Border experiences

After a short night (scout meeting at the campsite) and a hearty breakfast, we set off towards Postojnska Jama, a huge underground karst cave system.

After a drive of about 1 1/2 hours, we arrived and were strongly reminded of our last visit to Neuschwanstein. Hundreds of visitors were waiting to board one of the trains that would initially take them 3km into the depths of the cave.

The groups were divided into different nations. First, the Americans were allowed to board the train (about 150), then the Chinese (about 150), and then everyone else (about 30) :). The cave systems were breathtaking. Deep underground, winding passages stretched out, occasionally leading into large 'halls'. With their bizarrely shaped stalactites and stalagmites, they resembled alien worlds from American comics. According to legend, dragons used to live in these enchanted passages until they were driven away from there, and indeed, one can well imagine that a gigantic Smaug is lurking in one of the halls in this inhospitable wilderness. It's also a bit eerie... The photos only give a small impression of it. One has to see it with their own eyes....

After the 90-minute tour, we continued towards Croatia and had my first real border experience. We decided to take a mountain pass as the highways were too crowded. When we arrived at the border, I slowly approached the first border officer (Slovene), who clearly signaled me to continue. Unfortunately, I overlooked the second border officers (Croatians), who made themselves known with a strong knock against the window and did not miss the chance to explain to the stupid little German (thank God) who had grown up most of his life without borders, how things work at a border (WITHIN THE EU). After the two gentlemen had enough fun at my stupidity, we were finally allowed to enter.

Although I had already lost interest in Croatia by then, my better half convinced me not to turn back, but to dare to spend a single night in Croatian territory.

We set up our tents, or rather the camper van, on a campsite on the Adriatic coast and in the evening, we enjoyed typical Croatian grilled food.

The next morning, we set off early to the picturesque harbor town of Rovinj. When we arrived there, we thought we might have passed the wrong border because for a moment, we felt transported to the Italian Venice. In fact, at its heyday, the town belonged to the trading metropolis, as evidenced by the Venetian winged lion, which can be found on every corner. The basilica also resembles the St. Mark's Basilica in its basic features, the narrow streets are similarly narrow, similarly crowded, only, as Dani noted with regret, it doesn't smell 'good' here.

After having a focaccia that also resembled Italian cuisine as a lunch snack, we continued our journey to the Plitvice Lakes, which were 3.5 hours away.

Even the surroundings of the lakes were impressively beautiful, vast hills and mountain landscapes, densely forested, with constant warning signs that bears or wolves could cross the path... ooh... exciting, that makes you want to have an adventure!

When we arrived at our hotel (yep... exceptionally, because camping was more expensive and the hotel was right at the entrance of the lakes ;)...), we had to realize that the estimated 50,000 Chinese, after visiting the caves, also felt the urge for adventure, so one could already see some funny-hatted faces again in the evening. Hm. A secret tip probably looks different.... Nevertheless: We are excited about tomorrow and happy to have private showers and German television! Yay!