It's going to be on a BMW rather than a Ducati but I figured folk might still be interested in a write-up of this tour. I've already posted about the run-up, and our selection of bike http://ducatiforum.co.uk/index.php?posts/602877/ and now here we are We arrived at Ljubljana late yesterday afternoon on a flight via Frankfurt. The countryside was beautiful as we came into land - little villages dotted amongst woods and fields beneath the Alps. A taxi arranged by the tour company picked us up for the 30 min drive to our hotel in town - a nice 4 star called Hotel Lev (Lev means Lion apparently). A 5-10 min walk took us into the old town which is absolutely lovely. There are lots of excellent bars and restaurants and from the number of them this place must get really busy during the high season. This morning we have time to explore some of the sites before we meet the rest of the tour party for a briefing, short "familiarisation ride" and dinner later on. The tour starts properly tomorrow ... Unfortunately the weather doesn't look too good for the first couple of days ... ... so I'm looking forward to testing out the Klim Overland suit that I got with this trip in mind (even if I won't be doing this kind of thing) ... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yesterday morning we took a walk up to Ljubljana castle and did their "Time Machine" tour where various actors described different eras in the castle's history - very good! The weather was beautiful and the views from the top were spectacular Then we had lunch down by the river before heading off to meet the rest of our tour group and collect our bikes Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
At nearly 2 hrs the tour group "briefing" at the hotel turned out to be more of a "long-ing" but in fairness I guess the guide was just being very thorough as he had no idea of the backgrounds of anyone in the group. He covered group riding etiquette, the drop-off system, local traffic rules, road signed, official and unofficial speed limits etc etc. The group all seem very nice. Stuart and Thelma are a retired couple in their late 60s from Ipswich who do LOADS of riding at home and all over Europe on a Bandit. They are hiring a Suzuki V-Stom over here. There are two American chaps, Ken and Dennis, who have hired very different bikes from what they are used to - one is a Harley rider renting a new Honda Africa Twin and the other rides a Honda CRF 250 at home and has a F800 GS over here. Then there is Brett who has a 1200 GS Adventure and a Hypermotard at home and is hiring a 1200 GS over here for him and his wife who is pretty inexperienced as a pillion just like my Mrs. Next there is Todd and his Mrs from Canada who are on a 1200RT just like he has at home (but she doesn't usually go on the back either) and finally there is Wayne the Aussie. Wayne knows everything, has done everything, been everywhere, ridden everything and likes to tell everyone including the tour guides why they should do everything the way he knows is best. Having met him I now know what "Wayne" is short for. Still, he did announce that he wouldn't be riding with everyone else because after 55 years of biking he hates riding in groups and prefers to go his own way at his own pace. Thank God for that - though having met his type before I remarked to Mrs H that he'd probably change his tune and ride with us nevertheless. Anyway's - here's our bike when we went to collect it yesterday afternoon. I have christened her Aretha because she is a big old girl and she is black Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Looks like a great trip Rijeka to Pag is seriously twisty and incredibly scenic too, so you won't be getting bored. From the map it looks as though you'll be going inland from Pag, most of the way to Split. If this is right, its a shame because you will miss the beautiful town of Zadar and the lovely coastal strip south of it. I hope you don't get to experience the Bora. This is a thermal wind that drops dense, cold air down off the mountains and out to sea. Do not underestimate this wind, it can be fierce enough to blow buses off the road and down onto the rocks below. I see you are taking the ferry to Pag and travelling the length of the island, crossing the bridge to the mainland. Pag is beautiful but has little vegetation. It's a good choice to go via Pag as it will make a change to drive on some slightly straighter roads for a change, after several hours of bend after bend after bend. Enjoy and keep us posted! ps you'll enjoy Plitvitce...
Agree Zadar is beautiful. I also enjoy marina, hvar and split itself. Very different on the coast to the Danube side of Croatia. Both very good for different things. Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
We picked up the bikes and did a short familiarisation ride. I found the bike a bit tall, even with the seat in the lowest position but Brett gave me a tip about putting the suspension into soft mode as you come to a halt. This lowers the suspension just enough for a me. In the evening the tour company had organised dinner at Ljubjana castle which was very nice. We took the fenicular up the hill and complementary taxis back I must say I'm impressed with the tour company's organisation and service. Stuart has been with loads of companies and says this is the best. It's his second time with them and they gave him a jacket as a present today. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
We woke up for the first day of riding, to heavy rain as forecast. I didn't mind too much as I was looking forward to testing out my new Klim gear and Mrs H was looking very fetching in her new fluorescent yellow waterproof jacket which she bought from the tour company. After breakfast our bags were loaded into the support van and we had a short briefing before setting off. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This was our route on day 2 of the tour - the first full day of riding. It was torrential so I had the bike set to rain mode and soft suspension. I was very impressed by the GS in those conditions. It's a really nicely balanced bike - I couldn't imagine anything better for those conditions. I've never ridden a bike with electronic modes before and I can definitely see the advantages for two-up touring like this. The journey was great fun, even though the fantastic scenery was mostly shrouded in cloud and mist. The tour company provided all the bikes with GPS, pre-loaded with the routes but I stayed with Talin, the tour guide, and we were first to arrive at the hotel in Plitvice National Park. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Plitvice is amazing. A vast complex of lakes and waterfalls. Try not to walk everywhere, you'll get too knackered. Take advantage of whatever transport is available.
I passed through the top end of Slovenia a couple of years ago en route from Italy to Austria. Enjoyed the roads and promised myself that I'd come back when I had more time, so this is all good info. Keep it coming...
It was still raining when we arrived in Plitvice at 4pm but we were only staying one night so we had to get out there and see the place no matter what. After a quick shower the Mrs and I just stuck our waterproof bike gear back on. Thank goodness we did - everyone else in our group often for jeans and raincoats and ended-up soaked after a 2 hour walk !! Plitvice is indeed an amazing place. The rain had really swollen the lakes so the waterfalls were in full flow. Here's a bunch of photos and a Wikipedia link if you are interested Plitvice Lakes National Park - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia From above .... Crossing one of the lakes by boat ... 18m high waterfalls ... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Day 3 started with rain the same as the first. Again we had a short briefing about the route, which was going to include a foray into Bosnia seeking great roads if the weather improved. By the time we stopped for petrol just twenty minutes later it had stopped raining and it had stating to brighten up so we had a great ride on some brilliant roads through areas heavily involved in the war in the 90s. We passed military memorials with tanks, shelled houses and cemeteries. Surprise, surprise Wayne had decided to ride with the group after all because the weather meant he wouldn't want to stop for photos or go off on his own. He turned out to be a lot slower than everyone else - "I just stick to the speed limits" - so we stopping and wait a couple of times which gave our guide a good opportunity to give us a history lesson about the war and its background going all the way back to the 11th Century! Battle of Zadar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Iirc, there are 16 lakes flowing one into another with waterfalls in between. There's a big waterfall that flows over a cliff at the bottom of the system that's rather more than 18 metres, more like a hundred, from memory. Yes, the war in Bosnia has very old origins and sadly, I suspect it's not really over for Bosnia. The country is still divided into three along ethnic/religious lines and when a certain Vladimir Putin visited Bosnia, he didn't go to the capital city, Sarajevo, he went to nearby Pale, the administrative centre for the part adhering to the Orthodox religion. The other two religions are, of course, Catholic and Muslim. It seems I misinterpreted the map and you are doing the route in the reverse direction from what I expected. You have the 'Pearl of the Adriatic', Dubrovnik, to come and the magnificent sinuous coast road, the 'Magistrale', with its fabulous views of the sparkling Adriatic and the hundreds of Croatian islands. This road used to be pretty horrible as it was poorly surfaced and carried all the traffic the length of Dalmatia. However, there is now an inland motorway so traffic is light and the road had been resurfaced. Enjoy...
Great blog, @Dave. Please continue - waiting with bated breath. I once drove the entire length of the Adriatic coast, from Rijeka to Budve, to Podgorica (then known as Titograd) in a Mercedes fintail diesel taxi. Then I hitch-hiked back up to Split, Dubrovnic, and Sarajevo. That was before the war, of course. I would love to go back someday, but never have. In my memory, Montenegro has some of the best scenery I have ever seen in my life. I was treated with great generosity by several lovely people in all the different regions of Yugoslavia (except Serbia, obviously).
Our guide pulled us over before we entered Knin to tell us a bit about its history. It is the ancient capital of the Croatian Kingdom, but has had many different rulers over the centuries. It finally fell back under Croatian rule during the war and is today populated by Croat refugees from Bosnia and ex Croat militia members who replaced the previously mainly Serb population. It is a strange place today. Distant and quite isolated from the main urban centres of the country, there isn't much going on but it has too much historical and political significance to be allowed to die. What little economy it has is heavily subsidised by the Government and there is a large military presence. Our tour guide summed it up very well ... "The people are not un-friendly but the town has a strange atmosphere". It really was the epitome of the backward, state managed, East European town that you'd imagine with groups of men standing on the street, and sitting in cafes with old trucks and beaten-up cars on the streets. The place where we stopped for coffee had a big roast on a spit and was selling sheeps heads and pigs heads inside. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
