Turkish delights and a beautiful balloon

We now find ourselves in Bulgaria, and in a fabulous campsite run by an
English couple Nick and Nicky.  Here they treated us to a wonderful roast dinner and a cooked english breakfast, anyone would have thought that we had been away from our favourite dishes for months the way we all salivated.

From our campsite in Bulgaria we went into town to visit the castle and it's ruins, and I also tried a spot of archery, and then after two days of enjoying the bulgarian sunshine and peaceful countryside, it was back in the truck for our journey to Instanbul,Turkey.

Andrea having a go at archery

Ben imitating a statue

Out sightseeing in Bulgaria

Bulgaria

The border into Turkey was an intersting experience, with the truck having issues with entering Turkey and CJ having spending 6 hours in discussions whilst we whiled away the day sitting on a pavement playing cards and chinese whispers.  Eventually we were allowed through the border and then were able to make our way to Istanbul, arriving late evening due to the
delays earlier on in the day. We stayed in a hostel, which was centrally located to all the sights, and after our epic journey headed straight out for a kebab.  We spent the next few days exploring Istanbul, visiting the Aya Sofia, Blue Mosque and the underground Cisterns. Kebabs were eaten at practically every meal, and we became very close to the kebab men who catered
for our every needs.  So after four nights staying in dormatories and being in one place for so long, we all looked forward to a new scene and being on the truck again.

Drinking tea, Istanbul

The grand bazaar, Istanbul

The girls in Istanbul

Fresh fish sandwiches from the Bosphorus

Blue Mosque

Aya Sofia

The underground cisterns

Susan on the hubbly bubbly

At the Blue Mosque

Aya sofia

Our favourite kebab man

On the road again

Goreme was our destination, this time staying in an underground cave on a campsite.  Most of the group stayed together in the cave, and it was an experience to say the least, waking up on my birthday with my fellow cave dwellers.  My birthday then consisted of a walk into town, and then quad biking around Goreme for the afternoon, which was absolutely brilliant.
Having never quad biked before, I now want one!  They are the best fun, and I wished it could have gone on for the whole day.  The evening consisted of a meal out in town with the whole of the truck and a few birthday bevvies.

Our cave

Goreme

previously inhabited cave dwellings

Church within the rocks

Inside of cave church

Fallick rock formations

Birthday quad biking

Birthday celebrations

Unique landscape of Goreme

The next day was an early one for most of the group as we went hot air balloning at dawn, which was an amazing experience.  The landscape in Goreme is out of this world, with huge fallick shaped rocks jutting out of the ground, and empty caves that were once inhabited until the 1950's.  After
balloning, it was a trip to an underground city which was not recomended for the claustrophobic, as it involved climbing down tunnels to different levels and into the caves, bent double with hundreds of tourists around. 

Susan, Zoe and Emily in the basket of the balloon

Ballooning at sunrise.......magical

Ben and I in the basket

We weren't alone!

Great vantage point 

What a sight

We all tried to do our laundry whilst we could at the campsite, as after Goreme, it's a couple of days bushcamping with no facilities, which could be interesting!!

Cities, Culture, and a spot of gorge walking

We're nearly a month in and I have been having so much fun, hence the lack of blogging! 

Bamberg

 

Bamberg

 

Enjoying a coffee in the sun, Bamberg

Voluptuous lady, Bamberg

 

From Germany, we made our way to Prague, and set up camp once again.  A group of us headed into the city to sample the nightlife, and after a stroll across Charles Bridge, we found a nightclub and boogied the night away.

The next day was a full on day of sight-seeing, and doing as much as we could whilst we were there, re-visiting the Charles Bridge which was definitely best seen at night with less tourists around.  

Charles Bridge

The Motley Crew

Statue along the Charles Bridge

Oldest inn in Prague

Prague

 

 

From one amazing city to another, and from a lovely campsite to a strange campsite in Budapest,Hungary, where we stayed amongst what felt like 1000 italian campervans, all parked next to each other with little space in between.  We pitched our tents behind the campervans, and this is where we experienced our first bit of rain.  We had been very lucky up until this point, with
beautiful sunshine all the way.

Exploring by open top bus was the best way to see the city, and the hop on hop off bus allowed us to see the sights of Budapest which offered some fantastic views.  It was also Jenn's birthday, so we made her dress up in a grass skirt and crown as she expored the city,then off course, celebrated with a few tinnies at the truck amongst the Italians and their campervans.

Mel posing in Budapest

View over Budapest

 

Another day, another country, and this time into Romania, and a change of scenery as we headed to Turda Gorge, with the truck having to meander around horse and carts, and plenty of delapidated buildings surrounding flashy mosques.

Turda gorge was our first destination in Romania, and we set up camp for a couple of nights. The next day we walked the gorge with a couple of local guides, and this was our first experience of no shower facilities, although there were toilets so we can't quite call this our first bush camp. Mine and Jen's tent was pitched on a slope and it felt like sleeping on a cliff edge for two
days, hanging on for grim death.  Even so, it was great to be camping where it was only only our group, and we made the most of it by having a drunken sing along at the tops of our voices.

Jenn outside our tent, the MGM Grande

 

After leaving Turda Gorge, our next destination was Sigisoira, in the heart of Dracula country, and also our first hotel since the start of the trip.  We all enjoyed a decent shower and a warm bed, but most of us admitted to missing our tents!

Romulus and Remus

Sigisoira

 

Sigisoira

 

 

Our last destination in Romania was the city of Bucharest, and we were lucky to have the opportunity to be shown around the city by Aoife's friend Christina, who took us to all the sights and to an amazing restaurant for lunch.  We were back to camping again, and this time weren't so lucky with the weather, experiencing some rain, but not enought to dampen our spirits......

Lunch in Bucharest

Inside a church, Bucharest

Parliament building, Bucharest

A well deserved beer after a long day sightseeing!