Probably no country on our European journey so far has been more anticipated than Albania. It was new to us, having never visited before, so there was always the allure of the unknown, but more importantly it has been generally less travelled having only been a popular āmainstreamā destination in the 2000ās and especially so in recent years. Thereās a lot to offer in a small package and first impressions have been generally excellent ( we knew what to expect with the litter and bad roads, so have discounted those things in said impressions ). First a little history.
Still see the occasional memorial/statue from the communist era – here, just near our camp site in Shkoder. A very āSovietā look !
Anyone in our age demographic will doubtless recall Albania as the āNorth Korea of Europeā, the most Stalinist state of all, or the āHermit Kingdomā where the brutally repressive communist regime of dictator, Enver Hoxha ruled with an iron fist from 1946 till his death in 1985 but the regime survived until 1992 when it was finally overthrown by a popular peopleās revolution. In the years since it has developed enormously, and while it is still Europeās poorest, the trappings of an emerging ānouveau richeā class are visible everywhere. Its infrastructure is improving and in just a couple of decades of alignment with the West a new openness has emerged ( it was essentially sealed off from the world for 45 years ). Practically all young people speak English and are eager to engage – so far weāve been overwhelmed with friendliness and hospitality !
Some interesting color schemes in Albania. Escaping the drab, grey and dour communist era themes in some cases they went a little overboard with ābrightā..! An apartment building and nearby mosque in Shkoder.
Happened to arrive on what must have been a busy day ( or we just chose the wrong border crossing ) as it was a long wait to cross from Montenegro – once at the border, though, we were give a very warm āWelcome to Albaniaā by the border guards. Then by the SIM card guy, then by the insurance guy, altogether making for an extremely smooth introduction to Albania.
ShkodĆ«r itself offered a few interesting sights – the Ottoman-era Mesi Bridge, the impressive castle ruins at Rozafa and finally ( but on a rather gruesome note ) the āSite of Witness and Memory Museumā which chronicles just some of the atrocities and persecution methods of the Albanian Secret Police and Military during the 45 year communist era. Pretty shocking stuff.
Ottoman-era Mesi Bridge, near Shkoder.Entry to Rozafa Castle.Rozafa Castle.Ditto.Please excuse the reflections but this was like taking a picture of a mirror! Sign marking the Site of Witness and Memory Museum.Prison cells inside the museum. Small, dark and very musty.Again, an image of a reflective surface but I thought the contents were worth the shoddy picture. Note the kinds of torture the communists inflicted on their own. Ghastly stuff !
Needing something a little more mellow after the aforementioned museum, we made the trek up to Albaniaās very impressive Theth National Park. Itās not a long drive, but it is extremely circuitous, very steep, and the roads are mostly very narrow, making for some hair-raising driving. It is a spectacular drive though and Theth itself is an interesting little village with some great hikes and good examples of old Albanian architecture. The weather was a bit cloudy on the way up, but sunshine broke through in the late afternoon, so we set off for at least one of the hikes we intended to do up to the Grunas waterfall. Lucky we found some Albanians to help us find the way as it was not well marked, but the waterfall at the end was quite spectacular, as were the views out to the surrounding mountains. Theth itself sits in a beautiful valley high up in the Albanian Alps – everywhere you look is panoramic. Sadly, the following day was quite overcast with rain threatening, so we were unable to get in any more hikes. Sometimes you just have to take what you can get, glad we did the waterfall at least. Also enjoyed a beautiful night camping by the river, which provided us one of the most peaceful nightās sleep we can remember.
The road to Theth (a good section !).Picturesque Theth Church.Grunas waterfall – the last 200 metres more a climb than a hike but the reward was worth it.Wild camped along with Dutch and German folks right by the river, Theth.Driving down from Theth we pulled over for a coffee break. We were soon joined by the Albanian guys who had helped us on the hike and then a Canadian/Lithuanian couple whoād followed us down the mountain and couldnāt believe they were driving behind a van from BC, Canada. A nice stop !
From the elevated heights of Theth we backtracked to Shkoder and then on down the main highway to Albaniaās capital city of Tirana. First stop was the very impressive āHouse of Leavesā museum ( documenting the history of the former communist regime, and the degree of secret surveillance they employed on citizens ), some Cold War bunker tours ( there were lots of bunkers ! ), a wander through the heart of Tirana and especially Skanderbeg Square where some of their national monuments are located, An extremely interesting day – we learned a ton about Albania.
Communist era propaganda poster, House of Leaves museum, Tirana.For 46 years it was hard to get into Albania ( or to get out ! ) – they did not like hippy types !Cold War era bunker, Tirana.Inside the bunker. Cold, musty, and dark.Etāhem Beg mosque in Tirana survived the religious purge of the Hoxha regime and was beautifully restored after the regime One of Albaniaās historic figures, Skanderberg Square.Time for a beer ( and their beer was excellent ! )
With that our time in Tirana was done, incredible to think how much this country has changed in the 33 years since the end of communist era and truly interesting to talk to knowledgeable Albanians about their past, present, and hopes for the future. Weāll continue to explore the south of the country in the coming blog.
Till next weekā¦ā¦
In Case You Wondered:
Q: What do you do about washing and drying clothes when you spend so long on the road ?
A: In Western Europe no problem, laundromats are everywhere, but we did find them harder to come by in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia ( and in some cases much more expensive ). We carry enough clothes to go two weeks between washes and that has been a very wise move. The app we use is helpful in locating laundromats or we simply Google search ālaundromat near meā.
Montenegro was a place we were quite excited to be returning to. Weād more or less just transited the place on our way up to Amsterdam back in May, so this time we wanted to do a little deeper dive into the country. Itās a very small place, taking only a few hours to drive across, but within that rather short distance, there are a number of worthy attractions.
Arriving in Montenegro from Croatia. A long, slow border crossing as we were leaving the Schengen zone ( Croatia is in it, Montenegro is not ).
Things actually didnāt start so well given that there was a massive lineup on the Croatian – Montenegro border as we were passing through. It took much longer than we thought, and to make matters worse the border insurance office was not open when we crossed. Since our green card insurance only covers those countries in the EU, Montenegro, of course, is excluded. It requires a separate policy, typically purchased at the border. The border officials couldnāt help with getting us insured, but fortunately didnāt prevent us entering the country – we just had to drive for the first 30 or 40 km without any insurance. Extremely careful driving I might addā¦!
The busy border and insurance issue meant that we were not just arriving at our intended campsite as night fell ( a habit we steadfastly avoid ), but we were also navigating without the aid of any GPS since we now had no data. Our eSIM provider, while declaring our card covered āall of Europeā, failed to mention that it really only meant those countries in the EU. Of course Montenegro is not one. No SIM card providers at the border eitherā¦! No navigation aid, no insurance, and driving as night fell – quite a stressful reentry into Montenegro !
Had to drive to Tivat to insure the van so checked it out while there. A beautiful harbour full of high end motor cruisers and big yachts. Another spot where the wealthy come to play.
Things turned much better in the a.m. as they so often do. Our incredibly helpful campground host pointed us to a nearby SIM card provider, which meant we were quickly back online and could travel with the aid of GPS. With the aid of some British folks we met at the campground, we also got the name and address of a border insurance provider inside Montenegro. Drove down to Tivat and took care of that first thing which reduced the stress level considerably. Now, free to exploreā¦!
Main square, Kotor old town.Ditto
If Dubrovnik is the jewel in Croatiaās coastal crown, then Kotor is the Montenegro equivalent. A stunningly beautiful historic old town dating back millennia, it sits at the end of a deep bay surrounded by high mountains. It has a beautiful little beach right by the town, and unusually, a well run campground ( of sorts ) right in the heart of the town and right on the beach. A bit of an oasis you might say for those in vans, weād heard about it and had hoped we could find a spot. Fortunately, the campground manager made room for us, but of course it was cosy camping Euro-style, something that by now we have come to know and expect.
Remains of Kotor Wall..St. Tryphonās Cathedral, Kotor.St. Nicholasās Church, Kotor.St. Lukeās Orthodox Church.Backstreets, Kotor old town.Kotor is very small and everything is conveniently close together. Port, beach, campground and old town just a stoneās throw from each other.Two large cruise ships, which look small in the Bay of Kotor.Just relaxing after a long, windy drive to Kotor.āCozyā camping Euro style in Kotor. Itās not a campground in the usual sense but simply a gravel car park ( right in Kotor and on the beach ) that allows overnight parking. Montenegro is far more liberal with this than Croatia. Hugely popular with van folks.Known as the friendliest camping/car park manager in Europe. The guy who runs the camp spot in Kotor was amazing !Where else do you get your beach, camp site, downtown location and spectacular views all rolled into one ?
The couple of days there were just delightful – weather was fine, the sights were great and we appreciated having the old town, the beach, and all the amenities literally at our fingertips. That, and being taken care of by the absolute friendliest campsite manager in all Europeā¦.! His reputation absolutely preceded him and his tips and insights just made our stay that much more enjoyable.
Heading down the coast took us to Budva, another popular beachside community, where we managed to spend a couple more days. Another superbly located campsite made sticking around just way too easy. Budva, too, has a very āoldā old town so took advantage of its proximity, exploring its charms. Its walls we did walk – ā¬2 vs ā¬40 at Dubrovnik !
Beach near our campground, Budva. Slowly but surely we are getting accustomed to āstonyā Adriatic coast beaches !The old town, Budva.Walking the walls, Budva old town.View into Budva old town from the outside walls.View out to the Adriatic, from Budva old town walls.Stumbled on this while searching for a conventional ālaundromatā. It did the job well !
With the weather still being very hot down here the decision was made to skip Montenegroās Durmitor National Park – a decision we hope we donāt regret but it looked very much like a combination of the Dolomites and Plitvice National Park and since weād spent time in both those, Durmitor seemed like overkill.
Beyond Budva, and once past Sveti Stefan, thereās not much left of Montenegro ( that weād not seen before ) so prepped ourselves for Albania. A closed section of road on our planned route made that drive a little more āinterestingā than we expected but we made it through without mishap. More on that in the following blog.
Sveti Stefan, which we have now passed going up and down the coast. Still screams out for a photo even though it is all closed upā¦š. Postcard-like.Leaving Montenegro – a long line up to get into Albania. Took almost 2 hours. People constantly pushing in .Almost there ! Once you to got the end they were fast and friendly at least. Looking forward to Albania !
Till next weekā¦..
In Case You Wondered:
Q: Roaming charges are so high when you travel, how do you manage your communication with folks at home and others ( and the data needed for the blog and IG uploads ) ?
A: We try to kill 2 birds with one stone here. These days everyone is using either local SIM cards purchased in your destination country, or ( more commonly ) āE Simsā, assuming your phone is compatible ( all new ones are ). These can be bought online easily and inexpensively and can cover just countries, regions, or the globe. Weāve been using a JetPac European ESim, but there are countless others, too. One canāt text nor make traditional phone calls ( you donāt get a ānumberā but you can use WhatsApp, FaceTime etc etc). It works very well. Unlike North America where free WiFi service is ubiquitous, such coverage is not as widespread in all parts of Europe so a local SIM card ( at least ) is definitely recommended.
I quickly got tired of looking for WiFi locations to upload blog content and social media posts so instead I now just buy big data packs each month ( anywhere from 40 to 100gig). Costs about what we pay at home for a monthly phone plan. So far so good.
From Zadar, our route south followed a series of picturesque coastal towns around Split, a detour across to the very popular island of Hvar, a wonderfully secluded little beach camp in Duba, before culminating in that most iconic of all Croatian coastal cities, Dubrovnik. Itās a coastline with a LOT to see ( this did take us a bit more than a week – 10 days in fact ).
Tracking our route through Croatia, essentially hugging its coast and islands, save for a detour inland to Plitvice Lakes NP..
South of Zadar, en route to Split, lie two other Dalmatian coast gems – Primosten and Trogir. We spent more time at historic Trogir, and stayed the night, finding a beautiful park up spot right by a nearby beach. Such gems are exceedingly hard to find in Croatia given its draconian rules on wild camping ( for travellers coming here with a campervan Iāve provided some candid information in the addendum to this blog- worth reviewing before you come! ).
Pretty PrimoÅ”ten- sadly, inaccessible due to parking limitations, but we had much better luck in nearby Trogir.Truffles and olive oil are huge in Croatia – we bought some excellent stuff !In a country where wild camping is notoriously difficult we managed a great seaside spot just outside Trogir.Nice little beach with a restaurant close by, Trogir.Old town, Trogir.Main square, old town, Trogir.Old town walls, TrogirSt. Lawrencesās Cathedral, Trogir
The coast south of Split includes some of the Croatiaās most desirable islands – Brac, Korcula and Hvar just to name a few. Theyāre all scenic and historic and probably more the domain of the ultra rich but since we were as close as we were ever going to be we decided to put our rig on a ferry and pop on over. Hvar was the choice, and then only because we were closest to it – while the old town is one of the nicest on the coast, it was especially crowded, the roads were incredibly narrow and much of Hvar island, save for the old town in Hvar town itself, is not particularly scenic. Interesting though, to wander the backstreets of the old town and the waterfront marina to check out how the top 0.1% live – there were some incredible motor yachts docked there ( one 70m long ! ). Its impressive old castle affords stunning views over the old town and out to the smaller islands offshore.
Amused ourselves on a beachside swing while waiting for the Hvar ferry.Waiting for Hvar ferry.Arrival in Hvar, on the far south end of the island. We then realized it was over a 1 hour drive on tortuously windy and very narrow roads to reach the town of Hvar itself.Hvar waterfront.Some, including us, arrived on Hvar like this, while othersā¦..ā¦.arrived in somewhat more āstyleā !Fishing boat marina, Hvar.The climb up to the fort.We saw some pretty aggressive signage in Croatia and some incredibly steep fines for infractions ( for parking or for wearing the wrong beach outfit ! )Beautiful view from the Fort, Hvar.
Needless to say, we were not long on Hvar and soon left. Continuing on down the coast, we stumbled upon what for us was a real diamond in the rough. A beautiful little secluded, rustic campground, right on the beach, near the town of Duba, away from the crowds and main road, and with all the facilities we needed. For the most part, there were just six of us camping there and we spent a wonderful few days, relaxing and simply winding down – the beach just metres from our van. This we need to do more often !
Beach camping, Duba.Sunset, Duba.Camping, Duba.
Freshly rested, we prepared for the final coastal assault in Croatia – Dubrovnik. As mentioned, unquestionably its best known coastal landmark and justly so, its famously walled old town attracts visitors from all over the world. For obvious reasons, theyāve struggled with tourism overload so we didnāt even pretend that we were likely to park anywhere nearby. Instead, we parked outside the city and just walked in for the day. It was a stunningly beautiful day as can be seen from the pics below.
Insane crowds in Dubrovnik ( two cruise ships in port that day ).This part of the old town was reasonably sane .Dubrovnikās old town sits, literally, right on the water.Pretty fishing marina, Dubrovnik.View of the town showing the walls surrounding it.
With Dubrovnikās sights completed, it was a wrap for Croatia. Only about 30kms further south lies Montenegro, a place we loved before and one we were excited to return to. In our minds Montenegro ( which we passed through on our first 3 months in Europe ), was the point from which we started heading north to Amsterdam. Getting back to Montenegro then, was really just picking up from where we left off in May.
Till next weekā¦ā¦
In Case You Wondered:
Q: How do you fill propane/lpg tanks given that fittings are different all over the world ?
A: Fortunately we donāt have this issue as we do not use propane anywhere in the vehicle. We use a diesel heater and an induction cooktop and love both. Propane tanks are a headache to fill on the road and a nightmare when it comes to shipping ( which we discovered in South America – we had a propane tank in our truck camper ). Itās also very flammable. More and more people are foregoing propane. For a camping stove the standard butane cylinders work well, are cheap, disposable, and can be bought everywhere in the world. We carry a couple (as backup only) with a small stove that we have.
If You Take A Van To Croatia
This is a little side note that will be of interest and relevance only to those travelling to Croatia ( and Slovenia ) with a van/RV/motorhome.
We had been warned about Slovenia and Croatia prior to our arrival in these two countries but didnāt believe the stories until until we saw it for ourselves, The hard truth is that these two countries are probably the worst in Europe for travelling with your own rig. They hate people in campervans ( they figure that the Croatian tourism industry is not benefitting sufficiently from them since campers typically donāt stay in hotels, nor eat regularly at expensive restaurants). They make parking very difficult, in some cases, impossible, and always charge punitive premiums for vans versus regular cars, applying differentials that simply defy any logical explanation. There seems to be a national crackdown on parking and any larger vehicles are particular targets. The fines are heavy and it is a ātake no prisonerā approach.
Take a look at the picture below as an example. We pulled up behind a German couple on a scenic roadside pull out just south of Split and planned to have lunch there and enjoy the view.. Then we noticed a parking sign just behind us, indicating ā¬2 per hour for a car and, wait for it, I kid you not, ā¬50 per hour for camper vans.!!! Yep, 25 TIMES THE CAR PRICE ! Needless to say we quickly moved on, as did our German friends. This would have been free anywhere else in the world. It was but one example. In many places, campervans were prohibited from parking at all. One Just did not feel very welcome in this country.
A beautiful view !Quite the premium to park our van (ā¬50 per hour !! ).
Costs at attractions were another irritant in Croatia ( and totally out of whack with costs we saw in other countries in Europe). We paid ā¬40 each and ā¬17 to park at Plitvice ( thatās ā¬97, or $US115. By way of comparison ( and to put the cost into an international perspective), you can get an Annual US National Parks pass for $80 which allows you entry to every national park in the United States and includes everyone that is in your vehicle. Invariably no parking charges. Thatās considerably less than we paid to get just two of us and our van into Plitvice National Park in Croatia .
We saw this sign ALL OVER Croatia. No campervans, of ANY kind or ANY size. Even small ones that could fit in small car parks. Like I said, sadly the country has a hate on for campervans. Only in Croatia and ( to a lesser extent ) Slovenia, did we experience this. Generally, everywhere in Europe we were welcomed with open arms !
It gets worse – they asked ā¬40 per person just to walk the walls of Dubrovnik ( and understandably got very few takers ). The prices for these types of things in Croatia were just next level and bore no relation to pricing for other comparable attractions in Europe. And yes, lots of folks complained about this as well !
Possibly the greatest tourist rip-off we have ever seen, anywhere ( and we have seen some ! ). Just to go for a walk.
Considering the extortionate fees for the Plitvice Lakes NP visit, the Dubrovnik wall-walk fee and some periodic less-than-friendly attitudes that we encountered, you could say this was just not our favourite place – easily could have been, and should have beenā¦.. but wasnāt. Everyone with a camping vehicle that we spoke to said the same thing and no one could figure why the attitude to campervans was so harsh and different to everywhere else in Europe. Hopefully that may change.
There were really just a couple of attractions that appealed to us in Slovenia – Lake Bled and then the massive underground caves of Postojna ( Europeās largest ). Slovenia is small and getting across it from Austria to Croatia required only a couple of days and included both of these great sights. Lake Bled is postcard-like and the Postojna caves are as close as weāve been to a āJourney to the centre of the earthā experience !
Pretty Slovenian village en route to Lake Bled
Even if you donāt recognizing the name, Iām sure most readers will have seen pictures of Lake Bled. Itās a stunningly beautiful little lake near the town of Bled with a small island at one end on which a beautiful cathedral sits. Overlooking the lake and cathedral is a very impressive castle. Itās a beautiful two hour walk/hike around the lake and at various points excellent photo opportunities emerge for both the cathedral on the island and the castle up above. It was a magnificent day so we had plenty of company, but itās the kind of place you donāt really notice the crowds. Why we missed this place before I donāt know, but glad we made time to check it out on this occasion.
Lake BledCastle, Lake Bled
The other ābiggieā in Slovenia is the huge Postojna cave network. In contrast to Lake Bled, the weather forecast for our Postojna visit was not good, but, given that itās a cave and of course completely underground, it didnāt really matter at all. A German fellow that was camped with us the night before insisted we should check it out – this turned out to be excellent advice. Again, huge crowds, but well handled by the Slovenians who have been guiding tourists around this place for almost 150 years.
Postojna Caves Ditto
There was one other place the aforementioned German traveller told us about – the beautiful Venetian-era coastal town of Piran so we made sure to travel to that little bit of the Adriatic coast that belongs to Slovenia to check it out. The images looked stunning and heād gotten us both quite excited to visit – sadly, like in Italyās Dolomites, parking was literally impossible ( signs everywhere prohibiting campers/trucks and buses ). We would have happily walked in from the outskirts, however the parking out there also prohibited campers, giving us no other real options. This was a very new experience for us – we had faced no such restrictions anywhere else in Europe, though we had been warned that both Slovenia and Croatia ( seemingly alone among the 30 Schengen states ) make it literally impossible to get campervans anywhere near their ācrown jewelā attractions. It did not take long to experience it, and not, I must add, a very welcoming experience ( one which stood in stark contrast to our experiences everywhere else on the continent ). Noses firmly out of joint, we moved on, crossing next into Croatia.
Piran – pretty, but was not to be !
While our time here was absolutely fantastic in terms of weather, scenery, nature, historic attractions and STUNNING coastline, the whole āanti-campervanā vibe in Croatia was simply next level. Wonāt bore regular readers with the minutiae since it would be irrelevant to to the average tourist however for those travelling with their own wheels itās something one absolutely needs to consider ( Iāve added a little addendum to next weekās blog to further illustrate what we experienced – youāve been warned ! ).
First planned stop here was historic Pula on the ( formerly Italian controlled ) Istrian peninsula – a beautiful day made for some excellent sightseeing the highlight being their Roman-era arena ( like, 1st century ! ) – truly, youād swear you were in Rome at the Coliseum ( not quite as big but much more of this one is preserved ). The whole town is beautiful, so much of it dating back to Roman times ( the Italians really did have a huge influence on this side of the Adriatic and their influence lingers to this day – every sign, and menu is in both Croatian and Italian).
Roman Arena, PulaDittoTemple of Augustus ( dating from 2 BC ), Pula.BackstreetRoman ruins, Pula
From Pula the route was to travel south along the coast checking out towns and islands of note – one is truly spoilt for choice, there being so many options. Circling around Rijeka, the island of Krk is first up. Conveniently connected to the mainland by bridge, we decided it was worth a look and spent a day sightseeing there. The old town Krk was definitely of interest, although the rest of the island didnāt stand out to us in any way.
Walls of the Old Town, KrkA typical roadside bay on the Adriatic coast. We stopped for a swim in this one.
Further down the coast, though, lay one of Croatiaās crown jewels – Plitvice Lakes National Park, and it lived up to its hype in every way – just an amazingly impressive area of lakes and waterfalls, made unique by the way in which the lakes are tiered and flow into one another. A picture perfect day just made an already great natural sight even more impressive. The fact that we managed to get a 12km hike done in the process of seeing it all – bonus !
Plitvice National ParkDittoLine up for ferry on the lakeā¦!ā¦.and the āAfrican Queenā era ferry š³More lakes in Plitvice DittoDitto
From the higher ( and definitely cooler ) elevations inland at Plitvice, our route meandered down to the coast and the historic port city of Zadar. Somewhat like Pula in terms of its historic old town which was vibrant on a very sunny Sunday ( a cruise ship in port ensured the crowds were big ). No problems accessing the town and finding parking ( thankfully ) and enjoyed our time exploring there. As we were sitting on the waterfront promenade there was an unexpected bonus – the Croatian Air Force put on a very impressive aerobatic display ( see attached video ) a delightful way to close out our time in Zadar !
Zadar, 11th century Benedictine Monastery of St. Maria Waterfront promenade, Zadar. Great place for an airbase !Not quite Hvar, or Dubrovnik, but Zadar also attracts a lot of very high end cruising boats.Busy old town, Zadar
In the coming week weāll continue down the Adriatic ( or āDalmatianā ) coast- lots to see and the weather forecast looks awesome š !
Till next weekā¦
PS: Last week I was lamenting the volume of traffic on the Paso de Stelvio and thinking we were perhaps a few weeks too early. It would appear not ! Check this out:
Q: How do you insure your van for international travel ?
A: For Canadian registered vehicles, provincial insurance only covers Canada and the US. Beyond that you need to get coverage in the countries or regions you are travelling in. In all our travels, only in Mexico, Japan and Australia were we able to get comprehensive insurance – everywhere else we have been limited to third party coverage, typically sold as āborder insuranceā when you enter a country. Itās mostly fairly cheap but covers only the minimum that is legally required ( which is often quite low ! ). In Europe, one buys āGreen Cardā insurance by the month, the first month being more expensive but subsequent months being ā¬108/m. We have used Tourinsure ( from Germany ) and found them very efficient. Itās liability only but has more reasonable limits and covers all countries in the EU ( and thus is quite convenient ). One can get comprehensive cover in Europe but it is VERY expensive. Best insurance is to drive very carefully and hope that any accident is deemed the fault of someone else ( assuming THEY are insured ! ).
Starting high atop the Stelvio Pass, our plan for the coming week was simply to continue east and explore Italyās world renowned Dolomite mountain range ( āDolomitiā, to the Italians ), briefly cross southern Austria and then head south down the Adriatic coast with a brief stop as we crossed Slovenia. If that sounds like a lot, itās actually all very close together ( the beauty of Europe ! ).
The run down the Stelvio Pass was just as exciting as the climb up to it and again we saw plenty of folks out walking, riding, but mostly driving this iconic road. Scenery was at all times breathtaking as was the variety of exotic cars we saw testing out its famous curves. Highlight was a classic Aston Martin DB5, closely followed by an E-type Jag of the same vintage. I was drooling. More Lamborghiniās and Ferrariās than we could even count !
Very grainy shot as it was enlarged but the classic lines of the DB5 are clear. And look what is coming behind it !ā¦.another classic. The unmistakable, incomparable, E – type Jaguar. And, being driven on the Stelvio, no less .
After a little bit of rural northern Italy we approached the famous Dolomite mountain range. If we did not underestimate the stunning beauty of the Dolomites ( their reputation is very well deserved ) we most certainly did underestimate how popular they were. The roads were intensely busy, parking ( anything, even small cars ) was a real challenge, and getting access to its more famous hikes ( Seceda, Tre Cime, for example ) proved nigh on impossible. The fact that it was a Saturday again ( did we not learn anything from last Saturday in Chamonix ? ), one of the last weekends of summer, and probably the most perfect day of the year meant that it was a gong show of people and vehicles. Loved the couple of days, total scenic overload, but could have done without the crowds.
Views coming off the Stelvio PassHo humā¦..just another Italian exotic car on the Stelvio Pass ( lol ! ).The Italians all love to travel to āLe Dolomitiā !Dolomites in the distance.Beautiful lighting when we camped the first night.Dolomites – in places reminiscent of Torres del Paine in Chile.Dolomites, near St. Christina.One of the days was picture perfect – the bluest skies, the greenest mountainsides.One of those places where you just had to get out and soak it all in ( when you could find a place to stop !!).Paso de Falzarego, the pass we went through. Coming down into Cortina dāAmpezzo ( site of the 1956 Winter Olympics.Pretty Lago do Ghedina, just outside the ski village of Cortina dāAmpezzo.This is typical of what one faces on a beautiful summerās day in the Italian Dolomites -Tre Cime ( and Seceda ) are a couple of the more spectacular ridges/formations and attract huge traffic. We could not even get parking, much less make our way to the gondola where the line ups were brutal. Fortunately still many other stunning views elsewhere in the area.Tried twice to access Tre Cime but they turned us back both times š.People parked miles away, then lined up for buses. Crazy popular place.Still lots of beauty here beyond just the well known ones.
At this stage weād had our fill of beautiful mountains, our necks now kinked from constantly twisting 180 degrees to take it all in. Leaving Italy through southern Austria we ended up spending a couple of days in and around a pretty town called Villach. The front brake job we had skipped in Amsterdam ( due to a parts delay ) still needed doing ( if not before, then certainly after the workout they got coming down those high passes in Switzerland and Italy ! ). The local Mercedes dealer was able to get them in and install them in 2 days so we decided to wait it out and have the work done there. The folks at MB in Villach were super helpful and once the parts arrived it was all done in just a couple of hours – we should now be good for many more mountain passes !
Extremely helpful service from Mercedes Benz in Villach, Austria. Thank you, Mary and Michael.
From Austria we will finally start heading south again – in the coming blog weāll share an update on Slovenia and our first days in Croatia.
Museum of the Cold War era on the Austria/Slovenian border.
Till next weekā¦š
In Case You Wondered
Q: What do you do for medical insurance being away for so long and isnāt it expensive ?
A: Weāve used several different medical providers over the years but most recently have been using IMG Global, a US company. They have a good reputation, offer a variety of tailored options, and make extensions easy ( a feature we often use ). We returned to Canada in late May, 3 weeks before our policy expired, and they even provided a pro-rated premium refund. In our experience, few companies do this. Most importantly they allow us to select a higher deductible ( excess ) in order to keep premiums more affordable. We āself insureā up to $2,500 USD and so far ( fingers crossed ! ) thatās worked well for us.
From our first visit here in 1985, and through a couple of others since, this has always been one of our favourite countries – and one of the countries in the world that we admire most.
Had not thought of castles in Switzerland but passed this one near Martigny on the way in from France.We were also surprised by what looked like terraced vineyards in the area – wine, from Switzerland ?
This visit we had a few specific goals – drive some of Switzerlandās great mountain passes, explore regions we had missed before ( in the south and south east ), revisit a couple of our favourite places, and finally, visit some old friends we had last seen a few years back at an Overlander camp in Buenos Aires.
First, the road trip. From the very beginning of our retirement travels ( back in 2019 when we created the OneEndlessRoad website ), our primary goal was simply to drive some of the worlds great roads. In the years since weāve been working our way through many of them ( the full Pan Am, the āfull lapā of Australia, to name but a few, and of course, countless legendary national road trips within these long national and international routes – Chileās Carretera Austral, Argentinaās Route 40, Australiaās Gibb River Rd and Cape York Track being among the more memorable). Switzerland, while not offering any such lengthy road trips of note, does offer some world-renowned high mountain passes (one of which was even featured in a classic James Bond movie). While sadly not doing it in an iconic Aston Martin DB5, we still managed to drive the famous Furka Pass ( featured in Goldfinger ), and nearby Grimsel Pass, the even more stunning āPaso de Stelvioā ( Stelvio Pass ) connecting Switzerland with Italy , and the Fluela Pass ( connecting Davos to the Stelvio Pass road ). These, in addition to the impressive back roads we took across Crans Montana and the Appenzell region made for an incredibly memorable driving week in Switzerland – itās just that kind of postcard-like country in which every direction you look, you see something of stunning beauty. Equally impressive was to see the range of truly exotic and iconic European sports cars traversing these routes, along with a couple of old British classic cars as well. Seems we were not the only car ( or, in our case, āvanā ) buffs on the road in Switzerland that week.
Swiss countryside in the way to Furka Pass.First view of Furkaās famous switchbacks.The view down over Furka from above.A tedious, slow climb but made it to the top. Here the elevation is 2,429 metres.You might recognize this famous ( but now closed ) hotel from the car chase scene in the James Bond classic movie āGoldfingerā. It was built into the inside of a very tight hairpin bend. Still attracting tourists over 50 years after the movie made it famous.Hotel Belvedere, Furka Pass.Tacky tourist shot !From the Furka Pass to the almost equally challenging Grimsel Pass.Traditional Swiss scene at the bottom of the Grimsel Pass.
In between all these particular mountain pass roads, time was made time for revisits to Interlaken and Lucerne, two of Switzerlands prettier attractions which fell conveniently within our path across the south of the country. Both offered exceptionally clear and sunny days making for memorable return visits.
Brienz, near Interlaken.Downtown in beautiful Interlaken.View from Interlaken.A street scene, Interlaken. Not sure which city started this āinverted umbrella theā thing, but we have now seen it in at least half a dozen other places.Mountain road en route to Lucerne.Our prettiest camp spot in Switzerland- just across the lake from Lungern. We woke up to this view.Lucerne city – one of Switzerland prettiest.Selfie time.
Great road trips and scenic cities are always highlights when you are on the road but so too is the opportunity to catch up with old friends. We had kept in contact with Peter and Nicole over the past 3 years since last meeting them at a campground in Buenos Aires as we wrapped up the PanAm. We enjoyed a few wonderful days together there and went out for dinner in the city on a couple of occasions. Theyāve spent many years traveling South America in their 4 x 4 VW and we have enjoyed following their overlanding adventures since we left them. Fortunately, this summer found them back in Switzerland for a few months R&R so it provided a great opportunity to stop by and see them in the picturesque community of Gonten where they live. Itās a stunningly beautiful place and close by is the city of Appenzell where we joined them to watch one of Switzerlandās seasonal ācow descentā ( or Alpabfahrt ). A visit to the nearby Laderach chocolate plant gave us the opportunity to get involved in making some chocolate and to learn about just exactly what goes into making this legendary Swiss product. Sharing the time with them and their good friends Bruno and Regula ( just back from an overland trip to Georgia themselves ) and enjoying a traditional Raclette dinner with them was a real highlight of the trip so far – I donāt think we have had such an intense culinary and sensory experience in some time ! Thank you, Peter and Nicole !
Visited Laderach chocolate factory – hand a hand in making some for ourselves and enjoyed learning how the Swiss kits make it so well.The āblondeā chocolate fountain. I took a few extra tastes at this one – divine !Our creations on the conveyer for cooling.Loisās finished map of Switzerland.ā¦and mine.In the almost 4 month long hunt for Europeās best hot chocolate, the search ended with this one from Laderach. No surprise then that one of the best chocolatiers should make the best hot chocolate !Wonderful reconnection with our dear Swiss friends, Peter and Nicole – weād last seen each other in Buenos AiresHappened to stop by as Bruno and Regula were visiting while n route home to a Switzerland from Georgia – great tips gleaned about a possible trip through there.Nicole treated us to a traditional Swiss Rackette dinner. The BEST cheese !Shout out to Peter, whose impressive array of tools helped me with some maintenance on the van. High light of our stay in Gonten – the traditional Swiss ācow descentā, or Alpabfahrt.If we were not listening to church bells, then it was cow bells. Such a peaceful rural sound- the bells can be huge !
From Switzerland, the plan is to tour through Italyās legendary Dolomites for a few days before heading to Slovenia through eastern Austria. Lots to see. Iāll close this week with a few shots of our last ādriveā in Switzerland – from Gonten, south east to Davos and on through the Fluela Pass to Zernez and then to the Stelvio Pass on the Swiss / Italian border ( exhilarating, to say the least !).
Left Gonten for the Stelvio Pass – almost missed the fact that it cut through the bottom of Liechtenstein and this beautiful castle in Balzers.Scenery en route to Fluela and Stelvio passes.A couple of Lotusās and a Porsche Boxster overtaking us on the way to Stelvio. We were overtakenā¦..a lot !Memorial at Stelvio pass marking a military battle in WW1.Camped for the night, atop the stunning Stelvio pass.Signs marking the options to go down. Stelvio sign in the middle.View down from the top is Stelvio. A spectacular drive with incredibly tight hairpins, some requiring 2 point turns in our 7m long rig.
Till next weekā¦..
In Case You Wondered:
Q: How do you determine where to stay each night ?
A: We have been asked this one a lot. I have periodically been adding pics of camping/parking places ( to show whatās typical ) but it seems people are especially curious about this. While campgrounds are certainly available if one needs to use them, we are fully self-contained and hence generally avoid them. There is just no need, and in Europe they can sometimes be congested as well. They can also be expensive, especially in high season, and the popular ones require booking in advance – and we always avoid that !
In cities itās very common to use 24hr parking stations ( these allow you to get right downtown, but you are āparkingā and not ācampingā in the strict sense of the word ). The term ācampingā is probably used somewhat generously in some cases. In these situations, one does not put chairs or awnings out – but we are still very thankful and appreciative of the flexibility to stay so close to downtown areas ( we are very respectful and certainly ādonāt bite the hand that feeds usā ! ). So far anyway it just seems much easier to do this in Europe. Park4Night ( an app ) is the ābibleā of European van/RV travellers in this regard. The iOverlander app is good all over the world though not quite so strong in Europe. Both these apps show both free and payable locations where one can park/camp overnight. The options are numerous – weāve never worried about finding a place, ever.
Personally when deciding where to stay ( though some would prioritize differently ) we focus on security first, convenience of location second, flat( or āflatāishā at least !) third, with reasonable quietness next. Any other benefits are a complete bonus. We donāt hesitate to drive right downtown and have done so everywhere we have been, the advantage of having a rig that, while spacious, is still quite easy to manoeuvre.
The PanAm completed in April, 2022 and with the truck camper sold, we shipped our new Sprinter van to Australia in late 2022. We travelled there through all of 2023 and into 2024 before shipping it up to North East Asia where we travelled for 4 months between Korea and Japan, before shipping it back to North America. Itās our plan to continue exploring the world in 2025.
