Half Way Round

Mon 6th July

It seems like we've been away for absolute ages, and at the same time I can't believe we're ½ way round Europe. Looking back on that very first day of our trip, when we started the purple beast on Belsize Crescent amongst the snow drifts then stopped by Anton & Tania's place to say goodbye to the Bearsley's and Andrew & Mal, I remember how terrified and unprepared I felt. I had never ventured on a trip anything like this before and my biggest worries were that we'd forgotten to pack something very very important, and that the van would never make it.

So here's a flash-back to how far we've come.


Number of days travelling: 92 days

Van repairs required: 5
Two flat tyres in Portugal = €5
Exhaust came loose from the mandible, causing smoke to pour into the driving cabin in Cannes, France= €10
Tune-up and bottle of power steering fluid in Klagenfurt, Austria (only to find out that there is a hole in the power-steering fluid tube so Bevan had about 15 minutes of driving heaven before we realised he wouldn't have power steering again the rest of the trip!!) = €65
Flat tyre in Slovenia = €15
Van wont start in Croatia = ????

Total Van Repair Costs = €95 + ???

Countries visited: England, France, Spain, Morocco, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia
View the map

Favourite spot so far:
H: Can I state an entire country? If so, it'd be Austria. If not, I'd say Innsbruck, Austria. The town just seemed to fit with everything that I'd look for in a city to settle in and it felt like home. Stunning mountains for hiking, a river running through the valley with cycle lanes to make your morning commute beautiful and peaceful, a gondola to take you skiing from main street and an incredibly charming old town to wander through while shopping. Plus it's smack dab in the middle of Europe with Munich, Vienna and Milan so nearby. If only I spoke German.
B: Klagenfurt, Austria cause it was cool. More on this later.


Least favourite spot so far:
H: Braga, Portugal but it was probably more due to the experience of getting there and leaving rather than the city itself. We had the harshest rainfall in this area, then decided to stop in town to see the local market as we were moving on to Porto. Parking the van was a nightmare and we finally ended up paying a local to guide us in between two huge lorries. The market was a lot smaller than we'd expected so we only stayed long enough to get lunch food. When we got back to the van, the local had parked another car directly behind us so there was no way to get out. We had lunch in the van and waited until the driver turned up – luckily it was only about 45 minutes!
B: San Sebastian, Spain because it rained so hard that we couldn't enjoy the seaside resort, our camping location was miles from town and transport was terrible.


Favourite camping location so far:
H: Lake Maggiore, Italy. Oddly enough, it's Como's neighbour and we went here first which could explain why I was so disappointed by Lake Como! Our first camp site had perfect grass for walking around barefoot, great facilities, located right next to the beautiful and uncrowded town of Cernobbio and best of all – you could camp right on the shore of the lake. Some of Bevan's most stunning photographs of the trip were taken from the foot of our camp site here.
B: Hvar, Croatia because the swimming is incredible and we have a seaside view. Last night I had a midnight ocean swim and just floated on my back staring up at thousands of stars.

Our current home on Hvar Island, Croatia

Least favourite camping location so far:
H: Lake Como. The facilities were from the 50's and the entire place was disgustingly dirty. The sites were tiny and unkempt and the place looked like a deserted run-down trailer park. I hated being there and just wanted to leave. Not exactly the dream holiday to Lake Como I'd been picturing.
B: The beach side town before we reached Barcelona. Our pitch was nothing but a huge gravel pit, no services, no shops anywhere near it and the whole town was closed, but they were charging over 25 euros per night.

Favourite day so far:
H: Port tasting in Porto. This was a really hard question to answer as we've had so many amazing experiences so far, but I finally picked Porto because I loved every memory from this day. We spent the morning in Porto itself, then the afternoon indulging in port tasting. It was cheap, the weather was finally sunny and warmer, and we ran into our first English speakers after feeling a bit lonely for weeks. I started to really love travelling in the van on this day.
B: The mountain hike in Klagenfurt. We started the day by hiking the mountain in Klagenfurt, had a beer in the mountain hut, a swim in Worthersee Lake afterwards and finally we ended up at the Oktoberfest tent next to the camp site. Perfect day.

The Corinthian Mountains near Klagenfurt

Worst day so far:
H: Trying to find a camp site near Braga, Portugal. It was early in the season so not many places were open, even if the camping book claimed the opening date was April 1st. What was meant to be a 7 hour drive turned into more like 10 hours of scary driving on the worst roads we've seen on this trip so far. When we finally found a camp site, we noticed our tire going flat and then the rain started. I was miserable, scared and felt completely alone.
B: Tomorrow when the rank sausages that Hillary cooked come back to haunt us.

Best item you packed:
H: My Reef flip-flops. I knew I'd end up living in them this summer and sure enough, I wear them pretty much every day.
B: My camera.

What's just taking up space in the van: H: I'm embarrassed to admit that I packed these, but my hair products. I brought deep conditioning treatments, hair straightening gel, styling mousse and hair shine products. What a waste of space but I feel too guilty throwing out nearly full Aveda products!
B: My jeans. I didn't wear them when it was cold and it's far too hot to wear them now.

What do you wish you'd packed?
H: At the beginning of the trip I would have said my BU hoodie but now I'm so glad that I didn't because it'd take up way too much space and it's miserably hot! Now I'd have to say I wish I'd invested in a more comfortable day pack.
B: More camera bits that I would have bought in London.

Funniest event:
H: We were drinking wine with our new Aussie friends, Peter & Kristin in Zadar, Croatia and around 1am, we heard a loud crack and saw what looked like ½ of a huge pine tree come crashing down, barely missing two caravans parked beneath it. Within minutes, nearly 15 people were gathered around taking photos and congratulating the German couples that they had survived and their vans weren't damaged. I can't imagine what would have happened if a tent had been set-up there.

B: When I forgot to put on the handbrake and the van suddenly started rolling towards a lake in Slovenia. The sink bucket that sits outside was crushed underneath the rear tire, but I managed to jump in the front seat before the front tires got wet.

Favourite newly discovered food:
H: Fresh mozzarella cheese. I made very very simple pizzas in Italy with ½ a ciabatta, fresh mozzarella, slices of tomato from a local veggie shop, fresh basil and oregano on top. It was GORGEOUS and yet so simple.
B: Austrian potato salad.

Least favourite newly discovered food:
H: The off sausages I just cooked for dinner. The expiration date was still 2 days away and I don't usually cook sausage so I thought the funny smell was normal. The heat is penetrating our chilly bin so expiration dates must be irrelevant and I think Bevan and I will be very sick later tonight.
B: Hillary's sausages.

Favourite element of this lifestyle change:
H: I was so apprehensive about moving into an old van for 6 months but I'm loving it. We've never been so tidy & clean and shared chores so evenly. Bevan cooks, then I do the dishes and vice versa. He cleans up the van to depart in the mornings and I clean up the van when we land at our camp site. Then there is the relaxation time from around 5pm to 11pm where you just sit outside with a glass of wine in hand, watching the sun set over your latest new neighbourhood. We've had amazing mountain alpine sunsets, beautiful lakes, stunning city skylines and right now we're overlooking a small lagoon in Croatia. What a summer.
B: Fewer showers

Least favourite element of this lifestyle change:
H: I miss friends and a sense of purpose in life. I've never cleaned so much in my life and I think it's because I just can't sit still and just enjoy being on holiday for 6 months. Some guilt trigger just will not turn off and let me enjoy this experience unless every chore is done!!
B: The lack of space in the van and the fact that our house wont start.


Favourite thing about the van:
H: I was preparing for the worst in terms of storage space. It's been a huge adjustment but seeing other vans makes me realise how good we have it and how many clothes I still managed to bring with us!!
B: The back single bed. I can sleep stretched out in the sun with a breeze through the van. We haven't seen another van with this feature.

Least favourite thing about the van:
H: Sometimes this is a blessing but the van really stands out and people STARE everywhere we go. You start to feel a little self conscious, but I've learned to laugh about it and yell 'It's the purple beast parade!' out the window every time people stare when we're driving through town.
B: It wont start and we're stuck.