at Sunshine ✅

Successfully collected car from parking area and left city✅

Passport check for Slovenia ✅

Passport check for Croatia ✅

Drove past  police checkpoint ✅ ( They didn’t see John)

Returned to right side of road without hitting anyone ✅ ( only a momentary lapse)

You guessed it,we are back on the road again. Green fields, rolling hills small villages all passing as we drive along the Freeway. Croatia borders the Adriatic Sea ,so we headed down to their Riviera at Opatija. Sparkling water so clear you can see fish.    But no beach!!!!

Shallow water is reached from a series of concrete platforms and steps. In summer I am sure these would be crowded with holidaymakers.

From from here we headed towards our final,destination for the day, Jezerce. Plitvička  National Park is 2 kilometres away. Coming along the byways (an extremely narrow road with not much room for passing), it was noticeable the number of houses that were boarded up. Some looked quite new.

So no stairs to climb today, except for the hotels. No trains , although we stopped near a track , saw an engine pass and so kept the withdrawal symptoms away for our train fanatics. Restful scenery inviting us to explore forests and water tomorrow.

Dinner was in a local restaurant. Soup with dumplings, fresh trout and vegetables followed by fruit strudel. All delicious. John discovered Slijvovica , a plum brandy , and had to keep sampling it to ensure it lived up to its name. Perhaps he was driven to drink by a noisy American guest , who was busy dominating his companions and  restaurant to the dismay of all the other guests.