We had a relaxing morning today, eating breakfast in the room - fruit plus the delicious granola we bought (and the mushroom soup from the night before). With a couple instant coffees in us, we packed everything up and then set out on a tight schedule to pick up the rental car at the nearby Hilton at 10:30a, then get back for an 11:00a check out. The best laid plans...
We were to the Hilton a bit early and the Enterprise office in the building wasn’t open yet (weird) so we hung out in the coffee bar and had a couple cappuccinos. After waiting until a little after 10:30a, the rental office was still dark and locked so we asked the Hilton front desk staff to call them - allegedly would be right there. We stood outside the door for another 10 minutes when finally someone inside opened the door and seemed surprised that we were there, saying “Why didn’t you call me” (because we don’t have a cell phone and don’t have your direct number?).
After this disappointing exchange she got much more helpful and apologetic though, but we were well past our 11:00a checkout time. Tammy decided to walk back and get our things from the room and we would meet there, which was a good idea since the paperwork took ~20min and then she had to top off the fluids...grrr. As she finished with the car, Tammy walked back up, having not been able to find the right road back to the apartment - glad we didn’t miss each other on the road *whew*. The one positive outcome from the rental car person was she gave us a great recommendation for a štrukli restaurant.
Liberated from walking everywhere now, we set out first to get checked out of the apartment, then get the SIM card issue dealt with and finally to find the štrukli.
Here are our new wheels:
We made a dash back to the apartment and grabbed our bags - apparently no one was the wiser that we were an hour late.
Next we drove pretty directly to the A1 telecom store, and after a somewhat confusing exchange with the tech, walked out with cell service again. It is remarkable how much we’ve come to depend on access to information, maps, translations, etc. on our phones, especially when we’re making a lot of the trip up on the fly.
Finally, we made our way to the štrukli place (named La Štruk), using our old friend Google Maps. With a car now, we had to pay attention to parking rules again which weren’t entirely clear to us. We parked in what looked like a good place, but weren’t sure which made us uneasy while we were eating.
Ironically, the location of the restaurant was very near the cathedral and Dolac Market, which we were at yesterday when everything was closed. We got close to the right place initially but had to wander for a while to find the restaurant down a narrow back alley with “discreet” signage. The place had a super-cute garden patio area where we sat, and Tammy picked the Basil Štrukli to try. In short, this is a lasagn-pastry-type crust filled with a soft, salty, mild white cheese and baked.
This dish is fabulous and easily the best thing we’ve had in Croatia so far!
After devouring the meal we headed back to the market which was open today, although we only caught the tail end. Tammy found some fresh farmer’s cheese to buy, and we stopped in the bakery from two days ago to pick up a couple pastries that we felt like we’d unfairly left behind. We made a quick return to the car and were relived to see it still there with no ticket. We got our map directions started then headed out of Zagreb to Rijeka.
Once out of the city, the driving was easy and the highways were great. We quickly got to learn about tolls in Croatia, as the road to Rijeka was relatively new and heavily taxed. We picked a ticket up as we got on then drove for nearly two hours before seeing a darling mountain village from the freeway. We found a way to get off, which is when we paid the first toll of $7.25 (took us by surprise). We drove some back roads to the skiing village of Ravna Gora to take a few pics
As we drove in the roads around the village we found a restored castle called the Stara Sušica Castle which we later read about its interesting history - but at the time just thought it looked awesome
:-).
The landscape was a bit surreal, looking like something from The Lord of the Rings. We are surprised how lush and green the mountains are here, reminding us of the rugged peaks at home.
We got back on the highway (learned how to get the toll ticket for ourselves this time) and drove the rest of the way to Rijeka. Once in the town, we drove around a bit just to see some sights then worked our way to our apartment’s address. Unlike hotels, the apartments are not clearly marked so we weren’t sure which building it was.
After messaging the contact, he came over within 20 minutes and showed us the building and which apartment, then spent time getting us settled and noting a few points of interest. The apartment was stocked with all kinds of snacks, drinks and coffees, plus water, juices and even a couple beers - so, so much more than the last place!
After a short break, we walked out to move our car off the street and into the parking garage, then explored the town looking for dinner. We found a pedestrian mall called the Korzo Promenade and walked it and the waterfront to survey our choices. Along the way, we found some interesting historical buildings...
Historic clock tower and last remaining gate to the city
Korzo Promenade
...but still came up feeling like we couldn’t find many food options. We clearly still don’t understand how Croatians go out to eat meals 🤨. We did take advantage of happy hour and sat on the promenade with a couple tasty cocktails, debating what to eat. Ultimately we went to the waterfront and had a respectable pasta dinner - Tammy had this beautiful cappuccino.
We walked a different way back to the apartment and had a call with Grace while we got ready for bed. Tomorrow maybe we’ll touch the Adriatic...
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