Off to Croatia

14.4.2021 Wed, Hattingen. The small changes to the Dacia are completed: the bike rack is now mounted on the large tailgate and the box on the driver's side has been modified. I pack the car, take a rapid COVID test, and start at 12:30 p.m. with the goal of Croatia. I want to cover the 1200km in 3 stages. Today, I'm heading to Conny and Theo in Schletzenhausen/Hosenfeld near Fulda via the A45 and the Vogelsberg. On the drive, the sun and snow showers alternate, and the red control light for the catalytic converter comes on again. I want to accept it as a companion. C&T have got a dog, so there will be walks and long conversations between tea and delicious food. After all, we haven't seen each other since my rehab.

15.4.21 Thu, Schletzenhausen. After breakfast and a walk, I continue my journey. I take a break in the beautiful city of Bamberg. The bike is quickly ready, and I explore Little Venice, Markusberg, the cathedral, and the narrow streets. The traffic is smooth the whole time. After Munich, I buy the toll stickers for Austria and Slovenia. Now I just need to refuel and I'm prepared for transit. Tonight, I will sleep under Hochstaufen, where it is around 0°C and there is a short hail shower. I'll need a hot water bottle.

16.4.21 Thu, Piding, at the Austrian border. My alarm goes off at 5:30 ⏰: now it's important to stick to the schedule because my test expires at 11:50 a.m. But first, I have to scrape the ice off the car! At the border, only the trucks are backed up. I am waved through. The highway is completely clear, and I can admire the illuminated mountains while driving. Before the Tauerntunnel, I make a quick stop and pack some sandwiches. My fingers almost freeze as I do so. There is still snow at the rest area. After the tunnel, I descend to the Carinthian Lakes, and it gets warmer. Paying again, this time for the Karawanken Tunnel, and I'm already in Slovenia. Now I drive past places where I was with Ulla in the summer: Bred, Ljubljana, Crni Kal, and Isola. Here, the highway ends, and I descend to the salt flats. I reach the Croatian border in 11 hours and present my COVID test. All clear, I am allowed in. That went well, 50 minutes before it expires! First to the sea. I choose Umag. The vacation can begin! Not much going on, but they charge for parking. I have my bike with me and look for a free parking spot outside the city. I ride along the coast to the north, stop here and there in a developed bay, while keeping an eye out for an ATM, grocery store, and open campsite. After withdrawing cash, I meet Richard. He takes me to Lighthousecamp. It's a nice place, and I check in, choosing a cheap spot for €18 (it would have cost €23 for two people, traveling alone is always more expensive), and I get the card for the barrier. Now I can continue my coastal tour with peace of mind. Construction is everywhere, but I actually find an undeveloped area with a forest. Here, I lay out Omma and Ulla's picnic blanket and take a nap to the sound of seagulls and waves. On the way back to the car, I buy groceries at Konzum and take another ride through Umag. Richard stops by the camp while I'm cooking, and we plan to meet for a beer later. But it doesn't happen. After my meal and taking photos of the SU, he's fast asleep. I make a hot water bottle and crawl into my sleeping bag. The day was eventful enough!

17.4.21 Friday, Umag. Today, I'm taking it easy. After yesterday being exhausting, I abandon the plan to ride the northern part of the Parenzana trail to the Slovenian border. Finally, it's a bit warm in the morning, and I decide to go swimming. The water is very shallow on the east side, and I can only dip in. In the west, it works better: brr, it's cold, but it's fun. I drive to Poreč and park outside a settlement and ride into the old town. I end up at the Roman house with a balcony and then at the museum of the ancient bishop's residence with the Euphrasian Basilica. There are ancient mosaics, graves, and a beautiful view from the bell tower. After shopping at Lidl and refueling, I want to visit the Jama-Grotta Baredine. I had actually planned to do that in the morning, but I forgot. It would have been better, now it's closed. I drove there for nothing, damn it. So, I drive back south and see sculptures in Vrsar. The park has somewhat stiff metal sculptures. But building them must have been a lot of work. In Vrsar, the sculptures are a bit hidden, but I find them, and they are on great vantage points. The guardian angel with the sunken hedgehogs in the sea is particularly beautiful. Clouds are moving in. I quickly get to the car, and it pours as I drive around Limski zaljev. I found a parking spot in a bird sanctuary. So, I drive a bit further and find a good parking bay at Luka Veštar, south of Rovinj. Now the clouds move away, and I have a beautiful SU with a view of small boats.

20.4. Tuesday, Rovinj. For breakfast, I drive into the sun in the parking lot in front of the campground. It's still so cool that I don't have to worry about the butter melting. I cycle along the beach towards Rovinj and find many beautiful swimming spots. But it's still too chilly, so I sit down and make a lot of phone calls. My mother is going to daycare for the first time today. As I hear, thanks to the support of my daughters, everything is going well. That's reassuring! Rovinj offers a fantastic view. I could fill entire photo books here. In the west, there is a small cave under the promenade where I go swimming. Later, two women come, one very plump, and they sing while swimming, while I chatter. But I go into the water twice! Up in the old town is the shrine of the martyr Eufemia. She died for her faith around 300 AD, and the shrine has been moved/stolen multiple times. Colorful images tell the story. As I leave the old town, I fall on the gravel path, but luckily I manage to stop myself a bit with my leg, so I just get a small scrape. In the evening, I meet Heiko again a bit north of Rovinj. We cook and play the guitar after the SU until our fingers freeze.

21.4. Wednesday, my birthday, north of Rovinj. My phone keeps buzzing. It's nice that so many friends are thinking of me. The sun slowly rises above the trees, and we have a cozy breakfast. I choose a beach south of Rovinj, buy birthday cake and beer on the way, and then realize that the beach is closed: it's a campground. I have to drive a bit further to the next bay. A pine forest protects from the wind, and here I can swim and park comfortably. I send Heiko the location. Now I take a bike ride: Bale is the destination. You discover so much on a bike ride! The muddy path turns into a paved promenade. There is an old round stone house among the olive trees. An abandoned quarry appears. I want to take a closer look at that too. In the process, I almost stumble over an old thick hook sticking out of the rocks. I take photos at the cliff edge and want to descend into the quarry, and I'm thinking, be careful, there is another iron, it moves, and it turns out to be an almost two-meter-long snake. We observe each other for a while until it retreats. Lucky escape! Bale is a small town, circularly built around the castle with a church and constructed with gray rubble stones. Again, I'm on my own and have seen all the alleys after 30 minutes. On the way back to the beach, there are 12 sculptures of famous thinkers, from Aristotle to Marie Curie to Nelson Mandela. They invite you to take selfies. By chance, I discovered large bunkers and gun emplacements on the hill before suddenly standing on the beach, but unfortunately far from the car. Well, then I push and carry the dear bicycle. After that, I treat myself to the birthday cake with coffee and go swimming. Heiko arrives, and we share the cake. In the evening, he shares his pasta with me because my stove suddenly stops working. While he plays the guitar, I dismantle and clean the stove, but I can't get it to work. I give up for now and we have a beer together in the SU.

22.4. Thursday, Uvala Sveti Benedikt near Bale. Today, I'm doing nothing: a day of rest! Writing in my blog, swimming, sunning, playing the guitar, cooking (pancakes, a challenge on the camping stove), and drinking beer in the SU.

23.4. Friday, still in the bay near Bale. After breakfast, I say goodbye to Heiko. In Vodnjan, I first fill up with water at the gas station and then visit the highest church tower in Istria and a park with several kazoos. The train station is somewhat lost on the outskirts and has not been renovated for a long time. What surprises me are the many large murals in this sleepy town. I take the back roads downhill to Pula. From a distance, you can already see a lot of industry and black smoke drifting over the city from the east. I find a parking spot at the entrance to the city and ride to the Arena. It cannot be overlooked. Wow! You can easily walk around it, that's enough for me, I don't need to go in. Pula is completely tunnelled, but Road Zero is closed. I drive through the triumphal arch to the forum and along the harbor to the viewpoint. Seen everything? Then out of the city and to the sea. The chosen parking lot at Soline beach is very exposed. After a coastal walk, I search for a better place to sleep with the bike, check out the nudist area and the harbor, but find nothing. I cook on the bar terrace after the sun has disappeared behind the mountain. The stove is acting up again. I believe the coupling on the gas bottle isn't opening properly. So, it takes longer until the food is ready, and I get cold. Off to the sleeping bag.

24.4. Saturday, Soline beach. I move the car a few meters into the sun and have a leisurely breakfast. Then I drive to Permanter and switch to the bike. The designated bike/hike trails are more suitable for mountain biking, but I manage. First, the Dinosaur Path with animal encounters. Then it's time to find the dinosaur footprints on the rock slab on the beach. I climb to the coves and caves in the far south. The blue of the water is fascinating, and the lighthouse is worth a photo. At 1:30 p.m., I take a swimming break, although sunbathing is more relaxing. Unfortunately, the water is still so cold. Behind me, the grill is already lit. I cycle along the east coast. When I return to the car, I decide to drive north to climb Vojak tomorrow. On the way, I pass Stari Grad near Labin. The old town on the mountain is crowded. All the street restaurants are full. I enjoy the panoramic view from the church tower and the quiet tour of the town. At the moment, the sun is still nice and warm, even while cooking on the meadow near the cemetery further north in Nedešćina. But as soon as it sets, I can't continue eating, I have to put something on first.

25.4. Sunday, in Nedešćina next to the cemetery. This morning it's really cold again. I wait in my sleeping bag for the sun. But that takes too long for me, so I drive towards Vela Učka with fogged-up windows. Breakfast is with a view of Vojan over the foggy valley. Above the tunnel, the mountain pass road becomes steep, and I have to shift into 2nd gear. I park at the top as the second car in front of the Dopolavoro restaurant and put on my hiking shoes. It takes 1.5 hours on good paths through the still leafless forest. I cross the road several times, it's well asphalted. You could also cycle up there. In the forest, on the north slope, there are still remnants of snow. It makes you want to play around. But unfortunately, nobody is there for a snowball fight. The radar also looks like a big snowball. I share the lookout tower with two young men speaking English. Although it's a bit hazy, with the help of the panoramic map, I can spot the Snežnik, Veliki Risnjak, and Goli mountains. Several large ships are on their way to Rijeka. The chain of islands becomes smaller to the south. Now more hikers arrive from both directions. I sit down in the south on the grass and make phone calls. The couple from Dresden, whom I already met on the bathing island, arrives as well, and we cross the strenuous switchback road and go to a beach in Brseć, watch the young greyhound, and have pizza. Due to COVID, you can only sit outside. Afterwards, we take another walk through the town and to the chapel. Then we park at the muddy place near the cemetery and have a nightcap. The weather here is supposed to stay cold and wet all week. I'm considering driving 350km further south to the area near Zadar, where it's supposed to be dry and warm. Unfortunately, the internet is very slow, so I can't upload any pictures to the blog. Let's see when I can catch up on that.

End of Part One