In January 2020, a crazy idea started to form in my mind. Tired of my job in the automotive industry in Germany, I challenged myself to cross the Balkans by bike. My parents, of course, were not thrilled but accepted and supported me when needed, especially since I had never completely left the nest entirely on my own. I didn’t even know how to change a wheel or a tire tube, neither how to bike more than 40 kilometers in a day. To address this, I spent the months leading up to the Big Day learning as much as possible about bike maintenance, organizing a bike trip, buying my mechanical travel buddy, and even taking two months to train for the elevation changes and distances that awaited me. It was a long and mentally stressful process before truly starting, but it was necessary to build the mindset required for this type of adventure.
Covid worries me a bit, but I take advantage of the summer window and the relaxation of regulations in each country to take my chance. The final project is to start from the northeastern tip of Italy to cross the Balkans (Slovenia – Croatia – Montenegro – Serbia), then return home through Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, finally reaching my beloved Alsace. I had several points of interest in mind but allowed myself the freedom to adapt the itinerary based on whims and discoveries along the way.
The big departure day arrive, heading to Trieste with my dad to bring me to the starting point of my own bike journey, scheduled for early August. We have a wonderful week traveling through the East and Southeast of France and then Northern Italy. The big leap begins on August 7, 2020, when I leave my dad for a short section in Italy before wandering through the Slavic lands of Southern Europe. When starting this journey, I decided to keep some daily diary of these days, positive or negative events, does not matter, to keep memories for the future.
The narrative will be divided by week, but I consider the journey in three distinct stages. The first part involves crossing Croatia, especially following the Adriatic. The second part reflects the discovery of two countries totally unknown to me that would offer me a new perspective on foreign cultures I was apprehensive about which are Montenegro and Serbia. Finally, part three marks my return to the EU zone, mostly Germanic (except Hungary and Slovakia), and thus more culturally familiar to me. So, I leave you to enjoy the first week, hoping to capture your reader’s eye to follow along the entire journey until the return home (at least that’s the hope).
(PS: the positive gradients on the maps are wrong BUT the distances are consistent.)
Table of Contents
Day 1 Sistiana to Piran (68 km)
After spending a fantastic week in a camper van with my father, the journey into the big adventure officially begins.
Departure under emotions in the afternoon at 2:30 PM, from Sistiana – Trieste – Koper – Piran – Sleeping under the stars in a field at the border with Croatia. The separation is tough, but the wheels are finally rolling to appreciate the little stretch of coastline that Slovenia has to offer me. First Ćevapi (čevapčiči in Slovenia, tshevaptshitshi in English) and certainly not the last! It’s excellent! I continue on the road in the dark, eventually (not) pitching the tent in the middle of a field because I end up sleeping under the stars. The dew and the bugs only added up to this night in the open-air palace.
Day 2 Piran to Brest Pod Uckom (66 km)
Departure at 9:00. I wake up to a lady picking vegetables next to my mattress, haha. But she leaves me alone to kickstart my first full lonely day.
The border crossing is a bit annoying (Croatia being outside the Schengen area in 2020). The initial climbs are tough (1820 meters of elevation gain over 2 days really stings). I think about my dad on the road in Austria who could rescue and bring me back, but then my pride reminds me that I’ve prepared for this project for far too long to quit now. I need to grit my teeth and push through.
I am not in Olympic form, with lots of stops and a few mental breakdowns. Lesson for the rest of the trip: parks, playgrounds, but especially cemeteries, will be good options for free and quick potable water refills (other cyclists did this right in front of me).
Despite low motivation, I find a nice spot to camp near the Croatian Brest. Let’s hope tomorrow goes smoother.
Day 3 Brest Pod Uckom to Senf (80 km)
Departure at 9:00 : The initial climb saps my morale (400 m of elevation gain over 10 km), coupled with very freestyle directions from Komoot, leading me into a hellish descent towards Opatija. A hiking trail for 500m on a fully loaded touring bike, just great…
I take a lunch break in Opatija to appreciate my first slice of Adriatic life. I enjoy the sea, a good restaurant (Hemingway Bar), and a cocktail to refresh my mind. Their Ferrero tart, yum; what a delight!
Along the way, I met a very kind French woman married to a Croatian who supported me mentally (last mentally struggling day before following enjoyment).
A little free shower from a storm in Rijeka is also “nice”. Before the night in a tent among the houses after Rijeka, I met some long-distance fishermen on a lake, their hooks casting 30 m to bait their targets. Very impressive. My sleep close to the nearby houses is gonna be under full discretion.
Day 4 Senf to Plitviče (120 km)
Departure at 8:30 pedaling until sunset at 20:00. Passing around Senf with beautiful elevation gain and climbs that offer superb views of the Croatian coast. A real pleasure.
The first real performance (over 100 km on the fourth day) without mentally suffering and with a determined mindset to reach a campsite for some comfort. Having a real goal with the camping and Plitviče Lakes helps projecting myself and keeping my mind clear. I then head more inland where it’s cooler. From Bribir, I see several brick houses (with unfinished facades) due to taxes that would be higher when the exterior is completed. Clever Croatians, and it gives quite bricks color, unfinished funny-looking villages.
The downside of these areas is the dogs (not often stray) that can chase you and bark 30 cm from your pedals without any shame. At full speed, it’s very dangerous, and slower, you risk getting bitten. This time, with no experience, I choose to swerve to the other side of the road; I’m lucky there’s nothing in front of me 🙂 just a truck some 20 seconds later, I got lucky!
I then enjoy the beauty of Croatian nature by taking a small (but well-arranged) path near the lakes where I zigzag in the bush in incredible calm and colors, it’s bliss!
I settle at the campsite and taste some squid (after leaving the coast, yes, makes sense…). It wasn’t incredible, but my future culinary adventures will always be more original and enticing, I’m counting on it! A good night’s rest in anticipation of a visit to the lakes the next day.
Day 5 Plitviče Pause
Early morning wake-up to catch the free bus from the campsite to the lake at 9:00 and a return at 17:00. My gut feeling is that I was lucky to visit this place during the Covid period in August because without it, I’m almost certain I would have been swamped by tourists trying to enjoy these magnificent blue and green water bodies. The turquoise really wins you over. You can even see all the way to the bottom very deeply; it’s just sublime.
I wore the French jersey with two stars for the occasion and teased my Croatian friends about the 2018 World Cup victory and by sheer luck, I ended up being interviewed by Croatian TV (N1) as a foreigner to find out how I heard about Plitviče (not sure they’ll keep that part).
Exploring the maze of lakes up into the heights is a pure joy. You can quickly find yourself alone on the more winding paths and enjoy beautiful views. The stairs lookalike lakes are stunning, I can tell you that, my friends!
Plitvice Lakes and their bright colors
After this visual ecstasy, I return to the campsite and meet a super nice couple (my first real human exchange of the trip, promising only good things for the future). Christophe from Annecy and Claire, an Englishwoman, traveling by car with a tent on the roof. I’m shy, but she comes up to me to ask for a lighter to light her mosquito repellent. This is showing how encounters really happen through details. Their Renault Espace does a great job, bringing them here via Venice, then the island of Krk but also Trogir, Šibenik, and Krka park further south in Croatia which are on my direction. They give me lots of advice, especially for Krka and Zadar, which I will visit soon. I’m going to aim for the free spots to swim in the wilds of Krka and the cheap waterfront restaurant. Zadar has a sea kayaking trip that I’ll skip because I have other plans. We exchange our main activities: he’s a construction business owner, she’s (drum roll) an English teacher, and me, unemployed, evaluating my life, LOL, we had a good laugh.
They kindly offer me a beer, mmmmh, the good taste of free stuff is always appreciated! They have also visited Estonia, Lithuania, and Eger in Hungary with their vehicle, they’re quite the Europetrotters. To end my day, I cook some pesto pasta. What a chef!
Day 6 Plitviče to Around Zadar (122 km)
To start ideally, breakfast with the couple + a souvenir photo. I leave them a little note torn from my notebook. We’ll see if they check out my Instagram 😛
Official departure from the campsite at 11:30 instead of an early on-time departure for a long-distance day. It seems I won’t be able to keep a correct pace in my departure and arrival timings…
I cross a sort of Croatian population desert near the Bosnian border. I see whole abandoned houses and empty wastelands. The atmosphere is eerie and at the same time very mystical and appreciable. I even see collapsed roofs giving open ways to trees growing in the heart of the houses. A true “dead” human nature. However, the cemeteries are well-maintained, I conclude that despite an exodus, Croatians still come and maintain family graves as a sign of respect. Family and friends, true Balkan values. I pass near a military camp and a small town, Udbina, with a very recent white Orthodox church that seems immaculate, offering a beautiful view of the surrounding plain.
Then the ways up challenge me, but it’s forgetting I can survive by listening to “La Strasbourgeoise” and other French military and football supporter songs (YNWA and Allez Allez Allez from Liverpool among others) that motivate me to finish this day before a sublime descent towards Zadar and the karstic mountains of the Adriatic!
On the way, I also meet a duo of Frenchmen, Brendan and Alex, I must thank my two-star French jersey for making them stop 50 m in front of me with their super self repaired Citroën van with the help of a mechanic. We organize a meeting the next day in Zadar.
I end with a night under the stars on the rocky ground in the remote areas of Zadar. After setting up my mattress and letting my eyes contemplate the sky, I witness one of the most beautiful spectacles this trip could offer me: a continuous waltz of shooting stars. Every 2-3 minutes, the parade takes place for a whole 30 minutes show. If all my wishes came true, I would probably be rich, happy, and with the most beautiful woman in the world by next week. The constant starry sky provides a fabulous backdrop for this moment. Sorry, this kind of view can’t be shared with beautiful photos; the quality of my old iPhone 5C constantly, overheating in the sun during the day, won’t do justice to what I saw with my own eyes.
Day 7 Around Zadar to Zadar (34 km)
Departure at 9:15 : Arrival in Zadar in 1-2 hours, so a short day of biking. I meet and chat with the yesterday met French duo who are preparing to become engineers (oh, how strange 🙂 a bit like me). We have a small meal bought at the supermarket and a quick dip in the sea with the two Bretons. They have crossed France, Italy, Slovenia, and then Croatia. They are heading south and plan to go straight back to their land of crepes, galettes, and Kouign Amann right after. Coached by a mechanic, they renovated the van in two weeks to cover the kilometers and sleep inside like real adventurers. I find it incredible and courageous. We plan to meet again around Krka, where our paths will finally diverge (me South, them North).
I get the keys to the hostel (finally a real bed!) and stroll through gentle Zadar. Everything is close and very Mediterranean, a beautiful square with a large church (Catholic because most Croats are Catholic). The organ on the coast is disturbing but soothing, with the nighttime light show (Greeting to the Sun), it’s even better. I have a drink in the park a bit to the south, the atmosphere relaxes me before I go to taste some lamb from the island of Pag at the Pet Bunara restaurant, seemingly grilled Napoleon-style for several hours (don’t ask me what that is, no idea). It’s pretty delicious.
On the way back to the room, I meet some Swiss girls, Schwizeri vo Barn (Bern) Céline und Jasmin (25 years old). They are traveling by foot and hitchhiking for a year after leaving their respective jobs. They plan to go through Albania, Greece, Turkey, and Georgia. Two young girls like that are extremely courageous, it’s impressive to me. Well, time to sleep now and see you next week for more adventures alongside Adriatic. Rendez-vous for week 2.
