I decided I would get up early and get some running done before we needed to meet up for the bus at 09:00. The earlier I got up, the better - it gave me more time to run, shower, have breakfast, and do what little packing was required. Since we’d bought breakfast from the bakery on the way back to the hotel the night before that was one less thing to worry about.

I kept the run short, and took my DSLR out with me so I could photograph the Arch of the Sergii, and the Temple of Augustus without anybody in the shots. There were still people about, but nowhere near as many. There were people putting chairs outside cafes, others setting up market stalls, and others in a rush to get to work. It’s the sort of early morning routine I’d have seen had I been in Leicester still.

Back at the hotel I had breakfast, packed, and met up with the others for our bus to Rovinj. This time it was a different bus as this leg would be using a Slovenian company - our previous driver had gone back to Zadar.

In Rovinj we had a quick orientation from Vlad, and then we went looking for a supermarket to buy lunch from for later. There were a few close together, though only one seemed to have the sorts of sandwich making materials we wanted. With supplies in hand, we entered through the ‘golden gate’ into the old town, and worked our way gradually up the cobbled hill to the Cathedral of Saint Euphemia.

Inside the cathedral there’s a desk where you can pay HRK20 to go up the bell tower. Split had been the most questionable climb so far due to its rickety metal steps and massive overcrowding. Maybe this bell tower wasn’t as crowded, but it certainly felt unsafe.

The steps up here were narrow strips of wood, nailed haphazardly into larger supports with gaps in between. On some steps I could hear the wood creak, and whilst waiting for others to pass by it occasionally bent under the combined weight. What if someone of considerable weight was to step on one at the same time as me? Perhaps this one was actually worse than Split - at least that one had been metal. Who knew how old this wood was?

I think it a good job Lindsay had waited outside for us - I can honestly say with her fear of heights on top of this it’d have terrified her. Myself and Marion made it up slowly, and soon after we were joined by Sue and Ingrid. Sue was scared of heights, but so far she’d made it up everyone. Now that’s conquering your fears!

On the walk back down the hill from the cathedral we bought souvenirs, and sat down to start our lunch. We took this as an opportunity to sort out what remaining Croatian currency we had, and to get rid of what we didn’t need.

Eventually the time came to carry on with our journey to the border, though a different crossing point to originally planned due to reports of long queues. When we reached it we found this was a fairly short queue, and the longest part of this was waiting for the other passengers to have their passports taken away to be stamped on both side of the border. As the UK was still in the EU at this point, we got to keep ours. If only this wasn’t something about to change - the people we’d encountered so far thought the UK crazy for this. I’d have to say I think they’re right.

This faster border crossing was however foiled by long queues further down the road - caused by a combination of roadworks and an accident. The day had really dragged on since we left Rovinj, and the weather wasn’t helping much.

Before we reached Bled we stopped at one last service station, and found that Slovenian prices were even higher than Croatian. Not only that, but you have to pay to use their washrooms.

The traffic had meant we got into Bled later than expected, so they made sure we were shown to the rooms quickly so we could get on with the tour. This time the room had minimal kitchen facilities such as a sink, and a hob; but no oven or kettle.

The walking tour led us as far as Hotel Park, and as we were being told about a special type of cake they created it started to rain. Whilst we waited for it to ease off, we sat in the Panorama restaurant and ordered some of that blejska cake. It turned out it’s basically a vanilla slice made from fresh cream and custard. I wasn’t a fan.

Once the rain subsided we made our way to the castle as quickly as possible. There are multiple routes up, so we took the easiest of them. It was feeling like a race as I got a feeling the New Zealanders wanted to be up there first - fine with me, I had my sister to wait for.

At the entrance to the castle a tourist was arguing with the ticket office about being able to use the restaurant and wanted to walk in without paying. The thing was - the restaurant was full, and they didn’t have a booking so couldn’t be let in. Eventually they cooled down and then moved on to serving us.

The entrance fee here was €11, though I got short-changed to start with. Fortunately the person selling the tickets was actually reasonable - he was able to work out that I was correct, and solved the problem.

What you first see when entering the castle is a courtyard with a staircase to the right, and to the left is a wide open space with a view over the lake. Naturally, we went and checked out the view first and then the surrounding buildings. Another ramp led us up into another courtyard where they have a restaurant, and a few more buildings you can go in such as a museum and chapel.

Sunset was fast approaching, so whilst most of the group had fun taking photographs of themselves, I looked around to get what photos I could. It wasn’t a bad castle - I wondered what it would have been like during the day, preferably in perfect sunshine.

When we left, some of the paths were still slippery due to the earlier rain. We were careful of course, but Lindsay still managed to slip on a cobblestone. Instead of going over onto her back she managed to half stop herself, but in doing so collapsed into a heap on the floor - grazing her leg as she made contact with the hard floor.

As she stood back up there was blood dripping down the side of her leg - she was upset, but tried her best to ignore it. I think perhaps the promise of pulled-pork burgers helped to take her mind of it a little. They came with a serving of roast potatoes and tasted good. We didn’t really have the time to savour it though as we needed to be at the supermarket before 21:00 to get food for breakfast - they’d be closing soon.

We made it just in time, and quickly got what we needed. The New Zealanders had made the same dash to the supermarket; but the cashier could not sell them the alcohol they wanted after 21:00. It was now 21:02 and this upset them greatly - they tried to argue their case but gave up. I’m guessing the cash register simply wouldn’t allow it to be scanned outside of legal hours.

On our way back to the room afterwards we saw flashes in the distance - it looked like a storm was coming. Not long after getting inside, it started to rain again.