Riding day 6 - Otocec to homebase Klagenfurt
We would have loved to share more pictures of our very last riding day, but the weather turned even worse, and camera's stayed hidden away in waterproof bags. Very tricky and difficult riding it was heading back to Austria, so we want to congratulate all our guests on such a hard, wet and cold ride back. Well done guys! (And girl! No tears, Jeanne 
And so Adriatic Rollercoaster came to an end, in a nice, cosy and warm evening dinner room at Klagenfurt. See you all on your next Edelweiss tour!
Oh hang on, maybe one last final credit: thank you so much Isaac, for helping out Tour Guide Wim and offering up four hours of your holiday to go and retrieve a motorcycle in Slovenia. Probably the hairiest ride (and be that we mean actual hair) ever seen on a 1200 GS, but very much appreciated! We owe you a beer on your next tour!
Riding day 5 - Plitvicke to Otocec
The morning we left Croatia to head back to lovely Slovenia, the weather went all bad on our trip. For a moment there, Tour Guide Alan was wondering whether a huge big travel bus would be nice. In the end he decided a 1200 GS still has more comfort and legroom 
The first stop in the forgotten little village of Plaski was still very wet, but at least the cappucino in the brand new coffee bar tasted heavenly.
And to warm up completely, the whole group stopped for lunch by a nice little fireplace. Gloves were dried, hands were warmed, and most of all...
... lunch was just about cooked and ready! Now how is that for a multitasking fireplace!
Arriving in Otocec after a very wet day, the weather cleared a little bit to reveal this beautiful view from our cosy Slovenian hotel. Historic moments for Mark, as his grandfather emigrated to the United States from this very valley.
Riding day 4 - Rest day ride to the Bosnian border
In the morning, Tour Guide Alan took most of the group out for a visit to the fairytale world of Plitvicke national park. Amazing sights everywhere!
Tour Guide Wim then took out the group for a little afternoon loop to the historical inland of Croatia, right up to the Bosnian border. Some sad memories of the war still remain here...
The country may still show the scars of a very sad episode in history, but the views around the Bosnian-Croatian border are something to behold! The riding is pretty spectacular too, by the way.
Riding day 3 - Opatija to Plitvicke
A long day on the road starts really early... But an early start feels a lot nicer when the sunrise looks like this.
Today's schedule: island hopping. And that can only mean one thing: ferry!
Taken from the right perspective, even little island ferries start to look vaguely like a cruise ship... You don't often get to see dolphins from a cruise ship though, but our group did today!
On the island of Rab, our group settled down for a nice little lunch stop right by the harbour.
And let's be honest: there are some places in the world where you could just sit all day and enjoy...
Being half way through the tour when we left the Adriatic behind and arrived in Plitvicke, we thought it was time to introduce you to the entire group. Look at this! 17 very nice guests and two guides, from early twenties to early seventies, from Austrian to British living in Oman to Canadians and Americans with Slovenian roots, and from very nice and shaven people to two... Well... Very hairy tour guides! More variation is hardly possible...
Although it was discovered, this very evening, that Tour Guide Alan may just have a fake ID... (Note: absolutely no special effects whatsoever used in this photographical (and 18+ graphical) evidence.
Riding day 2 - Rest day ride through Istria
Waking up with a view like this can only mean one thing: let's go for a ride!
So the entire group went for a fantastic sunny and warm ride to the heart of the Istria peninsula. First stop: the ancient little village of Pican.
Enjoying the view...
Tour Guide Alan seemed very confident...
... but then the local fashion police started telling him off about all that hair.
Our Austrian friends Heinz and Horst enjoyed a cool down moment in the nice shade.
And then the ride went on to the next highlight: Limsky Fjord, right on the west coast of Istria.
Limsky is world famous (or well... At least famous) for the seafood. So before riding back to Opatija, we just had to try some. Now scientifically confirmed: the fame is justified!
One last stop on the way back made us wonder: how blue can a sea and a sky actually get? About this blue, we would say.
After a wonderful rest day ride, Opatija welcomed our group with a picture perfect sunset sky. Time to go to bed and go island hopping tomorrow.
Belgian Tour Guide Wim did find a local nightcap a long way from home...
Riding Day 1 - Klagenfurt (Austria) to Opatija (Croatia)
This morning, somewhere outside a hotel in Klagenfurt, a bunch of very nice bikers huddled up for a short briefing before the first riding day on Adriatic Rollercoaster!
We had a very rainy and quite cold tourstart over Loiblpass, but once the group made it into the little tiny Slovenian village of Kropa, the weather started to clear up very nicely.
Here's Mark doing his "distinguished walk through the countryside"-routine in Kropa. Looks perfect!
Many fishermen on this Rollercoaster of a tour, and they immediately spotted the trout in the Slovenian river.
Some wonderful riding through old, authentic countryside was up next. Here's Jean going all Roman aquaducty...
... and here's how Mary saw it from the back of the R1200RT... All Hobbiton-green!
All through the day, weather just got better and better. While Tour Guide Alan took part of the group very underground, into Postonsjka Jama caves, Tour Guide Wim decided to stay in the sunshine. Result! Predjama Castle made a picture perfect coffeestop.
No further comment... What a beautiful place!
Slovenian villages seem to have more than enough flowers...
... but the Croatians said: we can do that too!
And how amazing is it when a first tour day ends like this? The rain at Loiblpass seemed like years ago when we arrived in sunny Opatija on the Adriatic coast.
Arrival day - Klagenfurt
We think it is fair to say the transport with all our bikes... came in with a bit of a bang! No problem though, all the bikes arrived safely at Klagenfurt in time for the tour.
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