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Europe take 2

Suddenly 15 degrees feels like the tropics, trying to keep cool for a change! Baca lagi
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    Dunkerque

    1 Jun 2018, Perancis ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    A few km from my last stop in Bergues, or so I thought had I not inadvertantly pressed the go by bicycle option on my GPS. I discovered my mistake after travelling the wrong direction in the fog for 20 minutes and ending up facing a footpath beside a railway line. Surprisingly I made up lost time and not only got to the harbour on time but well ahead and they let me board the earlier ferry which was about to leave. So a head start when I got to Dover, and only 800 km to Edinburgh! So long Europe, au revoir, auf weidersehen, dovedenja, ahoj, zbogom,viszontlátásra, vaarwel, and ÄddiBaca lagi

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    Bergues northern France

    30 Mei 2018, Perancis ⋅ 🌫 15 °C

    Another find on my travels. This is the advantage of having the freedom to get lost, or park near somewhere else you want to go to, and find a charming French town with a wonderful historic centre. Whilst walking to the centre I went past a park which first of all caught my attention as the football match betwwen teenagers was mixed teams of boys and girls, but then a curious archery competition got my interest when two large crane-like structures were lowered to the ground, what appeared to be apples were attached to branches of the metal structures and then tilted upwards (about 100ft) and the archers then stood below and fired straight up...and what goes up, invariably comes down!Baca lagi

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    Dudelange, Luxembourg

    29 Mei 2018, Luxembourg ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Overnight stop here, was fortunate to meet Andre a professional picture restorer and artist, with whom I had the most interesting conversation. He too has a personal converted van with just the basics and shared a similar philosophy on travelling in Europe. Andre was very much an old hand at this game having been to Croatia at least 47 times. one of the joys of this trip has been the people I have met along the way, and in particular fellow travellers, sharing stories of travel adventure and life experiences, and tips on putting a mobile home together (quite literally).
    This town has the most amazing skateboard and BMX park I have ever seen, and ironically of course on a hot sunny evening when conditions are perfect, it is deserted. Dudelange also contains a wide variety of architectural styles, fom the classical (French style) grand hotel to the bizarre house with projections in all directions, and being the winner of smallest balcony in the world ever, to the cinema /Arts centre CNA, which could stand for the opposite of CND as it appears to be promoting the attributes of a nuclear fallout shelter as concept in building design!    Baca lagi

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    Dachau (near Munich)

    28 Mei 2018, Jerman ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    On return trip, stopped at Dachau (had my last Zumba class here in 28 degrees!) On the basis that a picture is worth a thousand words, here is my thousand word blog.

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    Split (excursions)

    25 Mei 2018, Croatia ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    Two fab, if exhausting, days out leaving from Split. Blue cave and five islands including an hour and a half transfer by (very bumpy) speedboat, and a day at Krka national park with the beautiful waterfalls.Baca lagi

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    Split

    24 Mei 2018, Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Dubrovnik, it aint. A modern city of strange and interesting high rise flats, The Diocletian palace at the hub of the city is very interesting not the least because people have been allowed to build and settle inside a UNESCO protected Roman ruin. We followed the sign to the "beach", a term which has been lost in translation as it is a concrete pier, and even the part which looks" beachy" is in fact fairly sharp gravel- a theme that is repeated throughout the country and its islands, there does not appear to be a gram of sand in the whole of Croatia, which is rather a shame (and self delusion) given the beautiful Adriatic ocean. Just remember to take wet shoes with you to walk into the water. Saw for the first a dog the other day for which the Dalmatian region is famous, or should I say I spotted it!Baca lagi

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    Stobrec, south of Split

    19 Mei 2018, Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Well this is as far south as I am travelling, Isabella arrives in Split in a few days so I have arrived early to get the lay of the land, find out the times of local buses, sort out any excursions and locate the nearest Lidl. Stobrec has some interesting history, but is really the little brother/sister of Split which I have yet to visit. This town is host to a very good camp site with terrific amenities. Sitting between the mountains to the east and the sea to the west it is an ideal seaside holiday destination. Been cycling, swimming and practicing a bit of Zumba ( hope to get to a local class on Monday night), although best practice session was in Bibinje where my stage was a concrete pier and my audience was the Adriatic, or so I thought until I spun round to see the actual audience hanging over the fence. Stobrec like so many coastal towns has morphed into what is standard fare these days, pizza restaurants and cafes, nice enough...
    I am currently parked beside a mobile home which is massive, larger than a single deck bus with sides that extend out once it is parked, the sort of thing Aerosmith would use to tour America, it must be worth £100,000 easy, oh and an Audi as the tow car. The family sit around a full size wooden dining table for meals and hang around there most of the day. Is that what camping is about? if I had that money I would also be sitting around my dining table which would just happen to be in the Azores!    Baca lagi

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    Zadar

    16 Mei 2018, Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Classic old city centre surrounded by modern urban city. Sort of town you could actually see in most countries nowadays. Hard exterior with a chewy Roman centre, as they pretty well conquered and settled in most parts of Europe at some time. The old square is testament to this with examples of stone columns and remains kept under glass.The narrow streets are both a delight and welcome shade from the unusually hot May sun, and refuge at a bistro provides food and drink in the form of pizza and beer...see I told you there was a Roman influence here. Much of the old town is taken over by cafes, bars and restaurants as one would expect and the local specialty for souvenir shops appears to be bags of lavender.I have made the trip in by bus to see, or rather hear the sea organ, which is a hefty musical instrument made of marble some 70 metres long and kept in constant harmony (sort of) by the motion of the ocean. It is not exactly Handel's water music, more random and dare I say organic organ music. Still it pulls in the punters and every organ pipe has its very own Chinese tourist posing for a picture of an attraction that is principally auditory.The monument to sun is also located here which is a huge bank of solar cells that absorb energy by day and come to life at dusk. I am unable to attach a video, but look it up on YouTube. The bus station so called as it has two bus shelters is the origin of the expression organised chaos, despite all the buses having numbers they pull in at any point along the pathway and you have to search for your bus by constantly searching up and down a line of up to 8 buses, some have numbers on the front some on the side and some on pieces of card. I miss my bus as I can't find it and an hour later almost miss it again. Home at last, not quite I have a 2 km cycle ahead of me and it has just started to rain. There have been a lot of spectacular thunderstorms in the region lately and this is a doozy! ...still miss the worst of it.Baca lagi

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    Bibinje

    13 Mei 2018, Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Now this is more like it, this coastal section of my trip was always going to be my summer holidays by the sea after my trip of culture cuisine and eh.. camping. More to follow but these pictures kind of say it all. Got to go dinner is on the table!Baca lagi

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    Selce day 2 by

    11 Mei 2018, Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Didn't see a lot of this town, I was asked to lend a hand (or battery in this case) to a fellow driver in need, we had a couple of beers during the course of the attempted repair (professional required), however this turned into drinks, then dinner which turned into 2am. Next day Stephen and Beth and neighbours showed me a bit of the town, including a large house, once planned to be a restaurant before the unpleasantness between Serbians, Bosnians etc(sorry but don't understand what really happened or how it came about) anyway this neighbour returned after things began to return to normal, to find their property had been occupied and trashed.The husband was heartbroken, fell into a depression and subsequently died, and the wife has neither energy nor money to rebuild, and so this house remains a lingering derelict and sad reminder of terrible times. In the spirit of Irony Stephen shows me a run down property near to the main Street, which just happens to be the former headquarters of the Communist party when they were having a go at Croatia, or whatever they called it. If ever there was a time for a coffee break this is it.Baca lagi

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    Selce, Croatia

    10 Mei 2018, Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    GPS threw a wobbly on me whilst trying to find a site in Crikvenica, and as I was struggling to find a place to stop and reset, I kept going along the coast as I recognised another name on the street signs. These coastal towns, be they Italy France Spain etc all seem to have at one time to have slid down their respective hills untill they are all bunched up beside the sea, along with their roads that get squished into single lane one way streets. Europeans are of course masters in the use of the hazard warning light which overrides all rules of the road and indeed common sense, as used by the driver in front of me who uses it at a junction on a pedestrian crossing on a one way street, classic.I'll just wait till you get your messages shall I? Already witnessed a classic piece of Croatian driving today when an impatient driver overtook me on a winding mountain road only to immediately indicate he is turning once in front of me, but the trump card(s) go to the two motorcycles overtaking him as he overtook me. My stomach is already in my mouth looking down at the sheer drop to the sea. Still all is forgiven arriving at the camp, it lived up to it's reputation, it is beautiful.Baca lagi

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    Postojnska Jama (caves) Slovenia

    7 Mei 2018, Slovenia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    It is in the title. Basically I can let the photos do the talking.The caves are 23km long, a little electric train takes you underground for 2km and then you walk for about 1and a half km. Extremely well maintained and lit, although they do put the lights of for effect for a short time and then you know what complete and utter darkness is. Three levels to the caves created over millions of years by an underground river constantly doubling back on itself. The final stop at a huge cavern where the river still runs was the showstopper, with millions of gallons of water crashing down and the mist full of the smell of coal. I wonder if Jules Verne had the benefit of this experience before penning "Journey to the centre of the earth". Now do staligmites go up or down?oh yes up, it's the tites that come down.Baca lagi

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    Ljubljana

    6 Mei 2018, Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Not entirely sure how I feel about this city, it is certainly the smallest capital I have ever been to. Today is flea market day along the side of the river Ljubljanka. There are plenty of statues of Christ on the cross, just in case you are down to your last one, and a great collection of up to date vinyl LP records, mostly British bands and artists but everything from Metallica to Samantha Fox. It is a real cafe society here and all the streets along the river are full of people having breakfast, coffee and cigarettes. The city itself has its moments in a kind of shabby chic sort of way, there are certainly plenty of photographers here who think so. I stop at a roadside cafe, as it is the only place not full of smokers, and order a local style meal of beef sausages and pancakes, a couple of beers help it go along. A tour guide with her pack of tourists pull up along side and the guide starts explaining the menu to them and gesturing to me by way of example, she is talking in Slovenian and I think roughly what she is saying is "look at stupid British tourist eating sausages made from dog food" or thereabouts.Everone laughs and moves on(they don't order any food).
    I don't want to put in too many gripes in the blog, but this is the most I have had to pay for a Vignette, a local road toll, 30 euro for seven days, and because of its location I may have to cross Slovenia more than twice, oh and 2.50 euro per person per night tourist tax, do they not realise that tourists are visiting of their own free will to spend money in their shabby chic city.    Baca lagi

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    Ljubljana

    5 Mei 2018, Slovenia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Followed my GPS according to a site suggestion in my compendium of campervan sites and it took me to a horrible concrete yard surrounded by wire fencing. It looked as if it would have Alsatians on the prowl in the evening (to keep you in). Next stop by accident around the corner and not in the book, the Laguna park, rather nice, 5km from the city, good cycle distance nice facilities, that'll do...nicely. Took the scenic route here, and what route wouldn't be, the countryside is incredible green and fertile, trees cover virtually all of the hills/mountains surface all the way to the top and in doing so gives the landscape the appearance of a soft organic matter, rather than hard unyeilding stone and rock.Strangely the tree cover forms into pyramid shapes..I wonder if the Pharos of the tree people lie beneath? Another natural oddity is that in pic 3 of stripping a tall straight pine tree leaving just the top 2 metres growing then hanging hoops of branches below, oh and then stick a flag on top, saw a lot of these. Another very common site is the mini-chapel in every town and village, some no bigger than your average garden shed, the chapel that is not the village,but very ornate, this was often coupled with a life size recreation of the crucifixion complete with Mary beneath, often at a road junction or near a bus stop, Jesus!Baca lagi

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    Mala Nedeljao

    4 Mei 2018, Slovenia ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Basically have gone off grid here, this is on the northern edge of Slovenia wine territory, and the country side is green lush and beautiful. Starting to see the percentage sign appear on road signs, not something VM (Van Morrison) likes to see. My old Ford was known as rancid before as the T has come of Transit, but I am feeling more comfortable with the vehicle as we knock up the countries. Those of you astute enough to see the sidestep into Slovenia will realise my trip is "bust" There a number of reasons, the simplest is that I have found more to do than I expected in many of my stops, the weather has been phenomenal, so I have not been inclined to rush, and thirdly I have been declined insurance for Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro, all of which I have to pass through on my intended route. Initially I thought I might take a risk and push through these countries, but as I have gone on and the difficulties I have encountered on the roads in some of the more affluent countries I have decided against it this time.Besides I am meeting up with Isabella in Split in two and a half weeks and it would just be a rush now.
    The spa and hot springs at the Bioterme are extremely relaxing and high quality. There is a park just for campervans, which at 8 euros a night is great value as it gives you 30 percent discount on entry. You connect the electricity yourself and pay in coins, 50cents for a kWh, my machine won't take the euros I got in Hungary, but two previous travellers have left credit on their meters...ah-ha not for long. First picture is one of my campmates, and I thought I was the oldest rocker in town. Picture two is quite literally the calm before the storm, and what a beauty it was, continuous lightning strikes for a couple of hours (pity I can't download a video) tropical rain and hailstones. The last two again literally the morning after, don't think I'm going up that road!    Baca lagi

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    Siofok (Lake Balaton)

    2 Mei 2018, Hungary ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Stopped here quite early as driving felt like it was a waste of a day, so hot and sunny, it shouldn't be spent on the road, that's what grey wet days are for. Ideally just wanted to find a spot on the side of the lake (shouldn't be a problem it's 50 miles long!) Found Aranypart camping which had a lot of free spaces and at less than 15euros a night inc. electricity, WiFi and tourist tax, very reasonable.The camp has a swimming pool, although the lake is great to swim in 200m out and I can still stand up, apparently only 12m at its deepest.The grocery shop is not very well stocked, although it does have a surplus of two of the main food groups, sugar and caffeine.
    Went cycling a bit down the coast, burgers,beer and bums (lap dancing), happy I found this place, swim in the lake afternoon then a Zumba session on the public square nearby. Did better than Prague, but still no takers, a few bemused onlookers thinking the were watching the village idiot. I have accidentally come up with a new move which outranks the cucaracha in Rumba, mine is Los mosquitos, It involves a lot of clapping hands, stamping your feet and slapping yourself!    Baca lagi

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    Ave Natura

    1 Mei 2018, Hungary ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    What a great find this camp was, on the outskirts of the city 20 minutes by bus, but it lived up to its name. All the facilities are there, just a bit more natural than on a commercial site.The owner Marta and her son were charming and so helpful. On my final day I had a very pleasant and relaxing trip in a chair lift to the highest point in the city, sunny and warm after the morning's brief thunderstorm, and the air fresh with Laburnum, sycamore and Ash. (sorry for the constipated look in the photo, it is just me squinting at the sun). The lift had an unexpected side effect in that the increased height popped my (deaf) ear, which really cheered me up, you might say I have gratitude for a better attitude due to altitude! Whilst at the camp I met a lovely couple from the UK but living and working in Budapest. In a time when young people can be seen as selfie obsessed Facebook generation I was impressed by Harriet and Peter as a couple who have a genuine connection with natural values and the real life. I wish them well.Baca lagi

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    Budapest by night

    30 April 2018, Hungary ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Bit of a theme going on here. The Parliament building looks even more incredible by night, although I'm sure you must be getting a bit tired of buildings by now, it's worthy of an entry. The most poignant off all though, has to be the last picture, part of a sculpture in bronze of sixty pairs of shoes in the style worn in the forties.Hungary suffered terribly at the hands of both German fascists and Russian communists during the second world war and after but ironically this work represents mass murder by Hungarian Nazis. It is difficult enough to imagine the killing of 60people, but 3500 persons were killed, including 800Jews, who were told to remove their shoes then were shot into the Danube to float away. The simplicity of the sculpture is emotionally devastating, and took me to a time when I was 17and saw for the first time on "The World at War" piles of spectacles and false limbs outside the gas chambers at Aushwitz.Baca lagi

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    From Buda to Pest

    28 April 2018, Hungary ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Spent the night in Buda and the day on Pest (West and East basically) Very full day sightseeing, then heading to The famous hot spas. An incredible place with large outside pools, where it reached 29 degrees (spa 27) and numerous indoor hot spas, sauna and steam rooms, finished with a spell of aqua aerobics. Went into a freezing cold plunge pool after the sauna and now I'm deaf in my right ear, hopefully it will clear. Watched four old guys (my age) playing some excellent ping pong, they were fab, and funny, the fab four in fact what a laugh! Made my way down the main thoroughfare passed the Museum of Terror, the laughs just keep coming. Someone had hung an Iron curtain outside, perhaps it was Winston? Made it to the Iguana Mexican as recommended, I'm so happy to get a seat the lizard is leaping out of my head!Baca lagi

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    Budapest

    27 April 2018, Hungary ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Sun is out again, 25 degrees after yesterday's cold wet snap.Crossed into Hungary early this morning after purchasing my vignette (road tax for visitors) 25 Euros for 10 days, I think I will suggest to the Hungarian government that they spend some of it on the roads! It is difficult enough navigating in a foreign language without having to constantly swerve about on the motorway avoiding holes! First stop was memento park on the way in, a reminder of the time when Hungary was a communist state, got to hand it to the government, they could have destroyed all evidence of the Russian art rather than display it in a park, mind you the remains of Stalin's statue(his boots) is a bit of a finger to the Ruskies. Better watch what I am saying you never know who is Lenin over your shoulder.Baca lagi

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    Neusiedl am see

    27 April 2018, Austria ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    Oh well it had to happen, the rains came and it has been a miserable day. Short hop today about 60 miles, but traffic very slow. Ended up in a nature reserve/marina which unfortunately was a bit down market, however the clouds cleared and by sundown was looking altogether more promising, funny how everything looks better in the sun (or completely covered by snow). Heading into Hungary today got a few plans for Budapest and surrounding area, hope to find the famous Mexican restaurant "Iguana"Baca lagi

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    Success at last

    25 April 2018, Austria ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Finally found somewhere that sold skewers for a barbecue, so that's today's dinner sorted. This morning was already a success, got a wee oven out of Aldi (Hofer here) a while ago and today I baked bread in it, ok it is the part cooked stuff you get in the supermarket, but hey ho hot baked bread from my wee crappy van, I mean camper van, not bad eh! Going back into town to see the Prater, one of the the largest Ferris wheels in Europe. Oh by the way it was 27 degrees today..sorry. So here it is the Wiener Reisenrad Ferris Wheel to give it its proper name as it sits in the amusement park simply called Prster. The carriages are exactly that, small train carriages with wooden benches, there are also dining cars (as you would expect on a Ferris wheel!) and as the wheel revolves waiters bring on the various courses each time it reaches the bottom and clear away the crockery etc (full dining table set up). I didn't get dinner on my ride, the Olympic Munchen (Munich) which is just as well as I would probably have met it on the third Olympic ring!Baca lagi

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    Vienna by night

    25 April 2018, Austria ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    What a fab night out, if you enjoy classical music, and you know what ..you probably do as it is in your favourite adverts, films and soundtracks. It was as if I had a concerto in my living room, I was given a VIP seat at the front (for reasons unknown) and the performers were within my reach, including the most captivating solo violinist and charming opera singers. Only on Vienna, I was laughing,in a dream state and moved to tears, after the Blue Danube, I found myself on my feet giving a standing ovation, only to realise I was the only person in the room, but I persisted and eventually the whole audience was standing, I could see in the faces of the performers they were quite moved.Baca lagi

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    Wien (Vienna) Austria

    23 April 2018, Austria ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Left my wee site in Ostrovacice after a hearty breakfast provided by my host. At first I felt a bit short changed with four pieces of toast and four slices of cheese for 125 Crowns (£5) but then the four egg omelette with stacks of ham and salad arrived with another six slices of toast (the bread is very heavy here) and as I was finishing my second mug of coffee my host arrived with a "bonus" three layer sponge cake with crushed pistachios and raspberry...oh well no need for lunch. Yesterday morning when I was going for a shower at8.15 my host insisted I join him for a "pivo" , a Czech beer, good way to start the day. Great road from Brno to Vienna, wondered why it was so quiet then I realised I was on a toll road, not sure how I pay for it as there were no booths! Very stressful getting into the city, traffic coming at you from all directions, undertaking, and signs you don't understand, just like driving on the M8 in Glasgow. Settling in with a beer then take the underground into the city later.Baca lagi

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    Ostrovacice

    23 April 2018, Republik Czech ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Struggled to find any camps at Brno but followed a fellow traveller's advice and arrived at this wee place, which has two sites! I have to share the female shower as male is being renovated (for which I get a 20 pc discount, I thought that would be extra!) As with many small towns I am the only person staying and enjoy a couple of relaxing days in the 26 degree sun, apparently this weather is not usual for Spring, it should be 12 to15 at most.Not much to see here so I have added a couple of pics from Kutna Hora, I forget the name of the Church( the towns are all worth about 200 on the Scrabble board) The Roman Catholic church is decorated with the bones of 60,000 dead, half of which are from the time of the great plague.Baca lagi

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