Since the area was so rural and we were somehow skeptical about it after last evening, we decided Saturday (20.05.) morning not to go to the Plitvice Lakes. Especially since we would have to drive a good bit further through this area. Instead, it should now go back to the coast and the Krka waterfalls. So we continued towards Otočac, where we enjoyed our breakfast in front of Lidl. The route was very pleasant to ride, as it was mostly flat.

So we passed a flooded, but beautiful river, encountered our first snake in Croatia, until it went a bit uphill again.

During a longer break at a viewpoint we could see the flooded valley. When we finally went downhill again, one of Ida's tires had a flat tire, whereupon we changed it without further ado at the roadside.

To check the tire pressure, we looked for people with an air pump including bar gauge as we drove on. So we asked at a man with a garage and he gave us not only the air pump, but also offered us leftover cake and juice.

After our bellies were filled with delicious cake, we relaxed and drove on to Gospić, which however made a strange impression. As the sun slowly approached the horizon, we asked shortly after Gospić a younger couple who were building a house if we could sleep in their garden. And so we were able to pitch our tent there. Although we said that we didn't need anything, they brought us coke, cookies and homemade air-dried ham. So we sat in the tent, ate supper and thus fit the rain just right.

We thought we had survived the shock of the previous day, but we were taught otherwise. Because in the middle of the night we woke up from a loud dog barking. Perhaps it should be said in addition that on this property and also in the proximity over the evening no dog was to be heard... otherwise we would not have set up our tent there. Well the dog came closer and closer to our tent, barking and growling. Judging by the barking, it was not a small dog. Since the dog did not stop barking and growling and we got scared, we called the police again. Because from our previous experience, we could not be sure that he would not attack us. The police, of course, were overwhelmed with this. They said they would send someone to take a look. However, at some point, after over an hour of threatening us nonstop, the dog gave up and moved away from us. After a few hours of commotion during the night, we went back to sleep.

I told you that it would remain exciting. In addition, we noticed that behind the tracks from which we were only a few meters away and asleep, a potential mine area began.

On Sunday (21.05.) we left quite early and took the ham with us in exchange for a pack of nuts, since we did not know when the couple would return. Fortunately, the next stretch was also quite flat. We again passed many abandoned houses and saw a former tank as a memorial to the war.

Since the weather was almost too good, we took a longer break at noon before going uphill a little bit again. After we managed this as well, we were in for an 8km descent along a coastal road with a beautiful view. With a few breaks to cool down our brakes, we made it all the way down.

Since there should be thunderstorms along the coast later and we wanted to make it to the campsite near Zadar, we had to step it up a notch.

While driving, we could again observe the thunderstorm from the side until we arrived at the planned campsite, which, however, was under reconstruction. So we decided on the recommendation of a permanent vacationer to head for the campsite 8km away. And so we cycled off in a sprint to escape the rain.

So we made about 95km in the end of the day. These were much more relaxed than the first 100km. We spent the rest of the evening finally washing our clothes again - by hand, of course - and cooked delicious pasta. Since in the evening again nothing more of the rain was to be seen, we watched the sunset and fell asleep at some point.

With bright blue sky and the first rays of sunshine we got up in the morning on (Monday 22.05.). Shortly after, our camping neighbors offered us to go hiking in the National Park Paklenica of the Velebit Mountains. Especially since the two were already experienced, we took the opportunity and got to the entrance of the national park by bikes.

It was very tiring to go hiking for once, but the view was definitely worth the effort.

The highlight for me was climbing between the rocks just before the summit, because you had to look how to climb up best, but you could grip the rocks well.

On the way back down, we stopped at some kind of creek with smaller waterfalls and to cool down my overheated battery, I went into the water with my legs.... and it was really cold. Fortunately, I decided against bathing completely at the waterfall, because a short time later, we once again halfway well matched the thunderstorm, since we had the most strenuous part already behind us. And what offers itself better than to sit out the thunderstorm under a few rocks - almost like cavemen?

When the rain became less and we made the rest of the way down, it started - as it should be - to rain again properly, so we still got wet. We went shopping quickly and then arrived back at the campsite, showered, dried our clothes again and a short time later the sun was shining again. Crazy weather here in Croatia. In the evening we chatted with our camping neighbors and ate tortellini on the beach at sunset. With the bad premonition to have properly sore muscles the next day, we fell asleep.

Here's another look at Tilman's cool nature photography from the hike:

A small hidden object picture is also included:

Tuesday (23.05.) was now the day of the onward journey. In the morning we had breakfast in peace and slowly dismantled our tent. Of course I had to go into the water again and so we left late in the morning.

It was very warm, so we treated ourselves with an ice cream from Plodine (a supermarket) on the way. After a few kilometers behind a bridge, we looked for a slightly shady place. But we didn't stay there for long, because spiny caterpillars were falling from the tree we were sitting under. So we quickly moved on.

With a brief stop at the cemetery to get our clothes wet, we looked for a better place to sit out the heat. So we found a dirt road in a place where we could spread out. However, it turned out that there were always people going along there, but they were very relaxed. In the late afternoon we swung back on the saddle and cycled on, seeing some snakes - unfortunately more dead than alive - and even encountering a small turtle.

As the day slowly drew to a close, we asked a gentleman where we were allowed to sleep on an olive plantation... so we weren't quite sure if it was his or he just meant that we could certainly sleep there. We later fell asleep on the soft ground of the plantation.

In the morning on (Wednesday, 24.05.) we got up already at 5 and headed for the Krka waterfalls. We arrived already in the morning and wanted to leave our luggage at the information, so that we had to drive up to the campsite only in the evening. However, the information told us that this was not possible, although they advertise with bicycle friendliness.

So we drove the 200 meters in altitude to 5km 'stretched' up to the campsite, unloaded our things and made our way to the bus stop. We came up with the glorious idea to take a bike with us and thus transport two people at the same time, so that we did not have to walk the 2km to the bus in the heat. So we kept taking turns and arrived - maybe even a little faster - at the bus.

After we bought our entrance ticket for the national park, it turns out that the park is divided into 6 parts with different entrances. At each entrance you have to pay the complete entrance fee again... so you can calculate how much you pay if you want to see the complete park.

Well, when we arrived at the entrance, we found that it was very crowded with people. This was due, among other things, to the fact that there was only one advertised path. Apart from that, we could observe the flowing water, see various waterfalls and also observe some insects. Tilman made every effort to capture the dragonflies with his camera:

The picture (above) vs. how it was taken (below)

Since it has rained in the area, for a long time a lot, there were some slightly flooded places and unfortunately one was therefore not allowed to swim. So we relaxed at the waterfalls and went for a second run in the evening, which was much quieter and more relaxed, so we could really enjoy the surroundings again.

When we were back at the campsite later in the evening, we decided to eat a portion of fries in the small restaurant there and watched as two cats messed with a small lizard. No worries the lizard was then rescued by a nice woman and taken away. In the evening we talked with two people from Great Britain who are hiking through Europe and fell into bed little later after showering.

Thursday (25.05.) started again quite relaxed, so we set off in the morning in the direction of Split. A bit hilly we continued until we lingered in the shade of a chapel in a cemetery around lunchtime. We played punto and rested. When we realized it was going to thunderstorm again, we drove a little further to sit out the storm under a highway bridge. So now we sat under the bridge, played Punto and Tilman slept.

It turned out again how well you can trust the weather forecast...not. However, this time in the positive, because the thunderstorm did not catch up with us. Better that way than unexpected hail. Finally, we set off with initially more pleasant temperatures and a few raindrops, but they did not cool us down. On the renewed ride uphill, the sun then gave its best to heat us up once again.

And so we enjoyed towards evening the small departure. We met a nice family with 5 cats - so an absolute paradise for me - where we could sleep in the garden. Ida and I talked with the younger daughter, while Tilman talked with the father, who was working in the garage. We were offered nuts, homemade red wine and ice cream, which we gratefully accepted. When it got dark, we set up our beds and went to sleep.

Early in the morning on (Friday, 26.05.) we said goodbye to the family and had the last 50km to Split ahead of us. So it went again a really steep piece uphill, which I had to push again.

But where there is uphill, there is also downhill. After breakfast we passed the mountain pass, where it was relaxed downhill again. We now drove directly along the sea through beautiful suburbs of Split, which were somehow all called Kaštel. There we paused briefly and when it became too windy to sit, we continued the ride along the sea.

The beautiful route changed into a stony and partly muddy path as we followed Eurovelo 8 along an airport. The ride into the city of Split also turned out to be extremely exhausting and stressful. There were hardly any bike lanes, too many cars and hardly any lowered curbs. However, we passed beautiful ruins.

After what was probably the most stressful part of the day, we arrived at the AirBnB, showered, had a bite to eat, and headed downtown. There we strolled through Diocletian's Palace, which looked more like a fortress than a palace, watched people walk by as we sat on the waterfront, and walked through the historic district of Veli Varos.

At the end of our joint tour of Croatia, we enjoyed ourselves in a vegan restaurant. When it slowly became dark and the water at the harbor reflected the lights, we walked towards the beach, where I wanted to go swimming one last time. However, it was quite dark and the water was very shallow for quite a long time, so I was only up to my knees in the water. Back at the accommodation we repacked the things into the other bags and went to bed, because we had to get up at 5 the next morning so I could take my bus to Zagreb.

So now these two exciting weeks went by. With the idea to accompany Ida and Tilman a little on their journey - and that even in Croatia - I really did not think much about it... except maybe'That's cool and Croatia should also be beautiful'. And I got there without much expectation, which was maybe better, because I was 'surprised' that Croatia can be very mountainous, but now I had no other option but to drive. And it was worth it, because Croatia is beautiful, we got varied impressions with the most diverse landscapes, nice people and many cool cats. Nevertheless, besides the varied landscape, it was interesting to see how big the difference is to the touristy coastal region and the inland, where you can sometimes still see traces of the war that you wouldn't see otherwise. And of course it was also great to ride a bike with Ida and Tilman, so I wouldn't even be averse to riding a bike with them again ;) All in all, it was a great time.