Croatia

This trip brought me to places I have never been to before. Weather forecasts announced good Bora winds mixed with clouds and rain. This so called "Black Bora" is not as perfect for windsurfing as the so called "White Bora", where the bad weather - clouds and rain or snow - stays in the Alps. On the way to Premantura we had to cross the Alps. It was the second time in my life that I crossed the Alps without taking the Brenner route. On my way to the EFPT event in Six-Fours/ France last year, I decided to give the San Bernadino pass a try which was fine on the way there but kind of an adrenaline rush on the way back home with lots of snow and icy roads. The way to Croatia is quite different. You have to cross not only Austria but also Slovenia. You have to cross several tunnels: Tauern and Karawanken Tunnel, you have to buy a toll sticker for Austria and Slovenia and you have to pay a toll for the new motorway leading to Istria in Croatia. When you take a look at present-day politics in Germany where the government is thinking about introducing a high way toll for all vehicles you can but wonder why we have not done so before. It seems to me as if (nearly) every European country except for Germany collects huge sums of money by charging people who use their motorways. 
Let's see what our politicians are going to do in the near future…
The journey was fun and it was a great experience to see a bright blue sky and the waters of the Northern Adria as soon as we approached Trieste. The weather did not stay that good but temperatures were still way above ten degrees. The wind did not show up on Friday, which was quite a pity as I still went out - wobbling out for about a kilometre to sail a reef break that did not work properly. When I wanted to sail back, the wind dropped completely and turned offshore. It took me nearly an hour to sail upwind but I finally made it. Saturday was windy for 4.4 with super choppy conditions - but still fun. Sunday was light but I still went out and sailed a different reef since there was still a bit of a southerly swell coming in. That reef did not really work either but showed some potential. I will be back.


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