Struga, Macedonia

The roads after the first 100 Km greatly improved in Albania. So much so that we made it to the capital, Tirane, in no time the next day. Tirane is large, busy and business-like. We first thought of spending some time in this town but then decided to just head for the border town of Pogradee on Lake Ohrit instead.
Now that we had entered the mountains and were riding east, Albania became more idyllic. I like the genuine towns, the old ways we saw on the side of the road. Men were cutting grass using a scythe, women helped stacking hay. The ancient implements used are handcrafted, wooden and work well even today. Grass was also being cut using motorized sickle movers of various models and with even greater variety of configurations. Fifty years ago, when I worked on a farm in the Black Forest in Germany, we used similar equipment. Am I getting old? The fields in Albania are well tended, however, and food grows in abundance.
Just after we passed the town of Perrenjas we ran into road construction. I asked the workers how long the construction site was and they told me about 30 Km or all the way to Pogradee, our target town. What to do? We would have loved to stay one more day in Albania, since a one night stay is nothing and no indication of a county. But given the conditions of the predicament we were in, riding on loose sand and gravel for 30 Km plus the threat of imminent rain, we decided to take the lesser evil and enter Macedonia at Radezha, especially since going back to Perrenjas was no option and we didn’t know if there was a hotel there.
There is no exchange booth to exchange the Albanian Leke to Macedonian Dinar at the border. The bike insurance needed to enter Macedonia costs 50 Euro per bike. Ouch! While the personal at the border tried to help, the language and the Cyrillic added to the difficulties in communication. I managed to get most of my Albanian money changed into Euros at a local store on the Macedonian side. Carol tried, too but did not like the way she was treated by the 4 – 5 young men in the store. She left the store without getting her money exchanged.
We were in Macedonia, the country - no, not the part of Greece or Bulgaria that was once called Macedonia. The conflicts with Greece about the name, about the territory and the language are ancient. No love is lost between the two countries. Macedonia is a very old land, the birth place of Alexander the Great. Naturally, Pella, the actual Birthplace of Alexander is in today’s Greece. But when Alexander was born, this was part of the Macedonian Empire and therefore he was Macedonian. Confusing? No matter, we are just riding and visiting, we do not have to solve any of the animosity between the two countries.
Not far from the border, the first larger town we come to, Struga, is our stop for the night. Positioned directly on Lake Ohrid it serves as tourist destination for many Balkan Nations. The lake is unique in the world and Wikipedia spells out:
Lake Ohrid (Macedonian: Охридско Езеро, Ohridsko Ezero; Albanian: Liqeni i Ohrit) straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern Republic of Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of Europe's deepest and oldest lakes, preserving a unique aquatic ecosystem with more than 200 endemic species that is of worldwide importance.[1] The importance of the lake was further emphasized when it was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1979. However, human activity on the lake shores and in its catchment area is resulting in the ecosystem coming under stress
Similar to Lake Baikal in Siberia, Lake Ohrid has a unique ecosystem. Although the beaches are fragile and endangered I wanted to see them and the uniqueness of it all. We later passed on the beaches when it turned cold and stormy. We walked around town, enjoyed the many shops in the pedestrian only zone, took a picture of the Poet Bridge, where once or twice a year international poets read their latest creations in their own language to onlookers along the river’s edge. We made the best of the town before the thunderstorm drove us for cover. Timing is everything and we enjoyed a wonderful, local meal while the rain drummed in buckets on the roof.
We were in Macedonia, a land locked country with a history so old, so long, so complicated it boggles my mind. We are in Macedonia, with a future that boggles the minds of many people. What will this country look like in years to come? The language is ancient, complicated. The writing is Cyrillic and again, complicated to the modern Western World. Most of the land is mountainous. Half the land is too rugged to farm. Split into Muslim and Christian faiths Macedonia struggles along. Yes, it has applied to join the EU. In better condition than Albania, it too, has Mercedes Benz cars in the streets. Again it is said that Russians buy the nicest, best parts of Macedonia for their vacation homes. Techno music sounds from coffee bars in bigger cities. Men wear horizontally stripped T-shirts and Gym trousers with a stripe running vertically along the outside of the pant legs. All men I saw smoked cigarettes. Many men had ultra short hair cuts. Women are made up, dressed well but in colors and styles quite different than my eyes are used to. All the signs I describe are signs of heavy Russian influence, if not of Russia itself. There is money in Macedonia but I would say it is Russian tourist money, not money from the GNP of Macedonia. I have seen no factories; I cannot say what Macedonia produces that is needed worldwide. While the past of Macedonia can be studied, the future cannot be predicted.
Carol will write the rest of the Macedonian story as it was a more personal journey for her.

Lezhe, Albania

A glorious morning started us off, the weather was wonderful. Finding our way through Montenegro is easy enough and once familiar with the road signs, it is not difficult to find your way. Naturally we got lost a few times because I did not see the one sign giving us directions, but we managed well. Montenegro is not large. The valuable land is along the coast, and I am told is mostly owned by rich Russians. I have rarely seen so many Mercedes Benz cars in one spot. Not the latest models, mind you, but the Mercedes Star is on about 50% of the cars on the road. Smoke puffs out of their maladjusted mufflers, choking you when you ride behind them. The same is true for the busses and trucks that run on diesel fuel. Most emit a visible, black exhaust. I felt a scratchy throat at the end of the day from riding in traffic, at a slow pace behind clouds of emissions.
The whole coastline of Montenegro looks wonderful and there are towns that are exclusively for the very rich. Sh. Stefani is such a town. I only saw it from afar since it is placed on an Island and to get to it was too difficult and time consuming. We followed the coastline and the roads are in basic good shape. Yes, we went through the resort towns of Budva and Petrovac but did not stop there. These towns were busy metropolitan towns, lots of traffic, lots of noise, lots of cars, and yes, they had some beach sections but we went on. The high, rugged mountains to the left of us probably had some awesome riding roads but we wanted to make it to Albania and with a short dip towards the capital of Podgorica we took a short cut and entered Albania.
What a shock it was. The crossing into Albania was without difficulty. Yes, we had to change money (I Euro = about 140 Leke), yes I bought a map of Albania since I could not find a map outside of Albania and yes, and we had to by extra Insurance for 9 Euros each bike. All the formalities were very friendly; it was a cinch getting into Albania. What shocked me and especially Carol, were the road conditions and the way people lived. The housing was old, made of concrete blocks and not well taken care of. The first 60 or so Km of the main road was like a washboard. I took a BMW strap I carry for emergencies and tightened it around Carol’s Givi top box. The box bounced so much that we were afraid it would fall off. Everything rattled that was not tight or screwed down tight.
Potholes abounded. The road took our full attention and concentration. We missed the chance to take some pictures of missing manhole covers in the middle of town but we did see in time that the covers were missing. One uncovered manhole had an old tire stuck in it to warn drivers, another was just there, no warning, no barricade. In the middle of the road, in the normal tire track I passed a manhole with no cover. I felt like I was back in Siberia. Albania has applied for entry into the EU but I cannot see how they can manage to get in. The roads are deplorable; the living conditions are one of the poorest I have seen on this trip. And we just entered this country and it is early afternoon. Where will we sleep tonight? Entering Albania is like stepping back in time. A lot of merchandise is still transported by horse. I saw coal delivery wagons, trash and scrap iron hauled this way. We shared the road with pigs, cows, horses, a very over-loaded hay wagon and even a woman pushing a wheelbarrow filled with water jugs.
After a few miles we entered the larger town of Shkoder. I could not see a hotel, yet I also saw smoke spewing Mercedes Benz cars. So there must be some money here. I was concerned about finding a hotel. Where do you start when you do not speak the language? To make things worse, a lot of signs are in Cyrillic. When we entered the next bigger town of Lezhe I stopped and asked a police man sitting in a car if the town has a hotel. He thought a little and then indicated to follow him. This nice guy led us into town and stopped in front of the, presumably, only, hotel in town and with a smile, left us there. Naturally, it started to rain just then. I left the bikes with Carol and walked into the lobby of the only hotel and surprise, they had a room for us for 4200 Leke (30 Euro) incl. breakfast. Parking was in the back of the hotel behind the hanging laundry but was not easy to find since it involved finding your way by reckoning alone through the one-way back alleys of the neighborhood.. We made it; we had a hotel for the night.
It was early in the afternoon but I felt good that we stopped. Firstly we avoided the major rain fall, then we found a hotel with a spot for our bikes and we were in a major town and could explore whatever there was too see. We survived the first part of Albania’s roads without accident and are in one piece. The top box, albeit rattling severely, did not come off. Walking up and down the streets of Lezhe gave us a chance to observe Albanian life on a Friday afternoon with people rushing about. The sun had returned and the weather was pleasant. We could adjust ourselves to our new surroundings.
Yes it was a shock to enter into a county in Europe that is still very much like it was 30 or 50 years ago. The past Communistic Regime’s imprint is still clearly visible and has not advanced much in the last decade. Visit Albania and you will visit like you would have visited in 1980. There is a lot of work to be done here. The people are friendly, helpful, and basically happy but I felt like the leadership, the master plan was missing. Buildings have been started and then abandoned. Old factories are in decay. Lots of young families and/or young men have little work and little income. Friday night’s entertainment was to walk the large main street up and down and to show off your new dress or pants and be seen; or to sit and watch the strollers and enjoy your cup of coffee; strong Turkish coffee that causes heart palpitations. Lezhe is no tourist town but it served us well as our first town in Albania.
Dinner for two was an amazing 1500 Leke that night. Albania is a bargain to travel in if you find a hotel.

Kotor, again!

We woke up to tremendous thunder, to buckets of rain coming down outside our room. Lucky for us we had covered the bikes with our bike covers before we went to sleep. Do we get dressed and ride in this weather? The sky is gray, the town deserted outside. It is early, 6 AM. Breakfast is not being served until 9 AM, we paid for it already. Everything is soaking wet outside. It would be a good time and a good way to leave; we could even fire up the motors and ride out of this Forbidden City since I believe no policeman would be walking his beat in this kind of downpour. Not even a dog is stupid enough to walk through a miserable, cold shower like this.
I did what I very seldom do, I did nothing. It is now 10.30 AM and I am sitting in the bar downstairs writing these words. I had my omelet, a cup of strong coffee and all is updated on my blog journal. All I need is an internet connection, but with weather like this the satellite uplink will not work. Carol solved 2 difficult Sudoku puzzles already. There is just nothing to do but read and wait. The rain is letting up; it still rains, but not as heavily as earlier. We walk from shop to shop around the town. I get to know the town dog that lives by himself in town without ownership. Somehow he survives. I get to see how the town of Kotor moves without any tourists. The rain surly keeps the visitors away. The real pace of Kotor is very slow. The local people talk to each other, say hello, shake hands, give each other a kiss on each cheek and just talk. It sure is small town living. Women sit under a large umbrella, smoking their cigarettes, talking. We are the outsiders, the visitors with the money. They are the owners of this place.
Carol and I walk all over town in the afternoon. By now the rain has stopped but it is too late to start riding. We will wait until tomorrow. We discover little visited sections of town;
see an old hospital built by the Venetians and a fish market. We see dilapidated buildings, too. We hear the bells of all the churches in town toll. We hear the practice session of the local orchestra, trying to play a Bolero. It sounds terrible. We see things with a visitor’s eye yet we try to be as local as possible. Carols sends some postcards to her loved ones. I just sit and take in this village life; the good of it and the ugly, too.
I know life is the daily in and out for most people; daily routine, daily chores, daily responsibilities. I am very lucky, I am blessed, I can just visit and then leave. The people here have to stay every day, face the tourists every day. Their very existence depends on visitors. Kotor is a tourist spot; not extremely attractive, but good enough for a one day stop over. Cruise ships are the main source of income for all. The lack of parking spaces makes visits by car cumbersome if not impossible.
We will leave Kotor tomorrow, rain or shine, yet I also had a great time doing nothing but watch.

Kotor, Montenegro (MNE)

We left Dubrovnik quietly early in the morning; our bikes were unscathed, even though they were parked for 3 days in a free public parking lot accessible to all. On the way south on the main road, I kept looking back in the rear mirror to catch a last glimpse of Dubrovnik. The roads in Croatia are in great shape. I am now used to the way the signage is arranged but before I knew it we were at the border with Montenegro.
The international sign for Montenegro is MNE and MNE is listed on all car license plates. The currency in MNE is the Euro, which is a sure indication that MNE is part of the EU. We had some extra paper work to do to get into MNE since Stefan Knopf did not add MNE to the insurance papers we bought through him. The border guards were very thorough but it was painless. We were able to buy the needed Insurance at the border for 10 Euros and the coverage is good for one month.
As always, there is a change in appearance when crossing a border in Europe. MNE has a much more Slavic look than I thought. The former Russian influence is strongly visible. MNE is very mountainous with few areas for anything that needs flat ground. The coast offers some respite in spots but then all of this flat space is occupied by housing. MNE seems crowded. The one road along the coast is heavily trafficked and the speed limit of 50 KM is strictly enforced. Progress is slow. Many times I was in 1st gear, crawling through city streets. I bought a map of the county as soon as we crossed the border and it helped me get my bearings quickly. Having a baptism on the use of Balkan signage in previous countries, I understood the directions just fine. Before long we came to the town of Kotor, a scenic site and officially marked as such on the map. Kotor is a UNESCO site because of the well preserved Old Town and the many stone walls protecting the city from invaders from all sides.
Cruise ships stop right at the door step of this old MNE town. I mean it literally, the cruise ships dock not more than 200 yards from the entrance to the Old Town. There is no parking to speak of. The only main road along the coast passes between the docking area and the entrance to the Old Town, which is off limits to any motorized traffic. We had planned of stopping here but needed to find a hotel although none were visible. We understood immediately that there is just not enough room for hotels, no room for anything, really.
We found a coffee shop a bit out of town and stopped to address our predicament. We wanted to stop for the day especially since we had been riding in a heavy down pour for the previous hour and were soaking wet. I remembered the Russian saying: “What to do?” With the help of locals we found out that there is a hotel inside the old town and that it might be possible to even park our bikes inside Old Town Kotor if the hotel had room. After we parked our bikes near a bench in front of the main gate, with Carol sitting nearby to watch our belongings, I walked into town and yes, for 50 Euros, incl. breakfast we had a room for the night. Getting our motorcycles into town was a bit tricky since no motorized vehicles are allowed inside the ancient walls. The hotel had a storage facility for our bikes but getting into town, along the very narrow, very slick cobblestone streets gave me a challenge. Pushing the heavy bike was out of the question, leaving them unprotected outside the old city walls was no option either. So, like so many times in my life, I do what seems the most logical. We rode the bikes to the hotel. Now that we were at the storage spot I found out that there was no way to get our bikes up this high curb into the room. Lucky for us there was space in front of the storage facility and we just hoped nobody would mess with our transportation.
The town of Kotor is not very large and was originally set up in a triangle. Kotor is built against a very steep cliff wall, surrounded by the sea on one side, and a large river on the third side. It has a natural protection from 2 sides and the 3rd side of the triangle is the cliff wall. The protection of the cliff wall was further enhanced by high, defensive walls, which surround the town completely even at sea level. Kotor is a formidable fortress yet feels like a smallish settlement.
While idling away the hours inside and outside of town, we saw other bikers with the same predicament we were in a few hours before. Where do you park your bike? How do you find a hotel? How do you manage to visit? From the cruise ships the visit to Kotor is easy. Just walk in. With a bike or a car it is not a very logically set up. There is just not enough room for anything too touristy. Enterprising folks used towns nearby to set up hotels but the traffic and distances makes this cumbersome. We helped one U.S. couple and a young German rider to find the way to ‘our’ hotel but since they were on a very tight budget they decided against staying and paying 50 Euros for one night. The couple, Elizabeth and Jason from NYC,
had just married and were on a one year tour around the world, or as far as they could get in time and/or money. They were riding 2 up on an R 80 BMW. Daniel, the young man from Zwickau, Germany rode a brand new GS 800. We had a coffee together and shared some info but they soon needed to leave since it was getting dark and the sky clouded over, again, too.
Carol and I just walked the small town, walked through every conceivable alley since we had time. Dinner was a pizza for me, spaghetti for Carol.

Dubrovnik, Day 2 and 3

We got up early, had a Danish from the bakery next door for breakfast, a coffee from across the street and we were climbing the staircase that leads to the walk around the whole of old town Dubrovnik by 8.30 AM. We were told to do the walk early as there is no protection from the sun and it can get really hot walking the 2 Km around Dubrovnik this way. Not only is the walk long but also laced with steep stair cases going up as well as down. Carol counted the stairs up only and the count was 376 steps. We had a good morning exercise for sure. Nothing is for free in Dubrovnik; the walk costs KN 75 (Euro 10.-). Your ticket will be checked half way around again.
The walk gave us bird’s eye views of the city itself but also of the Adriatic Sea way below. This city surely picked a pretty spot to plant itself. While the old harbor is manmade, the whole of the layout, including the harbor, is pleasing. I could tell that good planners had a hand in setting up the streets, the municipal buildings, the churches. The effect on the eyes, on the mind is very calming. Dubrovnik is a lovely town.
Historically most of the buildings date from 1667 or thereafter, since a very large earthquake leveled most of the town in that year. Of course the town itself is much, much older. While the books tell us that Ragusa (Dubrovnik’s old name) was founded in the 7th century, another theory, and the one I like much better, is that the Greeks had a post or station here. Greek boats could only travel 45 to 50 nautical miles per day. At night old Greek boats were always pulled on to a sandy beach by the sailors so they could sleep and rest. Known Greek settlements were in Budva and Korčula, 95 Nautical miles apart. Dubrovnik is right in the middle. It had sandy beaches in ancient times. So why would the Greeks not use this spot to rest at night? Why would they not settle here too, especially since Dubrovnik had fresh water? So my theory is that this town was established by the Greeks, a long time ago.
I always ask myself why a town is there. I mean, what made people settle here? Yes, Dubrovnik became a big stopover of ships during the many crusades in the middle ages. Yes, Dubrovnik is in the middle of the East and West trade routes and a shipping trade center that the Venetians were always keen to possess. Yes, it was prosperous and the people were educated and forward thinking when those in a lot of other towns were not. It is documented that as early as 1301 medical services were introduced. Ragusa had an official pharmacy as early as 1317 and this pharmacy where you can buy drugs and have prescriptions filled, is still open today. Slave trading was abolished in 1418; imagine, 1418, way before others even thought about it. An official, 20 KM long, city water supply system was constructed for the whole of the town in 1436. Dubrovnik had a system established for orphans as early as 1432. To control the great plaques they established a quarantine hospital, a lazaretto, in 1377. The republic of Ragusa had Statutes as early as 1272.
Dubrovnik was and is an amazing city. Even today, the city is well run, well governed and prides itself on being self sufficient. The traces of the last war with Serbia in 1991 are hardly visible.
We looked at all the local people from the top of the wall; we saw what they built. Yes, the walk beats you up, yes, you get out of breath sometimes, but it is a must see walk. Dubrovnik is not only the old city, of course. Carol and I spent 3 days in old Ragusa but could not see all there is to see. We did not visit the surrounding islands. For me, 3 days in one place is enough, I need to move on. I like the big picture, not the smaller details.
We took a rest after our work out on day 2 and luckily we had no plans because the sky clouded over and it poured buckets of water. We needed to eat something since breakfast was scarce and, despite the rain, we walked into town to find a restaurant. Most of the eating is done in outside patios, to find an inside restaurant large enough was not easy. For some time we believed we could eat under an umbrella setup but the proprietor refused to serve in the rain even under the umbrella. He made room for us at a small table under an overhang and we had our small fried fish in the rain, but fairly sheltered.
The last day, day 3, we had bought concert tickets for a night performance. To occupy us during the day, we bought a self guided tour booklet and Carol was giving me a tour of Dubrovnik, she did a great job. We visited the famous old drugstore. For a change of pace we visited the only mosque in town. Carol also visited the synagogue, established by Spanish and Portuguese Jews banned from the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century by the Catholic Crown.
We learned about the pledge of Richard the Lion Hearted, who after the 3rd crusade (1189-1199) found shelter in Dubrovnik and promised to build a church if he survived a storm at sea. He was the money man behind the Dubrovnik Cathedral.
Ruder Boskovic (1711-1787), his theses about particles of an atom; confirmed by Rutherford’s experiments, were predecessors of Planck’s Quantum Theory.
Dubrovnik was, and is today, in the center of many things. The minds of the people are strong and the city is beautiful.
At our night performance, we heard 3 pieces of music, one by Mozart, 2 by Mendelssohn, directed by a Russian-born conductor. The members of the Dubrovnik Orchestra were such a mix of people, a representation of the cosmos in which Dubrovnik sits. East and West, the whole world is represented here.
This city sure is the Crown Pearl of the Adriatic, and the Crown Jewel of Croatia.

Dubrovnik, Day 1

We got up early, 6 AM to get all the way from Split to Dubrovnik in one day of riding. Not that the distance is that far, but one never knows what happens on the roads in foreign countries. Detours can alter the timing, Traffic jams are unpredictable, etc. We wanted to make sure and it is a pleasure to ride in the early morning hours. It was a double pleasure this day because it was Sunday and the roads were almost void of vehicles. We made amazing time, riding through towns, having all the space for ourselves. No restaurants were open, just a few early morning folks were about, but most of Croatia, on a Sunday morning, sleeps in. The towns are nice towns. The roads are in wonderful condition. The way follows the coast line and winds itself up and down hills, around every conceivable shore with beautiful vistas. It makes for good riding. It was a fantastic ride. There are not many places on earth that are like this for a motorcycle fan. Not dangerous, not extreme, just sweeping and a relaxed way to go.
We arrived just before noon and the hunt was on to find a place to stay. First thing is to get a hang of how the town is laid out. We found the old city, our target and it is huge, immense, walled,
with only 2 gates and only for pedestrians. Hotels! Where are they? I saw one place (Hotel Sesame) I read about in Carol’s book but it is a bit away from the main gate. It looked pretty; I knew it had 4 rooms and each one rented out for 150 Euros, if they are available. I saw a few signs for Apartments for let. We needed to think and were just stopped and talking to each other on our bikes near the bus station, when Edi asked us if we were looking for a place to stay. Edi Mačinko is an operator. I believe he is a good business man. I reminded me a little of Francis in Lima Peru. Edi (like spaghetti, he says) owns two houses near the Pile Gate and rents rooms and apartments to tourists. His place is set back from the street and no signs would yield enough customers. His houses are down a narrow alley nobody walks through. Edi stands near the bus station, near the main entrance to the old city and scans for potential customers. He can sort out not so good people, he tells us. We looked like the kind of customers he would like to have. With Edi’s help a lot of things about Dubrovnik became very easy. He helped us move our bikes into a free parking space. The parking space is a public space for scooters and bikes but Edi said, is very safe with camera security and it is ok to leave our bikes there. Naturally we took all of our possessions with us. The first night we had an apartment with a small kitchen and a bathroom under the stairs. Yes, with a hand held shower, that is just how it is down here. Yet this clean but eclectic room had a partial ocean view. At night, with the windows open you can hear the waves break on the rocky shore. We moved from this spot the following day just to get a real, American style, shower. Edi made a list for us of places to eat and gave us some hints as to what to do and when to do it. It was a question of do we trust Edi or do we look at him as an operator that cannot be trusted. We chose the former and it worked out well for us. Sometimes help sits right next to the road, even talks to you but you need to decide if you want to take it or not. We walked the town this first day of our visit and explored some of the narrow alleyways until our feet hurt. We ate dinner at the ancient harbor, dating back to Roman times and strolled along the Main Street (Stradun) licking an ice cream cone. Life has been good for us in Croatia thus far. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

Split

I find the name odd, there is nothing splitting about Split. On the way to Split we were near the town of Šibenik and it said in our book there was a famous cathedral to view. We tried, but either the cathedral is so small we missed it, or it is not inside the town. The traffic was so bad, we split. (Pun intended.) Somehow churches and I don’t work out.
Once back on the main road along the coast, I saw a sign for a mechanic, car wash facility, etc. The place looked clean and well organized so I asked if the guy could fix my side stand. I lucked out, the owner spoke English well, he was part of a Croatian Motorcycle club and he was mechanically all set up and capable. His name is Romeo. He inspected my side stand with a strong light and he found that the whole stand was cracked way up under the bike. To unscrew all, to do a perfect repair job would have taken two days. I opted for him to electro weld the broken part while it was still on the bike. We fabricated some kind of addition to the existing side stand so it will not lean over so far. We found a piece of metal piping and with some thinking and tinkering we came up with a workable do-hickey of a side stand.
It looks funny yet works just great. It is strong and welded well, reinforced inside with an iron bar and a screw was added to give some beef to an otherwise hollow section. Romeo’s son, Niko, drilled a few holes into my broken windshield and we kind of sewed the windshield together using plastic tie-mes. The windshield no longer flops in the wind. The whole fixing job took about 2 hours, a lot of effort went into the work and Romeo did a great job. Should you be stranded on the road near Split, email him. Romeo.baraka@si.htnet.hr Or call his cell +385 91 5583853 (95 81 70700) he will more than help you get going in Croatia. Above his shop he has 2 apartments for rent in case it becomes a long repair. A food store is next door. You could survive there and have your bike well taken care of.
Carol carries a big volume of Frommer’s Eastern Europe. We use it to get our bearings and this book spells out that it is difficult and expensive to get a room in Split. When we entered the town I disregarded the “Do not enter” street sign and considered myself a ‘resident’ who is allowed to drive through some restricted streets. I immediately got a better understanding of the way Split is laid out. Riding around, not through, the old part of the city helped me get my bearings. I saw a side street not far from the old walls and drove right in. I saw a sign, rooms for rent and stopped to take a closer look. Way in the back yard, down a step I saw the same sign again. Ok, I parked the bike, knocked at a door and an old lady cautiously opened the gate. Her English was poor, she spoke no German and my Croatian is non-existent. I checked out the room but did not check out the bathroom too closely. The bathroom was down the hall, it was shared with the proprietors. I took the place for 2 nights and with a little haggling paid 400 Kuna (57 Euros) for the 2 days. No breakfast. It was a bargain especially since it came with a parking spot for 2 bikes, secure in the backyard of the house. The room was Spartan but very clean. The bathroom situation was challenging in the beginning, especially since it had no shower and there was a 15 inch (at least) step up into the bathroom but we managed just fine, using the hand held device as a shower and letting the water drip right onto the floor. Many places in the Balkans have such a bathroom set up. A hand held shower used in the tub, for example, without the shower curtain. No worry about where the water will fly. Just hold the gizmo against your skin and the water will not fly far. Works great! You hardy spill any water that way if you do it right.
The town of Split itself is worth a visit. I am not sure we needed the 2 days we had because after one day, one gets the hang of the place. Carol and I took a guided city tour for 100 Kuna plus we paid an additional 25 Kuna for the basement tour. Our guide spoke English well and the tour lasted about 1 hour plus.
The main attraction of Split is the Palace of Diocletian. Diocletian was a Roman Emperor (245 to 316 AD) who is the only Roman Emperor who ever abdicated his reign. While he was in office he had his retirement palace built near Salona (today Solin), the center of Roman activity in the Dalmatia. Diocletian’s planning worked out well, after 21 years on the throne he did move into his huge Palace which spans about 10 acres. Built with slave labor and begun in 293 it took 12 years to finish. The Emperor occupied the palace in 305 and after his death in 316 it was used by the Roman Government. Avars and Slavs attacked in the 7th Century and destroyed Salona, the major Roman city nearby. Split became the refuge for the remaining Roman citizens, who defended the Palace which has walls up to 6 feet thick and nearly 100 feet high at some points. There were so many people however, that the Palace was not big enough and people established a new town next to the Palace walls, today’s Split. Instead of ripping down the Roman Palace the folks then incorporated the walls, the rooms, the temples, the houses, the facilities into their new buildings. A major part of the Roman architecture was now part of the town. Restaurants had three new walls and another wall that was pure Roman, including columns that were stolen in ancient times from Egypt. Split is a mix of antiquity, of medieval structures and of layouts originating in Roman decree. The roads inside the old city are narrow, no vehicle is allowed within its walls. Specially constructed delivery platforms have been developed to deliver goods to stores. People that live inside these ancient walls, and some 3000 people still do, have their good delivered by these motorized contraptions.
Split today is not only the old town but continues up the hill and expands beyond the ancient area. Solin (Salona), the old Roman center of Dalmatia is only 6 Km away and is today a modern, albeit very industrial looking harbor town. If it were not for Diocletian retiring to his Palace, which today is called Split, Croatia would have lost out big. Split is a huge tourist mill, spitting out Euros, Dollars, and Kuna for Croatia on a daily basis. I guess a lot of Croatians owe Diocletian a huge thank you for providing a good life.

Vodice and the bikes

The morning did not start off so great. Carol’s bike would not start. I thought it to be a weak, run down battery, maybe from the GPS left on overnight. Normally a GPS does not draw much current so I had my doubts but all signs said it is the battery. Now, I am no mechanic, even less an electrician. I could not even find the battery of the 650 GS. Lucky for me, Carol had a service manual that showed us how to remove the right side panel to access the battery. Sure enough, I found the battery in front of the tank but under all the plastic. Naturally I accessed the negative side first and had to take the left panel off, too to get to the positive terminal. Since I had done this many times on my GS Adventure, I knew how to start a bike using my alternator terminals, instead of the battery poles on my bike. Maybe there is an easier way to start a GS 650, without the extra work of taking the panels off but I do not know it. The 650 finally started up well and we ran the engine while I put the covers back on. We were off towards the town of Split in no time. There was no need to do anything but ride to charge up the battery on the 650. The major road was in great condition and we made good time.
The signage is still a bit tough for me. I knew we had to take the ferry in Prizna to cross over to Pag Island. You would think that a major sign would show you the ferry terminal, but no, just a small yellow sign spelling out the way towards Prizna. This is a major road change yet it gets no special attention from the highway department. I guess everybody knows that there is a ferry so why bother advertising it with a big, maybe even overhead sign? OK, I found the road to the ferry, paved, well maintained with even a sign showing that we needed to buy a ticket for the ship before we proceeded to the boarding area.
This ticket office, small and insignificant looking, is new, built on the side of the road on a rather steep downhill slope. I don’t know about you, but I hate to park my bike facing downhill. Looking around I saw a better, albeit not perfect area near the ticket booth itself. I rode the bike closer to the booth itself, got off the bike and made sure the bike could stand on the side stand. It felt a bit precarious but I thought it was ok for the time I needed to buy 2 tickets. Just as I walked up to the window I heard a loud crash and my bike was laying on the ground behind me. It had toppled over the side stand and was now on the left side, wheels in the air. It had toppled over despite the side stand being down. I stood dumb struck. I tried to lift the bike but the side stand prevented me from doing any good. In addition, the mass of the bike was on the downhill side. What to do? How much damage was done? I asked the guy in the booth to help but he was very reluctant. Carol could not help; she was still sitting on her bike, with no safe place to park it on the rather steep downhill slope. With some effort I was able to get the side stand kicked back which freed the bike a bit. I bought the 2 tickets for the ferry and must have made such a stupid face to the attendant that he felt obliged to help. The two of us muscled the bike upright and I tried to use the side stand but something was askew.
Adrenaline still pumped in my blood so I somehow got on the bike without the side being down and rode to the waiting area for the ferry. The bike ran fine. Once at the waiting area I put the bike on the center stand. It is hard to get off the bike not using the side stand. I managed with Carol’s help but I do not like the maneuver. To make things worse, I had to do this again on the ferry, since normally, for the short 15 minute crossing; the bike would just stand on the side stand. All this happened rather quickly. I was busy buying the ticket; fussing with the damaged side stand; parking the bike in the waiting area; getting again on the bike; getting it on to the ferry; etc. I had no time or space to look over the bike. The bike ran well.
Well, on the ferry, some other bikers from Belgium noticed that I was losing gasoline; it was pouring out of the overflow hose. Just before the fall I had filled up with gas, the tank was filled to the top. When the bike fell, gasoline must have gotten into the overflow and now it started pouring out. To eliminate the air pressure in the tank I opened the gas cap and, like a small geyser, gasoline bubbled up and out onto the tank and all over the ferry deck and all over the bike. The bike was still hot from running on the highway. This gas spill made me nervous. One guy was smoking nearby and that made me really nervous but his buddy asked him to move further away.
What do I do now? A quick visual check assured me that nothing was broken, no gas line was ruptured. That was good. I noticed now that the windshield had major scrapes and that the right side of the plastic windscreen was totally broken. The windscreen was actually broken in half. I just stood and watched the gasoline pouring out. Nothing I could do to stop it. I knew from experience that it will stop in time as soon as the air pressure in the gas line is equaled out. I also knew that the charcoal filters, the air pollution device on my bike would now be saturated with gasoline and that the bike might not start. The least it would do is not run well for at least 20 miles. I knew this because it has happened to me before. When the gasoline gets into the charcoal filter it chokes the system with too much gas. The gasoline needs to evaporate or be used up in the recovery system and that takes a bit of time. Nobody wanted to be near me, the guy with the leaking bike, reeking like gasoline. I wiped up as much of the gasoline as I could with the use of some paper towels I had on me. Carol gave me some wipes, too.
Still, as soon as the ferry stopped, the others made a fast departure from the ticking gas bomb. I waited as long as I could but I needed to get off the ferry to make room for the people behind me to get off. So I hit the starter button and the bike started just fine. I rode off the center stand and kept on moving off the ferry, onto the road and just like I anticipated, the motor begun to stutter. I rode on. I was using the accelerator very carefully to not pour too much gas into the system. I rode in high rpm’s to use up as much gas as I could but no matter what I did, I had to shift up to the next gear and every time I up shifted, the engine almost died. This went on for about 15 miles and then, like a mystery, it went away.
Meanwhile the windshield flopped a little in the breeze. I could not stop because I could not use the side stand. All this commotion and I had to use the washroom. How do I stop? Lucky for me the road is rather dull and boring and not heavily trafficked. I find a coffee, sandwich shop and while I sit on the bike, Carol found a hunk of wood to push under the side stand. The bike could stand like this but it was not good, I rode in a similar way last year all through Norway and had devised a side-stand support from a 2x4 but not this year. I needed to get this fixed. After we had a break, I found a piece of a tree trunk and carried it with me, just in case I needed to use it.
The weather was hot, temperature was near 30 degrees C and the sun was beating on us. Yes, we wanted to make the town of Split but why push ourselves? I had had enough excitement for the day, let’s find a town we like and stay there for one night. Looking at the map we decided to stop in the town of Vodice. We could have made it to Split but why push on? We will make Split tomorrow. Meanwhile we call it an early day and enjoy Vodice, which turned out to be a very elegant, almost rich boating town with a very historical downtown. The hotel we found was within walking distance of all the attractions and the beer that night tasted delicious.