This is a sunset scene towards St. George’s Church in Piran, an Adriatic seaside town at the end of the proverbial road in western Slovenia. The bell tower offers views towards Croatia to the south and Italy to the west. Venice is directly to the west; the tower, which dates to the 17th century, was built during a period of Venetian rule and is a replica, albeit a smaller one, of the bell tower of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice.

This was taken from the edge of the Bay of Strunjan, a town just up the coast, which is home to a regional nature preserve, a landscape park, and salt pans which have been in operation for more than 700 years. That all conspires nicely as a haven for birds. I spent a bit of time tracking and photographing some a few days ago and will write about the spot later this week. I’m in the area through the weekend visiting with family and friends, but this was taken during a visit last year, when the golden hour was just about right.

The buoys mark the bay’s shellfish farm which yield between 200 and 300 tons of Mediterannean mussels each year.

Photo from 4 August 2025.