Rabid EU

Having arrived in the dark, I have yet to see anything of Dubrovnik other than the inside of a very nice apartment. One of the owners cats stuck its head in to say hello. Mr B shooed it out.  It's big.  It had a mate that was nearly twice the size of me.  I won't  be venturing out on my own.

Montenegrin Charm

We had a rainy drive north through Albania (Albanians pronounce it Albaneea, with 2 short a's and emphasis on the ee bit). We reckon the south is nicer than the north. Having crossed into Montenegro, the trip became mountainous, even though coastal. Montenegro (means Black Mountain) is a popular tourist destination... charming in an 'apartment block' kind of way.

We did go on a small ferry that put us ashore facing some old-world charm, but before long we were crossing the border into Croatia.  That means re-entry into the EU.

Do I look worried?

They delayed us for ages and asked questions about my passport and where the results of my blood test were recorded? What blood test? They want my blood? 

My humans messed up thinking I needed only rabies vaccination (which I have) but hadn't read the fine print on the back of the page posted in the annex to some regulation hyper-linked to the sub-paragraph of a footnote in which it says that if I travel from a non-listed non-EU county into Croatia, I also need to have a certified rabies antibody titration blood test done at an EU approved laboratory and recorded in my passport. There are lots of listed non-EU countries but Montenegro isn't one of them. (Whether that is because of rabies, or for other political reasons is beyond the analysis of my blog.)

The man in the box eventually let us through but said 'get it done before you come back'.  

Ha ha ha we aren't coming back.😹

Mr B said "yes we are Tigger. Dubrovnik is in a bit of Croatia that is south of Bosnia Herzegovina (the rest of Croatia is north), and we are going to Mostar in BH next, and then...."🙀

We WERE going to Mostar next. 

Bosnia Herzegovina is another one of those non-listed non-EU countries (i.e. non exempted by being not mentioned) in that annex to the regulation that you would only have read if you had found the footnote and followed the link and....worked out all the double negatives and......well you get the picture. I am in the EU now and there seems to be no point pushing my luck.

For the rest of the Non-EU world who is wondering what the heck this is all about: EU has endemic rabies. UK is rabies free. I got vaccinated in UK while it was still in the EU, and we travelled to fellow EU member country, and rabid, Greece. UK stopped being in the EU. For me to go home from this rabid part of the world all the rabies-free UK wants to see is that my rabies vaccination is up to date. (It is.)

However, to enter rabid EU from equally rabid neighbouring (with forested mountainous borders) non-EU countries,  I also need to be blood tested to show that the vaccine is working.  

Methinks.....

Actually it pays not to try and reason it out. I suspect reasoning doesn't come into it.

I mean, the man didn't even scan my chip to make sure I am the same cat described in the passport.  It's just mind-numbing regulation isn't it!

For me, passport photos are optional, I'm thinking of using this one.