Day 3 - Sept 4th

Breakfast was an ample self-service buffet & I was back on the autobahn by 9.30.

After an hour or so, I was fed up. The pain in my shoulders had returned and I was desperate for a rest. I purchased an Austrian autobahn vignette for the bike (4.70 euros) and passed through the border.
I checked the map and found a bit of a circular route which would take me over a little pass and through some villages. I took the exit to Rottenmann.

Since it was Sunday most shops in villages were closed. I spotted a harley at a cafe & pulled in. Enjoyed a very nice pasta dish with a huge cold drink for 9 euros. Back on the bike, I rode through the mountain pass, got more petrol then rechecked the map. Unfortunately, I was a little further away from the motorway than expected so I had a blast back towards Graz.
At the next Austrian checkpoint, there was a sign for a Slovenian Vignette so I asked to buy one. She charged me 7.50 euros but gave me no bike sticker, just a receipt. In my broken German, I questioned what I was buying but didn't understand her reply. As I rode away, intuition told me I'd just been ripped off. Bitch.

I entered Slovenia and switched on the GPS & programmed it for Ptuj without using motorways. I'd heard there could be a big cash fine without a vignette.

The original but deserted border control was a mess and the state of the road was terrible, cobblestones and broken up tarmac. I hoped the cars ahead didn't stop.
Despite it being 3.30, the heat was oppressive.

The minor roads to Ptuj weren't too bad. I rigidly stuck to the speed limit & was overtaken by both bikes and cars, ignoring solid white line and blind bends. But I arrived in Ptuj and found the hostel with just 1 u-turn.

It was closed.

However, a woman performing a U turn in the car park, got out to chat to me. Between us and a bit of German, she understood I needed a room. Turned out, her son ran the hostel & 10 minutes later, I had a twin room. The shared bathroom facilities were very clean and there was free internet access but nothing else.

I showered, changed and went for a walk. There were 2 restaurants near the hostel. One appeared to be full so I chose the other - a chinese.