It should be a seven-hour drive to Kaikenried in Germany, where we have booked a room with Voll-Verwöhnpension for two nights, which means breakfast, lunch, dinner ánd tea with cakes included. I pack while Arne prepares lunch (same again) and we set of before 9 am. First I drive a long stretch on two-lane roads to the highway in Karlovac. From there past Zagreb, we exit the highway again right before the Slovenian border to make our way to Trakošćan Castle. We take our lunch bag up to the castle, but it’s inundated by groups of young kids. Must be a popular destination for school outings. So down to the lake to find a quiet bench in the sun. We do hear some frogs and after some searching can see them by the water plants. We also see some kind of water snake, perhaps 30 cm long and thin as a pencil, but again it’s impossible to actually catch it on camera.
After an hour’s break Arne takes the wheel to continue our way. Via a small border crossing – with two very bored guards – we enter Slovenia and make our way back to the highway. It’s a very nice area with patches of deciduous forest and green fields dotted with quaint villages. We switch drivers twice more before we get to Landromantik Hotel Oswald in Kaikenried, which turns out to be a smooth mix of old fashioned German woodwork and a more modern design touch, though the personnel sticks with dirndls and suits. We’re well in time, so we have a quick swim in the pool to stretch our muscles and a shower before we go down to the restaurant for dinner. We first get a pick of the starters buffet, then we are served a soup, after which we can go back to the buffet to get salads. Then we’re served our main dish – we had to pick when we arrived at the hotel, Arne has Schweinbäckchen and I halibut – and desert. When clearing the dish from the table, the waiter asks if we’re ready to continue or if we want a break. All in all a relaxed way of having dinner, especially accompanied by a glass of German Grauburgunder.
Today’s statistics : 4.137 steps, 2,92 km, 27 floors
Febe writes 