Croatia route

Whilst the European leg of Fromeward Bound was, by necessity, a bit of a dash for the finish line, a short stay in Dubrovnik was always on the cards. And for good reason as things turned out. Aside from being a pretty city; the Game of Thrones connection held high novelty indeed! From Dubrovnik we made a quick visit to ‘Meereen‘ (aka Klis Fortress, near Split), after which our time in Croatia came to an end and we were off into Slovenia!

[Geography pedants will note that this post should technically be called Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina! But as we only drove through 30km of Bosnia, we’re not counting it as a ‘visited’ country]

Candied Concrete Constructions

I doubt this is the usual overlander/traveller blog topic! Nevertheless, as one travels through the countries that we have on Fromeward Bound there’s no doubting the influence that concrete has in shaping the region.

It should be noted that I’m a big fan of concrete; both as a building material and also aesthetically. I particularly love 1960s brutalism; as a child I would visit my uncle who lived in the Barbican and marvel at this unapologetic beast of a structure. (I’m no snob though, as I’m equally enamoured by car parks!) I love the rawness of the material, the colour palette, the different textures; it’s uncompromisingly scale and it’s innate strength. I’ve mixed concrete only once before when Captain and I laid some foundations for an extension. It’s pretty mind boggling that from four simple ingredients of sand, cement, aggregate and water one can create a material so hard and strong it can withstand a nuclear bomb.

Continue reading “Candied Concrete Constructions”

Albania route

Contrary to the popular belief of everyone we spoke to in Greece, Albania did not turn out to be full of bandits hellbent on robbing us and making off with the car! The reality was pretty much the same as every other country we’ve passed through; people were kind and keen to help out however they can. Case in point: within half an hour of arriving we found ourselves taking a ‘shortcut’ on a small track (as a result of missing an earlier turning.) As we passed through a small village the locals flagged us down, told us the track ahead was out of action and then invited us in for several beers.

Albanian Afterthoughts

#1 Lots of rather dashing old Mercedes cars

#2 Shepherds herding fluffy goats

#3 Even though the currency is Lek everyone accepts Euros

#4 I never knew that Corfu lies just off the Albanian coast

#5 Lots of advertisements stencilled on the concrete verges of the roads

#6 You have to drive with your car lights on

#7 Lots of dead dogs lying on the side of the roads

#8 Despite what some say…. we met no ‘bandits!’

#9 Small concrete domed bunkers are scattered around the country

#10 A huge array of petrol stations

#11 Beautiful coastal road with the Adriatic Sea to one side and mountains to the other

Philosophising on Greece

#1 Proper Greek salad….delicious!

#2 More olive trees than you can shake a stick at

#3 Athens is quite literally covered in graffiti and tagging

#4 Lots of brand new, but totally devoid of traffic, expensive toll roads

#5 Lamb Klefteko is yum

#6 A nice place to be out of the tourist season

#7 They like their coffee and beer

#8 Ouzo is gross!

#9 Miles and miles of beautiful coastline

#10 Lots and lots of cats