Day 15 - Croatian capital - Zagreb

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Mon 17 June 2013, odometer reading 26245

Day 15 Croatia, Zagreb, then back to Brezice in Slovenia

The day started off good. Leisurely breakfast and then packed up the car ready to leave. Did my routine car check - oil, transmission fluid and pre-filter and a look underneath the car to check for leaks.

Tried to start the car and it would not start after a few attempts. I had switched on the inverter for the past 2 days to charge my laptop and phone and it had drained the 2 car batteries.

Either I could call the AA (not really an option) or to think of a way to start up the car. There was also the added problem of not having any fuel in the pre-filter because I have just changed it.

Nothing like a challenge first thing in the morning.

Bush Craft mechanic part 2. How to start up a car with very little charge in battery.

I thought of a trick my friend had taught me. I carried a can of 'Are you starting?' to fire up cold engines, so I waited an hour for the batteries to recover a little, then I removed the air filter and sprayed some of the content into the inlet manifold and then quickly ran back to start up the engine. Crank, crank and then suddenly the engine started. Yes!

Lesson - charge appliances when the vehicle is moving, so as not to drain the batteries.

Said goodbye to the owner of Jadranka campsite before setting the SatNav for Zagreb.

My first impression of Croatia - Country full of forest with very few people in towns and villages. Only Zagreb showed a little vibrancy.

The farmers seems to grow lots of grass, corn and barley or it could be wheat.

Reached Zagreb at around 3.30pm, I decided to drive to the city centre to have a look. Zagreb city centre had parts that were good looking but it also had many buildings that were dark on the outside and not as good to look at as the countryside.

It was time to look around for a camping site, the first camp site 'Camp Nature' no longer existed, so it wasted 2 hours, then I set the SatNav for the nearest campsite, 'Camp Terme Catez', by 7pm I finally found the place only to find that it is now 'Happy Holiday Camp' in a place called 'Brezice' in Slovenia but close to Zagreb. It asked for €50 plus €150 deposit, so I said to the nice Welsh gentleman from Cardiff. It was much for a person for one night, he suggested that parked up in the nearby car park for free. That I did.

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Photos

Small bottle containing paraffin and a wick
I used the wick to fill the pre-fuel filter