Zagreb · Pula · Brijuni National Park · Plitvice Lakes National Park · Northern Velebit National Park · Split · Krka National Park · Omiš · Punta Rata/Brela · Zagreb
September 12, 2020
Slowly I drive towards the toll booth and stare at the ticket machine on my left. I feel my boyfriend looking at me in a curious way. I begin to feel the urge to throw an old cleaning rag from the glove compartment at him. We have now been together on a road trip through Croatia for almost two weeks and for the same two weeks I've been providing entertainment at every toll station.
Somehow, despite my fatal inadequacy in grabbing tickets while remaining inside the car, we manage to see the magnificent waterfalls in Krka National Park, a sunset on the beach and the cozy Old Town section of the city of Split.
August 28, 2020
My foot feels like lead on the accelerator pedal. The traffic sign is indicating the speed limit is 60, I think. It's difficult to read when you are driving 90, while fifty Croats are honking and passing you while they are driving 120.
In Podum we move into a cottage that we use as a base camp for our excursions to the Plitvice Lakes National Park and the Northern Velebit National Park. Over the next few days, we discover paradise between turquois-green cascades, save ourselves in a bus a mere second before a booming thunderstorm hits, crush a chair with wine and pizza, and rumble over a narrow, foggy gravel road with a rental car. These are days when I again realize that my boyfriend and I are equally crazy, and that all of life is an adventure.
August 21, 2020
There is a strange sentence in my obituary: She died of a Corona-induced heart attack. From the time this evil pandemic was given a
license to kill like James Bond, it is no longer fun for many people, especially for international unmarried couples. The borders are unyielding; the governments feel that a relationship without
a marriage certificate is “not essential”.
My boyfriend lives in the USA, while I live in Germany. Then I found the fantastic Facebook group, “Couples separated by Travel Bans”. This gives me the first hint that there may be a loophole.
Croatia.
And then of course, all
hell breaks loose again shortly before departure. Here comes - again - one of my crazy love stories. With everything Hollywood can offer.