Raffy’s Turkey post

In Turkey we first went to Çanakkale aka Chanakkale. It was sunny then we went to Bergama. In Bergama we stayed in an apartment. In Bergama there is a very big Muslim community. We went to see some ruins it was cold and windy there were a lot of archways. We bought a samovar. We have had a lot of apple tea.

I feel relaxed in Turkey.

Me in the Troy horse.

Albanian Roads and Greece

By Maddy

The roads in Albania are really chaotic. Overtaking is almost like fully driving on the other side of the road when you’re not meant to. Some cars when overtaking try and do as many cars as possible but then don’t realise there is a big diesel truck about 150 metres in front of you, so what most cars do, is stick to the sides of other cars (driving on the lines dividing the two ways) until the truck passes.

Every two kilometres or so, a half constructed building passes, with only a few concrete beams sticking out at odd angles. When we arrived at Vlore, Albania, we almost got killed just trying to find a room for the night. Read the rest of this entry »

Dubrovnik, Croatia – Konitsa, Greece

Day 223-230

13-20 November, 2008

890km

Total: 24,403km

Soundtrack:

‘Down By the Sea’ – The Dubrovniks

‘Common People’ – Paul Young

‘Old Yellow Bricks’ – Arctic Monkeys

‘Jewels and Bullets’ – You Am I

‘Headlights On’ – The Dirtbombs

‘Mercedes Benz’ – Janis Joplin

‘Bunker Soldiers’ – OMD

‘Holy Mountains’ – System of a Down

‘Mighty Ruler’ – Roy Panton

‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’ – Irene Dunn, Nat ‘King’ Cole, The Platters, et al

‘When the War is Over’ – Cold Chisel

“Most inhabitants in this area speak other international languages, expecialy english (sic).” – local tourist brochure, Dubrovnik.

The drive into Dubrovnik was, as we had suspected, nothing short of breathtaking. A meandering two-lane highway took us past small villages and along calm azure seas in blazing sunshine. Out to sea were some small and large islands that, during the summer months, would host hoards of twenty-somethings in search of a good time. We past the turn-off to Mostar and Sarajevo and considered how quickly things had picked up in Croatia since its recent wars.

(Pic: Driving into Dubrovnik, Croatia)

We spent some five days in the historic confines of Dubrovnik – one day longer than originally planned as Sandy had succumbed to the lurgy that had been thoughtfully incubated by the children – and spent all of that time in the old city. We rented a comfy apartment and our host, Andrija, provided friendship and advice – and a few other goodies – to make our stay, and Sandy’s recuperation, pleasant. Read the rest of this entry »

Maddy’s post on Dover, England – Brugge, Belgium

We stayed at the Bleriot’s Bed and Breakfast in Dover, which we think was an old house with eight or nine rooms. The next morning, after brekkie (which for me was cereal and juice) we drove to the Port of Dover, got a ticket, and drove the car onto a huge “P&O” ship and after we made sure the truck was safe, went up to the top deck of the boat. Read the rest of this entry »

Menaggio, Italy – Split, Croatia

Day 209-219

31 October – 10 November, 2008

1,753km

Total: 23,513km

Soundtrack:

‘Tiamo’ – Umberto Tozzi

‘Ciao, Baby’ – Lynne Randell

‘Buona Sera’ – Louis Prima

‘Lido Shuffle’ – Boz Scaggs

‘Nights in Venice’ – The Saints

‘Italian Plastic’ – Crowded House

‘Down the Coast Highway’ – Stan Ridgway

‘Split’ – Klapa Iskon

‘Rest Of The Day Off’ – Neil Finn

DB: The snow in Fribourg, Switzerland, had given up trying to impress us and again returned to rain by the time we steered the truck out towards the highway. While it made driving marginally easier, the rain iced up on the front of the truck. Still, the roads were relatively clear.

We had intended on taking back roads through to Italy but this meant negotiating the Alps, which meant more snow and a lot more time. So, the freeway it was, in all its howling, treacherous glory. Again, trucks trundled along at 80km/h, while cars screamed past at 130km/h or more. With a fully laden truck and rain icing up the windscreen I was in no hurry, but again the choice was either crawling behind an articulated lorry or being bawled out by a mad Swiss driver (or French, Italian, German, Austrian, etc) in too much of a hurry. Read the rest of this entry »

Brighton, England – Marly, Switzerland

Day 190-205

19-28 October, 2008

1,590km

Total: 21,760km

Soundtrack:

‘New England’ – Billy Bragg

‘Clover Over Dover’ – Blur

‘European Impressions’ – John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy

‘In the Lowlands’ – Crowded House

‘Amsterdam’ – Jacques Brel

‘That Home’ – The Cinematic Orchestra

‘Home Again’ – Mark Seymour

‘Two Sleepy People’ – Hoagy Carmichael; Blue Ruin

‘Curvystrasse’ – Directions In Groove

‘The Lonely Goatheard” – Julie Andrews

‘Snowy Aloha’ – Aunty Jack

DB: As many of our friends and family predicted, the trip to Melbourne for four days was surreal in the extreme. Maddy and I had high-tailed it home for my grandfather’s funeral. The death of someone close I suppose is always a strange experience – full of reflections, memories and sometimes regrets – and resentment – for missed opportunities, and the confusion about its finality. Adding to this strangeness was our being suddenly removed from a life that had its own particular pattern, rhythm and purpose, and it being replaced by landing with a thud into what should have been the normality of our hometown that felt somewhat wrong. Read the rest of this entry »