Day 5 - Măgura to Curtea de Argeș, via Brașov and Bran Castle After bumping back down the gravel track from tiny Măgura, we headed to Bran Castle. Despite only tangential associations with Vlad the Impaler, the castle is general known as 'Dracula castle' and there are all manner of themed restaurants and gift shops outside the gates. … Continue reading Romanian road trip – castles, towns and churches
Romanian road trip – medieval towns and bears
Day 4 - Sovata to Măgura From Sovata we headed south cross country to Măgura where I had a booked a stay in the mountains with a trip to a bear hide. I'd been waiting the whole trip for the chance to see bears doing their thing in the woods, so this day went so slowly … Continue reading Romanian road trip – medieval towns and bears
Romanian road trip – mountains and lakes
Day 4 - Lake Izvorul Muntelui to Sovata The day's route from from our lodgings in tiny Buhalnița, Neamț to the lively spa town of Sovata: After a really heavy thunderstorm in the evening and overnight, it was a fresh morning on the lake. After an omelette that was more bacon than egg (turns out you can … Continue reading Romanian road trip – mountains and lakes
Romanian road trip – the painted monasteries of Bucovina
Day 3 - Moldovița and the Bucovina monasteries Driving tour of the four major monasteries: Moldovița monastery is a 5 minute walk from Vila Crizantema so we went to visit the afternoon we arrived. It costs 5 lei to enter and you can take photographs outside but not inside. You can't wear short or skimpy clothes … Continue reading Romanian road trip – the painted monasteries of Bucovina
Romanian road trip. Seven days in Romania – Cluj-Napoca to Moldovita
Day 1 - arrival in Cluj-Napoca The outskirts of Cluj are more sprawling than I had imagined and between the traffic and numerous junctions it felt a long drive from the airport, even though it's only around 15- 20 minutes. The urban sprawl is quite built up, with a few pockets of tower blocks. One … Continue reading Romanian road trip. Seven days in Romania – Cluj-Napoca to Moldovita
Croatian road trip – Krka National Park and Zadar
On the way to Zadar we made a detour to Krka National Park. We were told to take the coast road rather than the freeway as it was more attractive...having started out following the his advice we soon discovered this was a massive detour adding over an hour to our journey and we had to … Continue reading Croatian road trip – Krka National Park and Zadar
Croatian road trip – a stopover in Split
Day 3 After breakfast from the bakery of a meat-filled burek (delicious, but heavy for breakfast) we picked up the car from the Hertz rental in downtown (walking distance from the Old Town) and set off for Split. After a few wrong turns we were on the coast road and heading away from Dubrovnik. I … Continue reading Croatian road trip – a stopover in Split
Croatian road trip – two days in Dubrovnik
Day 2 We were up at 7am to find some breakfast before our 9:30 kayak tour along the town walls and out past Lokrum. We stopped at a small restaurant in a side street off of Stradun, I'm not sure I ever saw the name. We had eggs, ham, bread and bacon. My eggs were … Continue reading Croatian road trip – two days in Dubrovnik
Croatian road trip – two days in Dubrovnik
This is my write up and tips from my 7 day, 6 night Croatian road trip. I posted earlier this month about my plans for this trip and now I'm back to tell the tale! We arrived in Dubrovnik where we spent two nights, then on to Split, Zadar, Plitvice Lakes and finally finishing up … Continue reading Croatian road trip – two days in Dubrovnik
Pack like a pro – things I take everywhere
Although I’m not what you'd call a ‘hardened traveller’, I do typically get away 6+ times a year and I also used to do a fair amount of business travel, so I got pretty adept at packing quickly and neatly and not forgetting anything. I'm dedicating a series of posts to everything I've learned from … Continue reading Pack like a pro – things I take everywhere
