We stop for a Kitteh-petting break in the town of Plomin

The coastal road starts in Plomin. There is a beautiful inlet where cruise ships and cargo ships come in. This is also the site of the Plomin Power Plant, a coal-fired power station which supplies 13% Croatia's electricity requirements.


I walk out to the cliffs at Plomin to get a shot of the inlet


Behind me, the Kitteh follows me looking for more hugs (or probably food). Sorry Kitteh, I'm allergic to you!!!


Also in Plomin is the Hotel Flanona

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Before the highway was built, when Neda used to take the bus from Rijeka to Pula, it would always stop here. She would see tons of bikers in the parking lot suiting up to tackle the twisty coastal roads that start and end here. Now we're part of that action!


Lots of bikes taking advantage of the beautiful late fall weather. Neda's old transportation in the background...


From the deck of the hotel/restaurant you can get a better view of the inlet


And then, back on the road to do some twisties

We passed dozens of bikers going up and down the coastal road between Plomin and Opatija, which is at the top of the peninsula. It's about a 30km stretch of very twisty asphalt with an amazing view of the coast constantly at our side. Sportbikes zoom past us, sticking their right leg out to say hi (that's how they do it in Europe). Actually, not just sportbikes, all bikes pass us and wave their right leg out as if to say, "Wow, you guys are slow." A minivan also passes us, the passenger rolls down her window and she sticks her leg out at us.

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

Krk is the largest island in Croatia, a popular tourist destination because of the beaches and the old walled city

Surprisingly, Neda's never ever been to Krk. So this was a first for both of us. We had to ride over a 1.5km bridge to get to the island which took us high above the Rijeka Bay of the Adriatic Sea.

My favorite part of Krk is its name. I like that it has no vowels, so when you say it it sounds like you're clearing your throat. Basically if you make a lot of involuntary noises, you're already well on your way to learning Croatian!

There are a whole bunch of Croatian words that rhyme with Krk that have no vowels. Neda and I make up a silly rhyme for all of them: Srk, Mrk, Brk, Trk, Krk... Helps pass the time when we are in our helmets...


Like the true Istrians that we are, we have a nice seafood dinner at Krk


Neda orders squid! A classic Istrian dish.


Marina at Krk

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Our tour leader, Captain Krk, sitting outside the walls of the old city


Marina pictures. Sun is setting so early, we have to get back to Medulin


Packing up to go home


Going back over Krk bridge, I stop to snap a nice picture before sunset


Merging back on to the traffic on the bridge

Another wonderful birthday on the road! And totally enjoying our R&R in Croatia!

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/267.html



We've been in Croatia for over two weeks now. The apartment we've been staying in in Medulin is getting well lived in. Neda is out all the time with her girlfriends and I am relishing all the time I have to sleep and do nothing in between sleeping. I even manage to get some blog posts written up!

The weather has been holding up very nicely. Everyone here remarks how unseasonably warm it is for Istria. This is good news. It means we don't have to pull up stakes and ride the bikes to some place warmer. I think Neda could stay in Istria for a very long time, she's very comfortable here. However we both would like to avoid the winter, and I'd like the option of staying mobile. Having the bikes snowed in for months is not too attractive a proposition for me.

But it looks like we don't have to worry about that for quite some time.

Rather than another "Didn't do anything. Life is good" blog post, here's a fun Istrian road trip we did recently:


The cast of characters for our road trip: The Pula Girls!!!

Yes, you can place the blame for the amazing weather we're having on the Pula Girls, Iva and Tajana. I remember just how sunny our Spanish tour with them was and how much fun it was to hang out with them on their vacation. They've offered to take us on a short tour to show us some other places in Istria that I haven't seen before. So on one fine sunny day (they're all sunny these days), we all jumped into Iva's car for a mini road-trip.


Our first stop of the day, the town of Roč

Roč (prononced "Wrotch") is about an hour's drive north of Pula. It's located in a area called the Glagolitic Alley, where artists have erected several monuments to celebrate the origins of the Glagolotic script, the oldest Slavic alphabet.


Walking through the gates of the walled city of Roč

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

Pumpkins everywhere tell us we're late in the harvest season.



Roč is the geographical centre of Istria and the town has been set up as a shrine to the Glagolitic alphabet and its inventors, two Byzantine monks who traveled to this area to do missionary work.


A statue commemorates the Saints Cyril and Methodius, the two brothers who came up with the Glagolitic alphabet

Saint Cyril and Methodius transcribed the Bible into the Slavic language, devising the Glaglotic alphabet, which is the precursor to the Cyrillic alphabet that countries like Russia and Serbia still use today. Neda told me that she studied all of this in her history lessons in school. When we first started dating, she transcribed my name in Glagolitic on a beautiful card that she had made up by hand.

Remembering this and the kazun she gave to me when we first met really made me realize how connected she was to her Croatian heritage. We had met each other during her very first few months in Canada.


"RideDOT.com" in Glagolitic. Not a phonetic translation, just the keyboard alphabet transliteration


Enjoying the beautiful weather up on the stone walls of Roč

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

After walking around Roč, we hopped back in the car for a very short drive to Kotli, just a few kms away. There's a small waterfall there where we could go hiking around and then sit at a nearby cafe overlooking the water.


Hanging out in old familiar haunts

There's a watermill at the falls in Kotli. Neda told me how when she was a kid, her dad used to get called out for field work in this area. She would accompany him and they'd pack a ham sandwich for lunch and eat it here out on the rocks by the falls. She told me that she remembered thinking that those were the most delicious ham sandwiches ever.

I could listen to Neda talk about her childhood all day. Her stories about the memories she made in all of these places are way more interesting than any wikipedia article I could cut and paste.


Tajana and Neda hanging out at the waterfall


I made a new friend!


Autumn leaves collect on the water

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com