Day 19: Bagnoli della Rosandro to Muggia Italy

It feels great to have finished our 235-mile walk through Austria, Slovenia, and Italy!

We enjoyed our time in Bagnoli della Rosandro. We had a great apartment and a fantastic spot for dinner. Our only complaint was that breakfast served at this apartment was a little too carb and sugar heavy for a long day of walking.

Day 17 on the Alpe Adria Trail! Last day!

Navigating today’s trail turned out to be more complex than we expected, and we’re happy it’s behind us. Every source we used for navigation suggested a different route, each with varying distances, which added to the confusion. We ultimately chose a path that kept us closer to towns, hoping for better lunch options, though we’ve learned that weekends in Italy can be hit or miss when it comes to restaurants and grocery stores.

Our trail was poorly marked and confusing for the first half of the day and we spent a lot of time backtracking when our trails simply fizzled out in the forest or alley way. It was aggravating.

Our trail popped out into civilization around noon, and it couldn’t have happened at a better place! We found a EuroSpin grocery store, grabbed some sandwich fixings and gobbled them down in the parking lot!

After our parking lot lunch, things started looking up. We found a well marked trail and only had a few miles of walking left before reaching Muggia.

We had a drink by the water in Muggia, met up with our trail friend Matthias from Berlin to say bye and then caught a taxi to Koper Slovenia - a short 20 minute drive across the border.

Slovenia has only 29 miles of coastline squeezed between Italy and Croatia. Koper is the largest port city in the country and is quite cosmopolitan compared to other places we’ve been in Slovenia.

After settling into our hotel, we found ourselves a restaurant that served traditional Bosnian food, which meant lots of meat, fluffy bread and veggies.

It was fantastic! I especially liked the Ajvar, which is a rich sauce made with smoked sweet peppers and eggplants. Bob enjoyed some stuffed peppers and onions in a savory tomato stew. Our dessert was walnut-stuffed spiced prunes with chocolate ice cream - not being a huge prune fan, I was quite surprised at how delicious it was.

Tomorrow we pick up a rental car and head south to Croatia, where we’re meeting Bri, Elise and their partners for a few days. After that, Bob & I have a few more days on our own before we head home.

We’re looking forward to giving our feet a little break from walking. We’re also going to give the blog a break for a few days, but we’ll post updates again before we head home.