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Showing posts from 2015

A few thoughts, now we are at Boulogne

We still have to get onto a ferry and drive home from Dover but it's reasonable to say that we've already achieved what we set out to do. It's not earth shattering and we haven't saved lives or proved endurance above and beyond. We have managed to enjoy a great trip, extending what used to be our two week road trip holidays, into one  that lasted a little over eight weeks. As we sit just outside Boulogne in our much frequented (over the years), farm campsite, we have driven 5,839 miles, been through fifteen countries and the Landy has got us here without breakdown and with just a little trouble with noisy brakes. The one and only problem has been the leaking roof, as documented early in the trip. It is still leaking, not a lot, but water still drops down from the front corners of the headlining after we have had rain and the Landy has been stationary. It's not as bad as it was before that tube of Würth sealant was applied to the seams but it will need to be sort...

The best drive in the Alps?

We picked our route out of Slovenia and into Austria so that we wouldn't drive on the motorway, which would require a vignette (ten day minimum). That's not as bad as in Switzerland, which require one to be bought that lasts a year; there's no short stay vignette available. If you read the Swiss website there's a load of b&/#¥***>\xs written about how the law doesn't provide for shorter term tickets. Also I think that the Swiss one runs until early winter, so you need another one if you were to drive there to ski after driving in the summer. That's just plain annoying. Those craggy mountains in Kransjka Gora were beautiful to see in the clear blue morning sky; it's another place to think about coming back to for a mountain holiday (this one was not a walking holiday). We headed north over the Wurzen pass, a mere 1,073m and then drove west along a wide valley until we were almost at Lienz. There are various routes north from here to the Tyrol w...

Slovenia's Julian Alps

I knew they were there, tucked away in the corner of Slovenia and I had heard that they were beautiful, nonetheless, to drive into the Julian Alps was still a lovely surprise. Everyone who has been there told us to visit Lake Bled. It's not far from the border with Austria so by the time we'd driven from Plitvice, we had crossed most of this small country, which was the first of the former Yougoslav Republics to declare independence. Unlike the others, the police force were all supportive of the regime and I read that they just changed uniforms one day and, maybe putting it a little too simply, that was that. We ate our picnic lunch as usual, by pulling off the road into somewhere interesting. Today was no exception, as we stumbled upon a small v illage where everyone walked around wearing swimming costume. We felt a little uncomfortable being fully clothed, especially as it was hot. As we stood by a river another chap walked across the road from someplace unknow...

Plitvička Jezera

Whilst in  Croatia, we  made another return visit, this time to Plitvička Jezera (lakes). These are so good that it's inconceivable to drive near northern Croatia and not visit. If I say that they are a collection of sixteen lakes, each at a different level - a cascade of lakes and then each one connected to the next by waterfalls and/or rushing torrents, you might get a sense of what they look like. It's in a National Park, there are two entrances, you pick one and then use a combo of walking, small ferries and electric buses, to get around the lakes. They are all connected with paths, a few steps and a lot of board-walks. A total of 18km if you have enough legs. It isn't possible to really convey the wonder of this spectacle in words or pictures. We managed to avoid pictures of other people, which by early afternoon was quite difficult as it got quite busy on the boardwalks. It was very hot, about 34C and ther...

Into Croatia - the coast

Our route after Mostar was to travel the short distance to the coast of Croatia, just to the north west of Dubrovnik, for a little more sun and sea. It also meant another border crossing, back into the EU this time. It was however the longest wait in the hottest temperatures. What was slightly frustrating was that there was only one 'window' at each side of the border and when they saw our right hand drive vehicle, we were waved on through each one, without the passports even receiving a glance! The temperature in the day is in the mid-thirties and driving a Land Rover without aircon is still reasonably comfortable with at least two windows wide open and the vent flaps under the windscreen also pushed open. In the later models, starting with some of the TD5 models perhaps (but I'm not sure), these vents were removed. It wouldn't be possible to get enough cooling airflow without them. Without a doubt the single biggest success has been the silver foil bubbl...