Friday 28th May

moved up the coast a bit and found miles and miles of white,sandy,empty beaches.........1.40pm hello Estonia, again no stop at border---looks clean and tidy, there is a sign for reindeer!......drove up to Parnu....we found a motorbike shop, but no good, they said they could order a spring but it would take about 2 weeks!! Parked up on grass next to the beach--no-one else here---our own private beach, fantastic--if the weather holds we will stay here a day or so---we cannot enter Russia before the 1st of June.......

Thursday 27th May

stayed day and night

Wednesday 26th May

off to find new camping pitch--trees still full of blossom--arrived at KLAIPEDA again there are no motorbikes to be seen, this place has jewellers, hairdressers and casinos--rain, rain and rain---off to try Latvia, there are no bikes here!!! heading for RIGA....Arrived Latvia at 4.30pm the sun shining--passed through Riga and found a camp on a lake--beautiful--£3 per night!!!

Tuesday 25th May

Sunshine and showers---to Kaunas for spring--neat tidy city, no motorbikes to be seen!!! We found the shop but no good.....off to seaside---many wooden houses made of larch, some painted others natural....some made of small bricks the colour of cotswald stone-----found a campsite at Vente called Camp Ventaine and as the name says it is just too windy---nice site so stay one night----we walked onto the beach to see the Baltic sea--it looks browny-grey--yuk--not inviting and very rough!!!

Monday 24th May

Searched for motorcycle shop for new spring---no luck in town, so started out for Lithuania.......Sandy satnav took us the quiet way through the countryside. we saw cows with their front legs roped together like handcuffs---miles and miles of forests with ground covered with lily of the valley---beautiful------3.30pm country 14 - Lithuania -no stops, just a wave.....looks very clean and tidy----found nice parking spot-off road with a sheer drop down to river---dandylions have just finished flowering----chap stopped for a chat, an RAF officer, tolld us where to look for motorbike shop and gave us his phone number in case we had any problems

Sunday 23rd May

8am more people arriving for drinks!!!! 8.30am we are off----Landy not happy--UJ sqeaking making horrible noises--Lee stops and greases them...ok now......See more sand bags and rivers flooded ...the sun is shining its 22 degrees!!! 50k from Warsaw and its orchards everywhere with bits of blossom still in trees.....10k from Warsaw and we start to notice English words appearing..like For Sale ect.........We see a huge Ikea--McD--KFC..any shop you can think of----but all closed today---even the 24 hour 7 day Tesco is closed.....driving north past Warsaw to Bialstok..pull over to stop--now the spring on the trailer has broken..it will still tow but we are not very happy and there are mosquitos everywhere-----drive to hotel and write this,,,,,,,,,,,,.........

Saturday 22nd May

Sitting next to desert enjoying a rest---asked to move on very politely by police---got stuck in sand--dug Landy out--good practice for Gobi........we reached 100 km from Warsaw and stopped at layby---people stop and drink a bottle of vodka then drive off again....thunderstorms again!!!!

Friday 21st May

Auschwitz......it's impossible to put our feelings into words, you have to see !!......To Krakow it's the only open way to get to the north.....head for desert at Olkusz...we see rivers flooded and bridges destroyed...we also see Aldi--Tesco and McDonalds.

Thursday 20th May

Set out for Poland...counting England this is our thirteenth country......We can't get through mountain passes--roads closed - flooded--Sat nav sent us up un-paved road- scarey, decide to ignore sandy satnav and go main roads only!!! Grey sky..rain..rain..and water everywhere--river banks collapsed--fields flooded--sand bags everywhere-----Arrived at Oswiecim (Auschwitz) at 5.30pm----camped nearby at truckstop..

Wednesday 19th May

Drove to find place to open up tents to dry out----saw wooden church built 1746--unesco site ---then saw huge bonfire made from logs in the shape of a pyramid (we think Wicker Man you know Edward Woodward)---off we go!!!............Picked up trailer, they have done great job 160 euros....drive to thermal spring that Tomas told us about...great..

Tuesday 18th May

camped outside a pizza restaurant, in the car park, camp sites are flooded....all our bedding soaked, we have spare sleeping bags and Beverley let us sleep in her tent------drove on looking for off road centre and found it!!! Left the trailer to be picked up tomorrow---went and bought new sleeping bags and blow up pillows...then we climbed a mountain and went into the ice caves---brilliant------found our first Hotel, and had hot baths--our first since January--

Monday 17th May

Just drizzling----drove into centre of BRNO and bought a jockey wheel for the trailer for 1080 korunas (about £30) now we just need someone to weld it on and re-inforce the hitch...it's very clean here lots of recycling bins---Arrived at Blansko---can't see any signs for the Monastry---found tourist info, me and Beverley go in and explain what we are looking for--the lady spoke good English, so that bit was easy but---wrong Blansko--"We don't have bones here..just a wooden church" she wasn't very impressed with us!!!!!!---we can't find a map to buy and have no internet connection....ok back to Slovakia....Lee had seen an off road centre and thought that would be the best place to get our repairs done.

Sunday 16th May

Rain-rain and more rain--Slovakia is much cleaner--rivers with no plastic bottles---every few miles there is a Tesco--we have just bought a new phone card from one, at the top of a mountain...12.30 the sun is trying---we all have wet feet and trousers--pretty horrible!! Decide to drive to Czech Rep. and visit Monastry famous for human bones----Have just passed a sign that said 'Bears-wild horses-wolves-deer'-------4.35pm arrive at border --no customs or stops--just a sign----still raining heavily----find a sheltered spot off the road in the trees....

Saturday 15th May

To Oreadea on the Romanian-Hungarian border-----time to leave Romania we've been here so long we've stopped converting the money---clocks go back an hour -----rain-rain-rain, all the fields are flooded----5pm arrive at Hungarian-Slovak border--trailer hitch snapped clean off--we've blocked the border!!! We are undercover--Lee managed to move trailer across--two cars pass--one stops he is a mechanic, a freind of the border policeman, he goes off and fetches his welding gear and an hour and a half later we are back on the road---unbelievable!!!!

Friday 14th May

Left to visit the other Dracula castle at Sighisoara...not impressed..drove further to a camp site at Cluj Napoca, as we drove Beverleys guitar--which had been attatched to the trailer---fell off and broke......At the camp Lee checked the car and changed all the tyres round, me and Beverley caught up with the washing......

Thursday 13th May

We were out of bed at 5am to get into the car--the storm was overhead--rain lashing down, strong winds and lightening was enough to scare anyone!!! When it was over we set off down the mountain--wet and cold---the road was a mess--flooded in places and there had been rock falls...this was far scarier than going up!!--Heading back to Bran we passed a ruined castle which was supposed to be the proper Dracula castle, Lee and Beverley climbed the 1400 steps to have a look, I decided to guard the car!!! Arrived back at Bran to find our passports had arrived..........

Wednesday 12th May

Last night three horses came to visit us--it was pitch black, we could hear them but needed the torches to see...today we found a pond it was full of newts and leeches.....only one car passed all day..

Tuesday 11th May

Slept well on pitch next to river....moved further down the mountain to the lake for a quiet day--no driving--beautiful open pitch---we saw only 3 cars all day, one stopped to take a photo for his fishing magazine.

Monday 10th May

Set off for Transfagaran Highway, fabulous alpine roads--25 degrees....start to climb--845m still warm--loads of wild camping spots--edges of road collapsed--very bumpy--lorries full of logs----sheer drops--waterfalls---then a long drive road is twisty but normal---forest is very thick--first bits of snow, then the road opens up, the forest just ends and you can see all the snow---the road is narrow, the snow has been cut through, on the inside it is as high as the Landy, on the outside sheer drops....we come to a place that it is possible to turn rourd, we all agree it's far too dangerous to continue, it's just not worth it, we know its blocked further on...so we take the photos and drive down just below the snow to find a pitch for the night......

Sunday 9th May

Goodbye Frank....we went back through the gorge again--it was that breath-taking....we saw what at first looked like a beach but it was entirely made up of plastic bottles, ------back to Bran.....

Saturday 8th May

Drove to man-made lake at Bicaz, drove through a canyon -- it was stunning--couldn't get down to lake--then we saw a sign 'zone touristica' --it turned out to be a closed,fallling down factory, they said we could camp there but me and Beverley said no--it was horrible!! Wild camped, built a big fire with Frank, he gave Lee a knife....many passers by toot their horns and wave at us.......

Friday 7th May (Happy Birthday Jan).....

Beautiful morning-went for walk for a few hours--then another pizza..best yet!...still warm but storm--rain--thunder.....

Thursday 6th May

To Savata---north to salt lake and cave----rain, rain and more rain--nowhere to wild camp--1st campsite closed-2nd horrible--3rd great----hello Frank---eventually stopped raining--warm--we all went for a pizza together, just a short walk.

Wednesday 5th May

Beverley busy writing, Lee reading.....Frank a biker from Germany has come over for a chat, he has travelled all over the world, we exchange stories for a while...today we chill!!!!

Tuesday 4th May

....Spent most of the day re-organising the Landy and trailer, washing ect...We got the summer clothes out and put the awning up---it's lovely---too hot to sit in the sun!!! Beverley got some books out of the trailer and sat reading for ages......at about 11am thousands of little black flies appear, they don't do any harm just hover around for a couple of hours,mating, then disappear......It has changed here since our last visit--the trees have blossomed, a little less snow on the mountain top, and the forests have filled out, there is so much vegetation it's dark in there...

Monday 3rd May

went on ferry across delta...back into mountains towards Brasov, arrived back at Vampire camping to find trailer ok.

Sunday 2nd May

Left Vama Veche (old border) and drove to the Danube Delta at Tulcea...hilly...very lush green...23 degrees-----parked up for night next to trees standing in water

Saturday 1st May

Just chilled today...on the night we met Adrian and Andrew----two young Romanians, we had a good laugh with them; talking around the fire....

Friday 30th April

.....Last night we sat around campfire talking to our neighbours- 2 bikers--Holger (german) and Anne (polish) and the caravanetters Pascal and Cecille (swiss)--Anne gave Beverley a collection of shells from the beach----The party on the beach was now in full swing--in fact it went on all night till the sun came up.......Collected wood with Pascal and Cecille for tonight is the night of the witches and the tradition is a big bonfire!!....Hot sun shining now...big stage built on beach, there are literally thousands of people down there...Lots have walked up on to the cliff top and taken our photo as they passed....Cecille has given Beverley a penknife with an attatchment that will (with a bit of effort) make holes in the shells----Beverley has spent hours making a necklace and anklet... Met Susie and Tomas--a German and Slovak, they are both in their 20's and have been on the road for a year in their van....sat around camp fire and talked..brilliant!!

Thursday 29th April

Last night stayed on another camp site, we want to go back to wild camping......Have found a lovely spot, on top of cliff, beautiful sea views, lovely sandy beach,--paddled in the sea with Beverley --collected shells--walked around the cliffs--the place is starting to open up, people arriving to open up the bars, this week-end there is to be a big party on the beach--Workers day---

Date???? Started to write this thinking its Friday the 30th but the computer says its Thursday 29th--very confusing,, I have no idea how I have jumped a day, but the good thing is it really doesn't matter--it makes no difference.........

Wednesday 28th April

The land is so flat and open--lots of rape seed--the animals are changing, it's now goats instead of sheep and there seems to be a lot of donkeys...

Tuesday 27th April

Last night stayed in a campsite, it had not opened for the season, but they didn't mind.....it was by the side of a small lake and the bull frogs were singing really loudly, hearing them was just like being back in France!! Three of four dogs around--as usual, we have two names for them that they all seem to fit---Limpy or Infectie dog!!

Monday 26th April

It's sunny and hot!!!! Pack up, leaving trailor on site and set off---we see a man talking on his moble phone whilst driving his horse and cart--well why not, but it does look odd--two different worlds!!....We see roadside stalls selling loads of plastic--all I can call it is tat--gnomes, dancing flowers, balls---then there is a hotel--then another stall, and so on.....We drive through a town called Ploiesti ---all along the roads there are wells---Lee has noticed that nobody in Romania wears glasses, so of course now that is what we are looking for---seems to be true!!! As the miles go past--there are still wells every hundred yards or so!!!!

Sunday 25th April

much the same as yesterday, decide to leave for Black Sea tomorrow....

Saturday 24th April

Up at 9.30--it's just stopped raining--the sun is trying.....bit of a grey, overcast day, Beverley, Jessica and AJ watched films----we all had dinner together, played scrabble--glass of wine---bed......

Friday 23rd April

Went back to Bran castle and took it slowly--sat and watched out windows--it was good.....As we left Anne and Andrew drove past, we walked back down to our campsite--and they were there---we have driven 2 and a half thousand miles and we end up on the same site!!!! Good to see Beverley playing with Jessica and A.J....we all had dinner together then played scrabble----checked e-mails and the passports have arrived at our agents Real Russia---phew!!!

Thursday 22nd April

showery day, so we set up the big television and the wii---watched Dr. Who (thanks again Grandad)--lazy day.....

Wednesday 21st April

Up at 7 today, we had a visitor last night, of the four legged variety, bins emptied, cheese gone-out of container--footprints all over table....8am sun comes out--it's a beautiful day, I can see the snow top mountains they look like they are shining!! Off to Brasov today, with directions from Tony, to a shop calle Hornbach, to buy new ladder and padlock!......Very successful, we got everything we wanted....driving around Brasov we saw the usual Carrefour and McDonalds, then Lee spotted The Royal Bank of Scotland...we were not expecting that one.......stopped at traffic lights---they all have countdown timers on them....this is a huge town, lots of second hand shops? People just walk out into the road, sometimes on crossings--sometimes not and they don't even glance at the traffic--(Beverley says that explains why they have such large graveyards)-----There are white taxis everywhere and people sweeping the roads with witches brooms, we have noticed today that the horses and carts here have number plates........On our way back to the tent we stop at local supermarket called 'Wolf'---Lee bought a cheap hair dye for £2, now he has blond hair with blue streaks (his first blue rinse) he likes it!!! --- everywhere you look in the shops there is something with the name Hannah Montanna on it, it was the same at the castle---mugs T.shirts and games with Dracula--Vlad the Impaler and Hannah ---- happily for us Beverley grew out of the Hannah stage a while back!!!!