interesting. Here we go. You could be forgiven for mistaking the hills of Istria for those of Tuscany in Italy. In fact, the Istrian peninsula did belong to Italy until the Second World War when it was incorporated into the former Yugoslavia and now Croatia. Anyway, back to my bike ride. I’m never using a normal bike ever again, this is so much faster. This is the spot, finally. Let’s go. I’ve come out to the hills of Parenzana to meet with the Galić family. They are now running an olive grove full time here after planting their first tree here for fun a couple of decades ago. Mr Boris Galić gave me the full scoop on the olive oil tradition in the region. So would you say that Istria has the best olive oil in Europe? No, we have the best olive oil in the world. Like with wine, olive oil also has a lot of varieties. The yellow one which is Leccino, then this green one is Karbonaca, very local, then you have Rosignola, Frantoio, relevant one is Istarska Bjelica, a very local oil, and then, of course, you make a blend. I had no idea that olive oil had so many different varieties, this is my very first experience with that. You know, usually, when you go to the supermarket, you go to the olive oil aisle, and you pick out an olive oil that looks nice, you don’t look at the label, and today I feel like a whole new world is opening up in front of me. So I will give you to try two local olive oils. So the first olive oil which we will try is called Karbonaca. So when tasting olive oil, you have these very strange glasses, and you may be wondering why. I’ve never seen that before. Yes, the color of olive oil actually is not the factory, it doesn’t matter, and this is the reason why we have these dark blue glasses, because in dark blue you don’t see anything, you don’t see color. This is nice. So apparently, this is how you taste olive oil, you kind of shake it up a little bit, bring it slowly, slowly to your nose, and just take it in. Yes. Cheers. Oh wow, oh wow, oh my God. That’s what I like to hear, I like when people like it. That is spicy, wow. This is my very first time tasting olive oil in this really conscious slow way, and honestly, it tastes like something else. It has all these aromas and all these flavors that I just never knew you could find in olive oil. The first little sip is smooth and a little bit oily and tastes like a gentle hill, and then you sort of swoosh it around in your mouth, and you swallow it, and suddenly it’s really sharp, and spicy, and stingy, and really flavourful. So we take some apples to clean up our mouth and get ready for the second olive oil. I will now present to you Istarska Bjelica. I feel like I’ve just found myself in a green meadow on top of a mountain, and I’m sampling some local herbs from the meadow, that’s kind of how it tastes to me. Something spicy, maybe not nettles, but some spicy herbs. Spicy herbs, and you feel it started relatively gentle, and now it is still coming stronger and stronger, and this is particular for this olive oil, this spiciness comes a little bit later but stays for quite a long period of time. So, you know, you can after 15 minutes after tasting this olive oil, you will still have this taste which I find very interesting. That’s a very interesting sensation right here, like in your throat here in your chest. I didn’t know that olive oil could do this. This is all a completely new experience for me. I never knew that olive oil could be such a sophisticated affair. Here in Istria, olive oil making is truly an art form and a part of the local culture. Walking around the beautiful olive breeze in the hills, I really felt transported to some ancient time thousands of years ago when olive trees started being cultivated for their tasty fruit and delicate oil. Today artisan olive oil makers like the Galić family continue this tradition producing some of the world’s finest olive oil right here in Istria. But slowly but surely, it was time for me to move on to my next stop, that e-bike has been coming in really handy. I feel like I need to burn off all that olive oil because I’m about to have dinner. It’s so beautiful out here, can you believe it? And we’re back. It’s been a really long day, and I think I’m ready to sit down, have dinner and try some of the local Istrian food. Let’s go get a seat. These guys, these things are just amazing, I need to get one. I’ve just arrived in a Konoba. In Croatia, Konobas are traditional tavern-style restaurants, time to grab some food. The thing I’m looking forward to the most in here are the truffles. So I heard that Istrian truffles are something that you absolutely have to try when you’re in the region, and they also happen to be one of my favourite things to eat, so once in a while, you know, gotta spoil yourself. But first a glass of cool Istrian wine and a plate of local sea or cheese. Check this out. This is such a beautiful cheese plate, and all these cheeses come with truffles and, of course, local olives. Let’s dig in. Thank you! Can you see those truffles? Probably one of the best smells in the world. I’m digging into this. It’s been such a long day. I’m so hungry. I think it’s time for us to spoil ourselves. Let’s do it. All right, taste test. You can honestly taste the forest in this truffle, so delicious. Needless to say, I’m in love with the food of this place. I wish you guys could try this. Istria is an absolute gem if you’re looking for a Mediterranean adventure packed with culture, nature and food. From the beautiful old towns perched on stunning hills, to delicious local olive oil and, of course, all the e-bike fun, I am hooked, I know I’ll be coming back. Meanwhile, see you in the next episode here on DW Travel.