Journey Vienna-Tolmin - 2017-07-22
2017 was Willi's second year at Metalcamp Metaldays Festival in Tolmin, Slovenia. Also, it was my seventh year visiting this great festival with awesome bands, stunning scenery and enjoyable activities.
Can you spot Willi on the campground?
Hike around Tolmin Gorges - 2017-07-27
However, this was actually the first time at the festival I managed to go on a hike. We took a path up one of the hills surroundin Tolmin and stopped for a delicious cheese-and-ham snack in a small tavern. On our way back to the festival area we hiked through the beautiful Tolmin Gorges where the above picture was taken.
Journey Tolmin-Punat, Krk - 2017-07-29
We actually didn't have a plan where we wanted to spend the second week of our vacation so on the second to last day before the end of the festival when checking next week's weather in Europe we decided not to cope with half-days of rain and to drive further south to Krk, Croatia.
By phone I reached out to a number of campsites - most of them were full or overly crowded - and upon our arrival we took a look at the mini camp Marusina Olive Hills located near Punat in the olive grove's overlooking the bay. We felt it was nicely arranged and the facilities we inspected were clean. However, there is no supermarket or other infrastructure near the campsite so we decided not to stay there.
Instead, we found a nice spot at Camp Pila which is a rather big campsite but for us didn't really feel like one. Especially, we enjoyed the natural shade provided by the many trees all around the campsite and our nice neighbors.
Bike Ride around Krk - 2017-07-31
On our second day on the island of Krk we took a bike ride around the island. I looked up routes on Komoot and chose a 30 km loop with 350 m elevation gain which was clearly enough given the weather and temperature during our tour.
This is actually the only picture I took on the whole tour. The route took us to a small lake - at least that was what Komoot indicated - which actually was puddle of mud and reeds surrounded by this razor wire. We rode a bit along the side of the lake until we saw two cows with long horns strolling towards us. I couldn't even finish my "Oh, come on." - the mister had already turned around pedaling faster than I had seen him all day.
Back in Punat we cooled off in the Croatian sea, which was one of only two times we spent at the beach or in the water (for approximately 5 minutes each).
North of Krk by Scooter - 2017-08-01
The next day we rented a scooter to explore the island. We got the scooter from Rent a Scooter Punat. The scooters were okish - I mean - they worked, but the security was rather questionable. Same with the provided helmet. but I guess that's what you get renting a scooter in a tourist region.
But before we could actually ride our little scooter across the island of course I had to plan a route and prepare some lunch to take with us.
I rode pillion and with my phone in hand took about 274.5 pictures whereof 260.5 were blurry or showing part of my finger which I had in front of the camera.
On this first afternoon we visited the town of Krk, the port of Valibska, Glavotok - a teeny tiny town with a cute and short gravel beach (see the picture above) -, Malinska, Dobrinj and Vrbnik.
South of Krk by Scooter - 2017-08-02
We rented the scooter from 2 p.m. the previous day for a whole of 24 hours so on this day we decided to explore the south of the island of Krk.
Except for the fact that the city of Baska was overrun with tourists we really liked the scenic location view of the city from Sveti Ivan church.
Also, it was fun to study all the things people wrote on the hills with light stones. I spotted at least two marriage proposals and a view literal expressions of love.
And of course I also had to whiz around the streets of Krk :-)
Journey Punat-Plitvice Lakes - 2017-08-03
On the following day we packed Willi and drove off towards Plitvice Lakes and pitched up at Camp Korana which is the nearest campground to Entrance 2 of the national park Plitvice Lakes.
Camp Korana is a big but spacious campsite mostly without fixed pitches which we like very much. Many trees provide natural shade and the winding paths don't follow a strict or planned design.
Hike around Plitvice Lakes National Park - 2017-08-04
Our last day in Croatia we spent hiking around Plitvice Lakes national park and enjoyed the rather mild temperatures compared to the heat on the coast and on Krk.
Although the masses of tourists at the entrance and on the paths in the national park leading to the upper most lake were rather annoying and exhausting we spent a chilled second half of our hike when most other people took the bus back to the entrance but we decided to walk along the sides of the lakes and for the first time that day enjoy the calm.
Journey Plitvice Lakes-Vienna - 2017-08-04
We left Plitvice Lakes national park around 5 p.m. and drove without stop (or at least without getting our of Willi - we had to wait for half an hour at the Croatian-Slovenian border crossing) through one of the worst storms I ever experienced while driving within seven hours back home.
Wolfszeit Festival - 2017-08-24 to 2017-08-27
To round off the summer we visited Wolfszeit Festival in Crispendorf, Germany. This festival definitely has the potential of becoming my favorite festival. Great bands, nice people, moderate temperatures and no stress. And since this was also one of Willi's trips but not really worth a whole post I had to include it in this blogpost.