On the road at 9.30 and en route for Trieste, 99 miles away. We passed the thousand mile mark on the way. Up to ten miles from Trieste, the scenery was very flat and uninteresting. Then we joined a coast road which runs about two hundred feet above the Adriatic Sea. Spectacular views all round with the Dalmatian coast of Yugoslavia serving as a backdrop.
Trieste at last; a fine, well laid out city – very clean. Here we had to find the Italian A.A. for petrol coupons and after a few wrong streets, we eventually found them.
The road out of Trieste is a very steep coastal road with very fine views of the city far below. Now we are on our way to the Yugoslav border.
At the Italian frontier, a customs man came up to the car, stuck his head in and asked “Any cigarettes?” Allan, thinking he was asking us to declare said “Yes, two hundred.” “No, no,” said the customs man, “for me, cigarette.” Whereupon, Allan held out his open pack of fifty. The man grabbed a fistful and walked off saying “For my friends.” Allan was flabbergasted until we saw the funny side of it. Then we couldn’t stop laughing until we reached the Yugoslav checkpoint.
The customs people are being very thorough; forms to be filled in declaring money – everything! They are taking time too, in returning our passports. But as it happened, this was not deliberate. Unbeknown to us, the passports were on a counter inside the office. We’re on our way at last.
There is something about this country that seems different from the start. You feel it. I think it will prove to be very interesting.
The countryside tends to be mountainous, hills well covered with fir and other small trees. The villages have an air of poverty and neglect about them, the people too and their features do have a Slavonic look about them. But even though they may look poor, they are just as equally clean with an air of dignity about them. There are very few cars to be seen on the winding, well sufaced road. What cars we do see are all Fiats, like mine. A good omen? I love this scenery. We keep meeting people walking miles from anywhere, and I do mean miles! The road keeps ascending through the wooded countryside by means of the now familiar S bends. Beautiful, beautiful!
We stopped by the roadside for some lunch then on to Lubljana. On passing through a small town we noticed a policeman writing down our license number and I wonder why. But then, this is a communist country.
Dusk came on very quickly; the sun being hidden by a range of mountains, so that when we arrived in Zagreb, it was already dark. There was no trouble finding the road to Belgrade. Straight on for 250 miles – dead straight so we decided to press on to a motel at a town called Slavonsky Brod. With our now nonchalant attitude towards distance it was only 125 miles! The Yugoslav drivers have a curious attitude towards dipping their headlights. If we dip, they keep theirs on so we flash them, at which they dip. When we follow suit, they go back onto headlights, forcing us to flash them again. Finally they dip theirs until past us. Very curious and difficult to understand the reasoning behind it all.
Although this is the main highway (the motorway here is called an Autoput), its surface is very rough, making writing on the move difficult. But I prefer to write while we are driving, I don’t miss anything that way.
So far, the people we have “spoken” to Yugoslavia have been very friendly and helpful. The Fiat is going very well so far. But anything can happen – there is a long way to go yet.
We passed a roadside café and thought it would be good fun to drop in for a coffee and mix with the locals. It was fun. The man behind the counter, talking with his hands asked us if we wanted something to eat. We looked around, saw that the truck drivers were eating something that looked very appetizing. We pointed. “We’ll have that,” we said and were served a bowl of delicious goulash. So we ended up having a bowl of goulash each, a beer and a coffee, and a dozen rolls for next day – all for less than 10/- (75¢).
We pressed on, arriving at Slavonski Brod very late in the evening, about nine o’clock. We began to look for the motel, enquiring of some passersby. Finally we found one who could speak, good English and another French. Allan, being from Jersey speaks fluent French. We were assured we would be O.K in both the town’s hotels. We weren’t! In both of them we were told rather surlily “No more – full!” They could not have cared less. I thought it was strange that both hotels would be full in a town of this size until I turned around to see a policeman, clad in the obligatory black leather overcoat regarding us silently.
On further enquiries, we were told that the motel we were seeking was back on the Autoput, about four kilometers away. Since the last place we had seen was the café about fifty kilometers (30 mls.) back I thought that meant carrying on in the Belgrade direction. However, Allan was certain that they meant in the direction of Zagreb so we drove back to the café. This was not the place! Frustration and a few choice words!
Very late now but we set off again south again, having driven over fifty miles more than we should have. This after having already driven in excess of four hundred miles. Imagine how we felt.
Eventually, we found the place. It was full! Added to this, the engine quit just as we drove up. Due to the distance we had driven, the excessive heat of the engine was vapourising the petrol prior to ignition. We could not start it again so we went for a coffee, prepared to spend the night in the car – what a horrible prospect. Luckily, just as we were about to get in I spotted a few tents pitched nearby. Off we went to get permission. It turned out to be one of the official camping sites for which we had been looking. It is not permitted to camp just anywhere in Yugoslavia, it has to be an official site. Had we not turned off to Slavonsky Brod we would have been here hours ago!
Up went the tent without further ado, and we went to bed hoping the car would start tomorrow – it should! What a day!
To sum up. Although the people here have been very helpful (except for the hotels), even giving us a push with the car, they do not seem very happy. Particularly the officials who give the impression they are doing a job in which they have no interest – sullen. Indeed the whole country has a different air about it – it might as well be Mars! Goodnight.
Speedo reading: 14934. 430 mls. (1390)
