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| Story and photos: Joe Pichler |
It’s often only a few kilometers from the beach into the mountains – that is how steeply the Croatian coastline rises out of the Adriatic Sea. While the summer heat bakes the picturesque coastal towns, the vast mountain landscapes are cooled by a breeze that can sometimes reach gale force. And the best thing about it is: enchanting, winding roads link the two faces of this holiday realm.
Croatia, a Journey South
I actually anticipated the re-appearance of winter in mid-May in Salzburg. But our departure for Croatia will not be postponed. Thank God, the road over the Tauern is free of snow. So we brave the icy cold and head south through a magnificent winter landscape. The temperatures don’t become kinder to motorcyclists until just south of the Katschberg, but then our thick winter gloves can finally be stowed in our baggage. We doff our thick sweaters while savoring our first capuccino in Kranska Gora and now nothing stands in the way of our journey to sunny, southern climes. We enter the fascinating alpine realm of the Triglav Mountains via the rough, cobblestoned curves of the Vršič Pass. The view of the snowcapped, rocky summits is breathtaking.
We head for Tolmin along the crystal-clear waters of the Soča. We order a grilled brook trout for lunch and continue on toward Croatia well fed. We, meaning my wife Renate and I, are traveling on a KTM 950 Adventure. Entering Croatia is no problem at the little border crossing at Prezid. The winding country road is in good condition and tempts you to ride fast. But the 950 Adventure doesn’t want to be ridden only on asphalt. A sign in the village of Gerevo points the way to Risnjak National Park. A network of gravel trails runs through this thickly forested mountain range. Since only the main trail is drawn on my map, we lose our way a lot, but then we finally find the right way to Gornje.
We’ve planned a visit to Plitvička Jezera. There, for a few short hours, we enter another world. No traffic noise disturbs the scene. To explore the beauty of this National Park, you have to hike it. UNESCO has designated the natural landscape of the Plitwitzer Lakes National Park as part of the World Cultural Heritage. 16 crystal-clear lakes are strung together like pearls. We walk for hours along narrow, wooden walkways alongside rushing waterfalls. We constantly expect to meet the Apache chief Winnetou just around the next bend. This fascinating landscape once served as the backdrop for several famous films of Karl May’s books and I learned to appreciate its beauty when I was just a boy.
Vestiges of the war are still very visible in many villages in Croatia’s hinterland. Houses that have been shot to pieces and abandoned stand as admonishing, silent witnesses to the brutal ethnic cleansing that was carried out here.
Now we are supposed to head toward Zadar via Mali Halan. But the access road to this rocky pass isn’t easy to find. Then we’re halted by a huge construction site in Rok. A tunnel for the new motorway is being built here. But thanks to the help of a few construction workers, we’re soon on the right road. And our KTM’s good chassis also deserves our thanks – even though it’s carrying an additional passenger and baggage, we make swift progress to the top of the pass on a partially washed-out, rugged gravel piste. But, even in this isolated mountain realm, we still come upon relics of the war. A demolished tank stands next to the piste. A few cart paths tempt us to leave the main trail. But large signs urgently warn us not to. The landmines haven’t all been cleared in this intensely embattled region yet, so an offroad detour could have fatal consequences.
We reach the sea near Pakoštane and have no trouble finding a private room with a wonderful view of the offshore islands.
After cooling off in the rather chilly but crystalline sea, we top off our day with grilled squid and a bottle of delicious, Croatian white wine.
The coastal road leading south is a motorcyclist’s dream. A new, fascinating view of the rocky, Croatian coastline appears around every bend. We reach our journey’s southernmost point at Trogir. We feel transported back in time as we stroll the narrow streets of Trogir’s old town. There is a marvelous view of the medieval heart of the city from the Kamerlengo Fortress’s tower. A majority of the magnificent buildings dating from the 13th to 16th centuries have been preserved.
A car ferry carries us from Zadar to the largest island of the Zadar archipelago, Dugi Otok. The long island, as its name is translated, is 52 km long, but only up to 4 km wide. An asphalt road stretches the length of the island from north to south. Riding a motorcycle here is a real treat, because there is very little traffic. Countless gravel roads branch off toward little, isolated coves. The finely grained, quartz sand lends the clear water a turquoise-green hue that not even the Caribbean can surpass. The only things that cloud our bathing pleasure are the very cool water temperatures and the trash that washes ashore. The bumpy piste ends to the south, at Telašćica Bay. The Kornaten Archipelago extends from here, and you need a boat to continue on. It’s time for KTM to start thinking about building a waterborne Enduro.
Thunderstorms break over Sali. The rain is a blessing for the inhabitants of Dugi Otok (it’s their first precipitation in 4 months), but it‘s the reason we decide to leave the island. The rough crossing to Zadar takes more than two hours and the rainfall is only getting heavier. We can forget continuing north along the coast. Drenched to the skin, we go looking for a room and are glad to find expensive but at least dry accommodation at the Kolovare Hotel.
The weather gods decide to be kind to us. The next morning, we ride north along the coastal road through brilliant sunshine. However, the “bora”, a very strong and gusty crosswind, forces me to drive very carefully.
The crossing to Rab takes only half an hour and so we decide to enjoy a short hiatus on the island. But our hopes for a couple of relaxing days on the beach and that the bora would let up unfortunately go unfulfilled. If the wind grows stronger, there is even a danger that the ferry service will be cancelled, thereby stranding us on the island for several days.
We pack up our KTM and, after a short but stormy crossing, we’re back on the mainland. Now it’s time to head back up into the mountains. A little road leads from Jablanac into the Sjeverni Velebit National Park. There is an admission fee and we are strongly urged not to leave the prepared pathways. The initially easy, gravel piste becomes increasingly rougher, and a snowfield blocks our path before we reach the top of the pass. But a KTM rider can’t be stopped for long. After a half-hour of hard labour, we’ve hauled our nearly 200-kg KTM 950 over the impasse. In reaching the Zavizan at an elevation of 1676 meters, we’ve attained the highest drivable point of our trip. Rab lies far below us in the deep blue sea. We spend the night on Krk before heading for home. Over a few glasses of wine, we resolve that this was definitely not our last trip to Croatia.
So that our return trip isn’t reduced to just a boring drive along the motorway, we ride over the Seebergsattel and the Soboth in Styria and on over the Klippitztörl, Hochrindl, the Turrach and the Tauernpass to Salzburg – but that’s another story. |
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| Croatia has since recovered from the turmoil of the war. Most of the damage has already been repaired in the coastal areas developed for tourism. The construction of a new, north-south motorway is intended to encourage even more tourism, which has already returned to its pre-war levels. |
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