Land of Extremes

Day: 337
Mostanje to Slunj
Time: 4:03
Distance: 58.1 km
Avg Speed: 14.3 kph
Terrain: Hilly

Location: N 45˚ 27' 59.7", E 15˚ 33' 34.2"

We slept in a little roadside town last night called Mostanje. We ended up at a Zimmer Sobe, or a private room. They are rated as 3 stars for a room with a private bath, 2 stars for a room that shares a bath with another room and 1 star for a room that shares a bath with multiple rooms or the homeowner. Prices are set by the tourism board for that area, and everything is priced pretty fair. Our room last night was above a bar and was full of truckers. It reminded us of rooms we had in Laos: small, smoky, noisy and clean enough. We went for a stroll around town last night to get some groceries and noticed some of the houses had bullet holes in the brick walls. Most houses had fresh stucco coatings and paint and you couldn’t tell whether or not they had suffered the same fate. The night went as we expected with a low murmur rising up from the bar and the 2 am stomp down the hall by the other tenants. We got up early and brewed a little tea in our room before heading out around 8. The riding was great as we rolled along back country roads passing big fields of corn and plot after plot of personal gardens. The houses in the countryside didn’t escape the shooting either since we saw just as many homes with bullet holes as in Mostanje. Toward the top of one hill we passed a plot of forested land that had a sign warning that it was mined area. I thought mineral mines, but Leslie said that it was land mines. I just can’t imagine growing up and living in a place that had experienced and is still experiencing such violence. Our little country, two lane paved road abruptly ended and we shifted gears on a single lane dirt road that was passage for the next 14 kilometers. It was marked as paved on our maps, but not only was it not paved, it was very rough in major sections. We made it to the next section of highway intact and danced with big rigs for 20 kilometers or so to our little oasis of Slunj. We stumbled on a great little zimmer sobe and were rewarded with views of cascading streams running right under our private deck. The whole area has rivers and streams carved into limestone runnels that have been dammed, and diverted over the centuries. The water is clear is can be and is teeming with trout and another local game fish that looks like a grayling. After arriving Leslie and I took a little nap and then got cleaned up before heading into town. We did a little grocery shopping and hit a fruit stand for peaches and plums. It is so nice to have timed it for fruit season. After getting back to our place our hostess offered us some coffee or šljivovica. We opted for the latter since we had grabbed a cappuccino in town. Šljivovica is a homemade (in this case by our hostess’ brother) plum brandy that is smooth as butter, but can knock your socks off. We both had a little tumbler and felt warm all over. It was a nice way to cap off the day.
CK

Buffet Strategies: Eat the High Dollar Items First

Day 336
Zagreb to Mostanje
Time: 4:04:00
Distance: 70.90 kilometers
Avg Speed: 17.4 kph
Terrain: Flat
Location: N 45˚ 27’ 59.7”, E 15˚ 33’ 34.2”

We enjoyed our second morning of a great breakfast buffet. Unfortunately, we haven’t been riding enough in the last few days and our per plate average was pretty low. Last evening I was getting psyched up for the feeding frenzy and discussing options with Chris. Should I start with the healthy stuff and then work my way to the eggs, butter and croissants? His cold, calculated response was “eat the high dollar items first, period.” I guess if you grew up in Reno you would know how to tackle a buffet.
Our first day riding in Croatia was very pleasant. We rolled out of town with a bike lane part of the way and then found the country roads fairly quickly. We are once again in farm country and passed row upon row of corn. We enjoyed all of the little villages along the way – familiar territory.
Time for the geography lesson…
Croatia is almost as much sea as it is land. The land area is just under 57,000 km² while the sea area is a bit over 31,000 km². The landscape is diverse and has both continental and maritime climates. Interestingly enough, it is possible to see ocean, karst topography, forests, mountains, and plains, all within 100 kilometers. The highest peak, Dinara, rises to 1,831 meters.
On the political front, Croatia has seen its fair share of war and conflict in the last 15 years. Independence from the Yugoslavian communist regime was declared in 1991 but heavy fighting broke out as minority rights were not guaranteed and many Serbs were dismissed from public service. The conflict lasted for six months in which 10,000 people died, hundreds of thousands escaped, and massive amounts of homes were destroyed. I’m sure remnants of those days will be visible at some point along the way. I’m also sure it will be a candid reminder of how good we have it in the States.
Finally, there are definitely a few interesting people in history that were Croatian. Nikola Tesla, scientist not band member, is responsible for many contributions to science. His most significant was the innovation of alternating current. Ivan Vučetić invented the modern fingerprint method called dactiloscopy.
Tomorrow we hope to pedal to Plitvice National Park, spend a rest day, and then make a push for the coast. We’re looking forward to discovering, as Alfred Hitchcock once declared, “the most beautiful sunset in the world”.

Hope all is well with you,
LK