You have reached your destination - Zagreb

Another early start at sunrise, so that I can make it to Zagreb today. The weather is overcast and train is forecast for later. An uneventful day's bike ride and I make it to Zagreb at lunchtime, just outrunning the first rain showers. 

Rijeka - a tough day

Starting at dawn, I have the full day to get as close to Zagreb as possible by end of day. There is one major climb to nearly 1000m after Rijeka and hilly terrain, meaning my cumulative elevation is about 2200m over 140km for the day. 

There is epic scenery on the coastline and very sunny conditions. 

I meet some fellow bikepackers from Hungary, George and Ivan, while stocking up on carbs in Lidl. 

Some great architecture to see on the way. 

Road south to Pula and beyond

Silvina escorts me some of the way down south to show me some more the of the coastal resorts where she has worked as a lifeguard. Unfortunately her skinny tyre get punctured and we spend some time repairing it.... this is a job for Bicycle Repair Man.  

Then I am off to Pula (Pola in Italian, as it was part of Italy until before world war 2), where I find one of the biggest colluseums. 

Apart from that, not much to see if this once magnificent Roman city. I continue to ride towards Rijeka and it is a hilly affair. Soon after sunset, I find a quiet orchard and just lay out my mattress and sleeping bag -- no need for a tent. 

Porec - Croatian tourism by the sea

Croatia has it's hilly terrain too and the 60km remaing to Porec takes more effort than expected. There are some old historical towns en route, though they happen to usually be located at the top of larger hills. 

But it is only 60km so I arrive at Porec by midday and meet my Couchsurfing host, Silvina. Originally from Argentina, now doing seasonal work at a 5 star resort as a lifeguard, she is happy to show me around Porec and her resort. I get to eat with her colleagues in the resort's employee canteen. There are very few Croatians actually working here, with a large employee population of South Americans. Silvina explainer to me that Croatia has loosened the regulations for seasonal workers from South America in recent years. It's all a little dystopian. There is a large TV displaying customer satisfaction reports,  customer comments and standard operating procedures. All this constant work pressure for as little as 4€ per hour and the feeling that every employee is expendable: the indebted servitude class of the modern world. Silvina tells me that she had two days off last season ie two days free over three months! 

The upshot of having Silvina host me if that I get to spend my birthday lazing away the day at a 5 star resort, surrounded by people driving Ferraris and the elite class of Europe, mostly from Germany. 

Leaving Ljubljana for the Croatian border

Carbo loaded and having avoided the major rain showers, I cycle toward the Italian border. I had wanted to visit Trieste in Italy, but change my mind last minute and simply skirt the Italian border and on towards Croatia: an impending storm plays a role in this decision. 

From Muggia (Slovenia) to Porec (Croatia), there is a famous cycleway. The Slovenian side has dedicated paths and even tunnels and is a great stretch of cycling infrastructure. Whereas the Croatian side consists of gravel trails and main roads. 

I reach the Mediterranean coast where the sun still shines, but the humidity is building to a crescendo. 

This evening's entertainment consists of cowering in a small tunnel waiting for the lightning display to abate. 

I make it in not Croatia and find space in a forest to set up my tent for the night. Bring wet and setting up camp during a rain shower is something that can only be described as uncomfortable. 

Adriatic adventures

I spontaneous decide to cycle through Slovenia and Croatia, meaning there is no preparation except to buy a direct Flixbus ticket to Maribor. This does mean that I get to pleasure of sitting 15 hours on a bus without WiFi and limited comfort. Even the bus driver seems surprised that I am going all the way there and buys me a coffee. 

Arriving late in Maribor, I bike out of the city following the Eurovelo 9 route, to find forest accommodation. As camping is illegal here, I just lay out my mattress and sleeping bag for the night's duration. 

Awaking at dawn for a quick getaway, means that I can try and get all the way to Ljubljana (~170km) today and even have a siesta during the midday heat. 

The Eurovelo cycle route is marked as "undeveloped", which basically means it puts you on main roads heavy with traffic. There is about 20km midway through that is dedicated cycle path and here is where it is where Slovenia really shines. 

Another feature that makes Slovenia suitable for cyclists is that there are drinking water fountains in nearly every town. 

The day on the saddle is long with the sun beating down and very hilly terrain. 

Reaching Ljubljana in the early evening, I find a cheap hostel at the edge of town. A hard rain's gonna fall this evening and it will be a chance to recharge my physical and metaphorical batteries.

Utter confusion reigns in the hostel as the owner does not turn up until nearly midnight and we have the refrain "Does Marcel even exist?". 

The storm front is meant to last all the next day, and I stay a day longer in Ljubljana. This gives me a chance to get to know my fellow residents a bit more. The hostel is full of interesting and chatty people, who are not constantly checking their devices. 

I also check out the city and find a former squat called Metelhova, which has some very steam-punk aesthetic. 

Stockholm

It is the last morning in Copenhagen. Ramis and I start off late and we go the train station together. He plans to cycle to Oslo, while I am forced to spend a few hours in Malmö, due to many trains being booked out. 

The weather this far north is rainy and I am thankful to be taking the train today. 

I arrive in Stockholm near midnight. Not to worry here "allemansrätten" (all man's right) means that camping is allowed all over Sweden, as long as your tent is more than 150m from private residences. After some online research, I find a park near the city centre where it is allowed to camp. However, early the next morning, a chirpy park cleaner informs me that this is not valid in that park and I needed to move on. 

I head off to my Couchers' host, Dale. It's my first stay with a Couchers.org host and it works out well. Dale has a very nice apartment near the city centre and is generous and hosts very often. He has lots of free time as he is on holidays and happy to hang out the rest of the day. 

The next day I explore Stockholm. Specifically, I try to find social projects, public libraries and bike cooperatives. It is difficult to have a bikepacker's budget in Sweden, as is very expensive and even a simple coffee is more than 5€.