Nick & Sally's road trip to Eastern Europe: August 2005

A Final Word

2005-09-05T13:29:00.000+01:00

If you get even the remotest chance to travel around Eastern Europe, TAKE IT!! You will never regret it. This is one of the most fascinating and enchanting parts of the world that we have visited so far. We ended up visiting sixteen countries, plus Kosovo, and it really was a superb journey. Go now, before it changes too much, just GO.

Days 28, 29 & 30: The Road Home

2005-09-04T13:04:00.000+01:00

We left Hvar Island, catching the car ferry from Starigrad to Split. It was a sad moment, because we knew that now the journey home began, and the whole road trip was nearing an end. From Split we were quickly on a motorway, heading north toward the Slovenian border. The northern part of Croatia looks to be quite arid, and it wasn't until we neared the Slovenian border that widespread agriculture became apparent.

Again, we took a very minor road to cross the border, and it took only 2 or 3 minutes to get through. We enjoyed our drive across rural Slovenia, dawdling through some villages, taking the back roads. We stopped for a break and were served an enormous ice cream sundae by a youong woman who seemed very excited to see some real tourists from another land. All too soon we crossed the Italian border, and headed north again. We stayed the night in a small village a few kilometres from the motorway. The mountains in northern Italy are quite dramatic, and may be worth exploring in another trip one day.

We had an interesting itinerary the next day... breakfast in Italy, morning coffee in Austria (after going through some huge long tunnels), lunch in Germany, and dinner in France. We spent the night at the municipal camping ground in St Merthould in north-east France, a bargain at €4.80... and they had hot water!!!

The following morning we drove to Calais, and got in to the waiting queue for a Hoverspeed ferry. Our ticket had been for 3 days earlier, and we were brusquely told that this was the second-busiest day of teh year. However, we got on the first ferry that arrived in port, and we were back in Surbiton by not lomng after 3 pm.

From Calais, back to Calais, we had driven 5,246 miles (8,443 Kilometres)... and all we had done was put petrol into the car, nothing more. Thank you Mr Mazda, you did a great job!!

Days 22 to 27: Camping on Adriatic islands in Croatia

2005-09-02T08:37:00.000+01:00

We drove north up the Dalmatian coast from Dubrovnik, but not far before we headed off up a peninsula and then caught a small car ferry across to Mljet Island. They say that of all the Adriatic islands Mljet (pronounced mill-yet) may be the most seductive. According to legend, this oasis of tranqulity was the island that captivated Odysseus for seven years. We can easily see why. Three-quarters of the island is covered in forest, and there is a large National Park on the northern part of the island. Arriving by ferry makes you think you have arrived in paradise, it is absolutley stunning. We spent the night camping in an extraordinarily beautiful olive grove. However, it was a long walk down a clff path to the beach, and we had set our hearts on camping by the beach, so we decided to leave Mljet and move on to Hvar Island.

We spent the rest of our time in Croatia, six nights, camping on the outstandingly beautiful island of Hvar. The sea is crystal clear, and as calm as being in a bath-tub. You have to see the water to believe how blue it is, and to see the texture of the sea. Even our video footage does not come close to showing it how it really is. This is the perfect place for a seaside camping holiday, and to get a suntan. A real slice of paradise!!

Day 21: Mostar, then Dubrovnik

2005-08-26T17:16:00.000+01:00

We drove from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik, via the Bosnian town of Mostar. The road takes you through the most wonderful mountain scenery.

The town of Mostar was the setting for much fighting during the war, and the scars are still highly visible.

The famous old stone bridge was destroyed by shelling in the war, but has recently been rebuilt as a symbol of hope. This bridge draws tourists nowadays, but seems little used by the locals in what remains a very divided town.

The coastal region of Croatia is sun-drenched with classic Adriatic rocks and trees. It is one of those sights that just leaves you struck for words.

Dubrovnik, the jewel of southern Dalmatia, is a much-visited city... so it came as a huge shock to us to find ourselves among tourists. We stayed at the camping ground in the city, and caught a bus into the Old Town, which is very close. We did spend a very pleasant late afternoon wandering around, before finding a bar perched outside the old city walls on the rocks above the sea. Here we sat and watched the incredible sunset, before reluctantly going in search of dinner.

This ancient city was once governed by Venice, as betrayed by some of the architecture. The tragedy of the Balkan wars led to the shelling of Dubrovnik in 1991, although the scars have been cleverly healed.

Days 19 & 20: Sarajevo

2005-08-24T11:02:00.000+01:00

This is such an incredible city that we decided to spend another night here. What's more we have just got tickets to a concert by Darko Rundek and Cargo Okestar tonight!! Ancient mosques, churches, a Turkish bazaar, fascinating people, and of course the recent war.

We rode the trams, and sheltered under the welcome umbrella of a cafe from a huge thunderstorm and drank huge generous cappuccinos.

It is impossible to avoid mentioning the war, and the siege of this beautiful city for so many years. It is true that the residents of Sarajevo are living their lives, and going forward into the future positively. However, stark reminders of te terrible conflict and suffering are still everywhere. For example, the marks left in pavements where shells burst have been filled in with red cement.... a kind of bloody memorial to those who perished or were injured.

Most of the buildings in the central city area are still peppered with bullet marks, although there are signs of new plastering being done

This image will be familiar to anyone who watched TV during the war. On the left is the Holiday Inn where all the western journalists stayed, and on the right a derelict tower block... still empty.

A much more sobering sight are the billboards advertising the Srebrenica Identification Project. About 8,000 Muslim men and boys were massacred at Srebrenica after the Dutch Peacekeepers failed to protect a UN Safe Haven.

Did we mention that we went to see Darko Rundek & Cargo Orkestar?? What a magnificant stunning beautiful awesome concert it was. Held in a basketball court outdoors in central Sarajevo, the crowd was young and knew the lyrics for all the songs. It was a genuinely moving experience.

Day 18: Into Bosnia and Sarajevo

2005-08-23T10:58:00.000+01:00

We drove slowly across central Serbia, the roads are full of traffic. Nick got a 10 euro speeding fine... which was a complete scam from a local cop who pretended he had a working radar gun. Still it was easier to pay than argue. The Serbian countryside is very pretty.

We climbed through spectacular mountains and gorges. As we neared the Bosnian border we were delighted to see Sarajevo appearing on signposts. However, this was false hope, since the actual turn-off to the border was not sign-posted at all, and we overshot it by a few miles.

The border crossing into Bosnia was as simple as could be, with no queues. It seems no tourists hardly at all come along these routes at present. This meant that we were greeted with warm welcomes by the border guards and customs people.

The Serbian and Bosnian border posts are separated by about 5Km of 'no-man's-land'. We were initially confused to see a sign welcoming us to the REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA. Naturally, we had expected to see a sign welcoming us to Bosnia-Herzegovina. However, it turns out that this nation i snot just divided into teh two identies of "Bosnia" and "Herzogovina", but it is also sub-divided into Serbian parts as well. We happened to be entering the country via a portion that is Bosnian Serb... known as Republic of Sprska. Yup, there are no vowels in that word.

After crossing the border we stopped to have a late lunch in a lovely small town called Visegrad. Even though this is part of the Serbian republic within Bosnia they refused point blank to exchange the few remaining dinars that we had from Serbia itself. In fact they looked quite repulsed when we asked. It seems the politics and tensions of this area are incredibly complex still.

Visegrad is a delightful little town, built on a river with a lovely old stone bridge. It was a very relaxed place. However, there is a very new mosque in the main street... so new, it is still shiny. We suspected that it replaced one destroyed in the conflict.

After a nice lunch we headed down the road to Sarajevo. The road took us through incredible rocky mountain gorges with dozens of tunnels through the solid rock. It was a very spectacular drive!! Most of the tunnels are unlit, and very dark. Some are a few kilometeres long. This was quite a challenge to drive through, since our right-hand drive Mazda had seriously disabled headlights (to prevent glare to other drivers when driving on the right). We also found it advantageous to close the sun-roof since water dripped from the rock also.

Our route from the border to Sarajevo meant that we crossed a national park, and then descended a steep gorge into the ancient city itself. Wow, Sarajevo is the most fascinating city!

Day 17: Kosovo and Prishtina

2005-08-22T10:51:00.000+01:00

Had a lazy stroll around Skopje in early morning cool, and left town at about 10.30 am. Border crossibng into Serbia-Montenegro was smooth. If you want to go into Kosovo you have to cross from Macedonia into Serbia first, otherwise they will not let you go from Kosovo into Serbia since they say that you have not yet gone through Serbian immigration. Hence, we chose to use a main border crossing for one, north of Skopje on the motorway. Then, immediatley after crossing the border you can turn west and cross into Kosovo.
We came off the main road and got really lost in a small market town called Presevo. It was complete chaos, with cars and people and carts everywhere!! We spoke to a Serb policeman who spoke no English and he pointed out the road to Prishtina. We wanted to know how safe Kosovo was, but there was little chance of asking these people, so we decided to press on and just go. We did see Serb police in full battle gear with steel helmets... which was a bit disconcerting. But, they were all friendly to us.
It took over an hour to cross the "border" into UN-controlled Kosovo. However the Kosovars were very welcoming to us. Here is a photo of the queue at the checkpoint:

We drove to Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo, and had a late lunch. Despite the recent conflict there it is a thriving city, and there is clearly a lot of rebuilding go on. They do not use Serbian currency at all, instead they use the Euro.

Prishtina is chock-full of KFOR and UNMIK personnel and vehicles. UNMIK is the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo.

We were accosted by a very paranoid young man for taking his photo by accident, and decide to stop taking any more pictures. There are no tourists in Prishtina at the moment, so I guess we were quite an unusal sight. As to be expected, there is still a very tense feeling to the place.

We then headed north across Kosovo, having decided it might be better to stay the night in Serbia. There is a huge miltary presence in Kosovo... we saw KFOR, NATO, and UNMIK. The bridges have signs for the weight limits of trucks, and also for tanks. We passed through Mitrovica and then across the border and on to Kraljevo for the night, arriving just before darkness. A truly fascinating journey!

PS. Even though Kosovo doesn't count as a separate country at the moment, we would be amazed if it did not become fully independent in the future, since it seems so autnomous already.

Day 16: Skopje

2005-08-21T10:48:00.000+01:00

We drove through the western mountains of Macedonia. This area deserves its nickname "Little Switzerland". It is very pretty. There are lots of hydro lakes. Little villages are perched impossibly on steep hillsides and there is a lovely forested National Park.

We visited the Bigorski Monastery used in the famous Macedonian movie "Before the Rain", from the early 1990's. If you have never seen that film, do take the opportunity to rent it if you can find it. You will see why we always wanted to visit Macedonia. This is a working monastery, so it was a very fascinating visit.

We arrived in Skopje, capital of Macedonia, mid-afternoon, and found cheap hotel in city centre. This is a modern, lively city with a relaxed but fashionable style. There are many pleasant cafes along the river front, on wide pedestrian streets, and along the boulevards.

Day 15: Lazing at the Lake

2005-08-20T10:46:00.000+01:00

We visited Ohrid town in the morning. This town and the entire lake are a UNESCO World Heritage site, and deservedly so.
It was nice and hot and sunny, so we spent the afternoon sunbathing and swimming in the lake

Day 14: Lake Ohrid

2005-08-19T10:43:00.000+01:00

The whole of Lake Ohrid, its surrounds, and the old town of Ohrid itself are designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is situated in the south-western corner of Macedonia. About one-third of the western lakeshore is Albania.

We found a superb campsite on the south-eastern side of the Lake Ohrid. We had wonderful views of the Lake from our tent, and were looking across at Albania.

We visitied the amazing Sveti Naum monastery, a few Kms from our campsite just on the Albanian border. Very beautiful, with peacocks on the roof, and stunning icons.

With sunsets like these, who would ever want to leave?!

Day 13: Into Macedonia

2005-08-18T10:38:00.000+01:00

Had a lazy morning wandering around the lovley villgae of Rila, watching the roof-tilers, shopkeepers, people scything grass next to the coffee shop, women with bunches of fresh flowers heading to the church.

We met these boys roller-blading in the main street through the village, and they were very keen to have us take their photo.

We also met this lovely old woman sitting on a bench, watching the world meander by. She was very shy at first when we asked to take her photo, but then agreed with a lovely smile.

We had a lot of difficulty finding the road to the Macedonian border. However, once we got there they could not have been more friendly and welcoming... no taxes, no hassles, free maps, even a handshake and good wishes.

Macedonia is a high-altitude country. Awesome drive to Prilep, with many photo stops. Rocks, such beautiful rocks!!

PS Happy Birthday Guy, and Tash!!!

Day Twelve: Rila Monastery

2005-08-17T10:35:00.000+01:00

In the south west corner of Bulgaria there are beautiful mountaines. The raod we wanted to take was closed, however we passed through fantastic villages, and enjoyed the spectacular scenery. We met some wonderful friendly people. They spoke no English, and thought we were lost... even though we knew exactly where we were... and insisted in us waiting while they summoned the only woman in the village who spoke French, and she gave us careful directions to the Rila Monastery.

The Rila Monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and provided one of those real jaw-dropping experiences when you arrive.

We stayed the night in the fascinating village of Rila.. made all the more interresting by the fact that no one spoke any English.

Day Eleven: Sozopol to Plovdiv

2005-08-16T10:31:00.000+01:00

We had a great time at the camping ground beach in the morning, before packing up the tent. Then we drove to Plovdiv, Bulgaria´s second largest city. This route took us across southern Bulgaria, past immense fields of sunflowers, and very pretty countryside. Altogether an enjoyable drive.

We arrived in Plovdiv just in time to see a huge thunderstorm, however it was over quickly, probably just a build up from the summer heat. We spent a great evening wandering around ancient town, such layers of civilisation... Thracians, Romans, Turks, etc. Cobbled streets, mosques, old churches.

Day Ten: Lazing on the beach at the Black Sea

2005-08-15T12:43:00.000+01:00

We decided to stay a second night here, and did nothing more demanding than sitting on the beach and swimming. The sea was just a perfect temperature. It was hot and quite humid, so getting in the sea was blissful. Fortunately, there was also a nice sea breeze to keep us cool.

We also enjoyed exploring the Old Town in Sozopol, and doing some shopping. We bought a couple of beautiful eartenware casserole dishes with traditional slip-trailed decoration.

Day Nine: Romania to Bulgaria and the Black Sea

2005-08-14T12:29:00.000+01:00

We had a lazy but early breakfast, and then packed the car and headed southeast to the border at Giugiu. The first 100 Km or so were on the single bit of autostrada in Romania. We managed to get slightly lost on the ring-road system at Bucharest and ended up seeing more of the city than we had originally planned. However, after a coffee stop we arrived at the border not long after noon.

It took an hour and a half to get through.... and we were relieved of quite a lot of our dwindling supply of euros to pay various "taxes"... including 6 euros just to cross the bridge across the Danube. In total we had 3 Romanian taxes and about 6 Bulgarian ones to negotiate. These guys have a long way to go before they can join the EU!!
One of the scams was a request for a 152 euro road tax fine. We had to argue our way out of this and threaten letters of complaint etc, and ended up only paying 20 euros. All in all, an interesting "game" at the border... but mere chicken play for those of us who have been on the Plymouth-Dakar Challenge!

After getting through the border we headed south east across the Bulgarian hinterland to the coast. The route, along some minor roads, took across some nice ranges of hills and through some lovely villages.

However, as we got closer to the Black Sea coast we had to take more major roads amd witnessed suicidal overtaking behaviour by Bulgarian drivers on congested roads. There were many slightlty crashed cars along the roadside. The local police were around in numbers but seemed ineffective at traffic control.

We arrived at Sozopol, which is at the southern end of the Black Sea coast, near the Turkish border. We found a nice campsite right on the beach (again, recommended by the LPG. It's called "Kavatsi Camping". After pitching the tent, and having a quick paddle, we went to a beachside bar and had cold beer and "shopska" salad (a really nice salad with a tasty cheese).

Day Eight: Driving Off Road!

2005-08-13T12:17:00.000+01:00

We decided to spend two nights in Cutea de Arges so that we could go up into the mountains and see some of the amazing churhes. We headed up the Transfagaran Highway, which is reputedly the highest road in Europe. We drove up to a beautiful lake, formed behind a high dam in a mountain gorge. We drove round the eastern shore on a very potholed tarsealed road, had a picnic, and then headed back along the western shore. This was not sealed... and we bumped along a very challenging metal road for 21 Km, nearly the whole way in first gear, with the occasional bit in 2nd gear. It was well worth it though, it was spectacular. (Nick says the best bit was when Sally stood on the front seat out of the sun roof and took video as Nick drove through muddy ruts).

We then headed to a small village called Corbi, which is a couple of kilometres off a minor road. Here there is a 13th century church set in a cave on the side of a cliff. It shelters the oldest collection of religious paintings held in Romania. We were invited to join the evening Mass. This was an Eastern Orthodox service, and we stayed for about 20 minutes.

Life is still very simple in these sorts of villages. We found three old knitting, the washing being done in the river, and the ubiquitous horse carts

Then we headed back into Cutea de Arges and visited a very 14th century old church that is entirely painted inside. Fortunately we were allowed to take both video and flash photos.

To Nick's delight back at the hotel we found that an Italian TV station was broadcasting the All Black's vs Wallabies Tri Nations game. We watched this while consuming a rather nice Romanian beer called "Ursus". The result was great!!! AB's triumphed... think the final score was 33 - 13. After that, at about 9.30 pm we went to have dinner on the terrace.
It was a really fantastic day, seeing so many remote vilages and friendly villagers, and being up in the mountains.

Day Seven: Still in Transylvania

2005-08-12T08:54:00.000+01:00

We had a lazy morning in Sighisoara, enjoying wandering around in the cool of the morning before all the tourists were out and about. We found this internet cafe in the Catacombs under the castle square. We met Amber Fraser here for lunch. Amazingly she was passing through here on her way north on her bus tour across Europe today!! We had pizza and salad beside Dracula's birthplace. It was great to catch up with her, albeit briefly, and sad to see her get on the bus and go in the opposite direction to us.

We then headed south to Sibiu, and went into the centre, but found that it was nearly all being renovated. This is a shame since it is clearly a wonderful old inner city. Maybe we will see it on a future trip to Romania! If not, we certainly recommend it to others.
Next we drove through the Carpathian Mountains to Curtea de Arges, a small city nestled into the southern foothills of this mighty mountain range. We found a perfectly nice hotel (Posada) courtesy of the Lonely Planet Guide.

Day Six: Into Transylvania

2005-08-11T08:47:00.000+01:00

After a cold shower we had a great breakfast at a terrace cafe and hit the road early with full thermoses. We drove south, with several photo stops (including storks nesting atop lamposts) and coffee breaks. We arrived in Sighisoara in time for a late lunch. This town is famous as the birthplace of Vlad Dracul, aka "Count Dracula". This was our first real "touristy" stop. Yes, there were some "gothic" vampire fans around, but otherwise just lots of tourists. Nevertheless the old citadel is well worth a visit, and the medieval streets and buildings are amazing. Fortunately the worst excesses of tacky tourism have yet to arrive here... but you feel it is only a matter of time before they will.
We had a nice dinner, and also sat on a terrace to drink the local beer.... a very quaffable brew called "Ursus". We took lots of photos, and enjoyed the sunshine.

Day Five: Magic Maramures in Northern Romania

2005-08-10T08:31:00.000+01:00

We were enchanted by the Marmaures region. It has been untouched by modern life, and the farming techniques are much the same as they were in the middle ages. We were lucky to see the harvesting of the hay at this time of the year, done with scythes, wooden rakes, and pitch-forks. Then it is transported on a horse-cart to make stacks or pile in barns. The road follows a valley that is the border with the Ukraine. At one stage we could look across at a town with a Ukrainian-style church... a sort of onion-shaped dome. It was frustrating to see th eUkraine but not be able to visit.... well, we will one day!!

We stopped at Sapanta to see the famous cemetery where the wooden crosses are carved and painted. Some tell stories of the mode of death, e.g. a car accident; and others tell about the character of the person, e.g. a chap sitting morosely at a table with a bottle and a glass.

By chance we decided to visit the local monastery as well, and this was a real treat. It has an amazing wooden church, the largest in Europe. It is 75 metres tall, built from solid oak. It took 7 years to build, and is not quite finished inside. The "wolf-bite" joints in the huge oak beams are amazing to see, pefectly cut and fitted by hand. It is clad in handmade wooden roof shingles, that are four deep. We were shown around by the son of the priest (also training to be apriest), who spoke good English, having studied theology in New York for three years. He also introduced us to one of the nuns and showed us their temporary quarters. They plan to have 100 nuns at the monastery within the next few years.

Further on we stopped at a small ancient wooden church. These are very historic, and had the entire interior painted. We were shown the inside by an elederly woman from next door who appeared with an enormous key, and spoke some French so we were able to learn something of the history of the church.

Late in the afternoon we drove south to Dej, a small town. We found an old communist-style 2-star hotel for the night. Dinner was good, but there was no hot water at all.

Day Four: Into Romania

2005-08-09T08:20:00.000+01:00

We left Szolnok, filled up with Hungarian petrol, and headed east down another minor road to the Romanian border. We arrived there about midday and were through in about an hour. It was easier than we had expected with no hassles, and the customs man never even asked to look in our car.
We drove the 14 Kms to Orodea, stopping to buy a map at a gas station. We immediatley turned north on a very small road. We knew we were in a different country straight away (and not in the EU) because the road condition deteriorated markedly, and all the churches had silver spires. We had to drive very carefully due to huge potholes. But, before long we saw lots of horses and carts, chickens on the road, and lovely handmade haystacks in the fields. The villagers grow gardens on the road side right through the village and sell fresh vegetables at small stalls.
Driving conditions in remote northern Romania are very different. There are not only the horse and carts and cyclists and pedestrians everywhere, but there are also very slow moving trucks that pump out voluminous clouds of black smoke, and there are crazy local drivers ("Rogue Romanians", as opposed to the "Mad Magyars" driving in Hungary) who go like a bat out of hell and overtake on blind corners, and in the middle of villages.
We made it to Satu Mare, a regional town, and found another grand hotel with a stunningly beautiful facade, but still totally cheap. There are no decent camping grounds in Romania, it seems.

Day Three: Three Countries

2005-08-08T08:06:00.000+01:00

We started the morning in Brno in southern Czech Republic, and headed east, on the minor roads. We drove through very picturesque countyside and a national park. It was overcast and we went through the occasional shower of heavy rain. We crossed the Slovakian border at Stary Hrozenkov.... they merely glanced at our passports. Slvakia is a charming small country. We were on a very minor road that passed through small villages, fields of wheat maize and sunflowers, woods and forest, spoliled from time to time by industrial ugliness...perhaps remnants of the past communist era.
We arrived at a minor border crossing to go into Hungary, at Salgotajan. They were entranced by Sally's NZ passport, and had to go away and phone up to see if she needed a visa or not (She didn't, as we already knew). Obviously not many Kiwis pass this way!
We kept crossing Eastern Hungary until we reached Szolnok on the Tisza river. We stayed teh night in a glorious but slightly shabby old hotel. The hotel had it's own thermal baths (guess, who made us stay there? .... it wasn't Nick!!), and we enjoyed a nice soak in the morning. The hot water in the taps in the hotel was also thermal.
The hotel seemed enormous with few of us staying there, with its chandeliers and ballrooms, and we half expected the "Adams Family" to appear at any minute. A lovely place to stay though, and unbelievably cheap too.

Second Day, into the Czech Republic

2005-08-07T12:30:00.000+01:00

After breakfast we meandered through some charming East German villages, but met with some heavy rain showers so we did not stop to take any photos. At the Czech border we were waved through without them even checking our passports. But we had to stop and pay 9 euros for a motorway tax. This is for 15 days, but is the minimum charge.
We are now in Plzen, or Pilsen in German, the home of Pilsener beer and Skodas. We are about to look around the central city, and have some lunch. Then we will be off to the east of the Czech Republic. We are intending to camp tonight, and maybe head into Slovakia tomorrow.
There are interesting old buildings here, including a 13th century church in the main square.

First Day

2005-08-07T12:24:00.000+01:00

The ferry trip was smooth and uneventful, although it was one hour late. We left Calais, and headed off across Belgium past Brugge and Brussels, then across the Netherlands past Maastricht. We crossed into Germany on the motorway and discovered that German drivers go really very fast. We had our little Mazda wound up to 150 Km per hour and these guys went passed us so fast. In fact at that speed you spend more time watching zour rearview mirror than the road in front.At about 7pm we decided we had enough, and pulled into a motorway motel for the night. Bratwurst and potato salad for dinner.

Here's a photo of Nick taking an "Aktive Autopause" at a layby

Map of Eastern Europe

2005-08-02T22:35:00.000+01:00

This is a map of Eastern Europe that might help you visualise where we are going.

Getting ready for our road trip to Eastern Europe

2005-07-31T13:15:00.000+01:00

It's only a few days now to go... we are leaving early on the morning of Friday 5th August. We are planning to cross the Channel early and then drive to somewhere near Dresden on our first day, using the fast motorways. Then on the following morning we will cross into the Czech Republic and begin our holiday proper

Photo of us

2005-07-31T12:22:00.000+01:00

This is a photo of us taken on the River Thames in a rowing boat