Rijeka to Kate's House

Thursday, July 7th, SKABE to Rijeka

After coffee and a morning tasting of snaps on the shaded terrace, we pay the reasonable bill of 225 Euros for our three night stay. The immaculate two room apartment had a tiny kitchenette, a private bath and an upstairs balcony overlooking the garden where I sat each morning to write. Breakfast has been simple but each morning, Mira made us coffee and provided us with freshly baked strudel or biscuits.

Later today we will rent a car in Rijeka and this morning we call our travel rewards credit card to double check on what insurance our card provides. After saying goodbye to our hosts we drive with Kate towards Rijeka where she has lived and worked for 8 years. On the way we stop in a tiny village and visit a new age friend of hers who is house sitting a lovely renovated three story stone house. We meet her in the village square and she wears a tight white dress and glides towards us in greeting. We stroll through the town’s historical castle fortress grounds before going to her home to drink mint lemonade and visit.

Village Castle

Lemonade with new friends

We arrive in Rijeka shortly after 1:00 P.M. just as the public organic market is closing. Kate gives us a brief tour of the city and buys a loaf of bread from a tiny sidewalk kiosk. We make another attempt to get Kuna from a PBZ ATM and after inquiring inside the bank, Art punches in a smaller transaction amount and we walk away with 3000 Kunas, not quite $500.

At a Rijeka bank to get Kuna's

Rijeka

We go to pick up our Thrifty rental car and as usual, there are issues with the insurance. Liability insurance is included in the previously quoted price of the rental car but comprehensive is not. We explain to the agent that our credit card company will cover any damage or the loss of the car but the bottom line is that if we refuse their additional comprehensive insurance that we must agree to a $20,000 hold onto our credit card. If we buy their insurance for an additional $150 the hold on our credit card will be just $900. Art is angry and I only wish for peace and harmony and safe passage down to Dubrovnik. The rental car counter is inside the bus terminal and the price for bus tickets to Plitnvica Lakes and other parts of the Dalmatian Coast are reasonable. Art is anxious about driving and parking and we leave to discuss our options, eventually returning to rent a car. After accepting their insurance, considerable paperwork and a long walk to where the car is parked we drive away in a brand new white Toyota Corolla. We follow Kate out of Rijeka to an auto repair shop where she has arranged to have a new gas tank installed in her car. We take Kate from the auto repair shop to her rural home.

Appetizers at Kate's house

Chilling in Kate's courtyard

Hanging laundry

Kate's kitchen and living space

It is nearly 5:00 P.M. by the time we arrive at Kate’s stone house in the countryside. Her small apartment is comfortable and cool and Art and I will sleep in Kate’s bedroom. She and John will sleep on a corner couch in her tiny living room. Art naps in the hammock while I cut thick slices of bread and Kate cuts cheese and dishes up a spread of whitefish, seasonings and olive oil. We have not had lunch and the whitefish is delicious spread onto the hearty bread. Art drinks Campari Spritzer and Kate, John and I drink hearty local red wine. I do two loads of laundry which we hang to dry on a line in Kate’s quiet garden.

Waiting for the dinner guests.

Hammock time

Kate chops onions and potatoes and whips in some eggs to make a skillet top frittata for dinner. After picking lettuce from her garden she makes a garden salad and around eight, Evan, a woodworker and Eva a paper maker/restorer arrive for dinner. A few other of Kate’s friends stop by and we enjoy a simple and delicious dinner in her courtyard garden.