Croation Surprise

---

---

From Vienna to Krka
From 25th April to 11th May

Is there anything as good as the first gulp of cold beer when the sun is shining? Some would argue that you don’t even need the sun to be shining, and to be honest I do agree, but then that is not ice cold larger I’d be consuming. Today it is, and with good reason. 2 days ago there were storms that swept tents away, today it is roasting hot, and the beautiful blue skies are dotted with the odd high cloud that don’t threaten anything like rain. The west coast of Croatia is beautiful. One of the nicest places I’ve found so far, and very different to where I left off the last time which was Vienna.

So going back to the 25th April, I wanted to make a stop in Slovakia on route from to Budapest, and the perfect place was a town on the Danube. The town which was once called Komárno, had one half on either side of the river, and when in 1920 the Danube was reclassified as the border between what are now Slovakia and Hungary the town was left half in each country. Komárno in Slovakia and Komarom in Hungary. I think I misread the guidebook slightly, and was expecting a ‘city of fortification like no other’, and was rather disappointed to find nothing left of these fortifications. Both towns were a bit drab and I did wonder what the other handful of tourists there were drawn too. So it was an early departure the next day to Budapest, early for me being before midday which is quite an achievement. The satnav as always wanted to take us along the picturesque motorway but we opted to ignore it, much to the lovely lady’s frustration, and stuck to the river road which stayed within stone’s throw of the beautiful Danube. The old river winds its way around huge hills which are covered in ancient forest, it’s a stunning view on a sunny day. The towns on the river have the potential to be as beautiful as the Austrian towns seen just a few days before, they certainly had similar settings, but they never quite manage it. Largely the difference comes down to money, with less being spent on the new and old buildings, the roads, the upkeep of the countryside, and even daft things like car parks, where one could be a muddy brown rutted area the other a modern well maintained area and planted with nice trees. The difference in the wealth of the two countries is so obvious in many ways; the difference in the beauty of these little towns is just one.

We arrived in Budapest and navigated our way to the slightly odd campsite. Slightly odd as it is themed on an old tram stop so there are tram cars dotted around, serving as shops, restaurants and even toilets. It had a good route into the city proper though with a direct bus from right outside so we were able to sit as the ancient thing rattled and bounced along the less than perfect ‘tarmac’ to the town centre. The view from the bridge north of the town centre was lovely, down to the parliament building, and across to the castle district. Not surprisingly there are many grand buildings in the city centre on the river front, the large parliament buildings is the largest building in the whole country, and no doubt one of the grandest. After the rickety ride the rest of the day was spent on foot, traipsing up the hill to the castle district and taking photos for various people of varying nationalities. I think I might start charging a fee. The castle itself was a massive let down; although I don’t think we can really lay the blame at the feet of the Hungarians, or even those that own it. It’s been destroyed three times in the past and the latest rebuild took place after WWII when the country was in the hands of Soviet powers. No wonder it is not really a spectacular building in itself. Atop the ‘mountain’ though are Fisherman’s bastion and Matthias Church which are worth the walk. I’m not really sure what the point of the bastion is, but it’s a pretty little place and offers some lovely views over the City of Buda/Pest on the far side of the Danube.

There was a long climb of nearly 400 steps up to the top of St Stephen’s Basilica which rendered some lovely views over the city. There was a lift, but we only found that out about two thirds of the way up and refused to hop on it for the final climb! The fairly clear day meant you could see for some distance. The church itself is one of the most picturesque sights of the city, set in a lovely square in one of the more affluent arts of the city. It was definitely one of the most popular tourist attractions.

The city was once known as the ‘Pairs of the East’ but that was back in the early 20th century before the destruction caused by WWII and before decades of Soviet rule. It stands out to you the lack of money that has had spent on the city, both by private individuals and by the government. There are odd exceptions, but they are definitely exceptions. As the modern era finds its way eastward it may change, I’m sure it’s what they are striving for.

On leaving Budapest, the next leg of the journey continued about 400kms south west, so it was a 6 and a half hour drive that took us to the coast of Croatia. The Istrian Peninsula at the north of the Adriatic Sea.

I didn’t really know what to expect of Croatia. I know it wasn’t ruled by communist Russia after WWII so I wasn’t expecting the same as Hungary and Poland, but then the 4 year war in the early 90’s must have had a huge effect. A couple of the cities by-passed on route show signs of ugly old tower blocks, but they were the exception rather than the rule. The towns and villages are lovely, and the country is quite sparsely populated, with the most part being attractive countryside with rolling hills and lush green forests and fields.

In Istria itself, there are plenty of picturesque little villages, occasionally you see the older generation sitting putting the world to rights in the shade on a bench, dressed as though it was snowing.

We stayed on the outskirts of Rovinj. It’s the centre for tourists in Istria and you can see why. The old fishing town has been well preserved, the centre of the old town is built up on a hill surrounding a church, the alleyways are narrow and the old town houses give the place a real character. As usual part of the seafront is lined with restaurants, bars and ice cream cafes. All of which fit in well with the ambience of the town. The small harbour has plenty of boats which offer day up and down the coast, or to the many different islands which line the shore. The 3 days we spent in and around Rovinj could be easily extended to a week, there are many little villages we missed and the selection of restaurants in the surrounding countryside is vast. Most of them have lambs and pigs roasting on spits outside for you to cast your eye over before you eat. There was even a fjord which was strictly not a fjord but was referred to as this by the tourist information. A picturesque valley which stretched 12km inland. We walked along part of it before realising there was a road which wound its way alongside it, so we reverted to this like most of the other lazy tourists.

Poreč was another stop in Istria, a town in a similar vein to Rovinj, centred around a high church built upon a hill. It didn’t quite have the same sparkle as Rovinj, although the bars and restaurants by the seafront seemed just as good. The only disappointment was Pula, which was the industrial town on the southernmost tip of the Peninsula. There are the ruins of a massive roman built colosseum, but it was covered with scaffold and surrounded by grotty old buildings.

From Istria it was a trip inland to the Plitvice Lakes which are one of the most famous tourist attractions in Croatia. 16 lakes linked by a series of waterfalls. The deep turquoise colour of the water is one of the stand out features, the water gains its colour from the mix of minerals in the water, and supposedly are forever changing colour dependant on the mix at the time. Busloads of tourists make their way here every day. I wouldn’t like to visit in peak season; there were enough people in early May. But the lakes are worth the visit. You can stop and stare for an age, taking as many pictures as possible to show those at home, and you just hope they’ll come out as close to life as possible. Many man-made things are beautiful, but there is something special about that which nature can create on its own, sculpting through millennia, with the utmost patience. Whilst it’s a few hours from where most tourists will find themselves on a trip to Croatia, it’s somewhere to visit if you have the time.

The trip back to the coast took us via North Velebit National Park. This one was a mountain range rather than pretty lakes, and so we were expecting a day walking uphill for hours and to come down later in the day, instead we drove up to just under 5000 feet and walked along a path along the mountain ridge for hours. The pathway had originally been constructed in the 1930’s which is quite thoughtful I think. It certainly makes navigating around the steep cliffs a lot easier. Scooby would venture close to the edge with drops of a few hundred feet without a care in the world, in contrast I’d be brushing the side of the mountain staying as far away from the edge as possible! We were the temperature was as low as minus 2 at the top although it didn’t feel anything like that except when the wind blew. There were pockets of warm air though where we could sit for lunch without coats on and the sun was more than welcome. After a full day on the mountains we had a slow trip down. Firstly the problem was a flat battery, but a polish couple came to the rescue there. Secondly was the mountain itself. The gradient was 5% on average, with many parts 15%. We had to stop to let the brakes cool for about an hour, I thought tipping some cold water on them might help, and as this sizzled and steamed off I thought I’d let the wind do it instead in case I was causing any damage!

Heading further south along the beautiful coastline sees the mountains continue on your left and many islands on your right. The islands are quite barren, they, along with the mountain range, would have formed part of the sea bed many years ago. These islands are massive a massive draw for the tourists, with ferries shipping them across to stay at the many campsites and hotels that line their western coasts. Eventually we ended up in Starigrad a small town north east of Zadar, unsure of whether to just spend the night or the following day. Eventually the next day was spent enjoying the warm rays of the sun, a little too much according to my bright pink skin, but at least I now look like the typical British tourist. We had actually stumbled upon one of the biggest places in Europe for rock climbing, and so we took a hike into the Paklenica national Park which was supposedly only a 600m stroll (more like 2km uphill walk) away. Passing through the car park showed how many different nationalities came there for the climbing. Hungarians, Germans, Austrians, Bosnians, and I even heard the unmistakable English accent hurled across the car park at one point. A nice day finished back at the van, quite exhausted, with the wind getting up a bit. Sitting about 10m from the sea, you could see a massive weather front approaching over the mountains. The mild wind became strong. The strong wind became stronger and then the tents started to disappear. I had to move the van twice to get out of the storm as when side on to the winds, whilst I couldn’t see it, at times it felt like we could be flipped over. The poor Austrians who arrived in the middle of it attempted and failed to erect their tents. The night sleeping in the car was calling for them. Eventually at about 2am the winds stopped and we managed to get some sleep. I wouldn’t say it was carnage, but there were quite a few objects, mainly chairs, tables and tents in the wrong place the following morning!

We then zipped down to Zadar, and spent a day wandering the streets of one of the up and coming cities in Croatia. It’s not a city like we have at home, with inhabitants of only about 90,000 it is fairly small but for a nation of only 4.5m it is the fifth largest city. Again it’s the old town which is famous here, one of the stand out buildings is the 9th century Church of St. Donatus. A bizarre round church that doesn’t look particularly spectacular, but something over 1200 years old is spectacular in itself I suppose. The number of café’s in the streets and in the narrow alleys is what this city is famous for. It didn’t seem to matter how narrow the alleyway, there was always room for a t least one more chair!

From Zadar it was back off to yet another national park, this time National Park Krka. Supposedly the national park of bubbling mud pool and Croatian fairies. Now I didn’t see either of those, but the national park which is based around the river Krka is lovely. In some ways much like Plitvice, with many beautiful waterfalls and deep turquoise coloured water, but also very different. The waterfalls have all developed because of the sandstone base of the area, and they would be ever changing with the erosion of the soft rock except for places where the national park have been forced to intervene, otherwise water would be running over their pathways as the natural flow of the river changed over time. Hopefully the conservationists can forgive this little indiscretion. One of the more bizarre parts of the sights here is a Francasion monastery in the middle of the river on the small Visovac Island. The monastery dates back to the 14th century and the monks clearly were desperate for some solidarity as they had to carry everything over to the island to build the monastery, including all the soil, as it was just a rock! It’s bizarre thinking that this occurred so long ago, it must have been a tremendous amount of effort to go to, but I suppose it was the ‘word of god’ or some such. I was also surprised to see the age of the apprentice monks, just teenagers, who lived on the island. They did have a basketball net so it can’t be all work and prayers.

And that’s it for now, from Krka its back to the coast and then and amble south enjoying the sun and the sights. Split is the next big city and then a detour inland to Sarajevo.

Do viđenja!

---

Photos

National Park Krka 2
Roški Slap

Budapest 2
Parliament Building

Budapest 4
The mall up to St Stephen's Basilica

Budapest 5
St Stephen's Basilica

Croatia
Leftovers of war - numerous bullet holes on a house on the way to Plitvice Lakes

Rovinj
View from the Adriatic

Rovinj
Town Church

Starigrad
View from the campsite pre storm

National Park Krka 1
Skradinski buk

Zadar
St Donatus Church

Budapest 3
Fisherman's Bastion

Budapest 1
Gresham Palace and the Széchenyi Chain Bridge