18th September 2013 Admont, Austria to Brodski Stupnik, Croatia

September 18th 2013 Admont, Austria to Brodski Stupnik, Croatia       

A day of contrasts and of enlightenment.

I really enjoyed my stay at Schloss Rothelstein until I opened the curtains…. Heavy rain.

 I had a great breakfast and then went out to my bike. The castle had lent me a garage for the night, so my bike was dry. I changed into all my gear and set out. My instinct was to return to the motorway via the route I had followed yesterday to arrive at Admont. I decided to follow the sat nav! Sat nav led me up and along a steep, tightly winding road through the mountains. At points the temperature fell to 4 degrees in pouring rain. I realised that my left over glove was splitting at the seam. Not the most auspicious start to my days ride. When I finally entered the motorway, riding, although wet seemed like light relief. Soon I arrived at the border with Slovenia and the skies began to clear. I purchased my Slovenian vignette and after a further 30 minutes entered Croatia…. Slovenia is not a large country.

 

Slowly temperatures rose and I sped along Croatia’s motorways. At some point I decided to duck a little lower behind my screen, it was then that I realised why I have neck ache after riding. It was also at that moment that I rued the hasty sale of my tall 1200gs adventure screen.  I purchased my bike from a seller in Northern Ireland, it came with lots of fancy extras… a titanium exhaust, bmw panniers and an “adventure screen” I gleefully stripped these from the bike and sold them on eBay (other online auction sites are available).  In recent times I have covered close to 10,000 miles on various bikes and it has taken me until today to understand the true value of a good tall screen. When I ducked behind my screen today all the buffeting disappeared, all the strain associated with keeping my head upright in the turbulence was gone and the wind rush silenced. OMG what a wanker for selling that screen!

With a little effort I found my destination, Brodski Stupnik. Sat Nav let me down again and ultimately I made my way to my night’s hotel using common sense and old fashioned navigation. I am staying in Vinarija Zdjelarevic….. easy for me to say… not!  Anyway it’s a vineyard. Nice place, the vines are being harvested and grapes pressed as I write.

 

 



Banana Palm and vineyards ?? !!

I attach the following photos as evidence of my complete immersion in Croatian culture....

Brodski mileometer 17292  (309 miles ridden)