Olbia - when the bus arrives in Sardinia

Today we finally went to Olbia. We got a bus schedule and I memorized the phrase 'I would like two tickets to Olbia, round trip' in Italian. First, we took the notoriously late hotel shuttle to the port, where the bus was supposed to depart. Buying the tickets was easy, and the lady at the tobacco shop even understood my sentence, although she had to repeat the price in English so that I understood.

To our surprise, the bus arrived a few minutes before the departure time and left even earlier. We reached Olbia in less than an hour. We probably wouldn't have made it that quickly by car, even though the bus made a few more stops. So we arrived in Olbia comfortably and affordably, although with a slightly queasy feeling in our stomachs after the ride on the winding mountain roads at a brisk pace in the bus.

First, we strolled around the main shopping street of the city, which is much busier than Palau. Here, restaurants and shops seem to be open not only during the peak season.

First, we went to the tourist information center in the townhall, where we got a city map and information on where our bus would depart for the return trip.

Then we set off to see the few sights in the area. On Tuesday, there was a market near the train station that we visited before the stands closed at 1 p.m.

Next, we visited the Basilica San Simplicio from the 11th-12th century. It was rather simple and stood on a spacious square, beneath which there was a parking garage.

During its construction, the remains of a necropolis were discovered, which can now be seen in an archaeological museum. The museum is only open three days a week and was closed today, so we had to move on without being able to see the finds.

A bit further, we came to Fausto Noce Park, where many sports facilities invited us for physical exercise.

We walked through the green area and sat by a small lake where locals also spent their lunch break.

We continued back to the promenade by the old town, passing by Porto Romano.

By now, it was quite warm in the sun, and there were only a few palm trees offering shade along the promenade.

We still strolled along it. On the way, we came across a climbing frame for adults, which we immediately tried out.

In the old town, we refreshed ourselves with ice cream in the warm weather before taking the bus (which was very punctual again) back to Palau.