Onto Opatija Croatia-Boomer tourists

Today we temporarily left the euro zone. Like something in a B grade movie (or more practically life as it was just a few years ago before the borders opened), our train stops at the last Slovenian station for a passport check. Our friendly border guards take quite a while thumbing through our passports trying to find the entry stamp made in May in Paris when we arrived. Finally they get there, our passports are stamped and returned and our train is away again.

A few kilometres further on and the process is repeated, this time by the Croatian police. And our engine is swapped over for a croatian one for the final run into the port town of Rijeka.

We have decided to stay at the resort town of Opatija which is about 15 kms out of Rijeka. We will get there by local bus. So at the train station and with the aid of a couple of nice people who had been with us on the train, we found an ATM for money, found the right bus stop, got the right tickets and then we were aboard and weaving our way out of the town. Yvonne was sure that a family on the bus were heading home after a day of pickpocketing in town so she was just that bit wary of what was going on.

But sure enough and after 20 minutes or so there we were trudging up the hill out from the main downtown area of Opatija looking for our digs for the next two nights.

We have learned that Opatija was created out of the Austro-Hungarian empire by those Hapsburgs types so the place looks quite opulent and imposing. The buildings are great (some renovated in period style while others are crumbling and in need of some tlc) and the water looks fantastic as we wander along the seaside pathway constructed along this part of the coast looking for dinner. We have changed from being simple Slovenian country folk into middle aged boomers looking to be typical Riveria types for the next couple of days at least.

There is a wide mix of people around but the dominating influence seems to be Italian older folk off for an early summer vacation. So after dinner, we are two of many wandering along with our ice creams and taking in the very relaxed ambiance around here.