Wildcat Bosnia Tour Sept / Oct 2008 - Part 2:

[Voyager]

I've started a 'Part 2' thread as I keep loosing my Broadband connection when trying to update Part 1


Instalment 3:

Sunday 21st Sept:


We left Malinska on the Island of Krk and continued down the Adriatic coast towards the coastal town of Skradin. There are islands along the coastline and a very strong wind. We were turned off the coast road by the police and had to take an inland route for part of the trip.

Before that happened we were able to stop for coffee in a little village with a sea (and island) view.

The young girl serving coffee spoke very good English, in fact we didn't have many language problems throughout the trip. No wonder we are lazy at learning other languages.

Hans-Peter acquired the nickname "Half Man - Half Donut" as he managed to find them wherever we stopped

The countryside is quite barren & wild.

Our Hotel in Skradin was smart and comfortable but I guess it has been re-furbished since the Croatian War of 1991/93.

The building on the other side of the Hotel Car Park still has signs of shell splinter damage.

Some views around the old town of Skradin . . .

The new road that passes Skradin runs across this impressive bridge.

The Harbour is geared towards the Tourist industry. There were a lot of large charter cruising yachts in - I guess its a popular destination as its just across the Adriatic from Italy. There were certainly a lot of smart yachting types in the bars and shops.

I saw this interesting warning notice aimed at the Tourists. Its in English which must indicate something

There were a number of market stalls along the main road.

Hans-Peter just had to try one of these on . . . I should have bought one for 'Ronno'

Monday 22nd Sept:

From Skradin we carried on down the coast to Dubrovnik, stopping for photos on the way.

Dubrovkik is entered across this rather interesting bridge . . .

It looks as though two designers couldn't agree . . A concrete cantilever on one side and a steel suspension on the other.

Its possible it was damaged during the war and one half re-built, but it looks a bit odd. Works fine as a bridge though.

Dubrovnik is a popular destination for cruise liners.

We had a nice modern Hotel from where it was a 15 minute walk down to the old town.

I'll cover Dubrovnik in the next Instalment.

Bob.

 

[Voyager]

Instalment 4:


Tuesday 23rd Sept:


We had another 'rest day' so spent it sightseeing. Dubrovnik has grown in recent years but Tourists are really only interested in the old walled town.

The traffic is manic, with scooters of all shapes and sizes weaving through the traffic.

The architecture is interesting with Eastern influences.

Shops are oriented towards the Tourists, with many references to the '91/'93 war.

It is possible (for a 50 Kuna charge) to walk around the town on the top of the 'castle' walls.

There are a lot of Guides, fluent in different languages, who collect their parties and conduct tours. By midday the place is heaving with coach parties.

From on top, it is obvious from the new tiles which buildings were hit during the war.

You get a very good view of the town from up here.

At night, the streets are lit by flares.

There are fantastic Ice Cream Parlours as well, with a huge variety of flavours and not at all expensive.

Wednesday 24th Sept:

We moved north into Bosnia, our destination being the old historic town of Mostar. This is a predominately Muslim Town and was severely damaged during the war. As we found out, Bosnia does not have the resources for a rapid re-build of its towns and there are still a lot of ruined buildings evident. Croatia appears to be more affluent and has repaired most of the damage.


Our Hotel was also a museum, having been built by a local Diplomat in the 18th Century. The present owner is a decendant and the house is virtually original. Miraculously, it wasn't damaged at all during the war, though there is still shell damage evident from the street outside.


We had to take the bikes through a doorway, up two flights of steps into the inner courtyard - with little space and a cobbled surface. There was a strong smell of clutch by the time I parked up !

Oh yes, the street is wide enough for one car, but has two way traffic and we met a coach party coming out (on foot) as we were trying to get in. It was interesting

That vine, growing up the wall and over the pergola is a Kiwi Fruit.

I hadn't seen them growing before.

The interior was lined with very thin cedar wood, with a strong Turkish influence:

Walking into the old town of Mostar, there are signs of shelling everywhere.

The famous Mostar Bridge, that was destroyed in the war and re-built with UNESCO assistance.

The steps over the bridge appear to be ceramic, but I think they are just polished marble. Quite difficult to walk on as well.

The view from the bridge. Locals will jump off here if they collect sufficient money from Tourists.

Looking in the other direction.

The street leading to the bridge is lined with market stalls selling souvenirs. As well as the local handicrafts, relics of the war feature strongly.

There are plenty of restaurants and bars (despite it being Ramadan when we were there).

Walking around the main town, it is evident that there is still a lot of reconstruction to be done.

This appears to have been the main school, now being worked on with the aid of International funding. Strange priorities - build the bridge but leave the school for 15 years ! I suppose the bridge is a symbol and they need the tourist revenue.

This was a Turkish-style Palace:

The following day, John Brigitte and I had a run into the Bosnian countryside, looking at new routes for future tours. I'll cover that in the next instalment.

Bob.

 

[Voyager]

Instalment - 5:

To continue . . .

Thursday 25th Sept:


John, Brigitte & I had a run into Bosnia to check out some routes. This included 20km of gravel track that was very interesting, and not difficult on the big GS.

I didn't take many photos, but here are a few to show the scenery in some of the more out of the way parts.


We stopped for a coffee in a nice little cafe . . .

But the view from the Cafe showed a rather run-down village.

The roads were OK and the facilities were there, but the feeling I got was one of depression. There seems to be a lack of population which I suppose is not surprising after what these people have been through.

There are new houses being built which is a good sign, but there are still a lot od derelict shells standing. In one place we passed a new Graveyard with just the outlines of buildings visible in the grass surrounding it. There are areas that are still mined !

Friday 26th Sept:


We travelled from Mostar back to Skradin. I won't put up more pics of the town, but this had turned up while we were away . . There is money about somewhere

Saturday 27th Sept:

Starting to head home now and the next stage took us to the Plitvice National Park in Croatia. We stopped at the Park in the pouring rain but didn't do the three-hour tour. I didn't take any photos worth showing - you know what trees look like in the rain


Sunday 28th Sept:


From Plitvice we headed for Lake Bled in Slovenia. Its not far from Bovec - just across the Triglavski Narodni National Park and a well known tourist destination.

On the way we stopped at an embryonic War Museum at Karlovac in Croatia.

The sign says it all . .

The 'Museum of the Homeland War' consisted of military equipment set in a circle, flanked by a couple of destroyed buildings. Some of the weaponry on show was a bit of an eye-opener.

Now you probably thought, like me, that these guys used Russian equipment, and you would be partly right. However . .

This one is British ! (could it have been lost by the UN ?).

This 3.7" AA Gun had lost ist museum plate.

But it looks American or British from the maker's plate.

A Russian mobile pontoon. The upper hull hinges over to form a double-width roadway.

This looked familiar and I thought "surely not "

Sure enough . . Its an American Sherman Tank, presumably mothballed from WWII - or were they made long after 1945 ?

I have no idea what this was - it didn't have any identification. Possibly a MIG ?

I need to look this up to see which side it belonged to.

It does make you wonder just who is selling arms to these guys !


We arrived at Lake Bled in good time for sightseeing. The Lake is dominated by this Monastery on the cliff top.

There is a church on an island and visitors can visit it by hand-rowed boats. It would appear that motor boats are not allowed on the lake.

The setting is very picturesque and relaxed. Houses here are in the 2,000,000 Euro range

We noticed some steel tracks up on the hillside then discovered that this is what they were for

We also popped into an Ice Rink and saw an Ice Hockey match in progress.

A very pleasant place to visit. Good for a quiet drink, but rather 'twee' I thought, there was nothing out of place anywhere.

Our accommodation was excellent, and set in an estate of similar mini-Hotels as short walk from the Lakeside.

From Slovenia we headed back into Italy and Austria and some stunning passes . . . See the next instalment


Bob.

 

[AndyT]

Excellent report, can't wait for episode 3 Very interested in this one as the group of guys I go away with every year want to go to Spain (again!!!) and I am keen to move further afield.

AndyT

 

[Stumpy]

Keep it coming Bob

great stuff

 

[Voyager]

Instalment - 6 (and last)

Monday 29th Sept:

From Lake Bled we headed back into Italy and then North into Austria, it was good to get back into the Alps and do a bit of Pass Storming.

The destination was the little town of Heiligenblut and as we got nearer we hit some fantastic roads.

A couple of pics while we re-fuelled.

Heiligenblut was 'out of season' and very quiet; we were the only guests at our accommodation. The owner is a mountain climber and has scaled the Eiger.

There was a magnificent view of the town and surrounding mountains from the Hotel. see the snow on the far distant peaks ? ? ? - That's where we go next

Heiligenblut is the 'Gateway' to the Grossglockner Pass. we decided to 'do' it that afternoon as the weather was good.

If you want to go right to the top you have to buy a ticket - cost 18 euros.

well worth it


Half way up is a big Hotel with viewing areas, shops and Restaurants. This used to be the point where you could get close to the glacier, however, with global warming and so on . . . .


The parking area (bikes Free ):

20 years ago, the glacier filled the valley. today it is a long way down

There should be a couple of figures down near the glacier to give it a sense of scale (I can't see them in the thumbnail I'm looking at).

There are Marmots living on the valley walls. we saw one (a bit like a very large Hamster).

Never mind . . .If you don't see them you can always take your very own cuddly one home (the shops are full of them ).

I thought about squeezing a couple into the panniers but as my 'kids' are 27 & 28 I thought better of it

As we climbed higher we got above the snow line. The road was clear with only damp patches where the sun was on the snow.

At the very top (there is another 'half way house') there is a small observation tower. The view from there was stunning.


Check out the road we had just ridden up - lte last few miles are cobbled

The height is just short of 3,000 metres.

Tuesday 30th Sept:

We continued through the Alps to Lech. This took us over the Jaufenpass which was under cloud !

They do great soup here and their gateaux are to die for

It was wet, cold and getting dark when we arrived at Lech, so I didn't take many pictures. These will give an indication of what an out of season Austrian ski resort looks like

We had a very nice meal in a local restaurant, served by two stunning girls in national costume. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me

Wednesday 1st October:


We set out, in the rain, for Germany and the Black Forest. However before we left Austria I was able to get a picture of some locals . . . .

And a quick shot of some scenery.

our 'Pension' was in Seebach and is owned by a British couple who used to have a B&B with campsite on the Isle of Skye. They fancied a change and bought this place on e-bay

It seems to be working out OK for them, despite the fact that neither of them speak German. They are learning fast though.

The light was fading fast as we walked down to the local restaurant, but I managed to get a few shots of the German scenery.

Thursday 2nd Oct:

We had a blast back through Switzerland and into France, heading for our hotel at Reims. We said goodbye to Hans-Peter on the way as we passed close to his house.

The Hotel was in the middle of a busy roundabout and was notable for its unhelpful and unfriendly staff.

I didn't take any pictures.


Friday 3rd Oct:

A blast through France towards Calais and the Sangatt Eurotunnel terminal.

If you haven't done this before it is well worth it for the experience.


We sat in the terminal building until out departure No. was called . . .

Then on to the train, along with a load of Harley riders on their way home to the Bristol area from a Hog Meet in Spain (I think).

My pannier sides are filling up

Flash photography is banned as it can set off the fire alarm systems

Naturally, its mostly underground . . but there isn't much of a view above ground either

And that was (almost) it. We spent the night at a B&B in Dover, then at 06:00 on Saturday 4th Oct., John & Brigitte set off for Plymouth.

They had to get there for 10:30 in order to have the KTM serviced and have a 30 litre tank, new side panels anf a centre stand fitted before starting the Morocco Tour on the Sunday.

Judging by 'Stumpy's' Report, they made it.

Note: On returning from Morocco, John & Brigitte went straight to the start of their Libya Tour. I believe they return from that tomorrow (Sunday 9th Nov). That's a lot of miles and a long time away from home


For my part. I also left Dover at 06:00 and rode home to Edinburgh (well, just outside at Kirkliston). It was an uneventful trip, apart from the gales blowing across the A66 ) and I didn't take any photos.


So that's that. 4,740 miles door to door and a great three-week tour. Thanks to everyone who took part, it was good to meet you.

I hope you have enjoyed the report - apologies if its been a bit of a marathon


Bob.