The Black Sea

Dear All,

Firstly, thanks for all the messages you're sending, it's lovely reading them. Every time we see comments underneath a blog posting we get really excited!!

As I write this posting, I'm looking over a lovely little beach on the Black Sea. It is idyllic. Get this for a great morning; we woke up, opened the door and saw the sun, an empty beach and blue sea, donned our swimming costumes, headed for the sea, grabbed each others hand and ran into the waves. It was a magical moment!!

Mark is out with the tripod at the moment trying to get a good shot of the beach to post. I know we're not great at photos and will try and put more on, promise!

We left Istanbul a few days ago as we're waiting for our Indian Visa to be processed. After 5 days in that amazing city we were ready for a little rest, as was the wallet. We managed to park in Sultanahmet, in the old city opposite a back packers hostel and used the facilities of the hostel. Not a bad deal for £20 a day. Sleeping was not so easy - the inhabitants of the hostel were young and up late drinking and chatting. Don't get me wrong, we indulged in our fair share of this, but not quite as well as the late teens and early twenties!! (you know she lies mark)

There were two great benefits to staying opposite the hostel; firstly, taking a van like ours into a city and finding a convenient place to stay is not easy - here we were so central we heard the call to prayer from the famous blue mosque (it's Ramadan or Ramazan as the Turks spell it), secondly we met loads of young people from across Europe - inter-railing and travelling, and got to eat out with them and drink etc. We spent a day around the Grand Bazaar with Jo who's returning to NZ from London, what a trip she has had, that's one brave woman. Jo, if your reading this, hope all is well and keep safe. Mark had a day with Mathieu from Paris whilst I went embassy hunting and we had a good few evenings with, to name a few, Jake, Fiona, Suzanne, Alberto the windsurfer and Ali. Hope to see some of you folk in the future.

Istanbul is such a vibrant city. 16 million people live there and the legacy of being the central trade route between Europe and Asia is everywhere. The place is so full of energy. There is nothing you can't buy. Whole streets and areas are devoted to one product - needless to say we spent a good morning in the car and truck area!! (sorry! - mark)

5 days went almost without notice. There are three central areas to the city, the old town on the European side, the new town on the European side and the Asian side, or Anatolia. Two stretches of water divide the areas - the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus. We loved just walking around the city and taking everything in. You could spend so long there. When we return we'll see Topkapi palace and the Basilca and take a Hamam - Turkish bath for the uninitiated!!

You may recall that we were heading to Istanbul to gain our Iranian Visas. The Iranians granted our visa prior to the uprisings and we were a little uncertain as to whether they would honour it when we went to pick it up. However after paying 90 Euros each into the Iranian bank account they issued us with a tourist visa valid until 9 October. We think it means that we have to be out of Iran by the 9th. This is 45 days shorter than it should be, but we were so grateful to get the visa we forgot to argue the point. I've been tempted to go back, but the timing fits our schedule.

The Iranian embassy wasn't the only one we visited. To gain our Indian visa we had to get a letter of recommendation from the British Consulate. Just shows you can get anything for a price! One letter with both our names on cost £63. It took the guy 10 minutes. With our letters of recommendation and $50 each we headed for the Indian embassy. What a difference between the two embassies. The British one was a massive stately home-type building with beautiful gardens and really tight security - it was like going into a prison! The Indian embassy was on the fourth floor behind a bank! It took us ages to find it. Anyway, we return tomorrow and will hopefully leave with another stamp in the magic burgundy book.

The guy who runs the hostel we stayed opposite suggested this part of the Black Sea coast - we wanted to look a little North as the rest of our journey will take us through the central, southern and eastern parts of the country. Turkey is massive, by the way. We are scratching the surface of the history and geography of what promises to be a fascinating country.

Fate is a funny thing. I'm not sure if i really believe in it, but we have had a great few days here on this campsite, not least the last day we were here when we met Zerrin and Berrin. They aren't a double act! When we asked their names they both groaned! They're two lovely sisters who live in Anatolia, Istanbul and are here on a short break. We chatted over breakfast yesterday about politics, feminism, Marxism, Turkish culture, etc etc. Who'd have thought it?

Anyhow, we ended up having dinner together last night and had a good laugh. They have brilliant english - Zerrin is a university lecturer in Theatre Studies and Berrin a university lecturer in Media Studies - a very intellectual and interesting family. They invited us to stay in their apartment for a couple of days in Istanbul - what a treat! Getting insider knowledge on a place is the best thing, and we haven't got to the Asian side of Istanbul yet, so this is double good!!

Crossing into Asia was another real high point. When we crossed the bridge over the Bosphorous and it said 'Welcome to Asia' I was whoop-whooping for a while that we had driven to another continent! We've been away six weeks now and we're pretty much where we wanted to be.

Lots of love to all and a special shout out to Lucinda and the whole Wakefield - Jelley clan xx

Oh, and in case we don't write tomorrow - Happy Birthday Dad xx

Life in the van - for those who haven't seen the finished project!

Krakow to Istanbul

This is the problem with not having the chance to update the blog as you go along - it all comes out in one big clump! After Auschwitz we made tracks for Krakow. We left late and drove in the dark - against our own rules. We go to the outskirts of Krakow where we knew there was a campsite. We were really looking forward to getting there - having got up at 6, driven for hours and the sort of day we'd had - the last thing we needed was a PUNCTURE!!!

(Mark) Guess what no spare wheel, yes I know how crazy is that? The logic was that I had a spare tyre, tube and tools to change and that I was just too tight to spend the £350 quid to buy one. However, I envisioned the flat to take place on the praries of India with gentle sunshine lapping on my back while sipping ice tea! Not in the middle of a cross roads at 11.30 at night. The local breakdown service tried to get our tyre changed but the guy was not prepared to change a split rim until the next day. So, we eventually got to bed at 3.3oam and slept where we were, propped up on an axle stand.

(Jo) The next morning we got the tyre sorted and went to the campsite - 5 minutes up the road! The pictures of Mark on top of the roof fixing the solar panel are from the campsite in Krakow. it was a cool place. The town itself is beautiful. It is a UNESCO world heritage sight. We spent some time looking at the sights and had drinks and dinner in the Jewish Quartier - Kamierz.

Apart from the fact that we had to go North again to Lodz and Warsaw our general trajectory was South and we got back onto our route around a week ago.

We drove from Krakow through the Tatra Mountains to Slovakia. This was a lovely surprise - the countryside - mountains and lakes and the people. We stopped at Dedinky where there is a lovely lake and we pulled up alongside a group of people who looked as if they were having a right laugh, the smily face on the rear of one of the girls' bum tended to give the game away. Introductions were made with the question of "do you drink?" and that was that. The alcohol flowed and the good times rolled for the next 24 hours.

They took us to their friends' bar, bought us drinks, took us back to their house and gave us coffee the next morning. I'll post some pictures with names.

We left there for Hungary, literally spending a day driving through, so the only thing we can tell you about Hungary is that they have vineyards, ranches with lots of horses and many sunflowers. We slept in a field of sunflowers that evening, just driving off the road and following a track until we were out of sight of the road but not out of sight of the deer.

We left early the next morning and crossed the border into Romania. The border was the first one we've been through since Dover where our passports were checked and they wanted to see in the van. Customs' officials are the same everywhere; trying to look tough and hard-faced! However, the van melts even the sourest of faces and they just can't help but smile!

Romania was another surprise - really beautiful. I hope the pictures do justice to it. Its quite a big country and took us two full days to get through. We stopped the first night at a hotel car park where we met a Romanian who lived in London and asked the hotel if we could stay there. The next day we set off on the scenic route through the mountains.

If I tell you it took us 4 hours to travel 80 km then you get an idea of what the roads were like - potholed and some of the time just dirt track. It was a real experience - we stuck the classical music on and enjoyed the views!! However, life in the mountains for those that work up there is tough. Loggers, road builders and shepherds all living under bits of plastic and tarpaulin with their families. We are very lucky!

There was also an international motorcycle enduro on, so lots of waving bikers and one wheel action, I was rather jealous, looks like a fabulous place to come back and do some trail riding some day.

The van however, didn't fare so well; wardrobes came apart and we - well Mark- had some fixing to do! Bulgaria was the perfect place to do it. We didn't know that Bobbi - our friend and old neighbour from Walthamstow - would be there, so it was a lovely surprise when thanks to Lori our fixer we managed to get in touch.

Bobbi lives in Plovdiv. We took a day to get to her and parked up in her friend Zlaty's courtyard and used their washing machine, shower and fantastic hospitality to the max! Bobbi took us out to eat the first night and insisted we tried every thing on the menu, which I think we did! Her and Zlaty took us to see all the local sights and then to the seaside for a couple of days where we stayed in a hotel room, yes an actual room with tv and wet room It was a lovely break and a bit of luxury.

Sunday morning and we were headed for Istanbul. On the way we saw a flock of storks and I mean hundreds - absolutly amazing sight. At the Turkish border, we bought our visa and insurance and headed off. We stopped on a beach front that evening 60km west of Istanbul; not before squeezing around the tiny roads of a private housing estate where every body was having Iftar on their balconies. A few blank faces and many smiles we bashed a few trees and left . At 5am we were woken by a knock on the door from the military police!! Hmmmm been here before G8 in Genoa i think. However this guy was lovely. They reckon our door was open and wanted us to shut and lock it.

We arrived into Istanbul at 8am that morning, dealing with rush hour! Hey, it couldn't be any worse than London! We parked up and got the train in. Istanbul is an amazing city - next post full details.

Photos coming soon xx

P.S Shaun thanks for the CD we're playing it to death.

Hello from Bulgaria!

Hi Folks, it's been such a long time! We've been through Hungary and Romania and are currently with our friend Bobbi in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

When we last wrote, we were in Lodz. We stayed there longer than we thought trying to get a spare wheel for the truck. We've got a spare tyre and inner tube, but not a wheel. After we managed to get it ordered at Iveco, we returned to Warsaw to pick up our battery charger. Thanks to Luka for picking it up for us.

We returned to Lodz only to find that Iveco had sent an incomplete wheel. Nightmare! So, we decided to head south and get to Istanbul. We were due to go to Odessa, but are hoping to go there after we have sorted our Iranian visa out. We thought a tour up the coast of the Black sea would be pretty cool.

So, I'm going to try and get some chronological order to what we've done. We left Warsaw after sampling an Eastern Bloc themed restaurant (Tito steak, Stalin sausages!) and lots of vodka and a severe hangover the next day (ok, Jo was worse than Mark). I should say that we did look around the old town and a lovely park, as well as seeing some more of the city!

We headed for Auschwitz on the Friday, planning to meet Amanda and Ali there. We had hoped by now that our battery charger would have turned up, but it hadn't and we decided to go south as we could go to Auschwitz and Kracow with Amanda and Ali, so thats what we did.

(Mark) As you can imagine, going to Auschwitz is an experience that is very difficult to put into words. Jo has just tried and put the computer down. I feel the experience was even more poignant due to her family background. Her great-grandfather was Jewish and came from Poland and luckily escaped the holocaust, but she is unsure whether other members of the family were so fortunate. It appears that many Polish young people visit as a matter of course during their school lifetime which is fantastic.

I feel that everyone should go to see it, not out of some morbid curiosity, but for the fact that it really does bring home that the world really has not fully learnt the lessons from this period of time.

(Jo) I couldn't explain the feelings as they are so upsetting, but I feel like Mark, that it is important to bear witness to what happened. I also feel that at the moment, when I see the British National Party with two MEPs, that we should remember what these people stand for. I don't believe Nazis should have a right to speak or to a platform. They don't recognise other people's right to life, never mind their right to speak.

We have to sign off now as we're being taken to the Bulgarian coast. We'll be back soon with the rest of trip so far and some of the lovely people we've met, the experiences we've had and the scenery we've seen.

xx

A quick update from Lodz

Dear Bloggers,

We are currently in Lodz - pronounced Woodge - if anyone has tips on pronouncing Polish - they're welcome. We are sitting in a lovely cafe overlooking the town square. You will have noticed that there are new photos on the blog - sorry they're not the most exciting - we have only downloaded from one camera (get me!).

If you had a map of Poland you may wonder why we've gone from Warsaw to Krakow back to Lodz - if you don't have a map then take my word for it - it's a strange route. We've done Aushcwitz on the way to Krakow and I guess the next posting will give a proper and full description of everything we've done - from a big night on the vodka in Warsaw to beautiful Kracow, but for now we're out of time and will be back soon.

Love to all from Poland x

Our camp in Kracow - Mark's on the roof fixing the solar panel

Unfortunately we also had to rewire the back lights! as they were shorting/voltage drop. No way we couLd head to the Ukraine with dodgy lights as I believe their police are rather strict!

Not sure campsite owners were expecting temp garage! who cares they were so miserable but the site was excellent apart from chorus from local hounds. Kracow lovely and well worth the vist.

On our way to Warsaw and pre-evening drinks at Luka's flat in Warsaw with Amanda and Ali

The view from our campsite - and it was free!

Scoffing strudle and cream in Arweiler - how predictable!

Our first 'off road' free camping experience!

From Berlin to Warsaw

Well in the end we escaped Berlin however, no mashy techno just mashy feet from too much city walking. I have blisters to die for! Trevor those havanah flp flops are great but not for mile after mile of city trekking! Berlin was amazing; never seen streets like it especially Karl Marx Allie, Dont be fooled we are talking four lanes wide, pavements like runways and blocks of public housing the size of Park Hill all built with ornate carvings. Unbelieveably it was all built by volunteer labour in the 50's!

We are currently in Warsaw where we have met up with Jo's mate Amanda and her friend Alli who is traveling Europe from OZ.

THE DRIVE HERE WAS INTERESTING! MORE LIKE F**KING MENTAL!
Pardon the language but there is really no other way to get my point accross. The road we took was the main trucking route (not motorway from Frank furt to Warsaw. You have no idea, i had no idea how much frieght is coming out of easten Europe. Non stop artic after artic coming down two lane highway. They leave 5ft on each side so people can move over to let others past. This means you have to be looking behind and in front of you for people overtaking. Simply think of a normal british a road with alittle extra space on either side, trucks on either side and a third overtaking in the middle! Amazing or crazy not sure which.

Stopped in camping sight within the grounds of a hotel last night in warsaw as we arrived in the dark and quite late, sorry did I say Hotel, in daylight resembled more of an old prison/car park on an industrial estate. However it did have warm shower which was just luxury will park on roads tonight to save cash now we have sussed out parking restrictions.

Dad need to suss out hook up can you remind me what the score is about polarity!

Hit a cafe today had a nice lunch, going out tonight for a drink.

Berlin

What a city!It feels like we've walked most of it! We've been West and East, done the Jewish museum and the parks. Sat yesterday having a beer in Karl Marx alee, overlooking the Stalinist Architecture of the old GDR. Had a curry last night in the Bohemian part of town and have been swimming in a huge outdoor pool in the East again today. The lack of water in the van propmted the swimming! We both needed a shower!

We're off in a bit to have currywurst (they say you have to try it) and then walk the canals in the East.

Tomorrow, we pick up the fuel filters, find a laundrette and then head for Poland. Stopping first in Lodz, where my great grandfather was born and then onto Warsaw to meet Amanda.

Will definitely try and upload some photos on the next posting.

Lots of love x