Croatia 6 May: Crikvenica - Karlobag
We started running today along the beautiful coastline of the Adriatic Sea. The scenery here is so stunningly beautiful that we were almost fighting to decide who could get out to run. Often we had three or four people running at the same time, a rarity on the World Harmony Run as most of the time only one runner is out on the road.
We met many nice people today. Here we proved that there can be harmony between runners and cyclists!
Although it was Sunday the elementary school at Novi Vodolski was eager to receive us and had summoned a group of children to come to school especially for us.
Four children in local traditional dress danced for us a Croatian folk dance from this region, accompanied by two flutists. We held a short presentation and ran around the playground with them. They were really very nice and it was grand of them to come out and greet us on their free day.
We continued running along the coast, which could sometimes be a hazardous endeavour, as is clear from this picture.
In the small town of Senj we were greeted by another group of children from the local handball team. They accompanied us running to the main square, where the deputy mayor awaited us and welcomed us to the town. Senj has a very rich history and is one of the oldest communities in the country, being some 3,000 years old! Towering over the town is a big fortress which dates back to the 16th century. We were invited to have lunch there and the handball team ran with us to the top of the hill - a taxing climb!
In the fortress we were treated to a guided tour. Here is Petr, leading the way.
We learned that this fortress alone had been responsible for winning the war for the Austrian empire against the Turks in the 16th and 17th century. Never in the 80 years long war was it ever taken, being of the toughest strongholds in the world at the time. Not surprisingly the fortress gained the name "Nehaj", which is Turkish for "do not worry". Nowadays it is a rather peaceful place with a beautiful view from the top.
Our last sixty kilometres were a happy cruise further south along the Dalmatian coast.
Since we were quite fast we finished the day early and had some free time on our hands. What to do when you have an hour or two at your disposal at the shores of the Adriatic Sea? We didn't think twice.
This is Martin doing a backflip. Don't try this at home, kids!
Team Members:
Martin Leitner (Austria), Hidde Abhinabha Tangerman (The Netherlands), Jana Chochlikova (Slovakia), Tatyana Chochlikova (Slovakia), Frank Foerster (Germany), Predrag Trkulja (Serbia), Petr Machacek (Czech Republic)
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