2,353 kilometers, 38 days

38 days we have been on the road, we have covered 2,353 kilometers so far.

We have now been in Croatia for 13 days. I had no idea about Croatia, I only knew that they use a different currency here and that there are no sandy beaches but pebble beaches instead. I would have preferred sandy beaches. So my expectations of this Croatia were relatively low. But this country blew us away. Croatia is beautiful! Absolutely beautiful! The landscape is breathtaking. It has everything; idyllic beaches and bays with crystal blue, clear sea, romantic coastal roads, huge waterfalls, impressive mountains in different variations (bare or full of fauna and flora), and so on and so forth.

On Friday, we left the island of Krk and drove three hours along the winding coastal road to a little fishing village called Jablanac. We had spotted a spot on our camping app. The place was located on a small hill right above the sea. It was about two hundred meters to the sea itself. We spent the whole day under the hot sun and jumped into the water every fifteen minutes. At some point, a strong wind came up, unfortunately Sarah couldn't save the air mattress we had bought just two days earlier. It's probably still floating somewhere on the high seas.

For the next day, our boys - Wolfgang and Jamie - who we had met a few days ago on Cres, had announced a visit. But first, we had breakfast at a nearby restaurant. For 7 euros per person, you could help yourself to the extensive breakfast buffet. Then we set off on a little hike to the bay of Zavratnica. It is considered one of the most beautiful bays in all of Croatia. There you can admire the remains of a sunken ship, which lies just a few meters below sea level. It used to be a ship of the Wehrmacht and was hit by Allied bombers in 1944. Jablanac was involved in the Second World War at that time. In this beautiful, idyllic fishing village, there used to be a concentration camp, but today there is no memorial plaque or anything else to remind us of this dark past. We planned to come back the next day with our diving masks to inspect the ship up close.

In the afternoon, the boys arrived. The joy was huge, the chemistry between us was just so good. We spent a few more hours in the sun and played our favorite game. We had dinner at a nearby restaurant. On the way back, we passed by the abandoned Hotel Ablana. The hotel has been closed since 2011, but it must have been beautiful once. It is located on a slope right by the sea. We entered the hotel ruin through the open doors and found ourselves in the lobby with reception. There was garbage and debris everywhere. We found ten-year-old hotel brochures, reservation confirmations, and copies of passports of former guests. It was somehow creepy, but also very interesting. We sneaked around with our headlamps in the abandoned rooms - everything that had any value had been looted.

The next day, we went back to the bay with the boys and our diving masks. We spent over an hour swimming around the sunken ship and wondered what might have happened back then. Unfortunately, there isn't much information about it on the internet.

In the afternoon, the two boys moved on. They only have two weeks left before work or university calls again. We have all the time in the world. We will try to meet up further south.

And again, we had lunch at the same restaurant as yesterday (it was very cheap and it was just too hot outside to cook ourselves - yes, there is always an excuse!). Actually, we had planned to spend a third night in Jablanac, but we had already seen everything. We felt more like driving in an air-conditioned car than roasting in the scorching heat for another day. So we used our camping app to find a spot further south. Finally, near Zadar, we found the Krka National Park, which has many large waterfalls and beautiful hiking trails - similar to the Plitvice Lakes, but less touristy, yet just as beautiful. At the top of the park, there was a large parking lot on a meadow. A few hours later, we parked our camper there. The way there led us along the coast, but for the last 45 minutes we drove through the inland. While the coast is teeming with beautiful, modern houses and you feel like you're in a prosperous country, on the last few kilometers, we came across many abandoned and unfinished houses, half ruins. Villages where hardly anyone lives, where it feels like only every fifth house is inhabited. I asked Google, and apparently, this is a remnant of the Croatian War that took place here from 1991-1995.

But the landscape was overwhelming. We felt like driving through the American Grand Canyon and then through a desert like in Breaking Bad. And then we arrived at Krka National Park, where lush greenery surrounds the river and waterfalls. We spent a quiet night in the parking lot and the next morning we hiked to various viewpoints in the area. Along the way, we came across ruins of old water mills and monasteries.

In the early afternoon, we drove on again. Our destination was Split, the second largest city in Croatia. Among other things, there was a Decathlon and a pet supply store where we stocked up on important supplies (gas, dog food, etc.). Originally, we wanted to spend the night in Split and had already headed for a parking lot outside the city by the sea that had received good ratings in the camping app. But as soon as we arrived there, we decided to drive on. We didn't like what we saw of Split at all. A maze-like high-rise complex next to the next, garbage everywhere - and we realized why the villages in the countryside were dying out. Apparently, the majority of people in Croatia have settled on the coast.

We were relieved when we got out of the hustle and bustle and were back on the less busy coastal road. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a cozy place to spend the night on the next few kilometers, so we drove for another two hours until we parked our van between pine trees and right next to a kiteboarding school somewhere on the route between Split and Dubrovnik. The place reminded us more of Asia than Croatia... there was a sandy beach, fishing nets were in the water, and green hills jutted out of the sea. There was a beach bar at the kiteboarding school and many other campers had parked here. The atmosphere was relaxed. The people were in a good mood, a pack of dogs frolicked on the beach. Filou mingled with the furry friends, but unfortunately, the weather soon turned - a thunderstorm was approaching. We huddled in our four walls and ate a ready-made noodle dish.

At some point in the evening, there was a knock on our door. It was a woman, a little older than us, who asked if she could borrow an air mattress and a blanket from us, as she only had a tent, which she had also borrowed. She got the things from us and told us the next morning over coffee that she had been traveling for two years already. She started somewhere in South America and ended up here, and there is no end in sight. She doesn't have a tent, air mattress, or anything else with her - her luggage is limited to two small bags. Remarkable, but we couldn't travel like that. Never knowing where you sleep, HOW you sleep, and being so dependent on other people... We gave her a banana and two tomatoes and then drove another fifteen minutes to the next campsite because our toilet was almost full and the water tank almost empty. We have the following rule: When we go to a campsite, we go as early as possible and not in the evening. You pay the same amount either way, and the earlier you are there, the more you get out of it - the freshly washed clothes have enough time to dry, you can do all the work like emptying the toilet, filling up water, cleaning the camper, etc., and still have some time to explore the area or just chill.

We are now here at a super small, alternative campsite in the green. Besides us, there is also an Englishman who has been attending the kiteboarding school for two months, and a German couple who have a permanent spot here and live here for six months every year. Oh, and then there are two puppies here, whose father constantly struts around here with his balls and wants to mount Filou all the time - he belongs to the owner. But the puppies are really cute and apparently they are for sale... apparently there are puppies every year because the German couple took one with them last year. Not a bad idea to let the little fur balls roam free here to win over the hearts of the campers.

Yesterday, Sarah and I celebrated our three-year anniversary. We went to a pizzeria - yes, there is always a reason to go to a restaurant. But this definitely has a negative impact on our budget... we keep track of all our expenses, write down every spending, and in August, we spent almost 600 euros on restaurant visits... that exceeds the amount we budgeted for from our budget every month. In the future, we will try to minimize our restaurant visits, but it's really cozy... yet another reason to finally start my journalism studies (yes, the stuff is still lying around unused) to open up the option of an income source while traveling.

Today is Wednesday and we just booked the ferry from Dubrovnik to Bari (Italy) for Friday. In a few hours, we will head towards Dubrovnik and will probably park our camper for two nights at the local hospital. Tomorrow evening, we have arranged to meet the boys in the city center.

We will write the next blog from Italy!

A dopo!

Author: Stephanie Köllinger