Europe Day 40: Escaping the Microwave

The plan was to go slightly north from Pula to maybe Trieste on the Italian coast and lay low for a day or two before proceeding to the next airport. But instead a heat wave sunk in.

Buje, Croatia

Buje, Croatia

When we arrived in Trieste around noon, it was 35°C / 95°F, and it just wasn’t inspiring to get out and make photos in the bright light and intense heat.

So we kept heading north. We stopped briefly in Ljubljana for lunch and saw this amusing sign:

“Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant.” · Ljubljana, Slovenia

After lunch, we stopped in a small village to take a few pictures and stretch our legs.

Looking Right Through You · Prevoje pri Šentvidu, Slovenia

Prevoje pri Šentvidu, Slovenia

I was shooting this picture …

Prevoje pri Šentvidu, Slovenia

… when I heard somebody behind me yelling, “Hrvatska? Hrvatska?”

An older man was walking toward us. Quickly. He did not look at all friendly. At this moment, I remembered that “Hrvastka” is how you say Croatia in several of the local langauges. Our car had Croatian license plates.

I interrupted: “No. No. We’re American.”

He immediately warmed to us. We were given an impromptu tour of his village in the best English he could muster. As part of the tour, he took us through his neighbor’s back yard where we shot pictures of perfectly-ripe grapes (and ate a few, too!).

(How often does being an American abroad save you from potential trouble?)

Prevoje pri Šentvidu, Slovenia

Prevoje pri Šentvidu, Slovenia

After searching for places with a reasonable combination of temperature, scenery, and available lodging, we decided to head to Salzburg, Austria. That didn’t leave time for more photos as we needed to pound down the miles kilometers and avoid the heat.

Tomorrow in Salzburg looks very promising.