Piran In One Hour

So, what to do at the Slovenian coast for 1h, if you just happen to be in Piran?

It's a usual start-of-spring day. The weather can't seem to make its mind up if it will be cold or warm, so it chooses windy as the best option. Actually, the wind is so strong, you might want some sort of protective gear on your head. You park your car at the furthest end of the planet and walk your way back to the city center. Couples in windbreakers, with huge furry dogs walk past, trying to keep their dogs from playing with every single thing passing them by, your shoes included. There's sea on your left. It's a dark blue and you can't smell it yet, but if you come back in a month or so and the wind is gone, you'll get that good ol' salty smell that all those men wrote all those books about.
After about a 5 minute stroll, you walk into the marina, connected to the road, no actual pedestrian traffic planned in this part. No worries, though. No car will run you over and if you slip and fall, the water's not that deep in marinas anyway. So be brave and venture onwards to the main city square.
Welcome to the Tartini Square. Get out your little guide book and pick through the pages. It will tell you that Tartini was a violinist, lived somewhere around the 17th century, composed, eloped with a girl whom his father did not approve of (so Tartini, being a good son, waited for dear ol' dad to drop dead before getting married) and was the first known owner of a Stradivari violin. He also did some musical research, which will mean nothing if you don't have some musical knowledge. His most famous work is The Devil's Trill, which you may know if you've seen Decendants Of Darkness. It's rather difficult to perform and my humble oppinion is that it sounds lovely just the way it is. But here's Vanessa Mae's rendition, just for fun.

Now look left. You'll see a small red Gothic building. This is the Venetian(f.). She is the oldest girl of the bunch on the Tartini Square, alive since the 15th century. You know how every small town has an innate thirst for gossip? Piran's no different. Back in the day, there was supposed to have been a noblewoman, who fell in love with a merchant salesman. The locals, having nothing better to do, gossiped day an night about the poor girl. So the merchant salesman had the house he built his mistress inscribed with the words "Lasa Pur Dir" at the top. "Let them talk". Now whether this is true or not, it still makes for a nifty little story. You might have to strain your eyes a bit to see the inscription at the top, between the two windows, but it's there, above the ever present Venetian lion.
Wherever Venice was, so was the lion. And the lion is always holding a book. If the book is open, the place was built in a time of peace. If the lion's book is closed, war was going on. Mind you, I haven't seen a single closed book yet.
It's time for some walking.
Piran is rather small and if you don't rush, you should have it covered in about 1h. If you don't go into every side street, that is. But there in lies the fun.

I would, however, suggest remembering where you went. A lot of streets are dead ends and it may get a bit confusing at times. You can't get lost, trust me. But keep track, just in case.

On approach to Piran, you may have seen a big tower above the town. This is the church of St. Jurij (or George), patron saint of Piran, protector of soldiers. Built from somewhere in the 12th century and updated until about the 19th, it should be worth the visit.
There are two ways of getting up to the church.
#1: You follow an obscure little sign at the 1st May Square, pointing down a street. You get lost a couple of times. Finally you find some steps and climb up them until you think your lungs will come out your ears and you're there.
#2: You turn right behind the Venetian and follow the signs up a slight, easily managable hill and you're there in half the time.
Over the walls, around the church there's a view of the sea to both sides, one towards Italy and the other toward Croatia. On one side, Piran's little orange roofs spread out to the marina, to the other - nothing but rocks and sea. Sit back. Relax. Take a minute to enjoy the view of your choosing. The wind's good up there, so if you have a kite, nobody will mind if you go a bit Merry Poppins and fly it.

Unfortunately the church is closed for visitors and you need special permission to enter. Sucks, I know... The door is open, but about 1m in there are steel bars. You can look, but you cannot come in. But even then, the view from the top of the hill is enough to make the climb worth while. Plus, there are seats around the church wall, so you can sit down and rest.
So this about covers it for the 1h spent in Piran. Your lungs are filled with sea air. Your hair is having an 80s moment, due to wind conditions. You strolled down streets where you can touch both buildings if you stretch your arms out. Smile! You've just had your first visit of the Slovenian coast.

Btw, mind the cats. They're everywhere!

Total budget:
diesel money (20 euros)
glass of juice (2 euros)

Useful links:
WikiTravel Piran
Slovenia Info Piran
Istrianet on Tartini (has an annoying midi file that you can't switch off)

Pictures by WornAllStars
Video by somebody, no copyright infringement intended