Croatia

213miles. Kapitenovo Camping, Croatia to Bee Happy Camp, Slovenia.

Waking on the bank of the Danube was tranquil, and Dinka, our lovely host, popped around to offer pancakes for breakfast, which we declined in this instance. She'd already given us free camping, power, showers, use of a paddle board, access to a kitchen... the list goes on. Thank you Dinka! I hope you like the memory book update.

Before setting off, I asked Dinka if there was anything I could do to repay her kindness. She mentioned the washing machine was broken, so I set about that.

By 9:30, the machine was fixed, and we were on our way. We passed a mammoth, as you do. 

Above, some of the evidence of ordnance damage.

Passing through Vukovar, many of the buildings had what appeared to be bullet holes or ordnance damage. Our intercom chat suggested I was wrong and it couldn’t be, but we later learned it was indeed battle damage, Vukovar being instrumental in the fall of Yugoslavia. 

There's even a huge tank in town. Vindicated - my youth spent playing soldier and watching war films was not wasted, I can spot signs of conflict.

Our route through Croatia, from Vukovar to Drubava, had us passing through endless farmland. Not what I know Croatia is famous for, but a journey such as this does not include time for the normal glamorous sightseeing.

Stopped for a lunch of dried fruit and nuts, coffee, id made for the journey and finished off with a dessert of haribo.  We ate outside the church and as the congregation departed, they congregated around us, offering drinks and being generally welcoming. Gotta love the God squad, thank you for the hospitality. 

It was Sunday, the roads were empty, which allowed for swift progress through the summer sun. That was until the last third of the journey, where we learned where the Croatian government spends their budget. Speed cameras. An army of them, all difficult to spot and all with varying speed restrictions. Like Pavlov's dog, I'm now conditioned and have a physical response when Sarah says "speed camera."

Thankfully, we reached the Slovenian border soon enough. 

I've been here before with Jason on the TET and remember it for forests, sweeping roads, and gravel tracks. It immediately pleased and was everything I'd hoped for, rather than just a memory through rose-tinted glasses.

We had pizza at the only bar we could find open and made conversation with a man carrying large religious artifacts, who also had an original Honda Transalp 600V in the car park. Obviously an odd combination. He was filming a movie called Birma, the bike was his, the church paraphernalia were props....and everything made sense.

Above, the pizza bar. Even though a lady served us, there were full blown nudes pinned behind the bar. Welcome to the 1960s working mans club.

The weather is closing in. There's supposed to be storms coming and the atmosphere is sticky and humid. We reached Be Happy campsite, made camp and drank Rakia from Motocamp, then collapsed in the tent as the rain began.