Bulgaria - First Impressions

We arrived from Serbia in Bulgaria on Sunday 12 May. The border crossing into Bulgaria went smooth, the requisite vignette was bought at the nearest service station and off we went making for Veliko Tarnovo, a small city in central Bulgaria.
Tarnovo as it is known by locals (VT as British expats call it) used to be the capital of Bulgaria until 1879 after which power was transferred to Sofia, which has since been the capital. The land area known as Bulgaria today, fell under the rule of the Turkish Ottoman Empire until liberated by the Russians from the Turks during the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878). Restoring Bulgaria to its former size and land mass, as was the plan, never came to fruition as it was deemed that Bulgaria would be too large and powerful which could upset the regional balance of military power in the Balkans (south eastern Europe between the Adriatic and the Black Sea). Bulgaria in the early 20th century was often referred to as the Balkan Prussia because of its militaristic approach to foreign affairs. It fought on the losing side during both World Wars and it was not until the collapse of Communism in 1990, before it became a parliamentary democracy. It is today a member of the European Union and NATO.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgaria

Our destination was Camping Veliko Tarnovo, which is a short distance east of VT near the village of Dragizhevo. We will be staying there for the summer of 2013 as camp Wardens doing general housekeeping and campground maintenance tasks on a part time basis. Weekly free days will present ample time to look around Bulgaria and the Black Sea coast, or just enjoy our surroundings.

http://www.campingvelikotarnovo.com/

The campsite is beautifully situated in rolling hills, has a large swimming pool, cafeteria serving good tasty meals, very smart ablution blocks, wi-fi, and various other amenities important to those seeking an enjoyable camping experience. Owners Nick and Nicky Kinson are both hands-on in terms of involvement, ensuring a smooth day to day running of the campsite.

View from our pitch

After a rain shower

The two pictures above were taken 48 hours after our arrival and says much about the scenic countryside. More of our surroundings will follow in due course.

We had barely settled in when a celebration was on the cards, that being Nick's birthday, very festive with bunting and birthday cake laid on by staff. It was kept secret from him until their return from an outing, the first indication being the 'Happy Birthday' played over the cafe sound system enhanced by those present in a spontaneous sing-along.

Cake resembling the campsite

Guests of Honour

Happy Birthday Nick!

I think our sojourn here in Bulgaria will be most interesting! Watch this space....

Serbia - Belgrade(3)

Belgrade is a city full of life with many sights to see. It has a vibrant city centre with many young people, owing to the University of Belgrade. There are various parks and green areas, many cafes and take out eateries, restaurants to suit all tastes and budgets along the Skadarlija, also known as the Bohemian quarter of Belgrade.
Many of the major high street fashion names can be found along the pedestrianised Knez Mihailova in the central city area, together with all and any other shops. It is clean and user friendly with a broad road devoid of vehicle traffic. It leads to the old Belgrade fortress at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers.

City centre park

Serbian National Assembly

A city centre with trams

Picture above. The centre with trams mixing with other traffic can be busy, trams must follow the track whilst the rest do as they please, and then you still have pedestrians. Note the mix of tram cables, electricity cables for traffic lights and whatever else - very eastern Europe from yesteryear, yet lovely.

The 'old' Hotel Balkan....

.... and the 'new' Metropole Palace hotel.

Old style vehicles ....

.... and a Harley-Davidson

Free drinking water is provided in the main shopping boulevard 

From the Belgrade fortress, the confluence of the Sava and the Danube

Picture above. We decided to have lunch on the Skadarlija, a large pedestrianised mall known for dining and imbibing in Belgrade. Honouring the time tested axiom of the traveller i.e., Rome and Romans or Serbia and Serbians, we opted for a Serbian mixed grill with two side salads and bread. Geez, what arrived could have fed four! It was both wonderfully presented in a ceramic dish and tasted just like a proper grill straight off the bbq (braai). It had beef, chicken, sausages, pork, prunes wrapped in bacon and roast style potato's. All imbued with a marvellous smoky flavour and washed down with pivo (Serbian lager). Now how civilised is that?!

The restaurant was situated on the pedestrian mall, had an outside covered veranda where you could watch the very watchable passing parade! Not a rip off either, the bill came to 36Euros (£30) including our tip.

As said before, Serbia is open for tourism! It is different, yet not overly so. You feel like you have travelled, yet not to some outlandish different place. We could easily visit Belgrade again - highly recommended!

Serbia - Belgrade(2)

As some of you know the main reason for our visit to Belgrade was to locate the grave and pay respects to Lt M.C. Bekker, 25 Squadron South African Air Force, an Uncle of mine, who lost his life as a bomber pilot in WW2.  Their B-26 Martin Marauder, a fast medium bomber, was shot down over Yugoslavia on 4 May 1945, he was Co-Pilot at the time. It was the last mission of the squadron for the war, all seven crew members perished. For more detail click the links below :-

http://www.saairforce.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4156

http://anewad.blogspot.com/2012/09/croatia-zagreb.html

The fulfilment of this quest and the homage thus paid will remain one of the highlights of this Adventure of ours.

Headstone of Lt M.C. Bekker, South African Air Force, Belgrade War Cemetery.

Headstones of the seven crew members

At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We Will Remember Them

B-26 Martin Marauder

SAAF Ensign 1940-1951

Serbia - Belgrade(1)

The journey through Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia was swift using the very well maintained motorways of those countries. They cost you using them, make no mistake, but if distance is what you need to cover you have no choice.
We have not been to Serbia before, and because of the Balkan conflict after the break up of Yugoslavia, it has not always received a good press. How time can change things, because since our arrival a few days ago we have seen only good hospitality and service with a smile. Serbia is open for tourism!
We are at CAMP DUNAV which is on the Danube some 10km west of Belgrade. It has hands on management, clean ablutions, bar with outside tables and chairs under canopies, warm sunny days at 25+ Centigrade and no crowds yet. It is still early in the season and we have as company 5 Dutch 'vans spread around the site.

http://en.camping.info/serbia/serbia/camping-dunav-22163

Firstly some pictures of the views we have:-

The Danube by day and ....

.... the Danube by night. The night skyline of Belgrade.

More news and pictures to follow, including why we came to Belgrade in the first place. Today, Friday the 10th of May, the weather is sunny with 28C forecast. A visit to Belgrade for some looking around, maybe a light lunch on the Skadarlija, a street known for cafes, bars and restaurants, in central Belgrade - recommendation by the camp management.

France - From Calais to Kaysersberg

Yes, both Calais and Kaysersberg are in France. The one faces Dover across the English Channel and the other is so German you could be forgiven for thinking you were in Germany. The stellplatze (camperstop) adjacent the town was packed when we arrived late afternoon and we could not understand why, so we decided to take a look the next morning. Our sole purpose for stopping over was to buy some Alsace wine from that very small wine producing region in France. It is situated right on the German and Swiss borders in the far south east of France near the Rhine.

And what a find this was! Kayserberg, or the Emperor's mountain. It has changed 'ownership' twice already belonging to Germany before both World Wars, only to be taken back by France after both World Wars, no wonder many town folk spoke German and the very Germanic building style all around.

Town centre of Kaysersberg

'Model' chickens

Flowing through town

The bank on the Town Hall square

Now we could understand the reason for the packed camperstop! And the subsequent inevitable tourist buses arriving. I drew cash from the bank, we bought our case of mixed reds and whites, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, and Gewurztraminer.

Also freshly baked bread and croissants for brunch later. Very important is freshly baked French bread, they are very good at it.

A New Adventure - Continued. April 2013 onwards.

So the Adventure continues! 

We arrived on the outskirts of Dover last Monday for our 14:00 departure to Calais with two and a half hours to spare and decided to while away the time with a brunch at the Battle of Britain Memorial. Cereals with muesli and raisins adorned our dinette table and soon afterwards we went for a walkabout on the site.

It was a sunny day with views across the Channel from the cliffs above Folkestone. We spent almost an hour looking around and reminiscing on those fateful months of 1940. Soon a whole new information centre will be built to tell and fully explain for generations to come, the story of the Battle of Britain.

Battle of Britain Memorial

"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed, by so many, to so few".

Winston Churchill 1940

Arriving at the Dover ferry port for check-in we were offered an earlier departure, and with minutes to spare, made the 13:00 crossing to Calais. Wonderful, as that meant we had an extra hour to cover some distance in France.

Saying goodbye to the white cliffs of Dover

A calm crossing in sunny weather with Blighty disappearing in the distance. Back on the road we are with Part 2 of the Adventure about to kick off.