Krk, Croatia – Nov 2017

Arrived at Krk late afternoon yesterday. Parked up at the Bor Camping Site and went for an exploratory walk and then a few beers before it got dark.

Krk has a small but pretty harbour and the sea looked calm despite  a weather forecast suggesting that there will be a day or two of unsettled weather before the sunshine returns.

Krk harbour /marina

Walked from the harbour into Krk Old Town. First impressions are that the lanes in these old towns get narrower the further south I go. I suspect this is deliberate and something to do with limiting the amount of direct sunlight that the streets get? No matter, as dusk approached and the street lights came on, the lanes became increasingly quaint. It just needed snow and it would be fabulous Christmas card material. Not much chance of snow here just yet with the thermometer hitting 18 degrees earlier today.

The lanes in these old towns get narrower the further south I go…

With dusk, the lanes become increasingly quaint…

As time went on I headed for a small bar on the harbour that I noticed on the way in. More of a beer place than wine. Shame, the beer here is not great and I am really getting into drinking the local wines…

Tiny little bar by the harbour

I didn’t eat anything and I had a skinful of beer and I then set off back through the Old Town to find the Van. Silly move; not sure if it was the alcohol or the dark or whatever (it was probably a combination of all three) but those quaint little lanes became a dark labyrinth that confused the hell out of me and, let’s just say, it was some considerable time before I got back to the Van. In fact, and I wasn’t going to admit this, I ended up booking into a hotel overnight. Just don’t tell Dave Hoyle – he’ll never trust me to get him off a mountain ever again!

… the little lanes became a dark labyrinth

In hindsight I only needed to walk downhill to escape the Old Town but you know what it is like …

It’s an 8 km walk to the neighbouring town of Punat in the morning.

Umag, Novigrad & Lovrecica, Croatia – Nov 2017

Left Izola yesterday morning and was in Croatia in about 30 minutes. First time I have seen any border presence (other than when the Swiss police simply waved me through from France) with police on both the Slovenian and Croatian side of the border wanting to check passports.

My first stop in Croatia was Umag for a quick walk around and a spot of breakfast (pleasant). The second scheduled stop was at Novigrad for a longer walk around and lunch (more pleasant) but in between I stumbled upon Lovrecica (most pleasant).

I was swearing at the time (very rare during the course of this tour) because the road from Umag to Novigrad  was blocked for roadworks. No warning, no detour signs, nobody to explain what is going on; just barriers blocking my route. And of course in such situations the sat-nav really doesn’t help;  continually urging me to follow the same road despite having it explained in no uncertain manner that the route is closed. Enough to drive anyone to distraction. Well, I turned off the road to consult a map and found myself in Lovrecica. Within moments, I was chilled and properly focused to resume my journey.

Umag (breakfast)

Novigrad (lunch)

Lovrecica – that house alongside the harbour in front of the church is up for sale. Needs a bit of work but I would be sorely tempted if Lovrecica had a few more amenities – the village is just a bit too small

Was going to spend the next day or two in Porec (just further down the coast) but I think I will leave that for the return journey and head for Krk now. No particular reason. I saw it on the map and, as the Irish would say, I fancied the Krk (although they spell it craic).