Thursday 28 July 2011
Wednesday 27 July 2011
Day five: Church of Bones
To continue from where I left off first...
On the first night we made it to Oostende, Belgium and not finding anywhere we could camp inconspicuously we stayed at a camp site, complete with bar and corner disco.
Day two we drove through Luxembourg aiming for Manheim in Germany but didn't quite make it so decided to come off the motorway at Kaiserslautern and find somewhere to camp. Wanting to keep costs down and adventure up as much as possible, we opted to camp wild and picked a nice spot of grass next to a field just behind a large army barracks.
Day three we drove to Klatovy in the Czech Republic for Czech out! Set in a beautiful castle ontop of the rolling hills of CZ we were supplied with Czech sausages, strong rum and music. Spirits high,happy in the knowledge that we were all now in the statistic of adventurers making it to CZ we regailed in the tails of 'the ambulance that never left goodwood' and 'the team that broke down on the way to Dover'. The castle is probably best described by photos so will leave it at that.
Yesterday everyone was rather worse for wear especially some guy who hadn't even mad it into his tent and had passed out inbetween a few of the cars. We milled about searching for other teams going our way and came across Ian and Kev who were not doing the south route like us but were making their way up to Kutna Hora just past Prague to see the Church of bones. Not wanting to miss out on a tourist /photo op we tagged along.
Unfortunately after deciding to take a dip in the lake, which was a lot muddier and shallower than anticipated and stop for supplies (at Tesco nonetheless!) we didnt quite make it all the way there so camped at a campsite for a hot shower.
Which brings us to today! We saw the church of bones and two of the other churches in Kutna Hora and happened to bump into two other Rally teams. They had started a convoy and were waiting for the rest ot their team mates which included the conservatory pick up truck, Ambulance, Smart cars and the Reliant Robin. Some of them were doing the southern route but wanted to head up to Poland before going down so we exchanged numbers and promises of meeting up at a later date. We are now back on the road to Bratislava where we hope to stop tonight and have just passed the conservatory! so perhaps they will catch up with us later.
Morale: High
Car: Accumulating excessive local produce but otherwise happy
Current thought: Who knew there were tescos in Czech!? Is it wrong to stop there again for some lunch stuff?
Country Count: 6 - UK, France, Belguim, Luxembourg, Germany, Czech Republic
Miles: 1,340
On the first night we made it to Oostende, Belgium and not finding anywhere we could camp inconspicuously we stayed at a camp site, complete with bar and corner disco.
Day two we drove through Luxembourg aiming for Manheim in Germany but didn't quite make it so decided to come off the motorway at Kaiserslautern and find somewhere to camp. Wanting to keep costs down and adventure up as much as possible, we opted to camp wild and picked a nice spot of grass next to a field just behind a large army barracks.
Day three we drove to Klatovy in the Czech Republic for Czech out! Set in a beautiful castle ontop of the rolling hills of CZ we were supplied with Czech sausages, strong rum and music. Spirits high,happy in the knowledge that we were all now in the statistic of adventurers making it to CZ we regailed in the tails of 'the ambulance that never left goodwood' and 'the team that broke down on the way to Dover'. The castle is probably best described by photos so will leave it at that.
Yesterday everyone was rather worse for wear especially some guy who hadn't even mad it into his tent and had passed out inbetween a few of the cars. We milled about searching for other teams going our way and came across Ian and Kev who were not doing the south route like us but were making their way up to Kutna Hora just past Prague to see the Church of bones. Not wanting to miss out on a tourist /photo op we tagged along.
Unfortunately after deciding to take a dip in the lake, which was a lot muddier and shallower than anticipated and stop for supplies (at Tesco nonetheless!) we didnt quite make it all the way there so camped at a campsite for a hot shower.
Which brings us to today! We saw the church of bones and two of the other churches in Kutna Hora and happened to bump into two other Rally teams. They had started a convoy and were waiting for the rest ot their team mates which included the conservatory pick up truck, Ambulance, Smart cars and the Reliant Robin. Some of them were doing the southern route but wanted to head up to Poland before going down so we exchanged numbers and promises of meeting up at a later date. We are now back on the road to Bratislava where we hope to stop tonight and have just passed the conservatory! so perhaps they will catch up with us later.
Morale: High
Car: Accumulating excessive local produce but otherwise happy
Current thought: Who knew there were tescos in Czech!? Is it wrong to stop there again for some lunch stuff?
Country Count: 6 - UK, France, Belguim, Luxembourg, Germany, Czech Republic
Miles: 1,340
Sunday 24 July 2011
Day One: Waffle waffle
So it begins..
The launch took place yesterday from Goodwood where we were waved off by family and friends. We had a ferry booked for 18:40 which we weren't entirely sure we were going t make considering the launch was still going an it was pushing close to four o' clock, however after our lap of the racecoure and a speedy trundle down the M20 waving to other team as we passed we just made it with about ten minutes to spare.
Undecided on the route we should take from france to the Czech Republic we joined two other groups, Fear and Alex's in Mongolia (Alex and Alex) and another group who i've forgotten the name of right now! Made up of Hugh and Chris. We decided to drive along the coast and camp just outside Oostende.
A trip to Belgium wouldn't be the same without a waffle so we have just been to the seafront grabbed some waffles to go, back to the cars and are now on the way to brussels. The plan is to drive to Ludwigshafen tonight as the road from there to Klatovy (where the Czechout party is) should be straightforward.
Haven't stopped anywhere with wifi yet so no pics to upload as am blogging from my kindle!
Morale: High
Car: Completely intact and full of fuel
Current thought: I wish I had bought another waffle for later
Country Count: 3
Miles: 447
The launch took place yesterday from Goodwood where we were waved off by family and friends. We had a ferry booked for 18:40 which we weren't entirely sure we were going t make considering the launch was still going an it was pushing close to four o' clock, however after our lap of the racecoure and a speedy trundle down the M20 waving to other team as we passed we just made it with about ten minutes to spare.
Undecided on the route we should take from france to the Czech Republic we joined two other groups, Fear and Alex's in Mongolia (Alex and Alex) and another group who i've forgotten the name of right now! Made up of Hugh and Chris. We decided to drive along the coast and camp just outside Oostende.
A trip to Belgium wouldn't be the same without a waffle so we have just been to the seafront grabbed some waffles to go, back to the cars and are now on the way to brussels. The plan is to drive to Ludwigshafen tonight as the road from there to Klatovy (where the Czechout party is) should be straightforward.
Haven't stopped anywhere with wifi yet so no pics to upload as am blogging from my kindle!
Morale: High
Car: Completely intact and full of fuel
Current thought: I wish I had bought another waffle for later
Country Count: 3
Miles: 447
Tuesday 19 July 2011
4 days till launch...
Unfortunately after finding the list of cities we are actually travelling through, I have discovered that this map is not entirely accurate....
I have updated our route on the adventurists website, so if you want to have a gander at that, please click below;
http://mongolrally11.theadventurists.com/index.php?mode=teamwebsites&name=banana-hammock&page=route
I wasn't far off!
On the plus side, we have found someone else taking the ferry from Trabzon to Sochi! So we are not the only ones. Might see when they are thinking of travelling as it might be a lonley wait...
Got some more supplies today - mozzie nets and deet spray, chairs (essential), sleeping bag liners, international driving permits etc. Need to get a decent sterile fist aid kit as well although I heard that you need a certificate to say you are allowed to travel with it so might enquire at boots.
Off to get my Malaria tablets now for use after Mongolia.
Oh and I did take piccies of the car, but my camera is being funny, so I'll have to go out and do it again later!
I have updated our route on the adventurists website, so if you want to have a gander at that, please click below;
http://mongolrally11.theadventurists.com/index.php?mode=teamwebsites&name=banana-hammock&page=route
I wasn't far off!
On the plus side, we have found someone else taking the ferry from Trabzon to Sochi! So we are not the only ones. Might see when they are thinking of travelling as it might be a lonley wait...
Got some more supplies today - mozzie nets and deet spray, chairs (essential), sleeping bag liners, international driving permits etc. Need to get a decent sterile fist aid kit as well although I heard that you need a certificate to say you are allowed to travel with it so might enquire at boots.
Off to get my Malaria tablets now for use after Mongolia.
Oh and I did take piccies of the car, but my camera is being funny, so I'll have to go out and do it again later!
Sunday 17 July 2011
The Route
Six days to go including today...
Passports and visas still not arrived, house to pack up, spares to buy and a whole bunch of paperwork to organise!
On the plus side, the car looks all shiny and professional with it's sign writing. I shall upload some photos this afternoon. Also my netbook has arrived! So hopefully I can blog from the road.
I've done a rough map of our route. I don't have the list of cities we are stopping through to hand, (and no doubt this will change anyway) but this gives a rough idea of how we shall be burning our 8,000 miles.
Still trying to find a few people travelling this way, still yet to find anyone taking the ferry over the Black Sea but I suppose there is still time.
Passports and visas still not arrived, house to pack up, spares to buy and a whole bunch of paperwork to organise!
On the plus side, the car looks all shiny and professional with it's sign writing. I shall upload some photos this afternoon. Also my netbook has arrived! So hopefully I can blog from the road.
I've done a rough map of our route. I don't have the list of cities we are stopping through to hand, (and no doubt this will change anyway) but this gives a rough idea of how we shall be burning our 8,000 miles.
Still trying to find a few people travelling this way, still yet to find anyone taking the ferry over the Black Sea but I suppose there is still time.
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