Fat Old Sun

Castello di Miamare

 Another week has passed since I was in Bled, and wrote to you the last time. It’s been a good week, full of exiting places and people. I’d say probably even a little bit too many attractions. I feel that I’m running from one thing to the next, without really taking my time. There are always so many things left undone everywhere I am. I take a glance at the highlights, shoot some pictures, and wrooom, I’m off again.

Trogir

Enough about that. I’m having a good time, the sun is shining, I am healthy and have enough to eat=). From Bled I went via Italy (Castello di Miamare) back to Svlovenia and to Croatia. In Croatia I have now spent 4 days. I have visited Zadar, Trogir, Spit and Korcula. Highlights have been Castello di Miamare, Trogir and Spit.

Split by night

Trogir is a wonderful little town, with narrow streets, old Venetian buildings and of course the Adriatic-Sea. Trogir’s old-town is full of tourist, like any other Croatian old-town, but the beauty of the place does up for it. Split in the contrary is a large town, Croatias second largest, but it’s very lively, and also has a stunning old town. One of the beautiful things about Split is how it manages to be a town for tourists, but still lives its own life. In the old-town, just outside Diocletian’s palace, there’s a lively market, where people sell bread and pastries, fruits and vegetables. Among these sellers, very much used by the locals, you find other sellers who sell typical souvenirs like postcards t-shirts and the like. There, the locals and the tourists blend, without getting into conflict with each other.

In addition to Split being a nice place, I also decided that it was time for a proper shower and a little bit of social life, so I stayed in town that night, in a very recommendable hostel, named Croparadise (green). Croparadise was good, and its customers were lovely. I met an American Lady, a guy from Split called Mustafa and three friends from Slovenia, Jan and two babes. With Mustafa and the latter I spend the whole evening. We sat on the balcony and talked until the clock had passed four in the morning. Mustafa is a sailor, has seen most of the world (including Norway, Germany and Madagascar), and had plenty of stories and experiences to tell us about. Jan and the girls study in Ljubljana, and went home the following day.

Mustafa

Now I am in Mostar, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and from here I’ll go via Kotor in Montenegro to Albania. What I look forward to in Albania is that there are much less tourist, and a better country for freelance-campers like me. Croatia is NOT a good country for freelance-campers. One thing is that freelance-camping is forbidden, the other is that (at least along the coast) everywhere is so full of people and towns, that finding a beautiful place where there in addition are no people is next to impossible. Once I was driven away by the police, but that was in Slovenia, and the policeman was very nice and didn’t even fine me, so I was lucky at that occasion.

Alja (one of Jans girls) and me on the balcony of Croparadise

P.S: This was written before I actually got to Mostar. Now, after I have seen it, I must add it as another Highlight. A Picture from here might come with the next post. 

Fat Old Sun

Korcula

My bedroom

Stonepreacherman in Split

Telegraph road

Rain in the Country

Wombosi in the Alps

Now I’m sitting in lovely Bled in Slovenia. My trip so far has been good when it comes to roads and landscape. I love the Alps, and have found some really wonderful roads. The Weather in contrary has not been too good. Friday and Saturday were ok, but Sunday and Monday have been two of the most rainy days I’ve seen. Before I left, I checked the Weather for Bled on yr.no, and it said 82 mm rain for Monday, so I thought I’d rather use longer time in Italy, but where I was in Italy, it rained at least 82 mm that Monday.

Even with the weather my trip has been good so far. Friday was a long and hectic day, that started with a minor accident in the morning, something that ruined my mood and conscience for some hours, but I reach my appointment in Munich anyway, and things went smoothly.

The vastness seen from above the Hochtor

Saturday was really amazing; I tried Austrias finest mountain-road, the Großglockner-Hochalpenstraße. The fee of 29 Euro was rather steep, but so was the mountain and the view was stunning. The Edelweißspitze (2572m.) was regrettably in a cloud, but I hiked to the top above the Hochtor(2505m.), and experienced amazing freedom and vastness. It didn’t matter that it started to rain and hail while I was on the top. That evening I had a beautiful sleeping-place. It was still in the national-park, and surely not legal, but no one cared.

What a place to sleep!

The next Morning, the fog was so dense that I couldn’t see a single mountain. The last three days I have worn terminal underwear, but now it is warm again. The rainy days sent me through some of the most beautiful nature I have not seen… I must get back some time when the sun is shining. The Plöckenpass was great, so was the Stella Nevea. The Julian Alps of Slovenia are also great, and my sleeping place yesterday, in the mountain above Bovec, was yet again fantastic. In the evening the rain stopped, the sun came out; I made a small fire with the wet wood I found in the forest, made some meat and potatoes, and was almost dry and warm.

And make soup..

Today has been great. The Vrsic-Pass has almost as great as the guidebook had said, with 50 hair-pin bends in 24 km and Bled, in the evening light, is beautiful, even if it still is rather full of tourists.

Wombosi is doing fine in the rain

As you understand I have been mainly on my own with nature so far, but is has been good. Wombosi has been a good boy. He makes some creepy noises from the alternator, but it is nothing to worry about. I guess I’ll be a little more social when I get to the coast. I have spent a lot of time reading, the Bible, guidebooks and Memed I, a great novel that plays in turkey. I look forward to get there. Probably I could climb the AliDag. 

Yet another stunning view to fall asleep to

The Julian Alps

Bled

A new Machine (part one)

Wombosi and me

Today is a happy day. Even I can’t stop smiling. Since I wrote the last time, quite a number of things have happened. First came the trouble. I had sent my Passport to the Syrian embassy in Berlin, from Bergen, already on the 15 of August, and thought it would be at my grandparents with Syrian visa, when I got there, but it wasn’t. On Tuesday the 6^th I called the Embassy, and asked if it would still take long, but there answer was depressing. The passport hadn’t come to them at all. I had sent it registered, but I had thrown away the tracking-number, so I had to call the Norwegian Post, and ask them to look for it. They said they’d call when they knew more, but haven’t called jet.

Second problem was that I had no car, and as I have said earlier, I didn’t look forward to buying one. My main targets, the Defenders, were few on the market, and when I called, they were either sold, or not for sale to private persons. This left me with only one opportunity. There was one car that suited me very well, but the seller couldn’t say whether it was for sale, nor the price, since he sold it for someone else, whom he couldn’t reach. Even with nothing sure, I decided very spontaneously to go to southwestern Germany (close to Basel), visit some friends, and hopefully buy the car.

Birthdaybreakfast - Franziska and her parents
Hubert and Marion

After almost 9 hours train I got to the Kienzler-family in Schopfheim. Franzizka, a good friend of mine celebrated her 20 birthday on Friday, so the timing was good. The celebration was nice, and the Kienzlers are lovely and hospitable people. On Friday I also got a call from Pat Pfluger, a rover mechanic, who had helped me find the car. He said that the dealer finally had gotten in touch with the seller, and that the car was for salt for 7000 Euro.

Playing farmer. Picture taken by Phillip Kienzler

On Saturday, one of Franziskas friends, Eileen, drove me to the other Kienzler family. They have a farm in Buchenbach (close to Freiburg), and did the last “grass-harvest” that Saturday, so I was farmer for a day. I did a lot of traktoring, which was great fun.

*Christoph in the sunset at Buchenbach

Monday I left the Kienzlers very early in the morning, to finally get me a car. I took the train to Bühl, where the Pflügers live, and from there, Dani, Pats wife, drove me all the way to north of Stuttgart(2,5 hours driving). We looked at the car, and decided to buy. We loaded it on the trailer, and drove back to Bühl. There I got a license plate, and could drive it up to the Pflügers garage. In the afternoon Pat checked the whole car with me. We changed oil, welded the exhaust, and fixed some minor problems, all while Pat explained all the parts for me, and how I’d fix smaller damages. He also gave me a lot of parts, like a spare wheel, for free, and sold me some parts. I don’t know if Pat and Dani realize how much they helped me, but they really made the difference. Without them, I would never have known about the car, and would not be confident of it being ok. That Dani used almost a whole day, and Pat all evening to get me a car, and make sure it is in a good condition, and did it free of charge is amazing, and I am very grateful.

Schupphof, the Kienzler-farm

I have baptized my lovely Defender 110 Mr. Wombosi. I drove him more than 400 km yesterday, and he is a really good boy. Except for a leak from the “roof-window”, that I hope to get fixed, he runs fine. He’s from 1997, and has done 185700 kilometers.

On my way home yesterday I got great news. I called the Syrian embassy. They had got the Passport, and already issued a Visa, and even sent it to my grandparents, and believe it or not, it has come home, with a beautiful visa for Syria!

*Sunset in Buchenbach

As you can see I have every reason to be happy. People are so nice and helpful, and there are many I should mention, like Wiebke and Hans-Jörg Willig, but I think even this is to long for most of you. Now I’ll enjoy the last two days with my grandparents, buying all the food, medicals, tools and other equipments I still need tor the trip. Friday is departure day. I leave before 6 in the morning, because I have to reach a date I have with the ADAC in Munich at 10.00, for my Carnet de Passage.

*Tree, edited with fish-eye and color-reduction filters
on the camera

P.S: Jørgen, the pictures with a * are taken with my new soligor 24mm lens. It takes lovely landscape pictures=)

*Fern at Roudolphstein

Goodbye blue sky

Wombosi

On the Run

My Honda CB500 after many kilometers

So the first part of the journey is well finished. The ferry from Bergen took all night, so I arrived in Hirtshals at 7 in the Morning. The weather was warm and good both Saturday and Sunday, so the driving was good, even if Autobahn is spectacularly boring. My little fellow drove nicely, as usual, so I came here to Bernstein already at 13.30 an Sunday, and got a fabulous dinner from Grandma.

Now I’m on the hunt after internet, to tell you that I’m alright, and to buy a car=). I hope to have good news about that on the next post. 

Bike

So now it's down to real business. Tomorrow I set out for the first part of my journey south. I go by ferry directly from Bergen to Hirtshals in Denmark, followed by two days of autobahn, all the way to southern Germany. The weather-forecast is good, so I look forward to the ride, even if Autobahn not is a motor-bikers dream.

Fichtelgebirge at night

I get to Bernstein, where my grandparents live, on Sunday the 4. I'll then have 10 days to buy a car, and get all papers in order. I will leave Germany on the 15. if everything goes as planned.

It's time to go to bed soon, but first I should buy some insurance, I guess.

P.S: as you see, I have started a concept where all my titles will refer to a Pink-Floyd song=)