14625 km: Austria, Klosterneuburg

27 September 2019

Slatina Timis - Nadlac Border Romania / Hungary - Hegyeshalom Border Hungary / Austria - Weiden am See - Klosterneuburg 

Orux map screenshot: 
BLUE line is the planned route 
RED line is the actual route we drove

The weather is very foggy and the Transit route between Turkey and North Europe from both sides packed with trucks. Not easy to drive with just single lanes.

After Timisoara/Romania the highway starts and we can move on quicker ...

... passing the border to Hungary...

... reaching finally the border to Austria 

Meanwhile Tara has a long nap 

In Weiden am See at Neusiedler See situated between endless vineyards ...

...we cannot resist to have an Austrian Wiener Schnitzel with potato salad and cold beer...

...next to the lake

Back home in Klosterneuburg after 10 weeks on the road, happy, healthy, grateful and full of many wonderful memories. From Austria to Iran and back in 14625km through 13 countries in Europe and Asia.

Back home in Klosterneuburg after 10 weeks on the road, happy, healthy, lucky, grateful and full of many wonderful memories.

Happy, that we had only positive encounters with all the different people we met in the countries we visited.
Healthy, that neither Hosain, Tara nor me got sick or hurt any time.
Lucky, that our trustful BlueBird, who never ever let us down, always carried us safe over all kind of roads.
Grateful, that we have the opportunity in our life to make such interesting trips.

68 days
10 weeks
14625 km
1550 ltr diesel

2 continents
12 countries
53 different camp sites
4105 photos and films
Some cities
Many villages
Many many cultural attractions
Many many many different landscapes

13928 km: Romania, Slatina Timis

26 September 2019 

Vratsa Balkan - Vidin Border Bulgaria / Romania - Slatina Timis 

Orux map screenshot: 
BLUE line is the planned route 
RED line is the actual route we drove

Up in the mountains it is really cold, just 12°C in the morning with fog coming up from the valley. Autumn is in the air.

E79, an international main road connection in Bulgaria 

Within the next 2 days we are planning to reach our home in Klosterneuburg /Austria. The shortest way is through Bulgaria - Romania - Hungary, not knowing that there are hardly any highways till Hungary just single lanes with trucks one after the other through small sad villages 

The border from Bulgaria to Romania in the middle of the Danube 

Before we drive up to the Romanian passport control we have to pay 5euro as a toll fee for the newly build bridge to the Bulgarian. Hopefully they use it to build better streets.

The villages on the Romanian side have a sense of positive vibes, although there are desolate houses, but the majority is kept in good condition, with their gardens and public places well maintained.

It's raining and foggy along the beautiful riverside of the Danube  (can't take pictures while I am driving ). There is huge traffic jam which causes us 2 hours delay. 

Before it gets dark we find Camping Motel Silvia in Slatina Timis beside the road with a nice garden.

The problem is, that we have only 7euro liquid money left and neither the credit card machine of the Camping nor the one in the village is working. . We were hoping to get a good meal in the restaurant,  but now we have to cook something out of the stock we have left. The owner of the place is extremely nice and invites us to stay for free in the camping. 

As we started our RoadTrip with rain in the evening, we spend our last evening from our RoadTrip with rain, homely in BlueBird. 

13543 km: Bulgaria, Vratsa Balkan

25 September 2019

Aleksandrovo - Vratsa Balkan 

Orux map screenshot: 
BLUE line is the planned route 
RED line is the actual route we drove

The shortest road back home is through Bulgaria,  Serbia and Hungary,  but we choose the road through Romania, as we want to see a little more of the Bulgarian and Romanian nature. The streets and buildings of Vratsa are as desolated as the rest of the villages we drove through. 

The nature is beautiful,  specially the colours of the mountains in autumn. We drive up 1000m to find our special place to camp with a fantastic view.

Last bottle of turkish red wine to warm us up with self made Spaghetti Carbonara (just a bit too salty), with a great view to enjoy a wonderful evening.

13199 km: Bulgaria, Aleksandrovo

24 September 2019

Erdek - Edirne Border Turkey / Bulgaria - Aleksandrovo 

Orux map screenshot: 
BLUE line is the planned route 
RED line is the actual route we drove

The weather is cloudy and getting cold, time to drive home. The villages along Marmara Sea with lots of Olivetrees along the street.

We take the ferry from Asia to Gallipoli in Europe, welcomed by rainy weather, no more sunglasses needed.

The border crossing from Turkey to Bulgaria is smooth and fast. 

Before we enter Bulgaria /EU our BlueBird gets a desinfection shower from outside. We can't really see any sense in this action, but to get charged with 5euro.

Now we are clean enough to drive to the passport control
Although we enter the EU our car is checked very randomly. No one asks for Tara's passport.

The villages on the Bulgarian side are very desolate and partly abondend with a sense of tristesse. The front gardens and public places are completely neglected.

Within this sadness we find a small paradise behind high walls. The Camping of Matt, an English, who moved into this part of the world 10 years ago. His Camping is spaceous with a nice view over the hills. Most important,  the toilets are very clean and the shower is hot.