Dalmatian spots (not all black and white!)

Why Croatia, why Zaton?
We knew nothing about the options when we started our research. We would be coming back up again for the Venice ferry - not ready for Serbia and/or Albania yet -  so not too far South, and then it was a matter of choosing a good beach, suitable cycling territory and a comfortable apartment. Generally we were pleased!

 Of Croatia as a summer holiday choice we liked:

• Stunning landscapes
• Good infrastructure
• Good food (mostly Italian style, some more local specialities, fish)
• Cheap, good draught wine
• Clean sea (untested, given the weather)
• Well-trained staff

Less to our personal taste was:

• Knowing no Slavic languages at all, so feeling like any other ignorant tourists
• An uncomfortable feeling about recent history:- deserted quality homes that are presumably the legacy of ethnic cleansing

So we left thinking we could well come back for a taste in decent weather. We were very lucky, however, that it did not rain on the northwards journey! We would be using a fair bit of Adriatic coast road - shown on our old road atlas as due to be of motorway standard by 2008! Thus, we could not understand signs suggesting an alternative (and much longer) route to Rijeka. We took a road across to Senj on the coast, and it was a bit intimidating, but when we hit the coast the fun started. Mile after mile of unmade surfaces as part of roadworks and we were in a convoy consisting largely of Dutch caravans! It went on and on, until reaching some vast viaducts and complex junctions.
 Eventually we reached Slovenia and got away without a vignette for the 56km because it was not motorway. it certainly wasn't! Then into Italy and the downwards plunge into Trieste. A journey to remember - and it was Ruth's birthday, too!

 

Schmuddelwetter

Off to the sun? That's a joke!
The plan was 1000 miles over 5 days to get to Croatia.
The first day was pretty straightforward:- good roads, both to the German border and then onto the A3 autobahn which would be using through to Austria. We stopped close to Frankfurt in small town called Obertshausen, in a very good small hotel. We were able to go for a sunny but cold afternoon walk and find a source for the cheap French red wine we failed to get in France! We had a good dinner in the hotel (which has a Turkish slant) but were surprised there was no wine list. Next day we got back onto the autobahn with destination Regensburg. We had picked that location for a two day stay because of distances, but had then seen that it  is considered to be a very fine city! We picked an economy hotel on the outskirts, and again it was an ideal choice in terms of value accommodation, but somewhere along the line it started to rain! In fact it caused us to get out cagoules we have been carrying round unused for nearly six years.

 Clearly the Schmuddelwetter was a pain, but there were good things, apart from major sights! We found two good restaurants that we could run to from the car, and the hotel was associated with a bakery-cafe which did a huge range of breakfasts from cheap to lavish. On the Sunday morning we ate there and amongst other customers was a woman in full Bavarian dress!
Next day we did the tunnels! We were a bit intimidated by the list we had made of all the lengths, but it was raining so much that tunnels were some relief! It was also our first visit to Austria so we had the delight of buying and fitting the vignette that is used instead of motorway tolls. In any case we survived them all, including the 10km one -  Plaubutsch (21st longest in the World) that bypasses the city of Graz. We were no sooner out than we had to do some nifty decision-making lanes-wise, but got to our strange overnight stop relatively painlessly, and it stopped raining! We stayed at Greenrooms, which is ultra-modern, very green, comfortable in general, and close to a shopping centre where we had our first running sushi dinner. (Weird, but this was no time to explore Austrian cuisine!)

Next day we came up against weak anti-smoking law in Austria.(What is their problem?) A very good breakfast representing great value, served with a smile and virtually a fag hanging out of the mouth! Austrian TV had a lot to show about Scmuddelwetter!

Back on the road, armed now with a Slovenian vignette! We had a long adventure as we headed for nations 8 and 9 of the migration (and out of the EU!) Austrian motorways are good, and maintained, so we had a long period of roadworks.  Slovenia has perfectly good motorways, for which the one-off charge seems reasonable, but the last 12 kilometres before the Croatian border are barely more than a donkey track. Then there is the border crossing. It was wet, but quiet so our queue was bearable, but we pondered what this would be like in high summer. Staff were not exactly jolly, but we assume from July 1st they won`t have jobs!

Croatia´s motorways are good, and with normal pay-as you-go tolls. There are some impressive feats of engineering in terms of bridges and tunnels, and we think the views might have been good, too, but they were largely obscured by rain! By the time we reached our destination just North of Zadar the rain had stopped, but everything-  including the punters - was soggy! Thus began our supposed sunny stay!
 

Chez Frost, Maigret, Poirot, and Van der Valk

England delivered an exit of epic proportions! Rain was forecast but it held off until we were halfway to Dover. Then it started. Plans for useful stops were abandoned, and all we could do was enjoy a last real ale and hope that we would be allowed onto the earlier ferry, which we were; but sitting the car watching the staff work in hurricane uniform led to little regret at getting out!

France was wet, but less so! We scooted over from the Dunkerque hotel to Poivre Rouge and had the last French meal for ages. It was still raining slightly the next day, but was bitterly cold! Our oracle said that diesel was cheaper in French supermarkets than in Belgium so we made a small detour to fill up only to then decide we couldn't face getting out of the car, so we entered Belgium knowing we would have to stop somewhere. It was all going well - except of course for the road surface conditions - now legendary! There was rain, of course, but only heavy, and we had loads of time for the 200 miles or so, and then we came to a halt. Major roadworks that had started that morning! The slow lane was at a complete standstill with HGVs of every EU nation, running for probably 5 km. We glided past to meet our own hold-up, and sat for half an hour, watching the rain.

We got going again and in due course hit Antwerp. Thank you Via Michelin! Antwerp is a major port. It has a river mouth and a lot of through traffic. It has two tunnels. The westerly one has a toll, the easterly is free. The powers that be do not call these (in any language) West and East or anything sensible. They label them R1 and R2, and our printed directions indicated the one where the rest of the world was not going! At first this was a great relief as the queue before the Kennedy Tunnel was enormous and stationary, so after a summit conference we went with that advised and were zooming round on "the other side". Six euros, twenty excess miles, twenty minutes and two peak anxiety moments later we were back where the directions picked up. We will never know how long we would have taken if we had followed the herd. Once out of Belgium decent road directions and surface resume, and we only had the traditional "Why didn't you print a bigger street plan?" period before we were at the hotel (in the rain!) nearly two hours later than expected.

We chose well for accommodation. With a walk of 15 minutes you reach Overamstel Metro station which is fast into Centraal Station or earlier central stops. Chloe had to work a fair bit during our stay, but she recommended a small cheaper bar near Dam and we met her there. She had worked hard on plans for our time together and found very good restaurants for one dinner and two lunches.

• Moes near the station and part of the Appel gallery (organic, expensive but good!)
• Van der Kerkwijk in the Red Light District (quirky menu, slow service)
• Bazar within the Albert Cuypstraat market (North African, great value)

It was bitterly cold throughout and the rain came and went! On the second day we cycled into the city centre, which was - of course - easy, and took us past some great sights. After lunch Chloe went to work and we jumped (!) on and off of trams with our magnetic cards to take us all over the place in relative warmth, before going to the cinema (see below). We left the bikes near Chloe's work and went back to the hotel.

Next day we met her for a trip down Albert Cuypstraat market. They were selling a lot of umbrellas and sweaters! We had to get the bikes back to the hotel and were very lucky to avoid the rain, but less so later on in getting back in via the Metro! Although we didn't want to eat we went for the first time over the IJ to Noord Amsterdam to a restaurant and bar set in the disused shipyard. We had great trouble finding it, but it was worthwhile as there was a female singer/guitarist in the style of Tracy Chapman, who was good, and we had a chat with her afterwards. All good fun, but we had misread the ferry timetable for return and had a long cold wait, so killed time in another bar also in an old industrial building and showing video of more glorious times. We sent C off on her bike and that was it!