
Italy & Balkans (July 2006)
Three motorcycles, six countries in nine days, 2.300 kilometers....
Another trip to Europe.... A continent which has a lot of different views to offer to a traveller! I n this trip our goal was to explore the Dalmatian Coastline.
A team of six friends, on three motorcycles (2 GS 1150 & 1 RT 1200), crossed six countries in nine days. We drove 2.300 kilometers.
Our friends Othon, Angeliki and Vana and I, started our trip from Patras (Greece), where we took the ferry to Venice (Italy). The third couple started the trip two days later. We were underway 36 hours to Venice and it was boring. We were anxious to drive.... We disembarked early in the morning, at 6 a.m. and we crossed the Italian borders to Slovenia. We drove to Ljubljana where we spent our first day. Ljubljana is my favorite city and what could I tell about it.... Our stay was just perfect!!!
The next day we left Ljubljana and Slovenia for the capital of Croatia, Zagreb. In my first visit in Zagreb, I didn't have enough time to explore it, because we stayed only one day. I said to my self...next time....
We continued our trip, and we drove to Rijeka in Croatia, were we met Theo and Fotini. It was the first trip for Theo with his new motorcycle! At that day he (Theo) drove from Ancona (Italy) to Rijeka. All the team together!
So, we started driving along the Dalmatian Coastline. Our first short stop was in Zadar. We visited Zadar's Sea Organ which is situated near the new cruiser port to listen music made by the waves as they move in the pipes. We also visited the City Gates.
Our next stop was in Split which is the largest city in Dalmatia. My first visit in Split was in 1982 and I was very curious about the changes that probably had been done in this city after 24 years. I didn't notice something WOW.... The Diocletian's Palace is the main attraction and we walked in tunnel-like streets, where Roman, medieval and Renaissance buildings jostle together to form a unique urban jumble. After a two days visit in Split we left for Dubrovnik, the southest Croatian city in the Dalamatian coast. It's main attraction, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the complex of city walls encircling a city of spellbinding beauty. A two days stay in Dubrovnik gave us the chance to visit the town of Cavtat which is a picturesque gem.
It was time to return to our homes.... We didn't choose to cross Albania from north to south, but we chose to cross Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo and FYROM to stay overnight in Greece, near to the borders with FYROM. That night I decided that as soon as I return home, I will the light bulbs of my motorcycle with Xenon lights, because the night vision with those lights were very poor...
We had very good time and a lot of fun! We enjoyed driving by the Dalmatian coastline and in the part from Dubrovnik to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo.