Overlanding Greece: Nafplio

After Christmas H's brother and his partner flew down to join us. They stayed in a cute hotel and we stayed in the port parking area.

The area of Nafplio is popular with Overlanders and motorhomes wintering in Greece. As I mentioned we stayed in town on the port parking as did many other motorhomes, others stayed (also free parked) on the beach 5 km away, and some paid to be in a campsite (showers, toilets, dumps, wifi) 10km away (at Drepano). On one occasion I counted 22 motorhomes on the free beach place. 

Nafplio is a nice place for typical touristy things: sightseeing, shopping and dining out. We even hired a car for a day to visit the archaeological site of Epidaurus and wineries. 

For the most part we had wonderful weather, but one day was horribly cold. 

The Aussie likes some time to herself, so she found cycling and walking Nafplios coastal walk a nice little escape. 

Climbing the 999 steps to Palamidi fortress is a tough challenge but worth it for the view! And the fortress is a great place to explore too. 

The streets of Nafplio had rustic sights to find whilst getting lost in the little alleyways. 

Overlanding Albania

We really liked travelling in Albania. Sure, they need to pick up their rubbish, but that aside the people are friendly and there's some great stuff to see. 

The first thing we noticed when we crossed the border from Montenegro was all the Mercedes vehicles. We think every second vehicle in Albania is a Mercedes: cars, trucks, vans, new and old. 

The next thing we noticed was that they have so many Gas stations, most without customers. Although many things in Albania are cheap (compared to other parts of Europe) the fuel is not. But then we heard that the fuel stations aren't so interested in selling fuel, and that many will sell dodgy fuel. We were told that the

fuel stations main business was generally money laundering. 

Albania drivers are crazy! Simetimes traffic on roundabouts gives way to traffic coming into the roundabout (and this obviously creates problems). They overtake on double lines, and others are willing to risk death to maintain their right-of-way. We had been pre-warned about Albanian drivers, but I guess sometimes you have to see it to believe it. 

In towns across Albania there are lots of cafes and in them men sit drinking coffee, All day! You'll never see a woman in these places unless she's serving or she's a tourist (I had too, I needed a toilet excuse!). Likewise the beer seems only to be served to tourists. 

Albania is a mix of Christians and Muslims all getting along nicely. On 2 occasions Albanians told me how tolerant they are and that intermarriage was more and more acceptable. Nice! If only the world could be like this!

Campsite owners were also friendly and 4 campsites were spotless. We stayed at 5 campsites in Albania (10 nights total, with a couple of free/wild camps too) and one brought us fruit each day (fresh from their trees), another brought us morning coffee and sat down for a chat, and another gave flowers and herbs from the garden. Each of these campsite owners was open for conversation, and it was so nice to have that personal touch. 

Albania has a bad reputation and so it doesn't get as many visitors as other countries on the Mediterranean coast. But we had no problems, nor did we feel threatened at any time. Albanians were completely friendly. Even shepherds (yes, they still have shepherds!) passing us (when we hiked) would greet us warmly and try to converse with us. 

Nobody mentions it, but the Albanian coast is lovely. This is South of Vlore. 

Overlanders note: 

fuel in Albania is expensive, it's less expensive (and possibly more reliable) in Montenegro and in Greece).

Groceries, especially fresh produce, are cheap. Don't expect big supermarkets, you won't get variety like you're used to. 

Pizza cafes are cheap, and good. 

We arrived middle of the day to Gjirokastër but we couldn't find a suitable place to park Blac. So, we didn't 'visit'.... We didn't trust leaving Blac in unguarded parking and there doesn't seem to be a camping place in Gjirokastër. 

We did Lake Komani from Koman on a tour. It was okay but not as spectacular as I'd read. The people raving about Lake Komani seem to have taken the ferry. The vehicle ferry is operating again, but only with sufficient clientele (which means less often at this time of year), so we couldn't do it. The passenger ferry runs daily from the other end, Fierze, at about 6am then returns from Koman at 9am. That didn't suit us, so we did a tour that was already running for other customers. If we had our time over, I'd suggest driving to Fierze instead of Komani. Maybe the vehicle ferry would be operating, and if not the passenger ferry would then be an option. 

H set this photo up, but, regardless of the staging, the Albanian wine, sold in a plastic soft drink bottle, is very good.... 1.5 litres was 350lek, about €2.50. 

Overlanding Montenegro

When I planned our visit to Montenegro I really thought it would take almost a week to visit. So, how was it that after just 3 days we'd already 'done' our 2015* trip to Montenegro? 

Well, when we drove in from the Dubronik end of Croatia, we expected to find some nice places, but we found that part to be overdeveloped and we just couldn't find anywhere to stop. Not even a lookout stop. So we kept driving. 

Things improved after Bijela. Then there seemed to be less development, more open spaces, and lookout points. But still we didn't make our overnight stop until we reached Kotor. Although the 'camper place' in Kotor is just a rough parking lot with a guard (until 10pm), we found it to be a good place to stop for the night. Kotor is a spectacular town and if you stay overnight you can explore it in the evening and early morning, and thus avoid the cruise ships (2 arrived on the October morning we were there). 

The next day we travelled up the mountain behind Kotor: the black mountain, 'Montenegro' (it's a translation). It was a spectacular drive with stunning views of the bay of Kotor, and then the mountains themselves in splendid Autumn colour. 

Although the friendly National Park guy told us we could stay overnight in the park, H wanted to go back to the warmth of sea level. So, we went back to the coast. This part of the Adriatic coast is lovely, but we still didn't find a place to stop overnight, so we continued. 

We were headed to Lake Skadar, and we pamped roadside at a lookout point high above the lake. 

The next morning we headed to Virpazar as I'd read that the drive on the southern side of the lake is quite stunning. But, on arrival in Virpazar we discovered that they were rebuilding the bridge and the temporary bridge had a height restriction of 2.1 metres. So, we couldn't do it! (Later we met other travellers in a VW Combi, they said it was spectacular, oh well). 

So, not being able to cross the bridge I decided we should do a boat trip. That was disappointing... Maybe it's better at other times of the year. 

Then we passed Podgorica (Montenegro's capital) and left Montenegro for Albania. 

2 nights, 3 days in Montenegro. It should have been more, oh well. 

*obviously there's more that can be visited. 

Tight alleys in Kotor. 

Up the to Lovćen National Park. 

Montenegro's Lovćen National Park. 

Overlanding Croatia: Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is Croatia's most famous destination, and it certainly should be visited if you're in the area.

By coming from Bosnia and Hercegovina we approached this part of the Croatian coast from the hinterland which was quite spectacular. We camped in paid camping at Mlini and took the bus to Dubrovnik. We'd recommend staying, as we did, on the coast and taking the bus or boat into the old city (the boat was unavailable during our visit). 

Dubrovnik through a window in the wall.

Dubrovnik from the wall.

Overlanding Bosnia and Hercegovina (a bit of)

Mainland Croatia is split into two parts and to get from the northern section to the southern bit, you drive through the land known as 'Bosnia and Hercegovina', or BiH (for short). So, we decided to go and see a bit while we were there.

Our primary destination was to see the famous (and UNESCO listed) bridge at Mostar. Lucky there are a few other nearby attractions too, and although we only spent a bit more than 24 hours in BiH we do feel as though we've experienced a bit of it. 

We visited the stunning castle town of Počitelj, saw the incredible river coming from under the cliff face of Blagaj, stayed overnight in Mostar, and the next day walked Stolac to see the war damage and then followed the agricultural farming valley of the Trebišnjica River on our way back to Croatias southern piece. It was a great excursion. 

Mostar is famous for its Stari Most bridge which was destroyed in the 1990's but since reconstructed. It's a very touristy place with all the same kind of souvenirs you might expect in Turkey. I preferred each of the other places we visited but Stari Most is considered to be a must see!

Tips for others: for a little excursion like this into BiH you don't need the local currency, they'll take Euros or Croatian Kunas for entry fees, parking fees, drinks, meals, souvenirs. The fuel price is better than Croatia and you can put that on credit card. BiH will check your cars green card insurance at the border. 

View of Počitelj

Mostar's Stari Most bridge in BiH. 

Overlanding Austria: the Danube

Vienna has a stretch of the Danube River that is said to be the loveliest piece of the Danube. It's the bit from Krems to Melk. We were able to take a 2 hour cruise from Melk to Krems and then we cycled back (40kms) to Blac. Doing it this way was great. On the river cruise you can enjoy sights of grand castles, Abbeys, and monasteries. 

By cycling back we were often amongst the vineyards. It was harvest time and so the grapes are being picked and processed. It was lovely to be cycling past vineyards and through towns busy with the activity of the season. 

Durnstein, between Melk and Krems on the Danube. 

In a village called Schwallenbach they were celebrating the season with a festival. Unfortunately the music stopped as soon as we arrived but we enjoyed a drink and I was invited to climb to the top of a tower. This was the view. 

To go:

The river cruise was €24 per person. There was a return option of €29, but we need the exercise, cycling gives a different view, and we like to save money wherever we can (while still living this lifestyle!)

In Krems we bought food stuffs at the supermarket and made ourselves a picnic on the river. 

We pamped (free) the night prior in Ypps and that night in Melk. 

Cesky Krumlov on bicycle

From Prague we continued to the Czech Republics next most popular attraction, Česky Krumlov. We camped outside of town the day prior and woke in the morning to find quite heavy frost all around. We were very glad of the new heating system Hendrik had installed a few months back. 

We cycled into Cesky Krumlov. I don't remember how far it was but it was so hilly that it seemed a very long way on our Brompton bikes, and it was a cold start!

Cesky Krumlov is sweet, but we only needed a morning there. And the frost was a clear sign to keep going South. Also, we were wanting to view more landscapes rather than city and townscapes. 

Overlanding Poland: Międzyrzecz Fortification Region

This time, as we left Belgium, we travelled quickly across the Netherlands and Germany to get to some places that we haven't yet explored: Poland, and on to the Baltic States: Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. H has been to each of these countries before but he never did any exploring in any of them, so it's all new to him too. 

Our first attraction to visit in Poland was a place said to be the "Longest military defensive system in the world" and "the largest military basements in Europe": Międzyrzecz Fortification Region. It was well worth the visit: it's an extensive network of underground tunnels, built 1934-36, which housed railway systems, war equipment, and even factory facilities. For non Polish speakers there is an audioguide, although you are required to follow the Polish tour (which is difficult because the tour guides commentary and the audio guide are at different paces). 

On our first day in Poland we didn't actually make it to the underground attraction before closing. But nearby, where the road ends on a lake, there's a pleasant campsite with lake swimming and kayaks to use. It was a heatwave across Europe and we'd driven a long way that day without air-con, so we very much appreciated an evening swim before heading underground the next morning. 

Here's a picture, we recommend visiting the campsite and the Międzyrzecz Fortification Region.

One of the underground tunnels of Międzyrzecz Fortification Region.

 Above the ground at Międzyrzecz Fortification Region all you see is the occasional bunker and an entrance wall. 

Overlanding Austria

We passed through Austria on our way south (to Italy) and then again on our way back. The first time we travelled the Silvretta High Alpine road and the second time we travelled the Grossglockner High Alpine road. The Grossglockner is fabulously scenic and is probably Austria's most famous mountain pass.

On Silvretta we managed to wildcamp overnight. There is a free parking spot at the top, but we stayed beside a pond. In the morning someone came and told us we couldn't camp there, but we'd already pamped and were packing to go... so his timing to tell us that was nice for us.

On Grossglockner we only purchased a single day ticket to cross, so staying wasn't an option and we ended up pamping with truckers in another parking lot (but enjoyed chatting to the trucking couple who were transporting test cars for Audi (they were hidden inside the closed trailer)).

For me, the Grossglockner is the more scenic of the two passes.

Here's some pictures:

Here's a picture of the road going up Silvretta pass.

View from a scenic lookout on Grossglockner pass.

In July there's still snow at these heights, and check out Grossglockner road and views!

At the top there are plenty of cute Marmots to see.

Overlanding Slovenia

We only had 3 nights in Slovenia. Hopefully we'll do some more one day, but at least we did the part called Gorenjska, as well as crossing the Triglav National Park on the Vršič pass.

The Slovenia Tourism boards official website (http://www.slovenia.info) says:

"If by some misfortune you were only allowed to visit one region of Slovenia, there is no doubt that Gorenjska would be a good choice."

And, forget the guidebooks! This website has plenty of great information.

So, at least we did the best part.
On our first night in Slovenia we tried to pamp on the pass going through Triglav National Park. Ourselves and a Spanish ice box (that's what we call the normal white motorhomes found commonly in Europe) were in a parking lot that didn't have any signs telling us we couldn't stay there (whereas other parking spaces did), but a man from National Parks came and told us we couldn't stay within the park. So, with a tremendous storm brewing, and not wanting to continue up through the bends in bad weather, we had to go back down to a campground. The storm struck as we were descending and when we arrived at the campground we couldn't even see more than a few meters in front of Blac.

Crossing Triglav National Park on the Vrsic Pass.

The next day we crossed the pass, stopping at a cute Russian chapel and a few viewpoints. The pass was built by Russian POW's and many died in an avalanche.

The cute Russian Chapel on the pass in Triglav National Park.

Next stop was Bled. It is possibly Slovenia's number 1 tourist destination and it deserves all the visitors. A pretty lake with a castle on a hilltop, an island in the lake with a pretty church on it, and mountains as a backdrop to everything else. We cycled around the lake, I sampled Slovenian wine (very good), and I hiked! Yes, finally my knee is enough improved that I felt it was okay to try a short  uphill hike. The hike was a difficult one up (611m) to a viewpoint over the lake. I went alone (Hendrik, I think, might have told me to turn back), and slowly. At the top I sat for a long time taking in the splendid view and feeling proud to have done such a difficult (if short) hike 6 months from my original problems, and confident I'd make it down okay, slowly. (I did!)

The view of Bled from Ojstrica Viewpoint. The view was splendid even if I was at the wrong hour of the day for a great photo (at least by going early in the morning I had the view to myself!)

Later that day we also did Vintgar gorge. It's a longer hike, but not so difficult and I've been capable of that type of walking for a couple of months. It's also extremely spectacular: a river rushes through the gorge and they've build a walking path along the sides so that it can be visited.

Vintgar Gorge, Slovenia

Next, we visited another lake (Bohinj) and took a drive through some countryside to find a border crossing without using a motorway (for which you need a vignette, which aren't so cheap for us). In the Slovenian countryside two agricultural systems got our attention as these were done differently to what we'd seen in other parts of Europe and the world. Firstly there were hay drying racks everywhere, with small rooftops. And also, the Beehives, like the one shown below, many of which had wheels under them for moving. Many that we saw were very colourful, although we didn't see any with artworks on them, although it was popular historically in Slovenia.
Next was Austria.

Slovenia beehives.

Slovenian hay drying.

Switzerland: Beautiful scenery, but expensive

Switzerland is expensive! But, we can't complain too much about it since we mostly had the kind hospitality of Swiss friends who let us pamp for free, and even fed us many times. We also reduced our expenses by fuelling up with diesel and stocking up on non persishable groceries in Germany.

As for free (wild) camping, that can be hard to find in Switzerland but we found that in the mountain passes it was possible whilst also being completely gobsmackingly beautiful. 

With Swiss friends I've had the pleasure of tasting both Fondue and Raclette (Swiss food), and although all our Swiss friends said they liked Raclette better than Fondue, I definitely liked the super garlicky fondue that I was treated to in a mountain restaurant. For me, I'd heard of fondue prior to visiting Switzerland (that's chunks of bread dipped in a cheese-white wine-garlic-and spices sauce), but I hadn't heard of Raclette (that's cheese , personally spiced and melted under a tabletop grill and served on potatoes.) I guess my liking fondue better than raclette shows that the fondue chef did a better job than I did, since I was personally reasonable for flavouring the Raclette cheese. 

Switzerland is beautiful, but I think that is no surprise. What was a surprise was the number of expensive and collectors 'leisure vehicles' touring the mountain passes on this first weekend of summer: Porsche, Maserati, Lotus, old classic cars, all styles of motorcycles, buggies, small airplanes, paragliders, if someone thinks it's fun: it's probably crossing the Swiss mountain passes.

Oh, and let's not forget: one old 'blac' motorhome that's seen more than those young collectors things probably ever will!

Overlanding a little interesting piece of West Germany.

In the past week and a half of travel we have seen some really impressive things. But, for now I will concentrate on a few things we saw in West Germany, near to Luxembourg and a bit of France. 

I already did a post about the impressive roman ruins in the city of Trier. Just South of there, we visited another 2 roman sites. Old was to view some large Roman mosaic flooring. It was most impressive. That site is called “Nennig Roman Villa”, and it’s found in a small town called Nennig. The worst part of it was figuring out how to enter the site. The door was closed and didn’t want to open (not sure if it was locked or just difficult), but someone told us to knock and when we did we were allowed in. Entry was just €1.50 per person, and it is a most impressive mosaic, definitely worth a visit.

Next we visited a Roman villa which they have (newly) built to represent how they believe it would have looked 2000 years ago. This place is called “Borg Roman villa Archaeological Park” at Perl-Borg. I was most interested in this place as it provided a sensible alternative to looking at ruins. The place also has a restaurant serving “Roman meals”, which was also interesting. Although this site isn’t riveting I do think that it is worth visiting, and I think it would be fun to be there when they host special re-enactment events.

We also visited the Villeroy and Bach ceramics museum…. which I think was probably doing too many sight in one day. I’m sure it could have left a better impression on me, but then, I’m also not really into homewares.

The next day we visited another really impressive UNESCO site. This was an old steel mill, that ceased production in 1986 but at one time employed 17,000 people. It’s called “Volklingen Ironworks”, and we actually ended up there because the site has free overnight parking for motorhomes. The site was very impressive and interestingly presented. And, another thing that impressed me… the entrance sign said that the ‘tour’ was 7000metres (7km) of walkways, and there were a lot of stairs…. and I carefully did this without pain in my knee! That is a major achievement for me, I’m not fixed yet but I get better every week.

Roman mosaic flooring of Nennig Roman villa.

Volklingen Ironworks, from outside it's imposing.

Volklingen steel mill.

Volkingen.

City sightseeing and overlanding

I think many Overlanders would agree: we don't much like city sightseeing. The traffic is difficult, parking can be hard to find, streets might be scarily narrow, and yep.... I reckon there's  more thieves there too. So we skip alot of cities.

And often,  when it comes to city sights it is just 'more of the same': another church, a plaza or market place,  a park, several museums. The advantage of overlanding is that we aren't restricted to cities (whereas regular tourists often are), and we can visit the tiny villages, the rural countryside, the national parks and the scenic lookouts on our own schedule. Of course sometimes there is a city that really is worth visiting,  and yesterday we did.

Presently we are free camped in a rest area beside the Moselle River, with Luxemburg on one side and Germany on the other. Yesterday we went to Trier (Germany).

We passed Trier a couple of weeks ago without stopping.  I hadn't known it was worth visiting until I later read some information (free from a tourist office) about Roman Ruins in this part of the world. When I said I wanted to visit Trier, H grumbled: "it's a big city,  i don't like cities". So we didn't go.  But, I still wanted to so we came back.

It turned out to be easy enough.  We parked in a large parking lot outside of the city centre (where there is a free motorhome toilet dump beside the McDonalds), and we cycled 5km in to see the sights. Thereby, we saved ourselves the stress of inner city driving, and got some exercise.

So, why visit Trier? Well, apparently it used to be the most important Roman city outside of Italy. The old city gates, Porta Nigra (photo below), are most impressive and the old bridge (photo below), which the Romans built in about AD200 is still used today  (by regular traffic!), and there's an old ampitheatre, some remaining city walls,  and massive excavations of Roman baths.

In this entire region there are lots of Roman finds. The tourist information offices give out a wonderful brochure,  and, quiet frankly,  I'm surprised that I only knew of this region as being famous for wine production, because it deserves equal credit for Roman ruins. And, by the way,  it was the Romans who started the wine production here! Full credit to them.