Accomodation pricelist

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Accomodation

You wish to combine the modern with the old, the pleasant with the less pleasant, the automatic with the manual...
You wish to combine the sea with the mountains, the heights with the valleys, the asphalt with the macadamized roads, the past with the future...
You wish to combine living life in the fast lane with pastoral scenery, a car with a horse, a bicycle with human legs...
You wish to combine high standard tourism with farm holidays, an active with a drowsy vacation, the gourmet tourism with a fasting cure.
You wish to combine all of these things. And, if all of them are patched together within just a few days, it is then clear why exactly you wish to come to Lupoglav, and why indeed to LEADER.

But, first things first:

You will come to me from Trieste, Rijeka, or Pula. On the very road in Lupoglav, at 455 m above sea level, you will see the restaurant Leader. There you will turn into a guarded fenced-off parking lot. Do not make any stops to have a bite until you reach us because:

A) we are open throughout the year, and
B) here you can always have plenty of healthy and diverse European and regional food.

You have come to Istria. And you are familiar with the fact that so many cultures have clashed and left their imprints in Istria, from the ancient Histri, Romans and Celts, to the more recent French, Venetians, Austro-Hungarians, and Italians.

And when I ask you if you care for a platter of žlomprt (cured pork chops), you will instantly notice a certain Celtic influence in the air and in the names. When you come to our wine tavern, you will be offered a maneštra (local thick soup) and other land’s bounty of this soil. You will see that the baccala Istrian style (fruit of northern seas and southern skills) stands for a dish many an expert has attributed influences of the Venetian lagoons. One could also hear that, if tasting the local dishes such as cabbage mutton, lamb with potatoes "made under a baking lid", or a padela of rabbit (local earthen pot), one should look for alpine touches of the kitchens of the counts of Wachsenstein or Orlamuende, or perhaps of Petar Kružić, our local Lupoglav hero. Or even for aromas of the kitchen of the unforgettable countess Matilda who, after having received a whistle sign from that distinguished officer at a close of day of strenuous training at Pola Franz Josef garrison, rushed to throw her homemade gnocchi into a pot with boiling water, along with fuži, another typical local pasta dish, in order to just in time make them ready to be poured over with a tasty hare meat ragout. Isn’t that an obvious influence of Austro-Hungarian traditions?

When rummaging ingredients of the Istrian kitchen, a contemporary cook will have to ask himself: These belong to the Istrian kitchen, don’t they? And that eternal Frenchman, a ravioli fan, might ask: Is there indeed such a thing as cuisine istrienne?

In the services we offer we are able to transform this abundant bounty of the sea and the land, this virtuosity, into one of the symbols of the Mediterranean. It is up to you, if headed for narrow lanes of our towns with a heart, or even hidden hamlets, to perceive those holiday sweet smells, discreetly but distinctively entering your nostrils. From verandas, baroque terraces, dry-stone roof slants, they come down to loggias or church piazzas holding plaited ornaments of old Glagolitic inscriptions. From under the lime trees, and through curtains moved on the sweet breeze you can spot the landscapes of the Istrian frescoes where the Alps and the Adriatic meet.

As in a treasury of centuries, you will find in our restaurant a culture of food preparing. On tables you will find analogies and diversities, aromas and spices; the way we respect old traditions, the fast and feast days, the way we managed in the times of need, yet retaining a sense of proportion in the abundant days. Reflecting old traditions and Christian church holidays when “homemade” made a difference, our cuisine is a mixture of skills, echoing with the sounds of the Istrian long flute and accordion. You will be able to recognize a festivity in each of our offerings.

And in the evening you will go to a KAŽUN.

Seen from the outside, a kažun was once a dry-stone cottage of Istrian shepherds and peasants. When inside the kažun, you will find two fine beds, both a shower and a toilet as well as a phone and a TV-set. If you are cold, you will light a fire in the fireplace. Or you will simply switch on the thermostat, and the modern appliances will make the kažun warm for you.

In the morning, you will awaken to birds singing, roosters crowing, and dogs barking. Then you will go out, and after a fifty meters walk to the restaurant, you will catch sight of the road and the cars. And you will say: "True. This is not just a dream; this is a place where progress and a rustic idyll have been brought into harmony.”

After a fine breakfast you can take a car ride along an asphalt road. A 10 km drive through beautiful scenery, planes and forest, takes you to Brest. You can leave your car, have a drink of spring water, and then hit the road to the mountain. After an hour’s walk in the unspoiled countryside where birds, an occasional squirrel, and, if lucky, a doe and a fawn will be your companions, you can rest at the "Korita" spring, refreshing yourself with spring water in the shade. Only thirty minutes more and you will reach Planik, the top of the mountain, lying at 1126 meters above sea level.

So small, yet so big and beautiful, you will put a stamp on your postcard. You will eat the food we have prepared for you to bring along, and once again have a look at the whole Istria, Venice and the Alps. You will then hurry, because on your way back you have to pick some wild flowers, some yet unseen perhaps, enjoy the beauty of the quiet, and make some plans for tomorrow. For it will not be easy for you to decide. I know you. You would like to visit all Istrian villages with their museums and international artists’ colonies among other things.

Tomorrow you would like to go boating, see the islands scattered around the town of Rovinj, and perhaps go swimming...
Tomorrow you would like to go bathing in the thermal baths whose medical properties were well known to the ancient Romans…
You would like to stay at your kažun, because you say that the long journey has wearied you, and you must rest. Or maybe you can play a game of tennis, table tennis or a bowl game. Or even go for a swim in the swimming pool, which is just two meters away from your kažun. And what about the children? They have their amusement park anyway, so you don’t have to worry about them.

In the evening you will go for a bike ride, play a game of billiards or cards, listen to some music, dance, eat and drink.

You will not have to bother about where to go tomorrow for there will be a planned daily schedule waiting for you at the breakfast table.

Yes, I know, and I can see from the look on your face that you have come to me longing to stay some more days. And if unable to do so, you can always come in winter, join our hunters and go hunting.

But be careful then. Be sure not to come only in winter because summers are here just as beautiful.