BCA33 Kostanjevica na Krki, Slovenia to Zagreb, Croatia - Balkans Cycle Adventure

Balkans Cycling Adventure - BCA. Cycle Day 33: Kostanjevica na Krki, Slovenia to Zagreb, Croatia. 58km (182vm). Connal Tours European Cycling Tour 2024. Connal Kit for all your cycle touring clothing.
The ride - had to do another lap of the beautiful island village we were leaving. Wide valley full of agriculture. Lots a hot houses full of vegies & berries. Then once again following the Krka River, lots of villages, small rises into forests. Followed beside the motorway on the edge of the forest for a while. Made a coffee stop in Slovenia just to say farewell to this wonderful little country. Border crossing was a bit noneventful. As we were on a minor road it was simply barricaded off to cars. Not even much signage. No fanfare for us. Once into Croatia it was a straight run through lots of villages (essentially suburbia) to Zagreb. Found our accommodation easily - very central and overlooking one of the squares. Trams to look out for. We noticed the difference immediately on crossing the border. Less cycle lanes, more shops & bars open (it is Saturday & Slovenia tends to close down Sat pm & Sunday), streetside fruit & veg stalls, lesser quality roads. Overall, another good ride and the sun is shining on us again.
Always fun when you arrive in the middle of a major sporting game. UEFA 2024. First round Croatia v Spain being played at Berlin Olympic Stadium. Kick off 6pm. Found a bar with a couple of big screens, watched the first half. Zagreb rocking with fans. Unfortunately, they went down 3-0.
Very spacious apartment - only downside is the single flight of spiral stairs to get up to it. Greg the porter did a magnificent job carrying the bikes up and plenty of room for them in the apartment.
A rest day in Zagreb to explore. The Upper Town (Gornji Grad) & The Lower Town. Sunday and all cathedrals and churches are closed for restoration. The one we did get a peek inside was full of internal scaffold. So many shrouded grand buildings. They suffered a major earthquake in March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. With much EU funding obviously being thrown at the city to repair and renovate many buildings. There are streets and streets of very grand buildings. Grič Tunnel connects upper to lower towns (kind of - built during WWII as air raid shelter). St Marks Church with glazed roof tiles. Surrounded by Government Buildings. All barricaded off. Streets full of majestic buildings. Some in use, others not. The Greek embassy still has a sign out but has relocated. Zagreb Cathedral twin spires shrouded but still dominating the skyline. Drink stop at the Museum of Broken Relationships - winner of Kenneth Hudson Award for the most innovative Museum in Europe. You can donate things from broken relationships. We didn’t go in, but how the concept started and how it has developed is quite fascinating. "The origin of the necktie is generally attributed to the uniform worn by the Croats - or Hravat, - during the Thirty Years War in the 17th Century. These mercenaries famously wore long cloaks, fur hats and, most notably, scarves tied at the neck." - so the women could distinguish their men when looking on to a battle. European Majorettes' Association performing in the main square and wind & brass bands in the park.
Cycle Day 33 of 45 over 10 weeks cycle touring covering over 2400km in a loop circuit of the West Balkans in Europe through 8 countries. Connal Kit for all your cycling touring clothing. Connal Tours European Cycling Tour 2024. connalkit.com.au 15June2024.