Croatia 34 - Duga Resa/don't trust your sat nav/shall we go left and Italy, right up the middle or right and east /Day 15/Mayflies and herons

---

Day 15 and we continue northwards . Tonight will be our last night in Croatia. Let's get the weather out of the way. It is marginally warmer but nothing to write home about. Not the temperatures we were looking for when we planned the holiday. We are parked up on a campsite on the banks of the River Mur. The train line to Zagreb runs the other side of the river and within an hour we could be sightseeing in Zagreb. We are not keen as we are not in the mood for cities. Duga Resa is a small town and we are just outside the town. If you ever find yourself looking for Camping Slapic then do not trust your Sat Nav. Follow the signs on the motorway that suggest you turn off earlier than the sat nav tells you. If you follow the campsites directions you get there without too much trouble. Following a sat nav and this means every one of them takes you down narrow lanes without passing places . Very pretty with trees lining the lanes it becomes another one of those bum clenching moments where you pray your tank of a vehicle meets nothing. The area is particular alpine and the fields full of buttercups and ox eye daisies. We even pass a castle along the way. It is pretty and we cannot really blame the sat nag as all sat nags try to bring you by the scenic route.

The campsite is picture perfect . Reception friendly . Another one of those where you can park where you like. The toilets are top notch . Warm and with plenty of hot water. A stall selling gelato and pleasant walks along the river. We head off in the direction of the railway station and the water mill. It looks a pleasant place to live. A quiet bit of backwater where little happens. We watch the grey heron fishing on the water and the mayflies. They flit about making the most of their short lives. For a brief moment the sun shines and it actually feels warmer. The Alpine chalets look well cared for. The villagers seem busy tidying up this and that . Could we live here? There are houses for sale . But we wonder what infrastructure there is. I guess supermarkets in town, a doctors and a busy centre so it cannot be all bad. The birds sing too. We hear them in the trees.

When we get back we buy a gelato . Well you have to don't you. It would be rude not to spend some money here. We play dominoes . I seem to be winning at 5's and 3's . Our table in Gabby is full of the dominoes as we play with competition sets of 9 spots rather than 6. It whiles away the time until we head off for the on site restaurant . Rustic , friendly and quite full it has a varied menu including vegetarian choices . Glenn choses veal again. This time a cutlet. Not the quality of last nights offering. I chose a spinach burger. Three arrived on the plate . By the time I got to the end of the second I had decided it tasted too much like cardboard. The wine was as always good and washed down and average meal.

We could stay here but have decided to head to Austria. Glenn has always passed through. Going to somewhere more interesting. My one and only visit was way back in 1998 or 1999 when I went on a Snowcoach to Austria trip. Arranged through the local newspaper we boarded the bus in our local town picking folks up along the way until we reached the ferry at Dover. Two drivers took over the driving and we drove through the night waking up in Switzerland . We stayed in the Saltzkammergut region in a small village whose name sounded like Saint Jorgen but probably wasn't . I never did find it again. We visited Saltzburg - OK but cold as it was February, the Saltzkammergut region itself with its lakes and Vienna . Having consulted the map this looks as if it is going to be our route home. We have the places mapped out and only need to join the dots again.

Shunryu Suzuki a Buddhist monk born in 1904 and who died in 1971 popularised Zen Buddhism in the USA and today his words come to me from my day to day diary. "Wherever I go , I meet myself". It may be Zen Buddhism and have a deep meaning but for me it rings true about travels and as I travel back to Austria for the first time in over 20 years it seems quite poignant.

Wish us luck with the weather . Surely it cannot get any worse .

---

Comments

[Jackie Harrison]

Weather
Good luck! I hope the sun shines for you soon -it should be better in Austria?

[JenGog]

Graz
Hi Jackie - gave up and come home. Guess what - sun is shining in Chesterfield !!!! Graz lovely city - if you have not been it is worth a visit x

[Jackie Dance]

Hate to tell you but it has been beautiful sunshine all day and forecast is good for he rest of the week!
Alan and i went to view a possible place to go on our next photo shoot. It had been recommended to me and I passed it on to him and he said let's go, so we went today as the forecast was saying it was the best day. Alan came down to me on his bike and we left just before 11am and it took about three quarters of an hour driving. Then we walked round the reservoir, over the rail track where the Severn Valley Railway track and we saw and heard a few steam trains. We had a long walk and a slope down to the reservoir, which meant there was a steep climb on our return journey. But the sun was blazing all the time and we took quite a few photos. I am not sure if everyone will want to do this trip next week when I think Alan is thinking we will go as a group. If it is wet we shall not be going there and we have been thinking where we can go under cover. We have done most churches and the cathedral of course, so will have to keep an eye on the red button on the TV. Because there was no cafe or loos nearby we were going to call in at the neighbouring village but there was nothing doing there either, I was bursting! So we called at Rowberry;s on the outskirts of CC and had a coffee and a visit to the small rooms! We also called in CC as I hadn't been there recently and neither of us had a time to get home. I did a bit of weeding by my GGPs grave and Alan took some photos of the church as the sun was still bright and we photographers like sun and shadows. Whilst we had a wander round I saw a small flat headstone with the surname Gould. Didn't know the names but took a photo of it with the names and dates visible, I wondered if it was something to do with you. I have looked on your family tree but cannot see the names there. Perhaps when you are back home I can give you the names and dates. I am sure you have better things to do at the moment! Anyway Alan and I returned back here at almost 4pm, Didn't realise it was as late as that. I never felt hungry whilst we were out, but Alan had some cake from Rowberry's which is a garden centre, but I knew they had a coffee shop as I had been there before. When we go on our shoots we always stop for coffee and it is always the chaps that have the cakes! Does that tell you something? I have eaten since I came home, but it all helps with the diet!!! I have asked Alan not to mention to the others that we went together today. he does not see why not, but there is another reason for my asking him to keep quiet about it. We agreed that we enjoyed today and of course helped by the weather. He needs me as the driver, so he had better be careful!!!!. Our next quiz is in a few weeks time and I have almost managed to make a team, just waiting for a confirmation from Colm. I have uploaded my photos and there are quite a few ducks and swans on them!!! I feel I am writing a travelblog!!!! Could never write how you write Jennifer, so don't feel threatened! Have you hit France yet? Safe journey home, the sun is waiting for you here. If it the same weather here tomorrow, it will be a shorts afternoon after I have dealt with the morning's business! Take care Jackie