I should have been on the road for quite a while now. Should have, could have, would have – didn’t. The reason for that is quite simple: Buerocracy. I was pretty sure I could hit the road some time ago. I said farewell to my friends and family and wanted to start and let the good times roll. The last minor obstacle was switching the type of car from cargo van to RV. Easy. Some friends and also my sister did the same thing within a day. Just roll up to the country’s vehicle center, get it checked and off you go. The test consists of those guys checking if you have something to drink, cook and sleep in the car. A bed with a simple camping stove with an additional water bottle does the trick. Well: Here comes my story.
I had already told my family that I’ll leave right after this is finished. As I was driving up for inspection, the guys in charge checked the whole car and found some issues to fix. Great, no chance of leaving now. So I bought the car to my mechanic and told him to fix the issues which were really no big deal at all. However, it did cost me precious time, and my mood was brutally bad. So I decided not to tell anyone that I’m still at home since the whole “let’s meet once more” thing starts again. And I am not a big fan of things like that.
When the Issues were fixed, I had to drive up to the inspection again. My family repeated farewell. I, however, was already joking that this might be too soon. Oh, boy was I right. After the second inspection where I have to mention the guy did not really check the things on the bucket list. He just asked me if it is fixed bud did no testing at all on things like the temperature of the braking fluid. When the inspection was finished, he told me that he cannot change the type of car since I had to pay “Nova.” Nova is an Austrian tax on vehicles which get paid when they hit the road at first or when you import a car from another country. I was a little bit confused since the car was used and driven in Austria before. He gave me a copy of my cars details and told me to bring this letter to the tax authorities to check how much I have to pay.
The Same day I drove up to the Austrian tax office and brought the letter with me as I was told. Just to get told that I have to show all the bills of all the equipment fixed in my car which cannot be removed. Yes, seriously. Every little bill of every little screw and wooden plate, the sink the stove, etc. And if you think at this point I was really pissed – you cannot even imagine in your worst dream how pissed I was. So I sorted out all the bills and made copies of them, where I marked things built into the van and even summed up the whole thing. Back to the office where I was told to wait until they call me to come and pay the taxes. Since this is a governmental institution, they are not the fastest workers so this could take up to a week.
Nobody I know had to do things like this but as one of my closest friends mentioned: Things like that happen just to you, don’t they? How right he was. Nevertheless, I cannot wait anymore since my time is running short. Not only is the weather starting to get brutally wet and cold north of the alps but far more important: I have some promises to keep.
The first snow in Austria – already
Tomorrow a friend and former workmate will land at Zadar to take a Croatia tour with me. Mostly along the coast from Zadar to Dubrovnik and back. So I have to start moving. Trying to avoid tolls and highways I decided to drive through Italy and Slovenija, along with the coastline. Well, most of the time at least.
The start
Excited through and through I started through low-hanging clouds and rain towards Italy. Living close to the border this was a matter of minutes. Moving further south the landscape and architecture changes. Not from one meter to the next one but slowly. In Austria, the casual rock is grey-ish and the earth more of a dark brown. The moment you see white rocks with red-ish earth left and right of the road you notice the different climate. As I moved on the rain stopped, the clouds went up higher, and I swear to you, the moment I crossed the Croatian border the sun started shining down.
I shit you not – sun
After five hours of driving it was almost a relief to notice that I have almost reached today’s goal. Stunning landscapes made me stop and take a breath of air filled with the smell of the sea, within the last warm sunlight the small village/town of Bakar below me made me feel satisfied for once in a long time. Moving on I stopped a few kilometers after Crikvenica, just on the side of the road with an ocean view. Next to me a German couple, also in a custom van. Sharing some experiences and having a beer since they are already on their way back to Germany. I cooked myself something for dinner and decided for myself that all the trouble was worth it so far.
Bakar
Bay of Bakar
The looks
EU - Adventure 