Coming home

I haven't blogged for a few days but I can assure that you really haven't missed much. I have been mostly working and watching the thunderstorms in the evenings. Fascinating; I do love a good storm and they certainly give it some welly over here. Rambo isn't very keen when they get very loud. I suppose I cannot blame him really.

So where to start?  Monday I was back to work and after a really lovely few days off, I really was not inspired or motivated. I didn't really have time to moan though as it all started to get a bit manic and I was basically glued to my desk for pretty much the whole day. Thunderstorms were raging, as I mentioned and it was all a but dull and non-eventful I am afraid. I neglected to take photos that day as well. I am pretty sure the Mr will be much more enthusiastic about that than I am when he gets back. I think part of me feels that photography should not be a chore - it was a hobby I love and I feel like I have to do it when I write here. It's hard to explain. Basically, I'm a lazy bugger and don't take as many as I should to write about!

Rambo is a permanent source of entertainment. He makes me laugh like nothing else. His new stick is a great source of entertainment for him though and he doesn't like you going near it. If you do, he picks it up and runs off.

My stick

 Even when he wants a rest, the stick gets a rest too. We all keep each other company.

It comes everywhere with me

Last time I wrote, we had two new arrivals. Hermes and Mercury. They really seemed to have settled well and I have seen them moving around in there a lot. I have checked for any damage to the corn and see none, so that's a result. I'm not going to weed it in there (maybe a little bit around the tomato plants) so they have plenty to munch on.

Hermes

Mercury

I may seem a little bit flat as I write this, I am not, merely tired after a few bad nights sleep due to thunderstorms. They have been pretty constant in rolling in and out all afternoon and evening. Huge cracks that you almost think will shake the whole building.  Anyway.

Today is a special day. Not only because Rambo was already awake and playing with his stupidly large "stick", but because today is the day that the Mr leaves the UK. EXCITEMENT!! Hopefully at some stage after 2am he will be waving goodbye to the cliffs of Dover and headed in this direction (I think he updated the Sat-Nav). We are not really sure how long it will take, but he has promised to drive sensibly and not be stubborn about trying to stay awake. He has puppies to look after also.  PUPPIES!! I'm not excited at all, as you can probably tell.

Much entertainment

Today has been a complete washout due to work and storms and the only think I have to show you is a photo I took around 2pm this afternoon. I had the lights on inside so that I could work. Madness.

Nightfall at 2pm

So I leave you now, mainly because my chips are about done and my belly is growling. It's been a tough week and I have stupidly offered to do a couple of hours work in the morning as we are so busy. Silly me!

Leka nosht!

A xx

The final week

Finally it is my final week in the UK and tomorrow is my final day! FINALLY!

Watching paint dry

So just a quick overview of the last week as my excitement builds for the awesome day that tomorrow will be. As you will remember Thelma and Louise had done a little bit of damage in the kitchen in the time when they were left there during the day; the linoleum was not something I would be able to fix sadly so I have left it to the landlady to get it replaced out of the deposit money, but the walls where the rubbish wallpaper had been torn were easy. I bought a tester of Magnolia Kitchen paint and was able to cover over everything with some to spare. By the next morning it was dried and matched perfectly. As well as doing this small amount of painting I also spent time cleaning, hoovering, scrubbing carpets and getting the kitchen clean including the cooker and work surfaces. I'm really not cut out to be a cleaning person but by the time I left I was relatively happy with the result.

Brave explorer heading off into the unknown

This was my final week in the office as well, obviously, and while it was very busy with pressure to get things done before I changed to remote working we also had a lot of fun. One of the guys, Ade, was joking about me being an explorer and ended up buying me a pith helmet for the journey. I wore this off and on over the last two days to much hilarity and it is now packed to come with me. Suffice to say I am not going to wear it while driving; it won't actually fit on my head in the car, but it will go with me now on my travels as a reminded of some really good times in the office.

Gorgeous evening sky on the walk home from the pub

My plan was to do a half day on Thursday so as to be able to spend the afternoon doing the final cleaning but I got a head start by spending three or four hours on Wednesday night putting the last bits in the trailer including the sofa and almost everything else that would be taken. This mean that the only thing left to be put in on Thursday was the girls' hutch. Just as I was finishing up the neighbour who I have spoken with most came past on his way home from the pub which was a shame but we had a brief chat and I agreed to send a postcard. Ten minutes later I was on my way round the corner with the girls where I spent a really enjoyable hour or so sipping a few beers (much needed from my efforts loading) and chatting to the locals. The girls get so much attention. On the walk on the way home the sky was stunning so I snapped a few pictures of it. Then I was almost straight to bed and to sleep, exhausted.

Eating lunch in the sun in the beer garden

Thursday arrived and I ended up only being in the office for a very short time as finally A's new phone was scheduled to be delivered and I didn't want to miss it. It arrived at the scheduled time which was good as I was able to get it charged up and then put the time lapse software on it for the journey, but more of that in my next update. Lunch time was a last minute decision by the people in my office to go to the pub for lunch so I walked round, again with the girls, and met them there. It was really nice as we were able to sit outside and the chef, who had been quite sad that Thelma and Louise were leaving, got ANOTHER chance to say goodbye.

The train is ready to leave the station

After lunch Loz walked back with me to the house to give me the final bit of help. I had already taken the hutch down in the morning and so we shoved it in, not very efficiently in the end, after packing the freezer in and then he helped as I reversed to hitch the trailer to Thomas. This actually went very well and it only took a few manouvres and it was all safe and securely attached. I waved Loz off with a man hug and then did the last little bits of rushing around and throwing things in the car so I could leave to get to John's where I was staying for the remainder of my time in the UK.

The drive over was pretty easy however I did see that I would need some more straps on the outside of the tarpaulin as it was flapping a bit on the motorway. It towed fine though which is the main thing and I found that my top speed won't be much more than 50mph just to be on the safe side. When I got to John's I was happy to find that the keys I had did open his front door and therefore was able to gain access to his gated carpark. I then got straight on with reorganising the trailer again which involved stripping the tarpaulin right back, putting the hutch bits in a more sensible location, and then shifting the straps so I had more for the outside however I still was short so I knew I'd be shopping for straps again shortly. I finished this in very short order and settled down in the house to work for the last bit of the day.

A very good ribeye steak

That evening I went into town to meet up with Jamie which was nice as I haven't seen her at all since I got back. It was a good evening with lots of catching up, over fantastic steaks, and I'm glad that I got to see her before going back for good. I returned to the flat to find that Magda had been spoiling the girls as per usual and they were very happy indeed.

Waiting for the UPS man in the car

I had planned on going out for lunch on Friday with Lee and Ryan but for various reasons this got postponed which meant I was able to get back over to the house earlier than planned. I had told the Landlady that I would be there at 8 meaning 8pm but when I got there at about 10.30 I found that the locks had been changed! This was not part of the plan as I had left a few bits and pieces the day before which hadn't fit in, most importantly the cherry tree which was finally showing signs of life, and I was not able to access them. After texting to ask just exactly what she thought she was doing I knocked on the neighbour who shares the side gate and was let into the garden so I could get the tree.

As I was loading it the Landlady turned up with her husband and the whole situation degenerated into a shouting match in the street which was really unpleasant and quite stupid when you consider it has all been prompted by a 6" tear in some cheap old linoleum. Anyway to cut a long story short (for once) it got resolved eventually though the husband was raging and quite irrational for large amounts of the time and best of all the UPS guy arrived dead on time with the delivery (the main reason I had gone over) and because I had already seen them I no longer had to wait around so it was back on the road to go back to John's flat and a cup of tea which was much needed.

Frying up for Saturday breakfast

At this time I still was not sure of when I would be actually returning as my invite to visit the baby had not yet arrived but I spoke to CJC on Saturday morning and we agreed that I would go past about 5pm or so on Wednesday. Immediately I was on the website booking my ferry and I have a flexible ticket based around a planned early Thursday morning departure. How exciting! Finally I know when I'm going home. In celebration I made a lovely fried breakfast for me and John (Magda is a vegie so had her own) which kicked Saturday into gear satisfactorily.

Magda about to spoil the puppies

The girls have loved being in this flat, though they haven't been able to have the exercise they were getting as the yard isn't as good as the old garden. Magda has been spoiling them rotten as expected with toys and treats and lots of fussing and this is good; they have really taken to her and even sometimes chose to fall asleep on her lap rather than mine. I can't wait for A to meet them and start to get to know them. They are so awesome.

Louise keeping hold of the hand grenade

Sunday morning John cooked breakfast which was lovely and then it was a relaxed day as he prepared Sunday roast for when my parents were coming past later in the day. We spent time watching films and relaxing, mainly, and there isn't much to say other than this amusing picture of the girls playing with the hand grenade toy for the last time. Louise carries it with her snout right inside the hollow and gets a really good grip that way. Thelma holds the whole thing in her gob as she is slightly larger. Sadly it really did start falling to pieces and when they started leaving bits of rubber and string everywhere it was tided up and removed.

Beautiful Roast Lamb Dinner

My parents arrived slightly later than planned but still in time for dinner and what a lovely meal it was. The lamb was cooked to perfection and the veg was all gorgeous too. It was really brilliant to get to have this time with my parents as well before the "big off" and I think they appreciated the opportunity as well. After we finished it was not long before they had to get on the road as they were only taking a brief break while on their way home after a week in Scotland.

Before they left we gave the bone to the girls and boy did they enjoy that. It took about half an hour only for them to completely strip the bones and crack them a bit for the marrow. This is the first time they've had a bone and I hope it won't be the last; I'm going to have to make sure we get them bones and things like that as much as possible in Bulgaria.

Sun lounger

I was working on and off all weekend to make up the missed half days on Thursday and Friday and I had some really good progress in the end, though often the girls wanted to sleep on my lap (as they are right now actually) which does make operating the laptop quite a challenge. Thelma in particular likes to put her head on the touch pad and move the mouse and click things. Louise just likes to be in the sun and was very happy to find a patch underneath a chair and completely collapsed into it.

Proper man sustenance

And so we get to yesterday and the postponed Last Supper with Lee and Ryan. I met them in a wine bar and had a glass of red which is unlike me but it was actually quite nice. There then followed a long walk as we went round the houses to get to the destination of our choice, Red's BBQ. Ryan chose the first drinks which was a lovely cocktail with chocolate icecream and maple syrup and whiskey and bacon. The most awesome thing, however, was the steak which I shared with Ryan. It was cooked to perfection and while it looks huge it was actually just the perfect amount.

It's not just the girls who can do this

Of course at the end I had to pick up the bone and gnaw on it like a caveman and under the pretense of taking a picture Lee got this video which I think might just be the favourite video of me I've ever seen. It was lovely and the meat I chewed from the end was so tasty it was worth the effort. Sadly I forgot to ask to take the bone back for the girls which was a real shame as when this was suggested to me (thanks A) I could immediately see just how much they would have loved it.

Fighting over who gets to kill the rat

After another couple of bars and a few beers, but not that many, it was back home for all of us and I hope that they can come visit The Old School soon. When I got back to the flat I found that there had been more spoiling going on and Magda had bought the girls a toy rat to destroy. And destroy it they have. Just now Thelma has torn both the ears off but in the first hours of having it the eyes and tail were removed. They love it though and fight over who gets to kill it again and again.

Final ever rice 'n' three

Today has been a normal working day for me other than lunchtime where I went into town to meet up with ex colleagues from another job for rice 'n' three. We went to my old favourite haunt but my favourite dish was not on the menu any more which was a real shame. It was still a really lovely time made even better after my first couple of friends left and I was joined by a late arrival who I don't get to see that much. MC is a top lad and we chatted and walked back to the car together and promised that we would stay in touch and that he would come and visit. After this I went past B and Q to get the ratchet straps I need and then it was back to work after a bit of a doze because of the curry.

And so it is Tuesday evening and tomorrow afternoon I'm off to see my namesake and best friend and his mrs and then it's the drive down the M1 to the ferry and I'm finally on my way! What a buzz, what a feeling, I cannot wait!

First week back in Blighty

It is the end of the first week since I came back to the UK and how it is dragging; it feels like I have been back for at least a month. Consider as well that I have about two and a half months more until I return to Bulgaria and you’ll understand why this hasn’t been the easiest of weeks for me. To top it all off as I type this A is having a rat problem nightmare and is actually seeing them running around in Room 13 and I feel terrible for not being there to help her deal with and kill them all. Life is what it is, though, and we have to just get on with what is in front of us as there is no way for me to change the arrangements now. It has been a pretty busy week for me though so I’ll just crack on. And sorry to those who prefer her updates; don’t worry, I’ll only be boring you about the UK side of things once a week.

 

Two tickets for one trip to Sofia

So this update starts as the alarm goes off at some unnatural time last Tuesday morning. I had a bus at 5am local time to catch and as we weren’t totally sure where it would depart from we headed off a bit early. It actually wasn’t too long a wait and we watched other locals turning up and standing around which gave us confidence that the bus did actually exist. It turned up and the driver was in a hurry so there was barely time to grab a quick kiss before I was squeezing myself into a single window seat, waving to A, and we sped off up the road. I didn’t get ANY pictures at all on the journey home but there were a few things which I would have liked to capture not least the sun rise which was lovely. The driver kept to what seemed to be his standard speed – too fast, and we made really good time. I had packed some food for the journey which I was very grateful for and, in between snoozing on my moose, I snacked on some butties and watched the scenery.

I had been told to get off at a hotel just on the outskirts of Sofia but I did not see it at all so ended up following the bus route all the way to the bus station which was on the other side of town. This didn’t end up being the most terrible of things as I was straight into a cab and back to the airport. To give an idea of the economy of things the bus all the way to Sofia was 23 lev and the taxi across Sofia was 30 lev, though I am sure he over charged me. I was chattering to him all the way so it was a pretty pleasant journey in the end and I did recognise some of the roads near the airport as ones I had driven down with my parents last year when we were lost in Sofia looking for a hotel; remember the dodgy gypsy area Mum/Dad?

I walked into a relatively empty Sofia airport thinking “ahh I can get my bags checked in and go and relax through in departures” (unusually I had checked luggage mainly as I needed to bring the camper stove back with me) but I could not have been further wrong. I settled myself at the front of a non-existent queue in front of the desk where my bags would go and waited. After a bit the gates opened but when I went up they said “Gatwick only, not Manchester” and refused to take my bags. I settled for a while in front of the “speedy boarding” check in gate but even when that opened they refused to let me leave my bags. In the end I went outside into the sun to read and wait and even when my flight was announced it took some persuasion for them to take my bags via the speed lane; they wanted me to go to the back of the main queue even though I had paid for the privilege and been there about two hours by that point. If I had known this would happen I would certainly have left the cooker and bought a new one.

 

Sneaky picture of Mr Giles

I found a seat near the departure gate and was first on the plane and settled into my customary front row seat and even managed to doze for a bit on the plane. When we landed I was again first off and through customs but then had to wait again for the bag to come through the system. It wasn’t first but was not far behind and then was the saga of finding the taxi who I had booked to collect me. We managed to meet up in the end and then the crazy Albanian driver entertained me all the way home with some agreement politically and particularly when he told me that the police would only ask a few questions and no more if you shot someone on your land after 10.30 at night. He was a nice guy though and was very interested in what we are doing. I hope he finds his dreams as well. While I was standing around at what I thought was the meeting point I saw “The King Of Spain” Ashley Giles who was in his Lancashire tracksuit and apparently off on a flight somewhere. He looked a bit grumpy so I didn’t go to get a picture with him but did snap this sneaky one as he headed inside.

 

Doubled up burger with bacon and cheese

I can’t remember much more of that day as an England-induced migraine/headache kicked in and I was in bed and asleep for about 6.30. I slept through and woke at about 6am feeling much better, however, so it was a fry up at home (seeing as I was awake so early) and then a leisurely stroll into the office. I was there just after 7am and was the first one in. This would turn out to be the routine all week as I have struggled to sleep in and ended up just getting out of bed early and going to work. The best part of today was we had arranged to go to the pub and the, now much expanded, team all piled into cars for lunch time and had a good meal. I went for the burger this time and it was pretty good, though the cheese was just processed cheese and it would be nicer if they had some real cheese on it. This is the new menu though so maybe they are still just bedding it in.

 

Tiny bunny rabbit on the grass near work

I didn’t do much on Wednesday night apart from eat a pizza (bought from Tesco when I went to buy myself some more pillows as I had ended up with only one left in the house), drink beer and read. Once again I was up early on Thursday and I was in work before 7 this time. Work has been better recently and I am working on some interesting stuff so being in there isn’t a hardship; it is good to be achieving things. As I was walking home I disturbed several rabbits which live in the undergrowth around the industrial estate where my office is; they were all sitting out on the grass by the roads and then when you approached diving into hiding. This one was particularly small and cute.

 

When this lot hatches I'm going to be overrun

A had sent me off with strict instructions to get a good picture of the frog or toad spawn in the pond in the back garden and, with the sun out and the light being in the correct place, I popped out and got a quick shot one evening. There is loads of it and I am a little apprehensive what will happen when it all becomes baby frogs. There will soon be work to do in the garden here but I am without a lawnmower so I need to remember to talk to the landlady to get her to drop one off.

 

Frying pork with mushrooms and onions in butter

Dinner on Thursday was my famed Spicy Pork Pasta and it was a triumph. I sat in the living room with my book and a bowl or two or maybe even three and munched the whole lot in one sitting. I did reduce the quantities so that it would not be usual humungous portion and that was a success. I have enough left over for two more of these so that’ll be happening again very soon I think. After eating I spoke with A which was lovely and then took myself off to bed.

 

Just a bit of Model Railway stuff arrived

Friday morning once again I was up very early and in the car by about 6am on the way to Blackpool. I was going to work from the studio so I could get to see Dan, have a natter about things and pick up all the parcels which had been delivered to me. I knew that I had ordered a fair amount of stuff but when I got there and saw it all piled up on the desk I actually laughed out loud. I set myself up, made a brew, and waited for Dan to turn up so I could go get some breakfast but better than that when he got in he made me a butty in our café. It was lovely and also so good to see him and hear all his news. While I was waiting the eclipse happened but my phone was too useless to get a picture and I didn’t know until later that there was an SLR in the office I could have used. Anyway, you’ve all been bored to tears with pictures of a sliver of sun by now so I’m not going to show you my attempts.

 

Some kind of picture postcard

At lunch time I needed some fresh air so I took a walk and went down to the front. It was the first time I can ever remember Blackpool Promenade actually smelling of the sea. It looks really grim here but actually the sun was out and it was rather pleasant to stand there and just stroll around and clear the lungs. I headed back to the office after a while though and finished up my day’s work then it was off home a bit early to avoid the traffic. I had picked up the roof box from storage as this will be coming back with me next time (the last time) I leave.

 

Lamb with veg for dinner and it was superb

When I got home I spent over an hour opening all the boxes and leaving feedback for them on eBay and then, when I was done with that, I was a bit hungry so I pulled the Lamb Chops out of the fridge and made myself a spectacular meal by frying them up and boiling up baby tatties, cabbage and green beans which were then tossed with butter and black pepper and were amazing. I was playing my game for a bit that evening and then headed to bed when I finally felt a bit tired. It has been strange being here alone, after such a good time living here with A, and I am honestly not really that settled here any more at all.

 

Soldering attempt number 100

Finally in place and snugged in the gap

I was up, you guessed it, early on Saturday morning and after making a brew and having some breakfast I set myself to the main task for the day; trying to get my test oval working for the model railway. The first thing I needed to do was to solder the power connection onto the straight as I had tried and failed to do before leaving for Bulgaria. It took me ages but, after melting the plastic cover to the tip of the soldering iron and also swearing a lot in general, I finally managed to get a technique which worked and had both tracks attached to the wire.

When I put the track into place and tried to straighten the wire out unfortunately one of them broke off which caused more swearing but then I worked out a good way to do what I’m trying to do and the resolding was not as hard as I slowly learn how to do this skill. I then tacked down the rest of the oval quite loosely and decided it should go to B and Q to grab some electrical joining block, electrical tape and a clamp to hold track as the little spare hand I bought for model airplane work really isn’t rigid enough for soldering support. It was a quick trip and when I got back I completed the last few bits, plugged it all in, and was able to address and program my first locomotive. Sadly when I tried to get it to go around the track it stopped pretty much immediately and then I didn’t have very much more luck at all with the rest of the locos as they wouldn’t even respond to the controller. I hope this is just a function of my bad soldering and the dirty rails and I will be buying some cleaning things to give the tracks another extra rub down, and will probably re-tack them all down but fixing every section rather than just a few, to stop it from flexing. This was rather a frustrating end to a hopeful start but life is like that.

 

Drinks with Loz, and lovely dinner

I packed everything away including the locos into their boxes and just tidied in general in the front room. Then it was time to get into Thomas and drive over to Chester to meet up with my friend and work colleague Lorenzo. We met at the same pub where we saw Jon Gomm and it was totally packed again; there were no spaces at all in the carpark so I had to pull in on the road. He had beat me there and was stood at the bar with half a pint left but it didn’t take long to get me a pint and we sat down (at the same table I had sat with A before) and drank and chatted and then ate some lovely food and finally I had to choose whether to go onto Lemonade or to stay. I chose to drink Lemonade and head off after that as I was missing A and wasn’t really in the mood for going out at all. It was a lovely afternoon though and he really is a star, is our Loz.

When I got back I settled on the sofa and started playing Civilisation and then I got the chance to talk to A and see her on skype which was great. I have been thinking seriously about buying a trailer to take back to Bulgaria but getting one which can be imported and we spent a fair amount of time looking together at options there. I would like one which can be used to transport the cherry picker so I’m looking at Plant Trailers, but ones with sides so I can also use it to take stuff back to Bulgaria and also hopefully pick up the things which we left in Hungary. The chances of that still being there in June, though, are pretty slim I reckon. I looked into the process of getting the trailer bit added to my license and found that it isn’t £600 (that would include a training course) you can just book in for £120 so I will do that once I have bought the trailer. That is one slightly strange thing; to tow a trailer you have to have a license and to get a license you have to take a test and to take a test you have to bring your own trailer but how do you drive to the test centre with your trailer if you don’t have a license? This is all to be discovered.

I struggled to get a picture of this shy little fella

Once A had headed to bed I thought I’d play a bit more Civ and then I decided to try and stay up really late to see if I could manage to lie in this morning. I was up til about 1am playing but still woke up at 7am and then really could not get back to sleep so that didn’t work at all. All it meant was I had less sleep which was not the aim. I’ll be to bed earlier tonight. So far today I have played my game, chatted to A and cheered on as she dealt with the aforementioned rat situation (including Rambo’s first kill!), arranged to view a Jack Russell puppy tomorrow which I would take back with me to be a housebound ratter and sat in the back room of the house watching the birds eating the bread I put out (and chasing the super fat pigeons who munch it all and stop the other birds getting a look in.

 

Ministry of Silly Walks

I will leave you with this picture of a crazy blackbird strutting towards a choice bit of bread; it did make me laugh a lot when I saw what I had captured by accident. I think I am going to go and have a soak in the bath shortly before cooking up some bacon and cabbage with par boiled then fried sliced potatoes for my dinner.

Thank you for reading and don’t worry A will be doing a FAR more interesting update of epic proportions later I am sure.

Two days of travelling - Bulgaria to Germany

I am writing this sat on the sofa in our new flat in Manchester having arrived in good time. This post, however, is only going to cover the first two days so you’ll have to hold your breath and be patient to hear about the end of the journey.

Rambo's "it is too early" face

So, thinking back those days ago after I published the last update (and we both wiped our tears from the awesome parting visit from our neighbours) we finished packing in the dark which took only a few minutes and then settled down to drink a glass of the excellent port before heading to bed. As all of our bedding had been washed we went into the guest room to sleep where I struggled at first before opening the window really wide and then the fresh air helped and I dropped off. I woke up when the alarm sounded at 3.30 and we were pretty much straight up and the brews were on before second thoughts could occur. The first thing A did was go down and give Rambo a small bowl of food but as you can see from this picture, taken even before that, he was not that impressed at being woken at this time. Poor puppy, neither were we.

 

All set for the off

We had quite a list of things to do before leaving but for me, once I heard him kick his bowl, getting Rambo into the back of Thomas was the priority. He has not been in there for years, if ever, and I wasn’t sure how much he would struggle. As it happens it was really easy though he growled a bit purely with uncertainty as I boosted him up. He settled himself down and went to sleep while we carried on with our leaving jobs.

 

Even the camera couldn't see right

We had to empty the fridge and freezer of the final few things (frozen bread for the journey being the only thing in the freezer) was up the last of the dishes, shower, tidy a few things, check all the doors and windows and padlock any internal doors and then grab any final bits that we suddenly realised we were leaving without. All this took about 1.5 hours from the alarm going off so it was just before 5am when I stood at the outside front door and engaged the padlock for the last time. The picture is blurry but that is quite accurate in a sense as it was way too early to be leaving. The final challenge was to lock the front gate with the new padlock which only just fitted after a few tries and then the excitement of thinking we had left the ferry tickets inside but finding them in a “safe place” I had moved them to the night before. Sleep packing is never a good idea.

 

Pre-dawn sky at our first break point

As we drove away I said “goodbye” to the village, the local town, the nearby main city (after fuelling up) and various other things as the reality of leaving settled in. A was laughing at me a lot and that was good too. As I was driving the first stretch A settled herself and dozed off leaving me to contemplate the winter ahead. We got up onto the motorway towards Bourgas and I was able to enjoy driving towards the sunrise as slowly but surely the sky lightened towards day. A woke up around this time and then we saw a parking area by the motorway so we pulled up to give Rambo a leg stretch, and snap pictures of the sun. What a glorious sight. Rambo was super excited and pulled as I walked him all the way up and then back so he could sniff everything and maybe go to the toilet, but he was way too excited for that. Happily getting him back into Thomas was easy as he almost jumped in himself; at least he wasn’t unhappy in there.

 

I wish these WERE rocket ships to mars

A bit further up the road we were brought to a halt by a van with flashing lights weaving across the lanes to allow for two huge lorries with what looked like rocket motors (but which were probably some kind of fractionating device for gas) on their backs. It took them a bit of time to navigate out of where they had been stopped and then we were past and rushing towards the east.

 

It is down there somewhere

A furnace in the east

Threatening flat bottomed clouds

A super glow

Clouds gathering ahead of us

Netting to stop birds flying onto the carriageway

The road stretches out ahead of us

All the time we were heading towards the rising sun and all the time the sky was getting brighter and more amazing. We snapped pictures from the moving car as we went though most were really blurry and didn’t come out as well as we wanted. Enough did though and these are my favourites. You can imagine how many we took to have this many come out OK. Yeah, we were a bit snap happy and why not.

 

And there it is, before the clouds enveloped it

Finally the sun was fully risen and the day had begun for everyone else, though we were a good couple of hours into the journey already. The road was the super boring one which we have to drive along to get to Chaz and Ivan’s and then we went past their turn off and even further along towards Bourgas. While it is boring at least it is easy driving and it got the day off to a positive feeling start.

 

Zooming along a tree lined road

After a while we swapped drivers, which was great, and headed towards the north and our appointment to drop Rambo off. It was great to sit then, rest my eyes, and get to enjoy the scenery. As we were off the motorway we were heading up into the hills and driving along tree lined country roads which were glorious as the autumn colours spread through the trees. This picture was a lucky shot as I zoomed as I snapped and we were also moving – I am really quite proud of it.

 

Old planes mounted for display and a pretty church

We swapped over drivers again and A was in position to grab these two snaps firstly of a group of Russian military jets (in much funkier poses than the one we found in our local town, but you wouldn’t be able to wing walk on these) and a missile mounted by the side of the road, and then a really pretty church. This was the first time I thought how nice it would be to do this trip but with the opportunity to stop at these kind of sights; maybe we can when we go back to collect Rambo next year as we’ll be driving this way again.

 

Giving Rambo a good rub and a cuddle at the kennels

Howling his goodbyes

Anyway, about 10am or so we drove into Ken’s village and then saw his van parked in front of his house and we were there. At first I couldn’t see how to get in but then the gate opened and there they were, keen to see Rambo again and get him situated, then provide us with a cup of tea, some homemade breakfast muffins (lovely!) and a bit of advice for just over the border into Romania. Rambo was a mix of super happy to see Ken and Margaret again, and terribly sad to be behind a fence with me and A stood saying goodbye. I really hope he settles in OK but with how much those two love him I’m sure he’ll be grand.

 

Getting her drive on

I had done a large amount of the driving that morning so A took over now and we made our way, following the sat nav, out of Ken’s village and then up through the hills, woods and mountains. It was a lovely drive even though the clear morning had given way to over cast and drizzle.

 

More Roman roads, and a church with a tin spire

The way was really easy and we drove along rather a lot of what appeared to be Roman roads which stretched arrow like into the distance. This is an ancient landscape and we saw some really old graveyards with rocks instead of carved headstones in forests by the side of the road. This was also the first time on the trip that I saw a tin roof on a church so I had to get a picture of that.

 

Just a bit of beer for England and Wales

As we went through one larger town on the way we saw signs for Kaufland and followed them as we had promised a friend to bring back as much Zagorka as we could fit on. Imagine my happiness, however, when A suddenly said “isn’t that tumna?!” and I saw a stack of Kamenitsa Tumna, the dark beer which I have been waiting to come on sale (it is only sold over winter) and hoping against hope would appear in the shops before we left. We filled the trolley with 24 bottles of each, then added some random spirit as a gift for a friend and we appeared to be fully functioning alcoholics at the checkout line.  I reorganised the rear of the truck now Rambo was no longer on board and stowed all the beer and then we set off again, still with A driving.

 

Driving onto the bridge over the Danube

Romania is announced

Then all of a sudden we were at a border crossing, passports shown, and then onto the bridge to cross the Danube into Romania. The first picture was an accidental arty one as the map reflected in the windscreen and the wiper was sweeping as a light rain was falling, as it had been on and off for a few miles. The sign in the middle of the bridge caused much excitement as we drove into our second country of the day.

 

Camera held out of the window for this one

On the other side of the bridge I held the camera (rather riskily) out of the window of the car as high as I could get it to snap a picture back over the Danube towards Bulgaria and against all the odds, and a fifty mile an hour wind from our passage, it actually came out OK if a little wonky. This is the last we’ll see of Bulgaria with our own eyes for five months and I am not happy about that.

 

One of many beautifully decorated churches in Romania

Once we negotiated the passport control point on the Romanian side of the bridge (again, with no problems at all) we reached a T junction and my instinct told me to turn left to find the short cut advised by Ken but the sat nav took us right and after 30 seconds of thought (and a short trip up the road to the left followed by a U-turn) we decided to follow the sat nav. This was a good choice in the end I think as there was no guarantee on us finding the turning even if we had been meant to turn left. Romania is a beautiful country and in my opinion (and A’s) they look after their houses and villages much better than most Bulgarians. The major feature of Romania, however, is the sheer number of churches even in the tiniest of hamlets and just how ornate they are. It is a Catholic country and so ever church is painted outside with icons. While I hate this on one level, on another they are so amazing to look at and we added this to the list of things to do on a photography tour.

 

Lunch on an impromptu table

A Romanian service station, and the strays

The road from the border up to Budapest was really easy to drive on and we made really good progress with no holdups at all until we were really near the city. We then ground to a halt and sat for a minute or two before creeping forwards until we were past what was obviously a major junction as there were two policemen directing traffic; the delay was caused by the fact that it was a cross roads with lots of turning traffic. After this there were no more delays and we were out on the road to Pitesti and making good time. We stopped briefly for lunch at what was billed as a “service station” but was just a mud parking spot, a city-gas refuelling station (no petrol, diesel or toilets) and a couple of stray dogs.

 

Gorgeous tree and a really old cross

What it lacked in amenities it more than made up for in sights; here is a picture of the beautiful willow tree just up the road and a stone cross that looked ancient and was in the middle of the road on a traffic island. The stray dogs came up to the car to look for food but when none was forthcoming gave a little woof and ran off; the owner of the petrol station then put some food down for them which was really good to see.

 

A classic photo of a classic Romanian view

Romania really is a gorgeous country; I would recommend a driving holiday over here to anyone, really, especially over the summer or around this time as the trees are changing. Our weather had once again changed to sunny for this part of the journey and the views were stunning. This vista, taken just before we went over a river bridge, captures a lot of what we saw on the journey. There are kids playing football in the foreground in a really well maintained facility and then the gorgeous river with stunning mountains in the background. While I definitely prefer Bulgaria, Romania comes a close second.

 

Filthy weather as we entered an area of outstanding beauty

A while after this the weather changed sharply and it was just as we were starting to drive along the bottom of a stunningly beautiful valley which wound for many miles alongside the river. This was a tourist area and there were many hotels all along the edge of the road, some huge hulking communist era concrete blocks and others ancient looking in a classical Romanian style. There must have been 10,000 beds at least along this stretch of road, and probably many more than that. There were a lot of people too, and it seems this part of Romania is booming.

 

Tree covered mountains and valleys

The river running through it

Gorgeous ridges which I wanted to climb to

As we progressed up the valley (through off and on squalls and heavy showers) we could see why they were coming; this was stunning countryside and even in this bad weather it glowed. The road was precarious in places, sometimes suspended above the water on stilts as the cliffs plunged hundreds of feet down into the river and didn’t allow any purchase, but it was well maintained and smooth for the most part. Once again we wished that we could stop and look around a bit, and my walking feet were itching to climb the ridges. One of these days for sure.

 

A single shaft of sunlight breaks through the clouds

When we left the valley our way took us along dual carriageways and through a less dramatic landscape. There were quite a lot of roads shut, or with short diversions, which added interest and we were also running a little low on fuel and after seeing loads of petrol stations when we didn’t need any now we could find one. The clouds were still gathered overhead but at one point one single shaft of sunlight burst through and shone like a searchlight onto one lucky place. I sent A scrambling for the camera to get this picture.

 

A photograph for my dad

This picture is purely in here for my dad and there will be more like this; he has a thing for bridges and while this is a pretty boring modern one, the way it sweeps across the valley is pretty impressive so I hope you like it, father.

 

Sunglasses on as I drive towards the sunset

The sun breaking through the clouds

As the sun descended it came through the clouds more and more and, as we were driving due west, this meant it was in my eyes. I knew I had packed my sunglasses for a reason and so, for all of about five minutes, on they went and I looked cool as anything. The single beam of sunlight from before had been replaced by the more standard spread effect and you can see more clearly here how the landscape had flattened since that scenic valley.

 

Diesel goes into Thomas

The fuel situation continued to deteriorate so finally we decided to make use of the spare can of diesel in the back of Thomas. We pulled up and I put the lot in then were back on our way without any troubles. It was only a few more miles when we came to a fuel stop and I refilled Thomas and then put more into the can. I didn’t realise at the time (obviously) but I did what now must be called a habit and left the petrol cap for Thomas at that stop, as I had with Julian on the way over. I think that was in Romania as well. After this petrol station there were loads again so they must clump together which is a bit silly. Surely it would be better to have them spread out so you are always close to one.

 

The sun drops just below the clouds

Through the tree

Sinking fast

The sun was, as it will, continuing to set as we drove on and it was putting on a magnificent show for us. We were starting to get a bit tired by this point (about 7.20pm local time) after thirteen hours of driving but by having short naps while not driving both of us were operating well still.

 

Riding the swell of air from the sun heated rock

We were not the only people appreciating the stunning light show; in the distance, and then closer as we drove on, we could see three para-gliders hanging nearly motionless just off from a steep bluff and cliffs. They were still there as the sun disappeared and I hope they got down OK before the updrafts caused by the sun heating the rock face diminished too much. This picture is also here for The Electrician who is into this sort of thing.

 

Evening glow as we cross another river

A very large fortress in the distance

The darkness was gathering however Romania was not totally done with showing off its treasures. Here we have an excellent picture taken on full zoom from a moving car by A of a massive fortress perched on top of a steep hill which was right across the valley from where we were driving; we took the picture just as a reminder to us never imagining it would come out OK to be used here. Finally for Romania is yet another river we crossed; these were very regular and highlighted another difference between Romania and Bulgaria; the rivers in Bulgaria often don’t keep running all year and so aren’t named however even the smallest trickle had a sign before and after the bridge telling you what they called the waterway.

 

Parked up and steaming gently

We reached the Romanian – Hungarian border at about 10.20pm and, having stopped to get the Hungarian vignette from the kiosk on the road into the border control area, sailed confidently forwards only to be stopped round the corner by a huge queue which was not moving at all. We sat and waited and waited and sat and slowly crawled forwards until it was clear what the first delay was – the three lanes (two of cars, one of lorries) reduced into two lanes for a pinch point before the remaining single lane for cars then branched into four. Why they do this I don’t know but it wasn’t the root cause of the holdup as we were to find out. When we finally reached the front of the queue we saw that very humourless looking Hungarian customs officers were stopping every car and making everyone open their boots, trailers etc for an examination. It took us over half an hour to move the 100 yards or so from the start of the queue to the other side of customs but at least they didn’t ask me to open the roof box.

While we were in the queue we were hailed by the driver of a white van in the lane next to us who had seen that we had Bulgarian plates and he wanted to say hello. I said I Was English and he was impressed and said his cousin was over there. This is just a simple example of how friendly Bulgarians are; I commented to A that if it had been to British cars next to each other they would have refused to even look over.

Brewing up for A before we settled in for the night

We pulled away from the border control point and made to drive down the main road however there was a policeman directing us down a side road and when the car in front dawdled I overtook then found myself confronted by a police car parked across the road and no idea where to go. The cars I had overtaken swung back round and headed further along the side road so I followed and then I recognised where we were and at the end I pulled onto the verge and we stopped for the night, just outside Mako which is where we had stopped on the way. It was only about 10.30 but we were both so tired that I made a brew for myself (A didn’t want one) using the tailgate of Thomas as a table and then we pulled the rug over us and fell pretty much straight to sleep, even though there was traffic from the border going past quite a lot through the night and I had to pull the wing mirror in so their lights stopped shining right on me. To give an idea of how tired the queuing had made me while I was parked I kept saying “my brakes have gone spongy” as the lights of trucks moving on the other side of the road gave me the illusion that I was rolling forwards. Scary and not a state you really want to be driving in.

 

A cautious start to the day was required

We were both still asleep when an alarm started going off in some buildings nearby. It sounded for a few minutes, then stopped, then started again then stopped and when it started for the third time I checked my phone and found that it was about 5.00am and so I went and made A a coffee which I passed to her while she was still wrapped up in the blanket. It had been pretty cold in the night and I hadn’t been able to get the blanket down to my feet under the steering wheel so ended up laying across the seats at one point. With the coffee in A’s hand I started the car and we made our way down the road and into Hungary. It had been a beautifully clear night when we stopped with stunning stars and moon however now there was fog and it was really thick. It was actually quite a challenge to drive and the fact that the road were dead straight for the most part, and the sat-nav gave me some clues, really helped. Once again there were some random road closures and seemingly abandoned road works which added to the fun but we kept safe.

 

Bright moon above haze in the lower country

I drove until we were on motorways and then we stopped at the first rest point so I could make a brew for myself then A took over so I could get some rest. The mist was a little clearer at this point so the moon was visible again however as we drove it descended and it was pretty much constant throughout the morning. Hungary is a super boring country anyway so we weren’t missing much other than run down communist era towns and mess – at least from the memories I have of the trip there.

 

No smoking signs on everything

Pizza and cappuccino for breakfast

About the only thing of note to happen in Hungary was when we stopped for breakfast at a petrol station I was most amused at the super tidy dining tables outside looking like they had never been used once and all with a “no smoking” sign on. I suppose this is fair enough considering it was a petrol station but it amused me none the less. We bought some slices of pizza from the cafe inside and took them out to sit on these tables; it was rather nice actually and good to just rest even for only a few minutes before getting back in the saddle. We stopped again once more in Hungary to pick up the vignette for Austria which we bought at a really busy service station which was jammed with Japanese tourists and children – hell on earth in other words.

 

This is what a border check point should look like

Leaving Hungary was as easy as entering had been difficult. We almost didn’t notice when we were suddenly upon a border post and flying through into Austria on the other side. Hungary had taken all of four hour of driving to get over and it didn’t deserve any stops or any more photographs than we took.

 

Huge wind turbines as the road goes under and eco bridge

And so to Austria which is immediately a much more interesting country even if this is only due to the sheer number of wind turbines which cover the land for miles and miles. Austria was the first place we saw eco-bridges on this trip as well; these are standard looking road bridges over the carriageway which have trees and bushes growing all over them to provide a safe passage for wildlife. This picture shows both a load of wind turbines and an eco bridge.

Austria is far more interesting than Hungary

In contrast to the flat and boring Hungarian countryside Austria immediately became rolling wooded hills with distant ridges and peaks to add interest. The road wound through valleys and over ridges but was good quality and we kept a good pace up. Our speed had been dictated by the fact that Thomas starts drinking fuel thirstily as soon as his engine goes over 3000rpm so we were keeping it just below that, which translated to a steady 65mph.

Suddenly the mist is back

At one point just as we went over a hill and round a corner we were confronted once again by the fog which had disappeared near the border. It was really quite sudden and at first I thought it was smoke but it continued for a fair few miles. I suppose that as we are firmly in autumn having low lying fog and mist is to be expected. It was never so thick as to represent a danger and we kept our speed up throughout.

 

A location from the trip over

I got quite excited when I suddenly noticed that we were about to pass a hotel which my parents had stayed at (while I had been outside in Julian) and got A to snap a load of pictures. I wasn’t too sure at the time but now I am convinced and they will probably confirm this in the comments (if they haven’t fallen asleep by this time, nearly 4,400 words into this post). I can remember so well sitting on my camp chair just up in the corner near the building stealing the WiFi to send and update to you lovely people.

 

And so we were suddenly in Germany

We entered Germany at pace as we didn’t even have to slow down for the border, and totally missed the “Welcome to Germany” sign so you get this speed limit explanation sign instead. As you can see the weather was now firmly set to “lovely” and it was really starting to warm up nicely. Germany is also a beautiful country so there was lots to look at while not driving, though we were continuing our habit of cat naps as and when.

 

A turbine blade on a train - they are HUGE!

Germany is also a land of many wind turbines and they appear to be putting more up. We saw one huge pylon with no blades on it, surrounded by service vehicles and then a little later there were huge trains stopped in sidings with the blades on their trucks. The picture isn’t that great as we were going fast and I saw it at the last minute but you get the idea.

 

Our picnic spot, and the kettle whistling away

Lovely warm weather to lay in

At about 1pm local time we pulled into a rest station for a toilet break and to have some lunch. The sun was shining so nicely that we decided to drag the rug onto the grass and brew up as well as eat and this was a brilliant idea. Even though we only stopped for about fifteen or twenty minutes we still got to relax and I could so have slept there in the sun for ages.

 

German engineering at its best

Here is some more bridge photography for my dad and I am sure I remember driving over this with them and my mum trying to get a picture from underneath the overhang on Julian. This has definitely come out better.

 

A couple of the rivers we drove over

We drove over many bridges like the one in that previous photograph and tried at every one to get a good picture of the water but it was tough from our road position to do this. The barriers also got in the way a lot and I resorted again to holding the camera out of the window to get a better angle.

 

A building of some sort on a distant ridge

Once again there was a lot to see on the way (and yes the implication of that statement is I am cutting out photographs which I could easily put in here and type about for the sake of brevity. Stop laughing. I am!) and here I present to you another example of superb photographic work at full zoom and long distance with high speed thrown in. I can’t work out whether it is a church or a fort but it was a long way away and deserved the attempt at a shot.

 

Two wind turbines bracket the setting sun

Really wide open sky as the day ends

We were making excellent progress having hit no traffic at all since the night before at the border and now the sun was setting ahead of us as we went almost directly westwards. We stopped for fuel before carrying on and I have selected two of the best pictures of the sunset as we wound through hills and into and out of its light, with my sunglasses once again making an appearance. I am particularly pleased with the one setting between the two wind turbines as I spotted it was about to occur and prompted A to play photographer once again.

 

Red lights and red sky

There were a lot of road works along the way but they were short stretches over bridges which didn’t take long to get past and didn’t generate any tailbacks. We had seen that there was a hotel at the place we refuelled but I wanted to drive on a bit further and this seemed to backfire as we saw a truck put its hazards on and then we were at a standstill with traffic stretching ahead as far as we could see. We crawled along for a while and then did a sat-nav search for hotels nearby but the top two results involved going back on ourselves for 12 miles or so. I related the story of my search for a hotel with my parents in Sofia and we made the call that we should just keep going forwards, towards our ultimate destination, and stop when we found a place.

 

Our room and our dinner

This turned out to be a really good decision as the traffic cleared after about 20 minutes of delay and we then found a service stop with a restaurant and a hotel not much further up the road. We parked, grabbed our stuff, and made our way towards what we thought was the hotel but then I spotted a road sign pointing further away so we were back to Thomas and went to the other side of the motorway where there was a large hotel. After a bit of confusion we found the check in desk, paid for the room and received a free WiFi key which worked when I logged on before we went down for dinner. Unfortunately when we came back up (the food was pretty good) it was not connecting any more but as tired as I was I stopped caring and just turned the laptop off. We were asleep in a really comfortable bed by about 9pm which was just what I needed. We did have to open the window as the air conditioning appeared to be set to blow hot air whatever setting you put it on, but we were that much warmer than the night before even with this.

So this has turned out to be a really long post covering the first two days, there are over 5000 words in it and 65 photographs. I will finish off the journey in an update to be published tomorrow so don’t worry, there is more.