3 weeks on the road exploring Austria, Hungary and Croatia. The tour was planned day by day upfront, however after Budapest we got much more flexible. Because we realized that the plan did not matter any longer. The direction mattered and what we do and everything else lost importance
The first lesson learned was that September 2021 was not off-season. Camp sides were loaded, cities were swamping by tourists, and it was pretty shitty expensive
I am not a big city slicker, however I liked Salzburg and Vienna. We always found a place to go that was interesting and not too loaded
Even it was hot in Vienna, we enjoyed the city
Our next stop was Budapest. Stayed on a nice camp site, Camping Arena Budapest. Even the camp site is surrounded roads, factories and the rail-road it is clean, not too noisy, and you have shops and restaurants in walking distance. You can go by bus and underground within 20 min into down town Budapest.
Budapest itself was busy, noisy and smelly. Hardly any part of the city is pedestrians only. We liked the area next to Fisherman's Bastion as well as the streets around the synagogues. Crossing the various bridges and taking pictures was nice
On our way to Croatia, we stopped at Székesfehérvár for a coffee break and overnight at Lake Balaton. The outer city of Székesfehérvár looked like what I have expected from a communism city, however the old town was a pleasant surprise.
On our way to Zagreb we stopped in Varaždin. If you look at Croatian cities, you wonder if Hungary is even putting any EU money into the renovation.
Zagreb on a Sunday was pleasant. Parking with the Dog.O.Mobil at the train station was free. After seeing the usual hotspots, you can explore the city in the winding streets.
The next stop was Murter. Simply because all other campsites were full. The island is beautiful, but crowded. But you can relax here!
It's actually called the Balkan Tour, but both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro became Corona hotspots and since we didn't want to get stuck there, we headed north again, to Winnetou and Old Shatterhand. Plitvice National Park was beautiful. I could imagine staying there longer. Lakes, forests, waterfalls, caves and a network of hiking trails make the park worth seeing. Compared to Krka National Park, visitors get lost here
After driving to a few smaller towns over the next few days, we checked out Hum with its 30 residents. Via dirt roads we made it to Rovinj and relaxed for a few days. I don't want to be here in high season, but it's comfortable here at the end of the season.
The next major stop was Padua. And I think the city is beautiful.