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Salzburg - Zagreb
E.Route : Salzburg - Zagreb : ETD O606 : ETA 1606 : Dist 297 m.
A.Route : Salzburg - Zagreb : ATD 0655 : ATA 2200 : Dist 319 m.
- Depart Salzburg 0655
- 0845 - 0910 Crew change ( Bad Ischl )
- 0941 - 1001 Fuel stop.
- 1115 - 1122 Crew change.
- 1244 - 1325 lunch stop ( nr. Leobin )
- 1404 - 1406 Crew change.
- 1635 - 1740 Frontier Clearance.
- 1805 - 1830 Shop stop ( Maribor )
- Arrive Zagreb. 2200
Est A.spd : 29.70 mph : Gross A.apd. 19.60 mph : Ret A.Spd 24.70 mph.
Stop time : 03:05 hr : Speedo TD 3978,2 : Speedo TA 4296.3.
Comment : A memorable day of travel, particularly over the section of Yugoslav main road north of Zagreb, and the round tour of the minor lakes of the Salzburg area arranged by Johan. Actual arrival time at Mladost campsite in Zagreb was 2310, the delay being caused by assembly for triumphal entry in convoy.
Jim Lindsay's diary:
Today we saw off Austria, despite another of these navigational glitches. Lunch was taken
next to a river and then we took off, pursued to general glee by a bunch of our girls who had
not been paying any attention to the passing of time. This became another of our running themes,
usually involving the girls, but we hardly ever left anybody behind. Frontier clearance always
seemed to take a long time - today it was an hour. We headed for Zagreb as the light faded.
The countryside in this part of the world - at that time it was Yugoslavia but now it is Slovenia
and Croatia - was not spectacular but it was memorable. There were fields of sunflowers everywhere
and the roadside seemed to consist of an endless line of farmhouses facing onto the road, with
everyone out in their farmyards enjoying the evening. The road was un-modernised and kept changing
direction abruptly, and thronged with horse-drawn carts. Every so often there would be a dingy
little town. We reached Zagreb long after dark and then there was a long pause so that the whole
of Comex could muster and roll through town in an impressive convoy. This was rather a pointless
exercise since even on a Friday night most of the inhabitants had gone home by 2300. The plastic
leg from Dover was waved proudly at the empty streets.
Heading south by Liz Y
If we were going to list all the hazardous roads we travelled on Comex, perhaps we should begin with the
German autobahns. With no speed limit, these were racing tracks for anyone so inclined. We shuddered as we
passed two entangled lorries. One appeared to have cut sharply in front of the other. It looked bad, but
we would never know. After Frankfurt, we had a quick shop stop in Nuremberg. We would see more of German
cities on our return journey.
The aim that day was to cross the Austrian border and arrive in Salzburg by evening. We duly arrived around
7pm and camped with all the other Comexers. The pre-arranged campsite was good, although there was rain in
the night. This was a short stopover and our onward journey began early the next morning. The roads were
now through valleys and beautiful Alpine landscapes. We stopped briefly in the quaint spa town of Bad Ischl
and later near the historic mining city of Leoben.
The summer residence of Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph 1 was in Bad Ischl. It was here in 1914, after the
ill-fated trip to Sarajevo by his nephew Franz Ferdinand, that he signed the declaration of war against
Serbia, which precipitated the outbreak of the First World War.
We had lunch near Leoben, on the River Mur. Leoben is associated with iron ore and has a University famous
for its studies in mineralogy and raw materials. It is an old city with a 13th Century main square. Even places
connected with industry seemed to be chocolate-box pretty in Austria.
I think it was in one of these Austrian towns, that we had an incident with butter. This was a pivotal moment,
marking a gradual change in our diet. The shoppers had bought a slab of butter, which was placed with other
provisions at the front of the bus. The weather was hot and we were parked in a town square. I remember Fay
standing next to the shopping, as the butter began to melt down the steps. We had no means of keeping it cool,
so butter was now off the menu, no more bread and butter butties.
Something else which happened that day - it might have been after we crossed into Yugoslavia - was a hostess
rebellion. Some roles in the group were clearly defined, but the role of the hostesses was rather open-ended.
While Cuddles was on the move, the group had fun getting them to fetch and deliver things like an air hostess.
In the end one of the girls threw up her hands, stating that she wasn't going to keep running up and down
the aisle at any whimsical request. This view was echoed by the other hostesses. Thereafter the role morphed
into the more manageable one of general helper, within reasonable limits. There was always plenty to do, but
no magic lamp or genie at everyone's beck and call.
The Alpine roads twisted and turned around lakes and mountains. If like me you were a bit prone to motion sickness,
this would be your first test. There were greater challenges to come. This was a long day on the road from 7 in
the morning till late at night. Our longest stop was at the Yugoslav border. It could take a long time to cross
a border when all the Comexers arrived together. We were an unusual convoy. With
our identical new vehicles, we were like a nomadic version of the Pollock Halls. We
cleared the border by 6 pm. This part of Yugoslavia was hilly too. It was winegrowing
country and quite pretty. We stopped for food supplies in Maribor, but didn't
have time to look around. Maribor is an industrial city and also an old city, famed
among other things for its ancient vine tree, the oldest vine in the world.
We stayed about half an hour in Maribor before continuing south towards Zagreb. It
would be several more hours before we reached the Mladost campsite, but we had
some time to gaze out the window before sunset. We saw acres of golden
sunflowers, people outdoors at the end of a hot day and horse-drawn traffic on the
road. We weren't on the autoput at that point. In those days, there was a mixed
system of farming in Yugoslavia, comprising collective and private land holdings and
co-operatives. Roads and buildings could appear a bit utilitarian, but the country had
lain in ruins after the Second World War. A lot of the reconstruction work was done
by volunteers. The autoput, which we later travelled on from Zagreb to the Greek
border, was built with the help of young volunteers.
Our first sight of Zagreb was in darkness as we entered the city late in the evening in
convoy. It was nearly midnight before we finally pitched up for the night on the sports
ground at Mladost, which in the light of day was revealed as a very nice campsite.
