Day 5, Risnjak National Park

The day started with a coffee break by the lake and a nice welcome by Jack, a friendly dog. What a nice experience tracking in the Risnjak Nation Park! One hour walking in the nature surrounded by brighting  coulours and breathing such a fresh air ... there were supposed to be bears and wolves, but maybe they were too shy! After lunch, it was time to go back, but, since a bike washing was scheduled, we took advantage of the thunders and heavy rain that were waiting for us! So we stopped or a while enjoying some freshness after five days of heat. It was the best end of a great tour.

Thanks everybody, hoping to meet you again somewhere in the world on another Edelweiss tour!

First break

Jack

Welcome to the park

Last group picture

Vespawash

Waiting for the Vespas to be clean

Day 4, Cres and Krk

Finally today we rode around those two islands that, by now, we have only been looking at from the coast! Cres and Krk, the two biggest islands of Croatia as well as of the Adriatic sea, fascinated us with nice roads, stunning landscapes and pretty little towns! We left the hotel and rode again along the coast to reach the small port of Brestova, where we took the ferry boat to Cres. After a picture stop and a break in the nice village that gives the name to the whole island, we took another ferry to Krk and stopped in the village for a walk or just a refreshing drink. After that, a spectacular bridge took us back to the mainland and we rode through the city of Rijeka before finally reaching the hotel. But the day was not over, tonight a watertaxi took us to a nice restaurant by the sea... what a pleasant fresh breeze!

on the ferry

Photo stop in Cres

Vivien and Paul

The italians (one italian italian and two italian americans!)

Cres

Cathy and Larry

Venetian heritage (look at the lion of Saint Mark), this area once belonged to the Republic of Venice

Krk

Vespa parking in front of our hotel

Boat ride

the restaurant

dinner

fullmoon!

another great day!

Day 3, Pula

On our third riding day the route took us to Pula, the biggest town of the Istrian peninsula. This town is well-known for its many surviving ancient Roman buildings, the most famous of them is its 1st-century amphitheatre (also called arena) that is among the six largest Roman buildings of its kind and is one of the best preserved ancient amphitheatres. So our first stop was, of course, at the Arena and we also had a refreshing drink nearby... we really needed to drink a lot because of the heat! Then we moved to the centre of the old town for lunch and, on the way back, nice twisty backroads took us to the nice little village of Gračišće (difficoult to pronounce!) for the last break of the ride. A very familiar grill restaurant was the ideal end of another beautiful day!

June, Vivien and Paul at the Arena of Pula

The Arena

Our vespas parked near the Arena

The old town of Pula

The ancient Roman Triumphal Arch at the entrance of the old town of Pula

Picture stop

Gračišće

Cathy grilling

Larry and the restaurant host Navio doing the last toast!

Day 2, the Limsky Fjord

Today we crossed the Istria peninsula from East to West to reach the beautiful resort town of Poreč where we had lunch before reaching the famous Limsky Fjord, one of the few ones you can find in the Mediterranean. Despite the heat (around 34 Celsius degrees or 93 Farenheit!) all the group did very well and we came back to the hotel in time for a refreshing swim in the Adriatic sea or simply a rest before going out for dinner! Another very good day!

The Coast of Istria near Opatija

A walk in Poreč

Poreč

The Limsky Fjord

Group photo with our Vespas

Cathy advertising Edelweiss

Our sticker was missing... but we put it!

Pizza time

Day 1, the Postojna Caves

Welcome to Croatia! Our brand new Vespa scooters are looking forward to riding in this beautiful spot of Europe! Today we left our hotel in Oparija and we rode northwards, direction Slovenia, to visit those caves which are the most famous in Europe as well as amongst the most visited in the world. Just imagine that there is a train at the entrance taking visitors 2 kilometers inside the mountain, and the train ride itself is already worth the price of the ticket! On the way back we had the chance to stop in Uhm, a town that pretends to be the smallest in the world... with around 30 inhabitants!

Tour Guide Vespa ready!

Larry and Cathy, our "veterans"!

Vivien and Paul

Frank and Lewis

Coffee break in Slovenia

on the train of the Postojna Cave

Inside the cave

June

Cathy

Uhm, the smallest town in the world?

Dinner in Opatija