Croatia

[nik.hisham]

Continuation.

So after crossing into Italy, the rain followed us around for a good while. We did not shoot anymore photos. However, before it rained, my SO did capture this video - I'll call this





PIACENZA

We arrived into Piacenza cold and wet. We found a hotel, checked in and after a short rest, went out exploring

The entire time we were out, I sensed something amiss but couldn't quite put my finger on it

But we kept walking and took pictures like the typical tourist - this is the town center. Every Italian town will have this.

At the end of every day, one of the first questions asked was, what time is it? And the answer would be, "Beer o'clock!"

We continued walking after the beers, looking for a place to eat. And that weird feeling continued to nag me.

It wasn't until we got to the restaurant did it become clear. It was a weekend but yet the place was devoid of people. It's like we were the only ones there. Almost felt like we were in the twilight zone.

We had a conversation with the people in the restaurant and they explained why in one word. Eurozone. Economy was really bad. People have no money to spend so they stay home. It was sad to see...

Eurozone or not, we were hungry. We started with Bruschetta. Sandra, who speaks fluent Italian says that that's pronounced broosh'ketta.

While the rest of us had Pizza's, Ian went for Pasta with Mussels

We retired early this night. All were really tired. Riding in the cold and trying to keep the bike upright in the rain really took its toll.

Next morning, we were ready for another day.

 

[beemerdons]

Nik Nik Nik, you are in a Nik of time. My family and I were just discussing our trip to Croatia next Spring. We might do it via Edelweiss tours? Maybe your ride report will spell out some other options. There will be 6 of us, 3 groups riding 2-up. After a tour of the Julienne alps, Lubijana, Zagreb, we plan to head through Dalmacia to Split where we will take a ferry out to Brac' to visit the birth place of my father in Pucisca', and the sea town harbor of Praznitzca'.

Keep it coming, I am all ears and eyes!

KJ aka Sir Bo-Croat

PS = excellent photos, Dobro'

World Tourer Nik, once again a fantastic Ride Report from you! Every one is great, but I do believe you outdid yourself with this one! I just love the excellent photographs and wonderful narration!

https://picasaweb.google.com/114983392922324241945/AdriaticRollerCoasterJune2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCKP9lb-G_JG1yQE&gsessionid=mjUfcHZo8hPGjRhYvr5RDA Gorgeous George, if you send me a PM or an email at [email protected] I will put you in touch with our AZ Beemers Member and my Best Friend Uri Schumm. Uri rode the Alps with us last month and also rode Croatia. This is Uri's Croatia photo gallery and his Ride Report article was published in BMW Owners News, the monthly publication of BMW Motorcycle Owners of America; was viewed by 50K subscribers. I can copy and mail this seven page Croatia touring article to you, if you wish!

If you can handle another couple on your Croatia ride next Spring, please keep my Miss Donna and Papa Chuy Viejo in the loop. Uri used Edelweiss for his Croatia trip and I have had great success with Edelweiss over the years, even though I also tour the World independently. You can also call me at 480-440-4666 anytime if you wish.

 

[GeorgiaRoller]

Awesome stuff. Always enjoy your RR and excellent photography with how your able to capture the moment. :yahoo:

 

[nik.hisham]

OFF TO VENICE!

We got up bright and early. Just the hallway in the hotel we were in. I believe this was Hotel Roma - one of only two hotels we could find.

Our day always begins at 8am where we meet at the lobby and go out together to get breakfast.

Group shot before breakfast

The guys went for the cafe to order breakfast...

while I detoured to get some shots of the town center...

Just some guy on a horse. He must have been important.

and some names of important people...

I headed back to the cafe and saw that Ian and Sandra were discussing our route options for the day.

My cappuccino was waiting. It looked like the barista made the effort to draw a heart shape with the foam...

Hmmm... turn it upside down and it looks like a... peach?

By the way, the plural of cappuccino is cappuccini. Who knew?

After breakfast, we said goodbye to the barista..

and made our way out of Piacenza.

We took the highway for the first part of the trip so that we could arrive early into Venice as we wanted to spend more time sight seeing in Venice. So there were no pictures until we got to our first coffee stop in Cavatigozzi.

Coffee stop was fairly brief. We also took on some fuel before continuing our journey. Btw, you will need to carry cash. None of the gas stations we stopped at accepted credit cards. On weekends, there is no one there and it is fully self serve. In addition, there is only a cash machine. So, no cash = no fuel.

As with every other day during the tour, we will lose our way at least once in a day..

But it didn't take us long to get back on track, and soon we stopped here for lunch.

I believe the town is called Mantua.

The cannelloni my wife had. Really good!

We continued towards Venice and passed a few towns. Some towns have castle walls built around them.

We were pretty close to Venice now, but decided to make another coffee stop. Butts were aching and some of us needed to pee.

The name of this town is Monselice

T-shirts we wore that day. I dunno, we just felt super I guess

We got back to the bikes and I took this one last shot before my Canon S100 point and shoot ran out of battery. Rats! No more pictures until we reach Venice to recharge.

 

[rogdeb]

How to be on a ride without being there ? Follow a Nik Report :clapping: :clapping: - Awesome :yahoo:

 

[wheatonFJR]

wow.

 

[SacramentoMike]

What RogDeb said. Really enjoying your ride Nik. Again. A couple of comments, if you don't mind

I headed back to the cafe and saw that Ian and Sandra were discussing our route options for the day.

First comment is about Eidelweiss Tours. I was SO impressed by the service they give you. For one thing, there's none of this (as above). They've got your route all set for you. I know the adventure of finding your own way can add a lot to a trip like this, as can setting your own pace and being free to deviate as the mood hits, but on the other side, they KNOW the area and the roads they'll take you on are outstanding. You won't miss that incredible side motorcycle road you might never pick out from a map.

 

Also their choices of lodging were very very nice--including the meals in each chosen hotel. Guess it's a balance for you to weigh, but I thought we got excellent value for the cost. Good choice of bikes, too, though I didn't notice a Hyabusa on the list.

Hmmm... turn it upside down and it looks like a... peach?

It reminds me of something too. Not a peach. No. Hmmm, it looks kind of like a . . .

The cannelloni my wife had. Really good!

Canneloni shouldn't need a steak knife, should it? :huh:

We continued towards Venice and passed a few towns. Some towns have castle walls built around them.

The coolest thing about seeing these parts of the world to me is thinking about all the history they've seen. Like when they built these walls, they needed them. Our guide, Manuel, told us the reason the medieval towns all have such crooked streets was so archers wouldn't have long clear shots down straight blocks when things got hairy. Wow.

 

[MEM]

WOWZER!! This is fun, man

Thank you for the proununciation of bruschetta. Drives me craz(ier) . BTW, if you take out the 'h' - with all due respect to Sandra - I think you'll be bang on

Love Sandra's t-shirt in the route-planning photo

AND the license plates on her and Dave's motos

Keep it coming, Nik! Croatia is the new tourism hot spot. That and Iceland (among other spots) are in my sights ....

 

[nik.hisham]

World Tourer Nik, once again a fantastic Ride Report from you! Every one is great, but I do believe you outdid yourself with this one! I just love the excellent photographs and wonderful narration!

Thanks Beemerdons!

 

[nik.hisham]

What RogDeb said. Really enjoying your ride Nik. Again. A couple of comments, if you don't mind

First comment is about Eidelweiss Tours. I was SO impressed by the service they give you. For one thing, there's none of this (as above). They've got your route all set for you. I know the adventure of finding your own way can add a lot to a trip like this, as can setting your own pace and being free to deviate as the mood hits, but on the other side, they KNOW the area and the roads they'll take you on are outstanding. You won't miss that incredible side motorcycle road you might never pick out from a map.

Also their choices of lodging were very very nice--including the meals in each chosen hotel. Guess it's a balance for you to weigh, but I thought we got excellent value for the cost. Good choice of bikes, too, though I didn't notice a Hyabusa on the list.

Yeah, I guess that would always be the case. If you're riding with people who know the area, the can take you to the best roads, the best places to eat, and places to see that no tourist could easily find on their own. I do photography for a bike tour company in Malaysia and that is always the feedback they get from their visitors.

The coolest thing about seeing these parts of the world to me is thinking about all the history they've seen. Like when they built these walls, they needed them. Our guide, Manuel, told us the reason the medieval towns all have such crooked streets was so archers wouldn't have long clear shots down straight blocks when things got hairy. Wow.[/i]

Interesting piece of trivia there. Didn't know that before about crooked streets. Thanks for sharing!

 

[nik.hisham]

WOWZER!! This is fun, man

Thank you for the proununciation of bruschetta. Drives me craz(ier) . BTW, if you take out the 'h' - with all due respect to Sandra - I think you'll be bang on

Love Sandra's t-shirt in the route-planning photo

AND the license plates on her and Dave's motos

Keep it coming, Nik! Croatia is the new tourism hot spot. That and Iceland (among other spots) are in my sights ....

Hi Mem! Yeah, Sandra (tried) to teach me a whole bunch of Italian and French. Unfortunately, I don't remember much. But I do believe the spelling for bruschetta is correct?

That t-shirt made me LOL the first time I saw her wear it.

The license plates are pretty cool eh? Many people noticed it and asked. Its actually their names.

And yes, yes! Croatia is definitely THE place to go if you're a biker. That coastal road is awesome. You will see many bikers, many stops welcoming bikers, and many hotels catered for bikers. i would like to go back there some day.

 

[MEM]

WOWZER!! This is fun, man

Thank you for the proununciation of bruschetta. Drives me craz(ier) . BTW, if you take out the 'h' - with all due respect to Sandra - I think you'll be bang on

Hi Mem! Yeah, Sandra (tried) to teach me a whole bunch of Italian and French. Unfortunately, I don't remember much. But I do believe the spelling for bruschetta is correct?

Sorry, Nik. I should have said 'remove the 'h' from the 'sh' of the pronunciation Yes, the spelling is correct.

And yes, yes! Croatia is definitely THE place to go if you're a biker. That coastal road is awesome. You will see many bikers, many stops welcoming bikers, and many hotels catered for bikers. i would like to go back there some day.

Thanks for that moto info. A gf spent 2 weeks there this summer. I'll get her take on it, as well.

I opened this thread looking for more RR! Maybe you're working on it ? .... :thumbsup:

 

[nik.hisham]

VENICE

So we arrived at our hotel, just off of the island of Venezia. Refreshed, we got onto a cab and headed to Venice...

What we saw as we explored the narrow streets and canals of Venice...

Intricately painted masks made into fridge magnets. The wife bought a fridge magnet at every stop...

A square that we stumbled upon, as we looked for a place to sit and do our people watching. It was beer o'clock..

We followed the crowd to this bridge at San Polo, while being wary of pick pockets...

and they led us to this watering hole

As we sat and watched people go by, I went with the wife, looking for some shots

It seems there was a regatta going on..

Just a gondola going under a bridge. Typical sight in Venice, I suppose..

Beer o'clock came to and end and we followed the crowds to this huge square. It's called San Marco, I think

As it was getting darker, this huge cruise ship set sail. Gotta love the contrast between the behemoth of a cruise ship in the background and the little gondolas in the foreground...

We were hungry now, so we set off looking for a nice place to dine and wound up here...

**Video**



The waitress serving us has really big... earrings!

This was just a two weeks away from our 17th wedding anniversary...

At the end of the evening, as usual, we were too tired from all the riding and sight seeing, too stuffed from eating so much, and for some of us, a bit light headed from too much drink. Hard work, this motorcycle touring!

Next post - The invasion of Slovenia!

 

[nik.hisham]

Sorry, Nik. I should have said 'remove the 'h' from the 'sh' of the pronunciation Yes, the spelling is correct.

.

.

.

I opened this thread looking for more RR! Maybe you're working on it ? .... :thumbsup:

Ah yes, no h in the pronunciation.

And yes, there is more coming...

 

[nik.hisham]

THE INVASION OF SLOVENIA!

Woke up hungry and joined the gang for breakfast.

That's orange juice, by the way. My first time drinking red orange juice.

Just a nerdy shot of me in front of the hotel we stayed in. We typically try not to spend too much on hotels. They just have to be clean and in a strategic location. We budgeted for around 100 euros per night. This was 95 Euros I think.

We got off to a quick getaway from the hotel. It was mostly straight and boring roads in the morning so we didn't take any pics until our first stop for coffee.

Ian and I were busy goofing around...

..while Dave was busy explaining to the girls his plan to invade Slovenia on superbikes!

We rode until we found this spot...

The Adriatic sea. We had ridden across Italy from the Mediterranean coast to the Adriatic!

Time to ride! Dave and his brand new CBR1000RR!

We headed just a few more miles up the road for a coffee stop. This is Trieste.

Just a bunch of good friends enjoying a ride through some countries in Europe...

It was mid day already, but we were close to the border. So we decided to soldier on and look for lunch in Slovenia instead...

But we did manage to lose our way trying to get out of Trieste...

But we still managed to find our way and it wasn't long before we reached the border..

Can't cross a border without our border crossing photo!

After entering Slovenia, we found this stretch of road..

**Video**



We weren't going to be in Slovenia long. The border to Croatia is only a short distance away, so we stopped at the first decent place to eat, and this was it. .

Done with lunch, we hit the road again and was into Croatia in just a few minutes. Yes, it was really that quick. Invade. Grab lunch. Slip out.

We rode on for quite a bit. The road was nice and twisty - and we would pass through some small towns along the way. Don't know why, but we didn't take any pics on this particular stretch until we got to Rijeka to stop for coffee..

And this PYT came to take our order. Her first words were, "Welcome bikers!". She says her parents own big bikes too and frequently go on long rides as well.

Just a train passing through town...

Done with our coffee break, we were back in the saddle. We were really tired at this point, but we needed to get as close to Karlobag as possible.

But when we saw this, the tiredness went away...

as we enjoyed the sweepers and the view

At this point, it was time to look for a place to stay. We tried this small town...

But had no luck.

So we headed for the next town, just a few kilometers up the road, and found this little coastal town called Senj.

Libra Hotel

92 Euro. Free wi-fi. Intelligent and energy saving - aircon stops if you open the sliding door to the balcony. Satellite TV. Fairly large bathroom. Very comfortable bed...

And an awesome view :yahoo:

Ok. End of the day. Park the bikes. It's beer o'clock!

More to come..

 

[SacramentoMike]

What a great adventure! And it just goes on and on and on. . . And lots of great shots of a part of the world we don't see much too.

We were served blood orange juice a couple of times on our tour also. Sweeter than the regular, but very good. And nice shirt, Nik. I, um, like it too.

[quote name=nik.hisham' timestamp='1348755356' post='100

3054]

That's orange juice, by the way. My first time drinking red orange juice.

 

[vabrzn]

!

 

[escapefjrtist]

Awesome trip and pics Nik...standing by for more!

--G

 

[cruppelt]

So happy I stumbled across a new R&R by you, Nik!

As always excellent photos and caption, it's like I'm there myself. Sure wish I was...

Have fun and ride safe, will be checking back often.

 

[wheatonFJR]

wow.