Once the fog burned off, we set out to the nearest grocery store. Supplies were running low! We found a well stocked Lidl only 6 kms away where we spent €75 ($108 CAD, $87 USD) filling the fridge.
Speaking of which, it always amazes me that Ruth can fit everything in the fridge!
The fridge is full once again.
Overall, Slovenia is more expensive than we thought it would be. I notice that they have a 22% tax included on anything that isn't food, and even food is taxed at 9.5%. So when we are shopping, we definitely keep an eye on the sale stuff. We managed to get a couple of things of ground beef at 30% off, and a 2 lb turkey breast that was on sale.
We buy cheap wine, rarely spending over €2 ($2.90 CAD, $2.30) a bottle. And beer is still relatively cheap, at around €0.75 ($1.10 CAD, $0.85 USD) for a 500 ml can or bottle. (For comparison, the same can in Ontario costs between $2 to $2.50 CAD).
As I was returning the grocery cart, I noticed that the gas station across the road had an RV service point, so we drove over there to empty our tank. They also had three RV overnight spots with pay per use electricity and water. But we would have to be awfully desperate to stay in a gas station parking lot on a busy road!
With that done, we got on the road. We weren't going very far though.
Scenery along the way.
Our LPG was running low, so it was time to test the system of filling the tanks ourselves. They say it's technically illegal in many European countries to fill motorhome propane tanks at the automotive fill stations, but many people do it, and that's why they sell tanks like the ones we bought that have a built in 80% fill valve. The worse case scenario that we have heard about is that the occasional station won't let you do it, and so you just move on to one that will.
First we topped up Max with diesel because it's cheaper in Slovenia than in Croatia. I'm sure most of you know that fuel prices around the world have been rising, and it's no different here. Yesterday, we paid €1.44 ($2.07 CAD) per liter ($6.35 USD per gallon).
On the bright side, Max's fuel economy is pretty darn good for a motorhome. The last tank was 9.0 l/100km (26 mpg).
I went and paid, and told the cheery girl at the cash that I was going to move over to the LPG pump and fill up that too. Her English was perfect.
I filled up the first tank, and it went fine. When I stopped using the pump, it wouldn't restart again to fill the second tank until I went and paid so that she could reset it again. Not a word was said about me filling my own tanks. Propane was €0.85 ($1.22 CAD) per liter ($3.75 USD per gallon). Filling both tanks cost €30, which is about half of what it would cost to go to an LPG fill place. That's why we bought the tanks that we did, although they will take a few years to pay for themselves. Still, the convenience of being able to fill at any automotive fill station instead of searching out a propane place is worth it as well.
From there, we drove on to the town of Ziri, where I had read of a free motorhome overnight spot. We pulled in, and it's a big gravel lot about 1 km outside of town. Probably room for 30 motorhomes. There are two electrical outlets if you need them, but no water or dump. It's a sort of a park setting, with a swimming hole by the river and a little cafe/bar that's closed for the season.
And when we turned on our laptops, there was an open WiFi signal! Amazing.
Max, parked up at GPS 46.035819, 14.108257
We were the only ones there all night. Perfect. Happiness is a great overnight spot!
These two wandered through later in the afternoon.
While Slovenia campgrounds can be expensive, and wild camping (boondocking) is illegal, at least they have a good system of free and low cost motorhome parking areas where overnighting is allowed.
That does not appear to be the case in our next country Croatia. It is also illegal to wild camp (boondock) in Croatia, and campgrounds, especially at the coast, are very expensive. So far, I haven't been able to find a similar listing of overnight spots like Slovenia has. So our time in Croatia might be short.
And then in Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Montenegro, apparently wild camping is illegal, but tolerated away from the tourist areas. Then in Albania, wild camping is allowed pretty much anywhere, the same way it is in Turkey. Oh well, we'll figure it out.
Today, we are going to visit an old mercury mine. Then we might return here tonight. Tomorrow they are calling for rain, and then cooler temperatures. So it's time to head further south. We might as well use the rain days to put some miles on.
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Gillette Razor Blades for Men and Women. Nice deals... time to stock up!
And in Canada...
What a perfect spot! And I love your four-legged visitors. GREAT fridge loading, too, Ruth! Is the top a freezer? It looks like ice cream in there, but I don't see a separate door, so I am trying to understand how it would stay cold enough. Enlighten me?
ReplyDeleteI t is a great spot, we even came back here yesterday after our outing to a town on the other side of the mountain.
DeleteThat was a bucket of plain Greek yogurt that you noticed in the fridge. What Kevin took a picture of is just the fridge. The freezer is above that in it's own compartment with it's own door. We are lucky to have such a decent sized fridge and freeze when you compare it to the total size of Max. :-)
Ah, I see! Thanks for the explanation. It really is a decent size fridge for the size...not much smaller than what we had on our 33' motorhome!
DeleteDefinitely a decent size, especially considering that Max is so small. I think the fridge is about the same size as the one we had in Sherman, probably similar to the you had. Just another reason why we love Max so much. :-)
DeleteRuth has a name for that special wine! I forgot what she calls it :)
ReplyDeleteThe only special name that I can think of is "cheap", if it was in a box, then we would call it Card"boardeaux"! :-P
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