Palazzolo to Trieste on the freeway then onto back roads into Slovenia, no border stop. Arrived at the Croatian border and there was a long queue, people heading for the coast on the weekend. Rode on the wrong side of the narrow road, no traffic coming the other way and got to the front, one car would not let me in but the next guy did hahaha. Got waved through immigration but remembered to stop and ask for a stamp in my passport to show I have exited the Schengen area. Next time there should be no queues or immigration as Croatia will have joined the EU and the Schengen area. Short ride to the freeway past Rijeka and then another freeway all with Toll stops. If you ever drive this way always take the Bankcard lanes at the toll stops especially when you get to the Zagreb exit, the cash lane is kilometers long, in the Bankcard lane you either drive straight through or there is a short queue on the weekend, and pay with your credit card, 327km in 4:55hrs. I hurt my knee in Italy and decided to take a break here staying at a friends place for some R&R.
Zagreb – not my first visit, Croatia is a great place to spend some time but try to avoid the Summer peak season.
Njivice, Krk Island – Trip to the seaside.
Batina – a trip to the Danube drama included. The Danube is the border between Croatia and Serbia and people cross it all the time to visit a restaurant, friends, relatives, to do some shopping etc. We crossed this border twice for a meal during my stay here. The first time coming back took an hour at least as they were searching cars for drugs. The second time we were right at the immigration booth with one car ahead of us when there was an explosion and the car in front of us caught on fire. The couple in the car jumped out and ran and we and the cars behind us frantically reversed to put some distance between us and the fire. The immigration people were running around clueless until a truck driver who was in the queue behind us brought the fire extinguisher from his truck and put the fire out. Next the Authorities were called and they and a fire engine and crew turned up about an hour later hahaha while traffic piled up on both sides of the border. The other lane was clear but nobody was allowed to cross until an investigation was completed by a Magistrate and nobody could tell us when he would arrive from the nearest town. Therefore we had to turn around and head for the next border crossing and it took 3 hours to get back to Croatia instead of 10 minutes. The fire was probably caused by a fuel leak under the bonnet not a terrorist bomb hahaha.
Spot the non-Croatian beer.
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Angie & I saw Rick Steve’s Croatia travelogue last evening. To see your brilliant pics and read your comments, was like being there. Thanks. And happy Deepavali🤗
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Thank you Jana