Day 246 – EU – Croatia/Slovenia [Zagreb to Brezice]

25/10/20

35km

  From Zagreb (Croatia) to Brezice (Slovenia)

Europe

Warm sunny run out of Croatia and into Slovenia – and tough Covid19 measures

As I crossed the border, I realised first hand how difficult it is getting to move from one country to another. Covid19 second wave is hitting us all hard and countries have all been tightening their measures. Crossing from Croatia to Slovenia was only possible because I came from an “orange-classified” region of Croatia, that of Zagreb. But even then, the guards at the border checkpoint wished me good luck – indicating my planned crossing of Slovenia may be bumpy.

Indeed – to start with, all public places and non essential shopping places are closed across the country. No restaurants, no bars. I am very lucky that some hotels are still operating. That means for the 8 days crossing, I am going to have to eat off the supermarket shelves. Today I bought some sandwiches, smoothies and yogurt (at a petrol station) which I ate in a park, sitting outside in the sun alone. Measures are stringent and by the look of it, it will only get more stringent throughout winter.

My stance remains the same as it was in March when the 1st wave of Covid19 resulted in a break of the world run. I will keep running for as long as it is legal and feasible. I won’t break the law of any country in order to keep moving. So, let’s see if I can complete my 8 days crossing of Slovenia, enter Austria for a 10 days crossing and into Germany for a further 1.5 months. Nothing is certain and some countries are restricting inter-regional movements. I will keep an eye on the situation, reading the news every morning.

Meanwhile, today’s weather was beautiful. Warm, 14 Celsius as I left Zagreb, blue sky. The landscapes are changing, I am seeing a lot more mountains in the background. It seems very friendly, just like Croatia. Everybody I saw today, cyclists, hikers, hunters, all greeted me warmly. I am looking forward to seeing more of this country I know so little about.

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: