I’ve had this blog drafted for nearly 3 weeks now and had planned on boosting it with more facts and figures but of course life took over. I started a new job, Liliya started school, Robert turned 8, we had a 6hr elapsed time journey to collect the new motorhome, prepped the van for sale along with general life. As I’m sat on a train back from a girls weekend in London with only 5hrs sleep and over 20k steps under my belt already I figured I’d post what I’ve already got so when I come back in years to come it’s still a part of my memories and rounds things up for when the kids come to read about it.
Days travelling: 31
Miles driven: 3222.4
Countries visited: 18
Borders crossed: France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Czechia, Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia, Croatia, Italy, San Marino, Italy, Switzerland, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, France, UK = 28
Modes of transport: Campervan, Car Train, Bus, Tram, Trolleybus, Ferry, Tube, Pedalo, Speedboat, Tour boat, Motorised Dinghy, Cable car = 12
Ice creams consumed: Bruges 3, Prague 3, Prague 2, Bratislava 4, Belgrade 4, Lake Skadar 4, Albania 4, Kotor 8, Dubrovnik 10, Split 4, San Marino 3, Maranello 4, mountains 4, Vaduz 3, Lindau 3 = 63
Nights on paid sites versus “wild” camping: 21⁄10
Best campsite: Switzerland (and most expensive) due to the proximity to the lake and the lovely early morning swim.
Most unexpected campsite: Bosnia - what a hidden gem being a 5 min walk from the beautiful waterfall.
City would like to revisit: Budapest - especially as a girls weekend to check out more of the nightlife and spas
Country would like to explore further: Switzerland - I definitely see us returning to drive the grand tour route.
Country least likely to return to: Serbia - having been to the capital and driven through from north to south I feel I’ve seen enough and I found the capital extremely gloomy.
Currencies used: Euro, Czech corona, Hungarian forint, Serbian dinar, Albanian Lek, Swiss francs = 6
Favourite meal: Sushi in Prague
Favourite snack: First chimney cake in Prague
Photos taken: 1920
Steps walked: 437,838 = approximately 200 miles. 19,436 was the most in a single day when we were in Belgrade which is interesting as I wouldn’t have said we walked that far that day compared to others and I only logged a 0.8 mile run!
Most stressful moment: Driving around the underground car park in Luxembourg
Weirdest attraction: Froggyland
Hottest temperature recorded in car 41°c
We managed to buy a bauble in each country where we didn’t already have one so I don’t have to return to any just to complete that task. I do need to return to the Netherlands to log a run however and that should be happening in 5 weeks when we plan to venture north to Denmark.
This was the van sticker collection after we got back, I couldn’t bare to add more once we knew we’d be selling so I do have some I’ll add to the motorhome and sure I know we go in that vehicle but it was with us in spirit for the last few days.
I’m so pleased with how everything turned out and it really was a true team effort with the epic planning over the course of around 9 months with several variations along the way and my trusty spreadsheet to keep us on track. The next one is already underway and the blog writing will recommence in under 5 weeks!!!
