Mid-Croatia

After spending the last three months touring Montenegro and Albania we retraced our steps and traveled back into Croatia again. Driving past Dubrovnic and split, we headed for the mid-coast to start our new travel exploration.

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Auto Camp Sirena

The warmest welcome ever. It’s mid-winter and we arrived at Autocamp Sirena late after long hrs traveling up from Montenegro, dark and cold. We did phone and tell them we were on our way. The camp manager met us when we arrived and found us a sheltered pitch out of the Bura (Croatian name for the wild winter CHILLED winds). He made sure we were safely tucked away and asked if we wanted fresh bread for the morning, yes and yes, please. He also insisted on showing us the restaurant area. We weren’t keen, but waiting for us was a warm fire.

After getting organised on site we took a glass of wine with us and warmed up there waiting for the caravan to heat up. We were only going to stay for a couple of nights so we could visit Omis, close by. The next day they asked if we wanted to book the restaurant that night. Unusual for campsites this time of year as they are usually closed, and they were all so nice we couldn’t refuse. We were the only two guests till another couple arrived and the four of us enjoyed the flames a lovely homecooked meal and a taste of the free local schnapps (we felt obliged ). We were just knocked over by this family-run campsite. The views from the terraced areas through the gaps in the olive trees were simply lovely.

Highly recommended, 5 stars. PS: don’t forget to read my wife’s new book called “The Outing” by Fabian Foley (Amazon). Written while caravaning.

Makarska

We passed the town of Makarska, best known as the centre of the Croatian Riviera in the dark on our way to Camping Sirena (just south of Omis) and decided to go back and have a look. There was not a lot to see. An old town dating back to Roman and pre-Roman times (but most of the country can lay claim to that), with lots of yacht charters and boats, restaurants, and a nice boardwalk all of which must be packed in the summer.

The SPECTACULAR feature is the Biokovo Mountains running along the coastline. They frame the town. We found out there is a viewpoint on top of the mountains, one of those scary glass walkway ones, and since Fabian Foley would have had her eyes closed we gave it a miss. She says the mountains look better when you can see them.

Omis and the Cetina River

Did you know that this Croatian Engineering Project cut a 1.4km tunnel through solid rock on either side of the Cetina River Gorge in Omis, Croatia? The bridge looks unsupported, jutting out from the tunnels and there’s a massive and obvious two-meter height difference between where they are supposed to join. Of course, we were curious !! After a little talk with Google, we discovered that all the support framework associated with bridges is inside the excavation and that as each section was added, the structure moved vertically. So, as the final section is added to the southern structure it will move up vertically to meet the northern section, hopefully. This project was built to elevate and alleviate the traffic buildup through the town.

Omis is between the port city Split (25 km to the north) and Makarska,40 km to the south. We were staying at Lokva Rogonznica, midway between the two. The inhabitants of medieval Omiš were, as a matter of fact, pirates! In the 12th and 13th centuries, the pirates of Omiš ruled the seas from Omiš to Dubrovnik and if you didn’t pay for safe passage you had to battle them. Apparently, only a few came out winners against these ruthless Omis pirates.

Omis and Hike to St Anthony’s

“Let’s check out that 10th-century church. It’s only a 3-minute walk away.” Sounded like a good idea. But as often happens to us we got a bit sidetracked. Literally in this case. Of course, Fabian’s directions often have detours in them. To her credit, the sign didn’t say to make a U-turn, it said to turn left, which we did.

At first, we thought we must have misread the sign and it said 3 mi (short for miles) not 3 min but ever determined and with a touch of fomo (aka stubborn), we kept trudging up the side of the canyon in ever higher zig-zags and more than an hour later we were rewarded, three-fold. Great workout, St Anthony’s wasn’t the 10th Century church we expected but a 7th Century one in simple and elegant still working condition, and the amazing views. Hope you enjoy them too.

PS we spotted the 10th Century St Peters on the way back to the car. It was locked but peering through the door grille we could see its feature central dome and it looked like it was being re-plastered??

Zadar

Did you know that during his stay in Zadar, the famous film director Alfred Hitchcock said that the sunsets in Zadar were the most beautiful in the world? He could be right. This historic city also has the first Sea Organ in the world. It produces sounds using only the power of wind and sea. On a calm day, we sat on the steps it was like a lullaby. I’d love to hear the music it plays during a Bura.

Zadar has a turbulent 3000+ year history, much of which is on display and accessible so a walk through town is a walk through time. It has the oldest Gothic church in Dalmatia, the church and monastery of St Francis built in 1221. But it’s also famous for its local brew, called Maraschino which was exported throughout Europe in the 18th century, gracing the tables of people like George IV, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Russian Emperor Nicholas. The old town Land Gate called Fosa was built by the Venetian Michele Sanmicheli in the 16th Century to ward off the then-emerging Ottoman Empire. He did a good job… it’s still there.

Skradin Village

The village of Skradin is usually bypassed on the way to somewhere else. If you’re lucky you might find it by accident, just like us. We spotted it from the bridge over the Krka River on our trek between Lokva Rogoznica and Zadar on the E65. It looked so pretty we decided to come back and have a look. The town is close to the entrance to the Krka National park one of Croatia’s national scenic attractions which includes a lovely waterfall (apparently) but we were limited on time and weather and didn’t get there. Maybe next time. Next time we’ll also check out the car museum…

which we had NO IDEA about till we’d well and truly left the region. But it has cars from the old Yugoslavian era and some limited edition models. Next time we also hope to find some public toilets, another reason for our early departure. No fun wandering around trying to cross your legs eh? Its sheltered marina is open to the Adriatic and hosts a range of boats and watercraft and must be busy in summer.

Camping at Falkensteiner Zadar

Wahoo, what a campsite this is, the Falkensteiner Premium Glamorous Campsite in Zadar, Croatia. As avid caravaner, we were blown away by this site’s of-peak facilities. We arrived late in the afternoon early Feb and to greet us at reception was a lovely attendant who told us what was on offer at their large company site. As ACSI members we were delegated the blue zone which is as far from the action as possible, however, we were not disappointed. All the pitches on this site are 100m2 at least and more than enough room for our 8m twin axle home on wheels. We had views of the water without the onshore winds.

The site is very well laid out and landscaped beautifully. We were close enough to the private family, fully heated ensuite bathrooms, and we could become addicted to this level of comfort. All the sites had ample power and water and waste water points. Next, we were informed that we had access to the wellness centre in their hotel next door. Can you believe it? Heated swimming pool, sauna, great gym, massage, beauty parlour, and all for 23 euros a night plus 2 euros tax. There was a great little bakery at the main gate for your morning croissants and the best crunchy white bread.

Of course, being winter most of the outdoor site facilities were closed, including pools, waterslides, gym, supermarket, restaurants etc… which didn’t bother us we had the wellness centre. To add to this: the local walks along the waterfront or a short bus/cycle ride to the Old Town, supermarket opposite the hotel and even a few local cafes. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Falkensteiner and would recommend an off-season visit. Not so sure about recommending it for the high season much too expensive, and probably too busy and noisy for us oldies anyway.

Krk, Krk Island

Did you know that Krk Island is Croatia’s biggest island and is connected to the mainland by a toll bridge? Can you guess what this bridge is called? Surprisingly it’s called Krk Bridge and also surprisingly no tolls anymore.

They say Krk Island has been inhabited since neolithic times and there’s visible archaeological proof available as you explore. Rock mounds and the remnants of rock fencing… Can you imagine 7,000 years ago people walked fished and hunted on this island?

The town of Krk also has a great history to tell. Greeks, Romans, Venetians, and Austrians before Croatian Counts ruled around the 12th Century. The most powerful family was the Frankopans who built the town castle (aka home). Then much later (in the early 1800s) for a short time, Napoleon. Croatians returned to power until the second world war when the Italians and Germans had a turn and then it became part of Yugoslavia.

I mentioned in an earlier post that we visited a local Krk restaurant where the owners discovered the remains of a roman ruin buried below, and it is said they Venus, the goddess of love was buried there. Probably not, but it would explain the rather large population of the region. 17,000?? There’s a lovely Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary in the old town and several buildings are being restored nearby and opposite is the Bishop’s house. It’s big enough for several families. Hope he shared it.

We had a great time not only in the island capital of the same name but our posh campsite base.

Ježevac Camping, Krk Island

What another posh site. After staying at some of the most basic campsites in Europe we were again amazed at the facilities at this site. However, it doesn’t beat the last one we stayed at (Falkensteiner Premium Glamorous Camping) in Zadar. We research every campsite we stay at before heading off to the next one. We check out the route as well. Even so, we’ve had a few close calls (mostly because we took the wrong turn…ooops)

There are not a lot of campsites open in the off-season so what was the attraction of the Jezevac Campsite? There was a supermarket on site that had most of what we needed, fresh bread every day, but the island capital of Krk, also Krk, was only a ten-minute walk, with more of everything. There is a small beach close to the campsite. And all these premium sites seem to have waterpark swimming pools too. Showers and toilets are heated, modern, and clean. There is one of those American tin caravans (Airstream I think) next to the amenities block decked out as a cafe selling coffee, basic snacks, and beers. But being off-season it was only open at weekends. They have five levels of pitch sites from Gold down to Premium. Prices started at 23 euros a night plus tourist tax per person so for us 25 euros per night. The posh pitches would have been in excess of 40 euros per night… and that’s for the off-season. But we were happy. Big roomy pitches and easy access.

Baska, Krk Island

I won’t bore you with any history in this blog and just say that this little fishing village is at the southern tip of Krk Island. It was such a delight to walk through. It has a population of 1600 people and was a 30-minute drive from the island capital of Krk, our home base. It has one of the few sandy beaches on the island and runs for more than a kilometer around the bay so very popular during the summer months. It was definitely worth the drive to explore the waterfront and old town and anyway, what else do we have to do?