Since we all really enjoyed our stay at the seaside in Montenengro, we had already decided before going to Mostar, that our next stop should be close to the water again. When we checked our route after Mostar, we decided to stop on the Croatian Adriatic Coast. We looked at Zadar and when searching for an apartment, we stumbled over Vir, and decided to stop a little more northern than originally anticipated.

Vir is a fairly small island with just 22 km², and while the island has the reputation to be crowded during the holiday season, we didn’t experience that in early to mid September. In fact, the beaches were empty and traffic was completely acceptable. Some locals are jokingly saying that the island tilts towards Italy in August, because of the sheer number of tourists that are cramming into it. We luckily didn’t see a lot of them, probably because school has started again in almost all German states

We found a reasonably priced apartment just a short footwalk away from the water and enjoyed 4 more nights close to the seaside. And since the 4 days were pretty much centered around bathing and relaxing, there really isn’t that much to write about it and to be fair, the island doesn’t have that much in offer, except for nice beaches and clear water.

We did however bring some routine into the topic of “homework for the kids”. A topic that has often led to discussions in the past 2 months and still isn’t as much of a routine as we parents would like it to be. Nonetheless, we managed to do some daily school exercises during our stay on Vir, which is a decent starting point for the months to come. >THere’s a life after our travels, and whether the kids like it or not, school will be an essential part of that life and we, the parents, have the responsibility to ensure there’s no “rude awakening” when we are back in Germany in June next year.

We also managed to temporarily separate us a little over these 4 days, which also is a necessary course of action if you spend that much time with each other. I took a long walk to the highest point of the island. A staggering 122m hill with a massive antenna that provides the island with phone reception. Honestly, not that much of a site, but the 2 hour walk with music and a podcast in my ear felt really good. Sarah, of course, also got time for her business plan when I took the kids to the beach or went out to play football with Oskar. Generally speaking, it’s totally normal that after 2 months being very close together for 24/7, the need increases to spend time on your own. And while the kids get along with each other superbly, they also need alone time with their parents every once in a while. All in all, we managed this quite well, so far and I think the stay on Vir helped us with that concept. 

We left Vir yesterday and had a looong drive to Vienna. 7 and a half hours through lashing rain and when we arrived in Vienna at 18 degrees, we realised autumn is around the corner. Luckily, it’s less than a month until we depart to Indonesia and flee from continental Europe before autumn turns to winter. We can’t wait…