Balkans 1. Across Europe in a motorhome to the Balkans for seven weeks

 

- this blog covers Sunday 24 to 30 March 2024

I agree this is not a snappy title but it does explain what we’re up to in only ten words.

the inevitable queue.  this one is at Newhaven

We hope to be visiting Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia, driving south along the Adriatic through Croatia which we explored in 2008.  As I write this first section we’re on a campsite on the island of Krk in Croatia having arrived at 15.45 on Wednesday after driving from Dieppe.   We’d rolled off the ferry at lunchtime on Sunday.   Fortunately we were able to catch the 07.00 ferry from Newhaven because our good friends Jan and Clive provided hospitality for the night with parking on their drive.  They did not wave us goodbye at just after 4.30 in the morning.

Fraught is one of those words which seems to have very limited application.  I can only think of it being used as ‘fraught with danger’, ‘fraught with difficulties’ or ‘he was a bit fraught’.    Our usage was the fraught with difficulties in getting our van insured for this trip. Our current insurer wouldn’t insure us for any of the Balkan countries which are not in the EU, some companies will insure one selection of countries and some insurers a different selection.    None appear to offer cover for all them so eventually we went for the company which covered the most, hence the country selection listed in my second paragraph.

So far, France has been pleasantly sunny and as wonderful as France always is.  I will just say that our satnav had us turn off an autoroute (French motorway) a little outside Paris just as traffic was stopping due to an accident 15 kms ahead.  Once we were committed to the turn we noticed a low height barrier and stopped. As vehicles began to build up behind us I got out to check if the hanging barrier moved.   Fortunately it did, so we gingerly scraped past and rejoined the main carriageway, getting off at the very first opportunity.   Not one of the cars behind us tooted a horn.  Our detour took us right past the main entrance to The Palace of Versailles on a sunny Sunday afternoon which was less than delightful.

We are very early into Europe for the season’s campers and very few campsites are open.   We found a very pleasant one 50 miles or so south of Paris at Nemours for our first night and then not another one open until Lake Garda in Italy some 560 miles away.   Oh dear, I hear you say.  We decided on an Aire rather than a hotel.  Now Aires are often in or on the edge of towns and are are either free or for a small fee you can park overnight, often with water supplied and provision for getting rid of waste. We headed through heavy traffic to the one in Annecy which turned out to be jam-packed full of vans all about six inches from their neighbours.   So we went to a different type of Aire which are set up on autoroutes all over France.   This one was about 10 miles out of Annecy, large, clean (no litter at all), set a bit back and above the road which reduced road noise to a whisper and an impeccably clean toilet block.  There was just one articulated lorry and us there for the night and we had views across to snow capped mountains.  Oh and it was free.

our Aire for the night outside Annecy  

However, from the moment we burst into Italy from the Mont Blanc tunnel (72 Euros (£64) and seven and a bit miles though an Alp) our sunglasses were not troubled to emerge from their cases.   On the positive side we have seen a great variety of different types of rain and mist which so far has followed us into Croatia.   For anyone reading who feels that length of tunnel is a bit scary, it’s the same distance underground from Stratford to Tottenham Court Rd on London Underground’s Central Line and while that is a lot noisier it is a lot cheaper.

we're going through that somewhere

One night was spent on the edge of Lake Garda and then we were off again heading east, ready to turn right at Slovenia.  We noticed that Italian Autostrada don’t have junction numbers which makes navigation a bit more awkward.

this is what happens when you accidently
key in 254 loaves instead of 1


We get across a nib of Slovenia in about 30 minutes and into Croatia.  No border checks at all yet because we’re still in the EU and we drive onto a lovely site on the Island of Krk.   There is no ‘I’ and it’s pronounced kirk with a bit of ‘r’ rolling.  Now we have to look at potential campsites further south because we want to see Dubrovnik which is not far short of the Montenegro border.   It's a bit of a stretch to call it 'planning' when these are all last minute decisions but it works for us, eventually.   After such a long drive we want to have a couple of quieter days and are heading just over 300 miles today for a site on the Peljesac Peninsula, now fortunately for us connected to the rest of Croatia by an elegant bridge. This bridge bypasses a small section of Bosnia Hercegovina which cuts Croatia into two parts and is a country which we’re not insured to drive through.  The southern part of Croatia is where Dubrovnik is situated. 

the bridge connecting the main part of Croatia with the Peljesac peninsula

The site we’re heading for has allegedly been open since 1 January but despite multiple calls we can’t get an answer from them on the phone.  In the end we just took a chance that they have a space for us and I admit I was not optimistic.  We’d driven 1,350 miles between Sunday lunchtime and late Thursday afternoon and a break would be welcome.  There was space !  We’ve been here a day now and it’s Good Friday with breakfast taken outside sitting in the sun.  We’re the only visitors here and we have a pitch on the edge of the site looking straight over a narrow beach to the sea with the island of Korcula a couple of miles away.

two views of our pitch and that great position on an empty site

Tomorrow we’ll feel that the trip has really begun.  We’ve all heard “the travel is all part of the adventure” but for me it depends on the mode of transport.  Walking or a train, yes.  Flying is to be endured.   Driving often is an adventure but not when it was so far in such a short time. Now the trip begins !

* Yes, I know it’s eleven words but do let me know if you counted it ?