Italy: Trieste?

Every now and then I get the feeling I'd like to return to certain places which had made an impression on me, and see what I think of them now.   In one of these periods of musing the other day I wondered about returning to Trieste, that strange Austrian-style corner of Italy, which doesn't feel like Italy at all.   

What has stayed with me about Trieste was the strange atmosphere of the place, described by one of its chroniclers, Jan Morris, as  "The Capital of Nowhere."   It was once the third largest town in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and it is still a big city full of important buildings,  and yet the mood in the city was  curiously provincial and remote.    People there speak Italian, but when I was there the atmosphere stirred ancient memories of my childhood trips to Austria, which  (on my occasional visits from Germany) exuded an air of faded grandeur that strongly resembled Germany but didn't actually feel like it at all.   

The food certainly seemed more Germanic than Italian. There were quite a few humble little cafes, known as "Buffets" around the place, which were notable for selling almost nothing but meat and meat products, along with pretty good beer. 

Not that the picture above was taken in a Buffet.  No, that was home made produce in an Osteria, a kind of seasonal artisan farm restaurant to be found in the wild Carso countryside which overlooks the city.  They only open during certain times and you can find them by seeing the leafy branch they hang on their front door.    I don't really know anywhere other than Trieste which has anything similar,  nor did I find out how the places make a living if they are not open all the time. 

And by the way, what about these direction signs I snapped in the Carso? What language are they in? 

To reach the Carso it is best to take the Opicina Tramway, whose elderly trams transform themselves into cog railways halfway up a suburban hill, and continue on a steep hill climb.    Of course all the passengers take it for granted, but I found it a most peculiar experience. 

So I'd love to revisit Trieste, but I need more of a reason to go than things I have already noticed.    I guess I am afraid that in the years I have been away, Trieste might have changed into something more ordinary than it was, and if I want to experience that slightly other worldly atmosphere again, I should go soon.  Or I might be too late already.  I know that the large cruise liners which used to loom over Venice now often call there, and this giant influx of tourists has been followed by the inevitable growth of places selling tourist tat to the hordes.  What I read of Trieste now sounds far more slick than it was, with the kind of cool bars and foodie destinations you find everywhere from Amsterdam to New Zealand to Rome.  

Of course, the big sights of the city are still there:  the handsome old cathedral, and the unutterably romantic Miramar, overlooking the sea....here is the Miramar terrace on a stormy afternoon with flashes of sun.....

And the Castello di Duino is still going strong. It's one of the homes of the Thurn und Taxis aristocratic dynasty, some of whom were serving in the gift shop when I was there - I wonder if they still do. Duino overlooks the Gulf of Trieste, which was a luminous greenish blue when I visited, against which the Italian style tiled roofs flared like sunshine.   Here is a photo I took  among the rooftops, towards the outline of Croatia in the stormy distance.  

  

,... which gets me wondering what Croatia is like.   Perhaps I should go to Croatia instead. .....?