Days 13 & 14 - Turkey

Day 13
497miles/800km

We wanted another early start to avoid the morning rush hour this time, and knowing it was a long way to our next destination of Cappodacia, we decided to get up when the prayer calls were sounded at around 06:00am.

The long drive took us out of Istanbul, which we had just realised was the largest city we had ever been to with a population of over 11million. The traffic out of the city was bad even though it was early, but by midday we had passed the capital Ankara and were heading onwards and upwards into the mountains of central Turkey.

The scenery became more rocky as we approached the region of Cappodocia, a huge area created from volcanic activity which resulted in an unbelievable national park similar to something we had both seen in pictures of Arizona.

As we approached the small town of Goreme in the heart of the region, the sun was descending in the sky and we were greeted by a spectacular view of the town as we turned a corner on the windy road down the hill. This has to be the most amazing natural landscape I have ever seen.



Day 14
47miles/76km

The previous night we had decided to camp using the rooftent for the first time on the trip. The weather had been good, but that night it got very cold and rained heavily. We decided to put the tent away and find a hostel carved into the rock for our second night in Goreme.

We utilised the Landrover by driving around Cappodocia seeing a whole range of areas with really amazing rock formations. I enjoyed the childhood innocence of wandering around the uninhabited caves, climbing on the rocks and exploring.

The rain started again that afternoon which was frustrating as most of the things we wanted to see were all outdoors. We thought we would use our time trying to get our laundry done, but as it was out of tourist season, the laundrette was closed which left us with three bin bags of dirty clothes. We will find somewhere soon. Hopefully.

Days 11 & 12: Bulgaria & Turkey

Day 11
324miles/521km

After replacing the oil in the Landrover we set off early from Varna and headed for the Turkish border. Missing a turning, we decided to carry on down the coast road instead of turning back, and ended up weaving our way through a forest near the border. The roads were bumpy, windy and extremely slow, and so we were pleased when we finally got the frontier.

After getting our first Visas of the trip, and sorting out our vehicle insurance with the help of a customs inspector who’s voice was so high only dogs could understand him, we were allowed through the final barrier and onto Turkish Tarmac. Compared to the Bulgarian roads, it was heaven. The Turks had just completed a new dual carriageway from the border to meet up with their main motorway heading to Istanbul, and it was as smooth as driving on plate glass.

We arrived in Istanbul during rush hour. This was a mistake. The whole city was awash with vehicles of all size racing around its narrow streets trying to avoid the pedestrians. When we eventually found and arrived at the hostel we had booked, we were pleased to enjoy a beer in the rooftop bar overlooking the Hagia Sophia in one direction, and the Mamara Sea in the other direction.



Day 12
0miles/0km

We awoke at 05:30am to the sound of the morning call to prayer from the nearby mosques. Just as we thought they had stopped, another call one sounded from an even closer mosque, which was twice as loud. We got an early breakfast and headed out.

With the Landrover parked up for the day, we went for a walk in the sunshine to visit a few of the local tourist hot spots. The Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque were each a five minute walk away from the hostel and were the obvious first port of call. I could have spent all day composing photographs of the Blue Mosque, but I could tell Nathan was getting bored of standing around as I took multiple photos trying to get the perfect exposure.

After visiting the Blue Mosque we headed through the Grand Bazaar and took a walk over the bridge to the other side of the Bosphorus to arrive in Asia, our second continent. This was the gateway to the rest of Turkey, and although we found Istanbul a fascinating place full of friendly people, we were still looking forward to more warmth, and cheaper food.

Days 9 & 10: Romania & Bulgaria

Day 9
238miles/383km

We got up early to take a walk around Bucharest where we visited Victory square to see the Victoria Palace, the image I most associate with Bucharest from the TV. From there we headed through Revolution Square to view a series of photographs from 20 years ago and the fall of communism, with our final destination by foot being the Palace of the Parliament, the worlds largest and most expensive administration building.

We were back on the road by the afternoon and heading for the warmer climate of the Varna on the Black Sea coast where we had booked a room in a villa for two nights hoping to use the time and the better weather to sort out a few things with the Landrover and our equipment.

We arrived in Varna, but couldn’t find the villa anywhere, and neither could the locals whom we asked. After searching for over an hour, and with the battery on the laptop having run out we couldn’t get any further contact details for where we were staying. We eventually found a hotel in the area where no-one could speak English, and no-one knew where it was from the written address, but one of the barmen luckily could speak German, and so he let us look on the hotel internet to get the phone number of the owner villa who came to meet us to show us the rest of the way.



Day 10
0miles/0km

We awoke pleased to find to a blue sky and a temperature of over 10 degrees C outside. Also outside was the great sea view that the villa owner Eddie had told us about the night before but was too dark to see the previous evening. Eddie who was originally from Liverpool made us feel extremely welcome in his house for the duration, and it was good to park the Landrover on a driveway where it was secure.

We spent the morning organising the back of the Landrover, finally fitting the fog-lights, attaching the fuel jerry cans to the roof rack and improving the security by fencing off the back of the Landrover from the front.

The rain came out in the early afternoon to hamper our progress, but we persisted regardless and were pleased with the work we had done and we both looked forward to getting into Turkey.

Days 7 & 8: Hungary & Romania

Day 7
378miles/608km

After clearing the snow from the Landrover we started our journey out of east out of Budapest and towards Romania. The roads were becoming more treacherous for our suspension, and once across the border into the flatlands of western Romania, we were faced with small winding roads through linear roadside villages, the visual landscape had completely changed and we now felt as though we were in Eastern Europe as we lost count of the number of times we had overtaken a horse and cart.

We made our way out of the flatlands and up into the Carpathian Mountain range as the striking colourful villages that consisted of arrays of brick shacks following the main road flew past our windscreen like a vivid dream.

We arrived late in Sighisoara, but had made brilliant progress right through the heart of Transylvania, through some strange and fascinating places that formed an introduction to Romania that I will never forget.



Day 8
233miles/375km

The fog lingered over Transylvania to obscure our route out of Sighisoara towards Brasov, but once we had completed our crossing of the Carpathians, and somehow navigated our route with little help from any road signs, we were heading down into the Bran Valley to visit the Bran castle, otherwise known as Dracula’s castle.

The link to Dracula is tenuous, and I won’t go into it here, but the castle stood on top of a hill guarding the valley entrance to the region, and luckily the fog had cleared for us to get a good view from the outside, and then walk up to tour the inside.

Bucharest was our next destination, the biggest city we had visited, and possibly the most decrepit as well. The pavements in the city centre could only compare to mud tracks, the road signs didn’t exist and stray dogs roamed the streets like rats. [Nathan: You wouldn’t want to be a cat in Bucharest]

The architecture was fascinating. At first glance you would think you were in Paris, as the Boulevards linking circular plazas were lined with a mix of Beaux-Arts and Baroque, but mixed in with a seasoning of large round Russian Orthodox churches and the tall Communist style concrete housing blocks that were crumbling to expose the rusting reinforcements below.

Days 5 & 6: Austria & Hungary

Day 5
496miles/798km

We awoke at 10:30, and with hindsight I have to admit I was probably still drunk from the previous nights partying. We managed to get on the road by 12:30, the sun was in the sky again, and we both felt good. Then the clouds descended and the hangovers and tiredness began to take hold. The music choice in the Landrover went from The Courteeners to Nick Drake as we chased the descending sun eastwards.

The night was closing in, and after only one stop for a brew just outside Vienna, we continued driving through Hungary determined to get to the hostel we had booked before it was too late. We eventually arrived and checked in just before 23:00. We had dinner and went to bed too tired to do anything else.

The long days of driving have paid off as we are now in Eastern Europe and the food, the diesel and the beer is cheaper. The places are more different and exciting, and the further east we head, the warmer it will become, but the snow was still falling in Budapest.



Day 6
0miles/0km

We awoke to find the Landrover and the rest of Budapest for that matter completely covered in 3cm of snow. We spent the day wandering around Budapest seeing the sights and buying food for the next few days. With the help of an extremely friendly hostel owner (who insisted he wasn’t racist but made it quite clear he didn’t like the Turks) we found a brilliant market hall in Pest and were able to buy some really cheap and tasty food.

Budapest seems to be the frontier to eastern Europe, with what appears to be one foot either side of what was once the Iron Curtain. In places it appears as developed as the rest of western Europe, but it still holds a visual connection with its history as part of the Eastern Bloc.

We planned our onward route in the evening and decided to get to bed early for an early start planned to travel further east into Romania, knowing that the progress from now on would be slower as the roads become worse.

Days 3 & 4: Germany & Austria

Day 3
272miles/438km

After another much needed sleep we spent the morning walking around Freiburg. Snow had fallen and it was perfect skiing weather with no clouds in the sky. After our walk around the city we drove up into the Black Forrest to take Christoph to the ski slopes which was on our intended route over to Austria.

It was the first time we had used the third middle seat in the Landrover, and it was good to have Christoph accompany us on a short part of our journey before we said our goodbyes and continued along the North of the Bodensee into Austria and onwards into Innsbruck. Thanks very much to Christoph for your unbelievable hospitality.




Day 4
0miles/0km

We decided to spend the morning organising our equipment from the back of the Landrover now that we had been on the road for 3 days, and we knew what needed sorting out. We were hoping for good weather to make the job easier, and we were greeted with another day free of clouds, but the –10°C temperature wasn’t expected or enjoyed.

The evening was spent firstly in the Innkeller where I was pleased to meet most of the friends I had known from my previous 6 months in Innsbruck where we shared a few drinks, and I got chance to say my goodbye. At the end of the night it was sad to leave the house of Chris at around 5am in the morning, but it had to be done as me Nathan had booked a hostel in Budapest for the next day. Only 500miles to travel on a hangover.

Vielen Dank Helene für dein Gastfreundlichkeit, es freut uns. Ich werde schreiben, aber dauert die letzte woche, ich bin zu faul für mich diese blog auf English zu scheiben!

Days 1 & 2: UK, France & Belgium

Day 1

336miles/541km

We finally departed from Wrexham as the clock ticked over from 23:59 31/12/2009 to 00:00 01/01/2010. A new decade had begun, and the trip down to Dover was quiet and tiring, illuminated by the full moon and a few fireworks that were being fired into the sky to welcome in the new-year. During the ferry crossing to Calais we both slept, and when we awoke, we found ourselves in France to see the sun come up across the flat lands that stretch into Belgium.

Our first stop was Brugge. It was either that or Lille, but we had seen the film ‘In Brugge’ and decided to see if it really was like a fairytale. Trying to find somewhere to park I followed the signs for parking, only to find them leading us into a tunnel to an underground car-park where there were no warnings for the height clearance. The sound of crumbling concrete as the roofrack hit the ceiling was not a good sound, but luckily the only damage was the rooftent cover being torn and the car-park ceiling probably needing to be looked at by the local council.

Brugge is a very scenic city, but I wouldn’t call it a fairytale. [Nathan: Belgium is weird.] Not wanting to start eating into the budget by paying for lunch in a restaurant, we decided to cook a (tuna) curry in the car on a camping stove. It certainly wasn’t a delicacy, but it removed our hunger. Wanting to get to sleep we bought a few cheap beers from the nightshop next to the hostel and sat in the room chatting until all of the beers had been drank, and the alcohol had kicked in enough to send us straight to sleep. We finally got a well earned sleep and left early the next morning for another long journey to Freiburg in Germany.

Day 2

469miles/755km

We managed to pass through four countries by mid afternoon as our drive from Brugge took us through Brussels, Luxembourg and on into France and Germany. The brief stop in Luxembourg City was enough to stretch the legs and have a quick look around a strange place where France and Germany collide at the heart of Europe.

The onward journey to Freiburg was terrible. The roads were unlit, with no cats-eyes, and the windscreen washers on the Landrover had ceased functioning meaning the windscreen was constantly filthy.

We arrived in Freiburg to meet Christoph, an old freind of mine from my days spent in Manchester. We spent the evening eating, drinking and chatting, though we were still tired from the journey and retired to bed ready for the journey to Innsbruck the following day.