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Greece is the word
  • Andy Powell
  • Sara Hunt
  • Andy Powell
  • Sara Hunt

Greece is the word

Our second European van trip. 11 weeks to Greece and back, taking in 17 countries. Les mer
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  • Reisens start
    22. april 2025
  • Greece is the word

    Camping du Vivier aux Carpes

    22. april 2025, Frankrike ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We are at Camping du Vivier aux Carpes in Seraucourt-le-Grand, Picardy, France. First stop on this year's van trip.

    We were at our daughter's house in London over the Easter weekend, so left there at about 9.30 this morning. An hour's drive to Folkestone, then onto Le shuttle for a very quick and easy trip.

    Brief stop at Arras on the way down here. We thought we'd been there before but didn't really recognise it.

    Weather good so far but we think that rain is coming for the next couple of days so we will probably just keep moving south.

    We walked up the the nearby WWI British cemetery after tea. These places are still so well kept and quite moving… very peaceful. About two thirds of the graves were unmarked.

    We are both very tired so early to bed for us!    Les mer

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    Camping Bel Air Village Le Brabois

    23. april 2025, Frankrike ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Absolutely abysmal weather today so all we have really done is pack up this morning and then drive for most of the day. We are now on the outskirts of Nancy.

    Still in France, just - but we will cross into Germany tomorrow, heading vaguely eastwards before going south into Austria and Slovenia.

    We had a brief walk around Verdun on the way here but didn't really do it justice I'm afraid.    Les mer

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    Gern-Campinghof Salem

    24. april 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    We have made it to Germany but not totally without incident. Sara woke up at about 5 this morning feeling very sick and has basically been pretty poorly ever since (*). Not sure why given that we have eaten exactly the same food over the last few days.

    Anyway, hopefully she will feel better tomorrow.

    So, another day of driving. About 4 hours including a 7km tunnel to get us close to the border between France and Germany. Followed by a quick cycle ride (just Andy) to test out the new bike.

    Lovely campsite, including decent looking bar/restaurant, which hopefully we will make more use of tomorrow. We are also planning a bike ride if the weather isn't too bad. It's been pretty decent this afternoon but think more rain showers are forecast for tomorrow.

    We are within sight of the Alps.

    We've been looking for a parkrun/campsite combo for Saturday but not sure if it's going to happen. There are parkruns in Germany but we need one close enough to a campsite that we can cycle to it.

    (*) Sara hasn't been able to get warm all day and says she wishes we'd brought a hot water bottle!!!    Les mer

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    Around Salem

    25. april 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Sara woke up feeling much better this morning... not so much the weather unfortunately but we decided to go for a bike ride nonetheless. And actually the weather perked up and only rained while we were having lunch and in the supermarket - not too bad all in all. We even got some warm sun which was nice. It has been very cold so far this holiday.

    We cycled about 20km to Lake Konstance and back. Forgot to take many photos while we were there unfortunately, not that the views were great. The Alps were covered in clouds anyway.

    Had a very nice pizza for lunch.

    The cycling infrastructure is great around here. We were mainly on gravel paths thru woods but some segregated cycle paths alongside roads as well. Cars come to a stop if they see you looking like you want to cross the road. Very different to cycling in the UK.

    Moving on to Bavaria tomorrow but slightly nervous about finding space on a weekend. It is supposed to be sunny tomorrow and the campsites have been much busier than we were expecting. Anyway, we'll see - fingers crossed.    Les mer

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    Camping Litzelau

    26. april 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Another 4 hour drive today has brought us to the Unterwössen valley in Bavaria, south-east of Munich. I don't know if that is what the valley is actually called but it is a reasonable guess.

    Lunch was at an autobahn services!

    There was no need for us to worry about space - there's not many people here tbh - but we've decided to stay in the carpark just outside the campsite to save a few euros!

    Went for a quick walk around the valley when we got here, then visited the local beer garden and decided to stay for a meal. Double schnitzel and chips for us! Very nice.

    Now sitting round our new solo stove (camp fire) to keep warm.

    Lovely!    Les mer

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    Bavarian breakfast

    27. april 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    We asked at our campsite restaurant last night if they knew anywhere we - well, I (Andy) - could get weisswurst (veal sausage, a traditional Bavarian speciality) for breakfast and after about a 20 min delay they said they could do it. They don’t actually serve breakfast so we think they bought the weisswurst and opened the resturant especially for us. The owner was a bit surprised when I asked for a weissbier at 9.30 in the morning!! He was also very keen to show us his oven full of pork knuckle (definitely NOT a euphemism) 😀.

    Sara was given her own breakfast "for the lady" which was basically a massive plate of meat and cheese.    Les mer

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    Camping Steinplatte

    27. april 2025, Østerrike ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    After breakfast (see the previous post) we relaxed a little (to let the beer go down) then packed up and drove to Reit im Winkl where we did a short cycle ride along the river. Nothing too strenuous. Then on to Austria and Camping Steinplatte which is pretty much empty.

    We are now between seasons apparently, so not much is open. No chair lifts, for example, so we will probably move on towards the Slovenian border tomorrow.

    Keep on moving south!

    We went for a short walk before tea, mainly to collect wood for the fire... which turns out to be a bit too damp to burn properly unfortunately. Oh well, live and learn. The shops will be open again tomorrow (nothing much open here today, being Sunday) so we should be able to pick up some proper kindling.

    Looks like it is going to be a lovely day tomorrow... fingers crossed.    Les mer

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    We have no idea who these people are!

    Camping Gauglerhof

    28. april 2025, Østerrike ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    We're still in Austria, near the border with Slovenia,

    Absolutely beautiful day today.

    When we packed up this morning we realised that one of our camping chairs was very nearly broken - a nut had come off the end of one of the bolts holding the seat in place.

    So we spent most of the morning trying to find a DIY store, which never seems to be as easy as it should be. We ended up in Zell am See... mission finally accomplished.

    While we were there we also did a quick bike ride along part of the lake.

    We are now at Camping Gauglerhof, in Matzelsdorf, above Millstatter See (basically, a very big lake!). Lovely views and very quiet.

    For the next two nights, we have booked a farm campsite in Slovenia that was recommended in the Guardian as one of the "best campsites in Europe". We shall see...    Les mer

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    Camp Senkova Domacija

    29. april 2025, Slovenia ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Following a short walk, starting from the campsite, this morning, we drove for a couple of hours and have now crossed the border into Slovenia. The crossing point was at around 1200m and we had a lovely set of hairpin bends to negotiate getting up to it.

    The campsite was listed in the Guardian as one of the best in Europe and I can see why. The views are stunning. We are here for two nights and will explore the area a bit more tomorrow - hopefully cycling and walking (and running for one of us).

    https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/apr/05/…

    We have also booked into the campsite resturant for tomorrow night - eating al fresco on a fixed menu (no choice). We are really looking forward to it.

    We have also made a couple of friends with the farm animals!    Les mer

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    Around Jezersko

    30. april 2025, Slovenia ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    No travelling today, so a more relaxing day than usual...

    An early 5k run around the Jezersko valley for one of us, followed by breakfast (oats and yoghurt for Sara, porridge for Andy) - both with fruit. Then a short cycle ride down to the nearest village, Zgornje Jezersko, to buy provisions and grab a coffee.

    While there we learnt that the next two days are a bank holiday in Slovenia and that nearly everything will be shut so we went back to the shop a second time to buy an extra evening meal's worth of food.

    Cheese salad rolls and crisps for lunch, which is now our 'go to' lunchtime meal - I have no idea why but they taste much better here than at home!

    Then a 10k walk this afternoon up to where the cable cars run from (when they are running). An amazing walk right under the mountains and glacier at the head of the valley.

    It's been another hot day - and there are a few more coming we think. We're certainly not complaining!

    We're hearing lots of birdsong here including cuckoos and owls (not at the same time!). We're also hearing goats and cockerels at 6 in the morning which is not quite so good!

    We ended the day with a meal at the campsite resturant. Cottage cheese with pumpkin oil, beef soup with noodles, paprika chicken with potatoes and sauerkraut, and a chocolate and walnut cake to finish. It was really good.

    All outside in the last of the day's sunshine with a beer. Hard to beat really. 😃    Les mer

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    Kamp Danica Bohinj

    1. mai 2025, Slovenia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We have come a little further south today to Kamp Danica Bohinj, just on the edge of the Triglav National Park.

    Our route took us thru Bled, which we knew would be very busy - it being a double national holiday and all. So we parked in Radovljica, and did a 20k cycle ride around Lake Bled using cycle routes off the main roads.

    It sort of worked, except that when we got back to the car, we still had to drive thru Bled to get to the campsite anyway :-(

    Lake Bled is basically like the Slovenian equivalent of Padstow on a bank holiday.

    The campsite is OK but by far the busiest that we have been on. New people turning up all evening. Makes a nice change to do a bit of people watching though.

    We are running a bit low on food and there are still no shops open. We are down to a packet of asparagus soup tomorrow! Or maybe a pizzeria :-).    Les mer

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    Kamp Koren

    2. mai 2025, Slovenia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    This morning we cycled up to Bohinjsko Jezero (Lake Bohinj) and went for a swim (well, one of us did). It was about 10k there and back but all off-road on a cycle track thru beautiful countryside. The water was surprisingly warm, given that it is fed by mountain streams.

    Then a long and somewhat tiring drive to Kobarid, nearly all on very windy roads with lots of hairpins.

    We came to Kobarid in 2017 on our first Inntravel walking holiday. That time we stayed at one of the hotels in the centre of town and we had just finished a very hot walk across the mountains from Italy. This time we are at Kamp Koren, just outside of town but within walking distance. It is ok but, again, very busy. I guess that tomorrow night will be busy as well. We'll be glad when this Slovenian bank holiday weekend has finished tbh and we can go back to fairly empty campsites!

    As anticipated, our tea tonight was a packet of asparagus soup, stale bread, cheese and the last of a bottle of wine.

    The Soca river which runs thru Kobarid is the most beautiful blue colour. We had forgotten how blue it is. Amazing.    Les mer

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    Kamp David

    3. mai 2025, Slovenia ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    We are at Kamp David for tonight, en route to Rovinj in Croatia... so our last night in Slovenia. Currently listening to a song thrush and a nightingale as darkness decends. Very peaceful.

    Last night was pretty noisy. This place is the total opposite.

    We stopped at a big Spar on the way down because we had completely run out of everything. Also found a really nice cafe for coffee this morning.

    We came here partly because we knew that the campsite had a washing machine and we were desperate to get some clean clothes! So that was what we spent the afternoon doing.

    Quick cycle and a beer before tea. Not much else to report!    Les mer

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    Camping Polari

    4. mai 2025, Kroatia ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We have made it to Croatia (briefly via Italy but it was so quick we didn't even get out of the van so doesn't really count)

    On the way here we had a brief walk around the salt marshes and headland at Strunjan for lunch.

    The traffic was very busy coming the other way which we assume was people leaving after the bank holiday weekend. The campsite is pretty quiet now. It's the biggest campsite that we have been to by far. When we arrived they told us to find a pitch on foot and it took us ages - partly because of the distance we had to walk and partly because there were so many spaces to choose from.

    We are here for two nights. Tomorrow we are cycling into Ravinj for a look around and lunch. Unfortunately, the weather is turning and we are due to get rain for a few days. Fingers crossed it isn't too bad.

    Anyway, enough of that... more importantly, we are listening to our first Scops Owl of the holiday - have been waiting nearly two weeks for that!    Les mer

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    Breakfast in kit form

    Rovinj

    5. mai 2025, Kroatia ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    We cycled into Rovinj along the coast this morning which took about 20 mins.

    Rovinj is a very nice place and, thankfully, quite quiet at this time of year. I imagine it gets heaving. We walked around the old town and climbed the bell tower of the Church of St. Euphemia. There were open wooden steps all the way up with gaps so that you can see the drop below you! Good views from the top though.

    Then lunch at one of the waterfront resturants.

    The route back was a bit longer, following a cycle track inland. The distance wasn't a problem but much of the surface was quite stoney and bumpy which our bikes aren't really built for so our wrists and forearms were suffering by the time we got back.

    The campsite pool was open but completely empty, which seemed a bit weird, especially given that they were blaring dance music out to absolutely nobody! Had a quick swim anyway.

    Then the rain finally started - the weather had been great all day until that point. Much better than the weather forecast had suggested!    Les mer

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    Valamar Camping and Zip Line Pazinska

    6. mai 2025, Kroatia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    It has been a bit of a wet day and we are still umming and ahhing about whether to go to the lakes at Plitvice in a few days time so we decided to head down the coast a bit first because that promised the best weather.

    We are now at Valamar Camping Ježevac on the island of Otok Krk for two nights - hoping for some sun tomorrow and a bike ride around the coast

    Very little sun today unfortunately.

    We stopped at Pazin on the way here, thinking that it had a castle on a hill that we had seen across the valley as we drove south the other day. Turned out we were wrong. There is a castle but it isn't on a hill and we decided to take a short walk around it and have a picnic lunch on the way. Unfortunately, about 0.5km into the walk we reached a bridge that is undergoing repairs and the workmen wouldn't let us cross it.

    So we went a different way.

    This is a very long winded way of saying that we came across a zip wire with two members of staff and no punters. Too good an opportunity to miss for one of us! It turns out that they normally take groups of six but were happy to take me (Andy) on my own. The drop was 100m, or so they said. It was pretty good and much less scary than I expected.

    The campsite is another big one but very quiet at this time of year. Finally got a little sun this evening. Not much... but there was a reddish sunset so hopefully better weather tomorrow.    Les mer

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    Around Krk and Punat

    7. mai 2025, Kroatia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We were going to cycle to Vrbnik on the other side of the island today but when we realised that one of the cycle routes marked on the map was actually just a busy main road we changed tack and went to Punat instead.

    Nice enough little place with a lot of boats in the marina. We carried on past the town and spent the morning and lunchtime on one of the many little beaches. It was just about warm enough to swim though the sea was pretty cold. Then back into town for a quick beer and a walk around before cycling back to our campsite.

    After tea we had a proper walk around Krk. It's a really nice little place with lots of hidden bars and alleyways. It looks very small and quiet from the outside but there is actually quite a lot going on.

    We have finally reached a decision on the Plitvice lakes and waterfalls and are heading that way tomorrow with the intention of visiting on Friday. Fingers crossed that the weather isn't too bad.    Les mer

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    Korana Campsite

    8. mai 2025, Kroatia ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    We are in the Plitvice Lakes National Park ready for an early start tomorrow to visit the lakes and waterfalls. The park entrance fee includes a land train and a boat trip as well as about 10k of walking so should be a full day.

    Lunch was a sandwich eaten in the back of the van on the drive here - it was pouring with rain!

    We have eaten in the campsite resturant tonight to avoid having to get our camping stove out - all in aid of a quick get-away in the morning :-).    Les mer

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    Camp Banovi Dvori and the Plitvice Lakes

    9. mai 2025, Kroatia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We got up early and were away from the campsite by about 8 this morning so got to the Plitvice Lakes National Park in good time. We did the park in reverse order, following tips on a couple of review websites - so entering by the less busy second gate and going to the higher lakes first, then the lower lakes and the main waterfall. Everything was going well until about half way - then it started to get very busy. Coach parties of visitors, all coming the opposite way to us along fairly narrow wooden walkways. Oh well, it could have been worse and must be hell in the summer.

    Overall, it was just about worthwhile going but it is such a shame it is so busy and therefore everything has to be so manicured and regimented.

    We are now at Camp Banovi Dvori, near the coast north of Split. What a lovely little campsite. Very quiet and a free glass of local wine on arrival was a bonus. Also a lovely pool which we used this afternoon, though Sara found it a bit cold when she first got in!

    And we have just had an absolutely lovely meal. A local delicacy of lamb peka - lamb and potatoes cooked for about 2.5 hours in a special oven under a wood fire. Absolutely delicious!    Les mer

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    Spot the snake - it is all there!

    Around Pirovac

    10. mai 2025, Kroatia ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Lovely lazy day today. No travel.

    We got up fairly late, or at least fairly slowly, after a pretty restless night. It was windy overnight and we had left a towel on the line which flapped all night but we'd also drunk slightly more than usual and my bladder/prostate made me pay for it. A sign of the times I'm afraid.

    Anyway, after breakfast we made lunch and then set off on our bikes for the nearest town. We were going to go a bit further afield but the nearest road is very busy/fast so we took the advice of some fellow campers from the Netherlands that we had seen cycling yesterday and they told us about a back route that we could use, but only as far as the nearest town.

    It was a pretty good route. Mainly dirt tracks but also some back roads. On the way we saw a big snake on the side of the path - at least 4 ft long. (We checked when we got back... it was a four-lined snake - the largest snake in Croatia but not venomous).

    We reached Pirovac on the coast pretty easily. It is not much to write home about I'm afraid... there is clearly a lot of money floating in the marina but not much of it seems to have made its way into the town. Not sure why. We found a cashpoint, which we needed because this campsite is cash-only, had lunch and a swim on the beach just out of town, then cycled home again.

    Lovely sunset this evening.    Les mer

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    Rock Oak Camping

    11. mai 2025, Kroatia ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We've come inland a bit, to Imotski thanks to a tip from Sara's sister. Lovely place with what looks like a huge number of bars on the main strip.

    Our camp site is a little out of town and there is a steep uphill climb to get anywhere. We walked about 5k to take in the Blue Lake (lovely swimming spot!). Doesn't sound like much but when it is nearly all steep up or down and the weather is really hot it felt like hard work. However, it did give us the excuse to have our first aperol spritz of the holiday.

    No shops open on Sundays so we are down to emergency rations again. This time... packet risotto. Lovely.

    Why did the tortoise cross the road?

    On the drive here we saw a tortoise crossing the road in front of us. We managed to miss it but we spent the rest of the drive feeling very guilty that we hadn't stopped the car and carried it to the other side. There were cars coming the other way quite fast. Fingers crossed it made it to the other side.🐢    Les mer

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    Mostar

    12. mai 2025, Bosnia og Herzegovina ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We were away from the campsite pretty early this morning after poached eggs for breakfast - we wanted boiled eggs and soldiers but we've struggled to find egg cups in any of the supermarkets so far!!

    Anyway, our first stop was the Red Lake, which was not as impressive as the Blue Lake yesterday and not at all red, though the cliffs around it were!

    Then a drive across the border into Bosnia and Herzegovina to Mostar, where we had a quick walk around the old town and a somewhat disappointing lunch - we made the mistake of eating too close to the Old Bridge, so it was very touristy. Mostar was surprisingly busy for a Monday in May.

    We skipped the Museum Of War And Genocide Victims, which we were thinking of doing, on the basis that we hope to go to Sarajevo later on our trip, so will do a war museum there.

    As an aside, driving in both Croatia and Bosnia has been a bit weird. The speed limits are typically quite low, especially in towns, but are routinely ignored, even though there are quite a lot of speed cameras. On faster roads, people tend to drive very fast and fairly impatiently. Also, drivers tend to drift across the road a lot, especially lorry drivers - I'm not sure why they do this but it can be quite scary when they are coming towards you!    Les mer

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    Camp Pod Maslinom

    12. mai 2025, Kroatia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    After leaving Mostar we drove down to the coast (and back into the EU) towards Dubrovnik. We had to go over the Pelješac Bridge which was great. It is a lovely coast road. We are currently at Camp Pod Maslinom in Orašac on the Dubrovnik Riviera, about 20km up the coast from Dubrovnik. Pitches are a bit tight on space but the views are lovely.Les mer

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