Fast forward through Slovenia and Italy!

Not far from Umag Croatia, I ride through Slovenia.  Heading for a planned stop at Lake Bled, as so many people have recommended it to me.  It's not far, I'm not in a hurry, so I pick the little dirt roads.. well me and Mr. Garmin picked them.

My camera is still very sick if not dying.  It's getting really bad.. I get the odd picture okay, but the majority come out pure white.. Luckily I got a couple photos on my track.

This really pretty road as closed actually.. but I decide to take it anyway!  Not normal for me, but I thought, it looks really pretty and I'm on a motorcycle, hopefully the reason for closure is not a major river crossing!

It wasn't. I was worried that I would find the reason for closure after the "point of no return".  It ended up being closed many miles and miles over the top of the mountain and down the other side. Once I got there, was able to pass the problem via a little dirt walking track.. easy on a motorcycle.. score!!  And as you can imgine, no other traffic, a perfect beautiful day!!

I made it off the dirt roads over the mountains to civilization, I tried to get a photo.. again with adjustments, you can barely make out the mountains and it was such a beautiful view.. darn it.. Mr. camera!!

This one nearly came out all right, riding through a gorgeous little village..

Same village, and all white again.. didn't touch or change a thing, the camera decides when it wants a white one.. with color adjustments, it was able to pull out the image, but not enough for good color.. However, I quite like this one.. looks kinda funky!

Now it takes one WITH color.. huh!

Making me panic a bit , but what can ya do.. middle of nowhere land, and not sure if I should tackle getting the one I have fixed or buying a new one when I get to the next city.  My hesitation to the fixing, as I already knew but confirmed from a camera shop physically and online.. they'd have to send it away.  No time, no way to do this.. not worth it..

So at this point I give up.. I went to Lake Bled, a most gorgeous lake, very well known in History, and didn't take any photos...! But it's in my memory.  To let the pressure off, I decide it's okay if I don't have every single destination on the blog.. right?  Not sure how long that attitude will last, but I'll take it for now.. ;-)

If you click on the Lake Bled link, you'll see some Wikipedia info with photos.. sorry! I hadn't heard about it before this trip, but it has been a top tourist/spa destination in Europe for many centuries!

I was only here for one night (which was enough for me) and I had a message from Captain George Apistolas, whom you've heard of twice now!  He's been asking me to come to visit him in Spain where he works on a yacht ever since we met up in Athens several weeks ago.. He was disappointed at the time that his assignment on that boat was going to keep him in Spain all summer, however he just got word that his clients need him to take the supersize boat out for a ride around Greece and Turkey.  He sails in only one week!

Geez!  So much for slowly making my way there, it then became a mad dash from Slovenia to Barcelona Spain to catch a ferry over to Palma de Mallorca where he stays, over 1500 km (950 miles) away!

Small glitch.. my bike is over due for service and oil change..  I must not neglect it, as I am not a mechanic, so I like to keep all my service and checks on time to avoid any problems.. But this time, I was actually overdue already and I was about to add another 1500 km to that..

Started looking for KTM service shop between Slovenia and Barcelona as well as contacted my good friend (since I was in Italy over winter) Gianpietro who rides KTM 990 Advneture..  He emailed straight away and said he would contact his local service guy and let me know..  Right away they agreed to have me come in the next morning.. what a champion!  So the day is sorted, I just need to ride to Gianpietros home near Cremona in northern Italy.

And to add insult to injury, during this ride from Slovenia, I cross into Austria once again.. enjoy the most amazing mountains, just beyond beautiful to look at from the road!  Why die camera.. why??

And then I end up completely dropping my failing camera on the highway, in a tunnel, between Austria and Italy..  Can you believe it!!?? Actually I can't!  I still have no idea.. no clue how I did this.. such a bummer! I got through the tunnel, no stopping or emergency lane.. and it was far too far to walk through it, even though I tried against traffic.  So I decide to get on the bike, go to the next exit, illegally road backwards down the oncoming ramp, crossed over and got on the highway again going the opposite direction..  eventually found another illegal way to cross over the highway after the tunnel, and turned back.. searching searching searching for smashed pieces of my camera inside.  Quite dark in there, but not too much.. they have better than normal lighting in Austrian tunnels.  Then I see the black camera lens appear.  I put on my turn signal (no hazard lights), and hope to God I am seen and nobody hits me from behind.  Pick up the poor mangeled thing (but still in tact).  Quickly shove it in it's normal little camera bag home and get out of there.  I did not pull it out again until late that night at Gianpietros.. I just didn't want to see it.

Good news is, Gianpietro and his lovely wife and son live on a beautiful farm!  When I met them and they show me around, I must get that camera out and see what we can do..  And have a look, it still takes photos.. horrible ones, but it's not completely dead.. yet!

And how cool is this place.. I wonder how I get so lucky to experience life on a north Italy farm.. ;-)

Gian has retired from working the warm, but he's very keen on these Birmingham rolling pigeons! (That's the award above his head).. I never heard of this breed before, but they are unique!  They fly up and literally "roll" or more specifically, do rapid backwards somersaults while flying.. how odd!

Aww, look at the babies!! ;-)

The next morning, we have an early departure to get to the KTM shop first thing.  Gianpietro is like me, an early riser, and he had BOTH our bikes out of the garage and ready to go.  One last photo from the screwy but operating camera.. colors adjusted as much as possible.

And we're off!  (Wait.. I should mention that Gianpietro's close friend Giorgio came over the night before. I had met him during the winter as they drove all the way to where I was staying south of Florence to take me to lunch one day) Actually I put in a couple photos of that day in February from my Italian village, San Casciano.  (These are the flashback photos from then.)

Cheers to the Italian wine connoisseur ;-)

Back to young Giorgio -- who speaks NO English.. but with my little bits of Spanish we get by..

Giorgio came over with his fancy blue Porsche the night before while I was staying at Gian's family home.  He is quite the ladies man, having 2 or 3 girlfriends.. (depends when you ask him!..ha!)  He talks me into a ride in the car, and I reluctantly got in..  Then down the skinny curvy country lanes at top top tippy top speed, I was screaming so much, the local farmer neighbors must has thought medieval times down these original Roman roads were on the return!

Giorgio got a kick out of this as you might imagine..

Anyway, I thought of this because the photo of Gianpietro on the skinny lane below is the same one seen now in daylight.

We get to our KTM appointment with much relief on my part.. my overdue service was really making me nervous.  And I meet Paolo Canavese and his team at Sissi Racing in Crema.  These guys were a delight to meet and got to work straight away on my bike..

They have a fun website if you want to see or even better if you are in the area and needing the best service guys around!  www.sissiracing.com

Paolo himself has lots of racing achievements under his belt, and he really knows the bike.  They organize a complete check and big service AS WELL AS, organizing the local newspaper guys to come over to interview me.. wow!  He also put me onto the phone of the KTM head Marketing Director for Italia.. whom wanted me to stay around a little longer until Monday to meet.  Since I've committed to meet with Capt. George before sailing,  I can't hang around another 3 days. But I loved their interest and enthusiasm for sure!  I'm feeling a wee bit special here.. thanks so much Paolo... ;-)

Then on top of all this,  they take me for a wonderful Italian lunch.. and would not let me pay for any of my service!!!  And it was a big supersize service!  Such great guys and such a professional shop.. I would highly recommend them to anyone. ;-))


Lunch in Italy is quite a cultural daily routine that I never got used to the entire 3 months I lived there.  Everything shut down from 1-4..! It never failed that I got caught out needing to get that one last very important thing done in an office or a shop and I couldn't.. meaning I would have to come back from a country home all the way to the city for one dag gone thing!  Urgh.. Coming from American or Australian culture where we work all day, it was sooo hard to get used to.. and on my part, never did!

But it's a really nice custom if you are in town and know you have time with friends like these guys to eat or do whatever you want for 3 hours every day.  And remember, Italy has THE BEST food! I diverted my story again.. sorry.  I eventually got on the road south.. it's late enough in the day, that there is no way to accomplish my Barcelona ferry goal in one hit. But I'm doing all right. Might as well stop along the way and make it to Barcelona tomorrow.. still enough time to visit my friend there..

Soo... see you next time in Palma!

Welcome to Croatia!

Since every moment in Slovenia and Croatia last night was riding through the dark and the rain, I had no idea where I was... and I woke up to this!  Hilarious!  Yesterday I was in a small snowy mountain town in the Alps, and today I am on the "Sea.. not See".. just to be clear to Austrian readers that it's not a lake out there.. ;-)  And warm enough to only wear a t-shirt!!!  Hallelujah!!!!!  What a difference a day makes!

This is like a huge reward for the last several weeks.. but looking at the forecast, it only reports rain, rain, rain and more rain..  so I enjoy the view while I can..

This is Rijeka, Croatia in the distance.. My location is called Lovran.  I set out on foot on my first day, but still with my t-shirt.  A very well dressed for winter man stops me on the street, and speaking Croatian, I indicate I don't understand... "Engleski ... Ja ne razumijem hrvatski".  With a worried look, he points to my t-shirt then rubs his arm to enact cold??  I say No..!  He shook his head and walked on.  I've been in very cold for a while, so 15 degrees Celcius was like summer weather to me!!  After being aware I'm the t-shirt girl, I look around at others walking on the street, and yep, they all have on winter coats and hats.  Oh well!

We had this nice little break with some sun, but I ended up staying here the next 4 days through non-stop rain.  It was a great feeling that I didn't have to push and ride through it, I could just stop.. have a look around this small Croatian town, and catch up on my blog and photos.  It was nice and exciting at first to rest!  But by day 2, I was like, okay, you can stop raining now, I would like to continue.. but I didn't.  The family at the hotel was so nice, they made great food, and I was dry.. it is their off season, so I really got looked after as one of two guests at the place.  I'm actually very very lucky to have a place to stay.  This area is SO TOURISTY in summer, and NOBODY in winter, the majority of the nice big hotels are completely closed.. chains and locks over the doors..  This place however, the family lives inside too, so might as well rent a room when you can, hey?

My bike was happy and secure too..

Now, it's finally a sunny day... I can escape!!! Can't wait to explore Croatia!  In Australia I have a couple friends who are from Croatia.  One of them suggested I call in to visit an Auntie somewhat close to where I was.   So I follow the coast road on my way to a town called Pula.  I was loving the view and the gorgeous little church on the hill.

Can't help but to stop a few times.. such a pretty day and a very long time since I could ride along any coastline in decent weather for months!

So I ride into Pula.. and actually need to figure out where I am meant to go.  All I know is my friend's Auntie works in an archeological museum, but no idea where as of yet.. Humm Humm, riding around and I literally just run into this!  I'm like, "What??  Did I fall asleep and wake up in Rome?"  This big beautiful colesseum here in Pula is amazing!!  And I just pull the bike right up and park!  No big tourist busses, no big long lines to get in.. what's up with this place? (I didn't research where I was going again... but I get a kick out of surprises like this!)

 I must find out more...

Actually more officially called the Pula Arena, I found out it was built between 27 BC and 68 AD.. For real??  That is incredible!!  And I pull up to such an "in tact" part of history on my motorcycle in 2010, no worries??  Far out... I never fail to be completely and thoroughly surprised on this journey..

It is built by the Romans as you might suspect.. and a testament to their construction talent, to this day, they still have events inside, seating up to 5,000 people.. mainly concerts..

I must move on to find Auntie, but wow... wow, wow, wow!!!! I also learned about the underground tunnels for the animals and the Gladiators. Can you imagine.. being here at that time?  And would they have imagined a girl riding her motorcycle from Australia here at THIS time? ;-)

Well it made sense that the archeological museum was not far from here, and I found it.  Auntie came out to greet me and had me park behind the building.

There are broken bits of stone history all over the back lot.. there is so much, I understand, what to do with it all?   I enjoyed my visit.. but while i was looking at the map, I came up with a brilliant idea.  I notice I am so close to Italy, why not go spend the night in Italy... literally, "Because I Can"!!  So on around the coast I make my way toward Trieste.

That ended up being a bit of a boring ride, and when I arrived Trieste, it was a huge city full of traffic large smoke stacks puffing out serious amounts of sh _ _.  After breathing clean air for several days, polluted city air really hits you.  I did check on a couple places to stay, and they were not only a little out of budget, but way out.  Hmm, I didn't like it here, the sun is going down, and I don't have a plan.  I decide I would be far luckier to find something cheap in the hills outside of town.  Wandering around those curvy roads in the dark was producing nothing.  I finally found a small town with 2 hotels.  One is closed... very closed, like dead and vandalised.  The other one was small, basic, but again not even a consideration in budget.  I rode around in the dark to check out the nearby campgrounds that showed up on my gps.  They were closed for winter.. as all I have seen have been.  I went back to the hotel because the man spoke really good English and I asked for ANY other idea.. luckily he knew of an old lady that rents rooms, but wasn't sure if she would be at this time of year.  He called her on her mobile for me. She wasn't home, but would be in an hour, and agreed to let me stay.

I decide to find dinner while I was waiting.. The restaurants in this town won't even open until 8.. It was only 7, so.. as I was rummaging through a very small disorganized grocery, picking up a tin of tuna and a tomato, the owner recommends I go down the road 3 km to SLOVENIA!!!!  As they would be open now and far cheaper food with bigger plates.. sold!!  How funny is that!!  He says, you don't want to eat in Italian restaurant.. too expensive.. and he is Italian!  but I took the suggestion and had a really huge cheap Slovenian meal (As ususal, I couldn't read the menu, and it is not a touristy place, so nobody speaks English.  I find my new habit is to just decide in my head what I would like to eat tonight as if I were home and explain best I can.  I happened to be in the mood for simple grilled vegetables...and that's what I got!!  An awesome massive plate of a gorgeous variety of veggies.. perfect!) And then rode back into Italy 3 km to the house!  Hopefully this map will help.


View Larger Map

It turned out to be a wonderful old Italian home, and as soon as I pulled into the gated driveway in the dark, I hear "Mama Mia!!"  and I get off the bike and I hear "Mama Mia, Mama Mia!!!"  She's a little butterball Italian lady with blonde short bob hair cut, and sweet as could be.  She couldn't believe a woman riding a motorcycle, she says, I usually only see men... Mama Mia!!  I got a wonderful room, and she laid out all kinds of good food for snacks and hot water for tea.  Ahhhhh... I can rest now.  (I know it's irresponsible for me to have done this without a plan, but I got to explore Croatia today, eat my dinner in Slovenia, and stay the night in Italy!! I couldn't have planned that anyway.. love it!!)

Austria - Part 2

Today is the day to cross those Austrian Alps!  The Host with the Most, Klaus has prepared breakfast, the weather report and exact times of schedule to get through before the weather changes later today... I usually do these things myself, so it was wonderful to have somebody else figuring it out for me...

I'm packed and ready to go! My alps-crossing escort is nearly ready too!

One last photo, before I leave the beautiful Zell am See...

It will be a good day, to follow the leader.. don't have to think too much or monitor the gps.. and just ride....

The clouds are indicating the weather change is near..

The weather was really good.. I was beginning to wonder if I am too hasty to get out here so quick..  UNTIL!! We eventually get to a deep dark valley between the mountains.. in here the wind is going wild, and the clouds are coming around in thick dark gray.. this is what I was worried about all along. I wonder how long this rough bit will be..

Not long after, we turned a corner and came to a stop!  Trying desperately to hold the bike upright in the strong wind, Klaus yells out that we get on the train now.  He told me briefly about this earlier, but I didn't expect to see the train looking so open and odd.

But I do remember thinking.. thank God.....!

We arrived right on cue.. they rushed us through, I could barely take some quickie photos.  This train was ready to go and takes us through a tunnel that only lasts 10 minutes..  Only 10 minutes!  I have ridden through much longer tunnels, why is the train required on this one?  Klaus explains that they had a bad accident at one time with fire.. and people got trapped and died.  This was the best way to ensure everyones safety.

A very fun and unique experience!

A group of passengers on the train explain that I am lucky to be here now as just a few days ago they could not pass by car because they had already a big snow.. which has melted now. I must be in a weather pocket, because the guy in Prague said the same.. clearly I am lucky and on the edge of the season..

On the other end of the tunnel,  the wind was no where near as strong.  However, those gray clouds couldn't hold out any more and it was raining big time.. !  Ick..  but we knew it was coming and rather a big rain than a big snow in these parts.  We had also made it through what would be the hairiest part of the Alps anyway.  (Which wasn't hairy at all except the windy cloudy bit.. most of the really fun roads popular with motorcyclists are closed already)  Klaus had very much pre-planned a must have stop for his daily cappucino here in the town of Spital an der Drau.  What a gorgeous town it is.. good choice!! And from here we are getting close to the Slovenian border, where Klaus will turn around and I will continue again on my own..

Due to the heavy rain the photos stop, and camera under water protection.  We eventually make it to the border as the rain starts getting even heavier... say a warm goodbye to my new friend and amazing host and ambassador to his country, and know things will be changing now.

Mainly because the biggest goal ever since I left Finland was to head south as fast as I can, so I don't get stuck by the winter snow.  Always worrying and riding with intent, trying not to waste any time just to get past the Alps.  Now... I can breathe, slow down and let the pace become more normal.

I'm disappointed I don't have photos to share at this point.. but it was not a nice ride through Slovenia.  The rain was brutal, and my goal is to get to the ocean town of Rijeka in Croatia for the night.  It got darker and darker and more difficult to ride in the rain.  I tried to find a place to stay in Slovenia, but I couldn't.  I was off the beaten path, and the roads were rough and small, winding and curving through the somewhat mountainous small villages.  I stop a couple times, and know it's stupid to be riding, just wanted to stop.  But sometimes it's best to pull it together and finish the job.  Which I did... after many worrysome kilometers, up ahead I could see some big lights, and turned out to be the Croatian border... Whew!!!  Thank God number two for the day!!!

Rijeka is so close, but I hadn't planned a place to stay.  I just start stopping at hotels and asking the prices.. Very expensive, being a tourist town!!  Finally a wonderful man in a very primp and proper place gave me great advice to a family run hotel/restaurant just out of town, and yet still on the ocean..  I hope this one does the trick, because I am soaking wet, cold and really want and NEED to stop.  Cheap, somewhat clean, a little bit loud, but I got a bed for the night... Good Night!!!!!

Austria!! NOT Australia!!

I truly had to stop and stare at it for a bit.. it's the dag gone Alps!! I'm like, holy crap!! I didn't expect to see them there.. and then the thought of riding a motorcycle over !!???

Yes.. I expected to see them in Austria.. but you can see how I was shocked. The lovely soft rolling hills of green. I assumed my clue that I was getting close to the mountains would be apparent.. apparently not!!! They go from lovely hills, to BAM!!!

Okay, shock over.. get back on the bike and carry on... I've never ridden in mountains before and they have been on mind for quite a while. But like most challenges on this trip.. it's probably not as bad as I think.. Because what I have been envisioning with big mountains are 1) High winds and 2) Icy slippery snowy roads.. what's there to worry about!!?? I can handle that! ;-/

Now I'm getting closer...

See, they are easy peasy roads...!

That is such a good looking bike.. it's just too big for me, but I like it..

And good to meet Klaus! I think he is happy to meet somebody from Australia, and I am happy to meet somebody from Austria!! (I can not tell you how many times people ask me where I am from, and I say Australia, and they say, Austria?? and I say no, Aust -ral-i-a..! OH!! You are a long way from home... yes!) Anyway, Klaus' wife not here, she has a working assignment for the weekend.

So! Follow him!

The plan is to ride to his town, Zell am See.. explore and learn about the area, and in a race against the oncoming bad weather forecast, to shoot over the Alps the following day. Being a local, he knows the weather and best route as well..

We arrive the house.. my mouth wide open, I jump off the bike and immediately start taking heaps of photos... I say, "You live here???!!! Is it possible to live in such a beautiful place?? It doesn't look real, so perfect!"

(I think I humored him a bit..)
So here are some more photos from the Rainer house!

So Klaus says, come on, I will show you around Zell am See. (I quite honestly don't know why, I can just stay in this one spot all day!) But don't pass up an opportunity to have a good look around.

Zell am See.. (did you know that See in Austrian means "lake"? So if you have a home by the See in Austria, it's like ocean front property!?)

Isn't he cute! An Austrian man, making his way around town with walking ski poles for exercise.. they are so healthy here.. seriously, I look at all the people, young and old and they all look so perfectly tan, blonde hair and really healthy! It's like southern California, except with mountains and snow!

Bugger.. road closed already!!! Doesn't look so bad to me, and I bet the people in those cars are thinking the same thing, how do we break in!?

We turn around and try a different route..

I am totally in love with the house designs here..

He decides to take me up another side for a great view of town and a coffee. Well, I don't like coffee, but I'll have a cup of tea..

While enjoying the view, we hear a motorcycle come up the hill.. the man sits at the table next to us, and of coarse we strike up a conversation about motorcycles. And then it hits him!! The man says, "Hey!! I know you!! You are the girl riding around the world! I was just reading your blog last week, you've been to Russia, Mongolia, and now here!!??"

I couldn't believe it... a strange man recognized me and knew so much about my journey!! I felt famous!! How fun!! That truly does blow my mind....

Well his name is Hans, from Germany, and he rode his motorcycle here today, so he can go skiiing on the mountain tomorrow.. wow!! What a life!

It was a wonderful afternoon.. what a great
priviledge it was to be here.. and all the much better with friends... I am a very happy motogirl!!! ;-)))

And to finish off the day, back into town for an awesome Austrian dinner.. thank you Klaus!

I quite like this place .. ! ;-)