Tag: campsite

Diversity Abounds.

Firstly, Croatia is a very diverse country. Rich and poor, rough and ready. It is amazingly beautiful, sunny and so clean and people are very warm hearted, always ready to help and sell their wares to you. If ever there was a place that could be considered “paradise” this could be it, but in a few years’ or decades time!

The coastline is simply stunning – rocky with sheer cliffs and tiny perfect white beaches, azure blue crystal clear waters, very little sand and small sailing boats everywhere. It’s a very long coastline and we have driven most of it now. Dual carriageway motorways take you 2/3 of the way down the country then you meander on a single track road down to Dubrovnik, through the mountains, passing islands and inlets, passing 15kms through Bosnia & Herzogovenia and out again to a small strip that actually has a lot of land attached! The islands are numerous, and all are different; some are purely national botanical and animal parks, some are uninhabited and accessible by boat only; some are homes to many, some homes to a few villages only.

Amazing Sunsets

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Community

Inland, the mountain ranges are full of lush forests, white rocky outcrops and jagged steep hilltops and everywhere is full of terracotta topped cream and peach coloured small towns and villas. The hillsides are full of expansive pine forests, sparsely populated and uncultivated. Houses in villages are numbered only, no road names, signposts show the following information in, for example, a village called Zeton – “Zeton No 2, Family Johanssen”; Zeton No 17, Family Schmidt – Rooms, Zimmer, Chambres”

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Towns are mainly small gatherings of hillside villages, buildings are well maintained and stand up to 5 or 6 storeys high, overflowing with signs of “Rooms to Let” or “Restaurant” or similar. Larger cities like Split are very different. Split has an old walled city, now a thriving cafe and restaurant hub, but is surrounded by huge old, 70’s style tower blocks, rundown, full of graffitti and a multitude of torn colooured exterior blinds to protect from the heat and sun.

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Many cities have walled towns that have been converted into tourist hubs, food, drinks, accommodation, tourist tat shops etc. We have seen very few actual “palaces, castles or forts” where locals live or it has been retained as a monument or place of historical interest.

Infrastructure

The infrastructure is brilliant where the main attractions can be found, dual carriageways, bridges and entrance roads to cities are excellent condition. Outside of this, it’s the opposite! Dirt roads, people living in half built houses, no road signs…….and we have not found out why.

Main roads have had EU money spent on them but sometimes we have found a local road, which is only numbered (eg 63006), with no signposts, is a stoney dirt track! Does not stop Croatian drivers being loonies, wanting to overtake any car in front of them, despite the road having a single white line in the middle, a sharp blind bend in front and a queue of cars behind the oncoming coach!

We have also established that EU money is still being spent on creating this “new country”, providing students with the opportunity to attend college and Universities FREE, yes you did read that correctly, and all HEALTHCARE is FREE!!!

Tourism

Additionally, it is more expensive than we expected, we thought it would be really cheap here, even on a par with Spain, but it’s not.  We have learned that people and businesses are heavily taxed and therefore prices are more on a par with Italy.  Some things are cheap, a beer or glass of wine equivalent to €2, but a main meal in a restaurant is never less than €10, more like €15. Tolls are cheap, fuel is cheap, but campsites are pricey.  The bigger the City’s attraction to tourists, the higher the prices! In Split, we pay €3.50 for wine, €3.00 for a pint. In Dubrovnik, €7 for a glass of wine and a beer!! €12 for a burger and chips, €20 for lasagne!

Campsites, well they are an eye opener!  We have been on 5 different sites, in the northern Istrian peninsular, inland at Plitcive Lakes, out to the coast at Zadar and two further down in Split. Luckily most take European discount cards that us travellers use!

Split campsite

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Again, where the travelling tourists are, they have had a lot of money spent on the Campsites (calling them Resorts) bringing them up to European standards, most are huge – well spaced out, well cared for and do everything possible to make you feel welcome, comfortable and relaxed.  We have had no problem on Croatian campsites with the 5th wheel and no issue finding pitches, 90% are fully serviced and all sites have a several restaurants, several bars, water parks, and loads of outdoor activities. The bigger the site, the more facilities. And, there is water everywhere!! Further down the coast they have introduced “Kamper Stops”, a large area for motorhomes to stop overnight only.

They cater for Germans!  Very few Dutch or Italians here, next to no English! Thankfully they all speak English!  They are taught it in school from an early age, so language is not an issue, apparently the Croatian language is one of the hardest to learn!

Food is similar to Italy – excellent pizza and pasta but with more emphasis on grilled dishes and meat and salads are excellent quality.  Local delicacies can be found, Istrian sausages, Pag sheep cheese, truffle cheese and wine from each region.

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History lesson coming up now!!

In the past century, this country has been “owned” by lots of different people but Croatia originally began in the 3rd Century in Nin. Before then it was part of the Roman Empire and afterwards, Byzantines, Venetians, Hungarians, Bosnians and Austrians before it finally settled as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1918. in 1941, during WW2 it was handed back to the Italians but in 1945, The Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia was declared and the King was deposed, and a President was elected in 1953.

When the dictator Tito died in 1980, the next Presidents were from Bosnia, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Kosovar until war broke out in 1990. This internal war was all about territory with roads being blocked, ships being sunk, civilians being killed and displaced, until the end of 1995 when a Treaty was agreed establishing Bosnia and Herzegovina as a seperate entity, as well as guaranteeing Serbia and Slovenia rights under the same titles as Croatia, splitting Yugoslavia to make new territories.

During this war, bombs hit every city, Dubrovnik for example had 50% of it’s buildings and roofs hit, all roads leading to it were damaged, surrounding airports were flattened and domestic services were cut, water was withheld from Dubrovnik for 3 months!

Images of the Civil War

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Thanks to this war, the country begged for money from the EU which it was duly given, to rebuild. And rebuild they have, sympathetically and carefully reconstructing buildings, roofs, roads and infrastructure, to a good standard. Hence the need for the Government to heavily tax businesses and locals, to reclaim the monies owing to the EU!! Some locals are working round it by selling their own products from their driveway or roadside chalets, honey, olive oils, olives, wine, chillies and fruit. All cash payments of course!

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Our journey from Rovinj (Istria) inland to Plitvice Lakes then back out to Zadar (Dalmatia coast)