Journal
Currently travelling the Silk Road. From The Netherlands to China in our Volkswagen T2. Check out the stories here.
Istanbul’a hoş geldiniz
It all started in 2018 when I, Milene, moved to Turkey as part of the Erasmus program. For half a year Ankara was my home and Atilim Universitesi my university. That half year turned into almost two years as i also did my internship in Turkey. My internship brought me...
Greece in a nutshell
One of my favourite writers is Herodotos (writer of ‘The Histories’), but even more do I love stories about him. Like the travels of Herodotos by Ryszard Kapuschinsky, definitely my second best book (after The Hobbit by J.r.r. Tolkien). In this book Kapushinksy...
Impressions of the Balkans
We have now truly exited the Balkans. We said goodbye to this wonderful part of the world, but not for forever cause im sure we will be back. Not only did the many many beehives show me there is a lot to learn here, but also did the very very expensive cars in rural...
The looooong way to Greece
For the first time in our lives we experienced the feeling of being rejected when wanting to cross a border. Alright, Bosnia and Herzegovina already denied our entry but we were alright with that. Now Greece denied us entry. While Bosnia and Herzegovina is not part of...
The Caribbean of Albania
Goats crossing the road, deserted gas stations and bee-friendly flowers. Turquoise rivers, rocky roads and green hillsides. High mountains, deep valleys and farming villages. Friendly people, delicious börek pie and raki’s in the morning glory. Lake ferries, white...
Roads go ever on and on
From Ohrid we travelled back to Albania to explore the South. We took the SH75 and oh my is that a beautiful road. Okay, it didn’t start so great, through the outskirts of a small town, slaloming in and out of stalled cars, horses and holes in the road. Then going up...
Oh oh Macedonia
It’s been a while now since we arrived in Macedonia. It feels like we’ve put our journey on pause for a little while. Enjoying our time at Miss, my friend, who owns a beautiful guesthouse at Lake Ohrid. Having a break And even though we do go out for hikes,...
Local border crossings
The first time we experienced a local border crossing was from Croatia into Bosnia and Herzegovina. We always like to have the small crossings, not only is it convenient because it’s less busy but it’s also a lot easier to cross countries and not being stopped....
From the lake ferry to maffia in the valley
Entering Albania is not a big deal. They do not ask for a PCR test and do not even care if we have a valid car insurance. Anyway, we have no idea where to go in Albania so we decide to go to the North. From Shkoder we take the worst road we had until now to Koman....
Six days in Montenegro
The country of the black mountains, if it’s name was rightly chosen. We would find out soon enough. Crossing the border Dubrovnik was our last stop in Croatia, and it was a good one. Save the best for last right? A new country also means a new border crossing. And...
On top of Dubrovnik
Here we are, sitting at the wall of Dubrovnik. We are in awe, words don’t come easily to me but now I really do not have the right English vocabulary to describe what we see. But I will try. We are at the highest point of the wall surrounding Grad Dubrovnik. Grad...
From the border to the wall
After three days on the island of Korcula it is time to explore new parts of the world. This part being Bosnia and Herzegovina. Not really new but the city of Mostar is new for us both. That also means another border crossing and Bosnia and Herzegovina not being part...
The island of Korcula
Did you hear the story about the origin of the colour of carrots? They weren’t always orange 😉 I’m not going to write the whole story cause I will destroy Yuri’s punchline 🤣 Whomever we meet will hear the story of the orange carrot, a story we distribute along the...
The second birthplace of Marco Polo
Venice, the birthplace of Marco Polo. Or is it? On the Croatian island Korcula they believe otherwise. In their believe Korcula is the place of birth. For us enough reason to check it out. Reaching Korcula As it’s an island there is only a few ways to actually get...
On the road again, a new advanture.
That one night I told you about in the previous post became four. Three intended, one not intended. Let me tell you the story of ‘from relaxation into stress’, also how Alexine decided she did NOT want to move on. But first, wow! What a nice stay we were having at...
The Dalmatian capital
After a couple of days waking up too early by cars or churches we not only decided it was time for some relaxation but also a hot shower. Normally one can take a dip in the lake or the sea (with a shower afterwards) but now it’s a bit too cold to have bathing sessions...
Sunday’s for waking up early
It’s 6:15 in the morning and the church bells ring without rhythm but quite loud. Ok, we chose to stand in between the church and the nuns. And while we wake up quite abruptly, the nuns seem to be prepared as they immediately run back and forth between the convent and...
Welcome to Croatia!
It’s our goal to have coffee at the most beautiful places and I’m sure this will be one of the best during our trip. Alone at lake Bohinj with cristal clear water and an immense reflection in the water while some ducks came to check out if we would share our...
Transit through Slovenia
While the sun made way for clouds the highways changes into a small road. The change of roads reveal the border is near. We get off the main road, enter a village, drive up a hill and there it is ‘Welcome to Slovenia’. Suddenly we are in Slovenia and when we get to...
Trading & Travelling along the Silk Road
A long time ago, I’m not really sure when, I stumbled upon the story of the Silk Road. Not Marco Polo but Herodotos made me read the first travelogue about this ancient trade route. Of course, I knew about the route. Even though I didn’t pay attention during history...
Experiencing a unique Venice
We are sitting at the grand canal of Venice. Just ate a delicious pizza and drank a home brewed beer of the same place. We are looking at the beautiful architecture while the gondolas make ripples in the water. The church bells ring in the distance and the seagulls...
The city of love
“Go wisely and slowly. Those who rush stumble and fall.” Those wise words are written by Shakespeare (and we take them very serious on this journey). To be more precise, the words are written in the beautiful love story 'Romeo and Juliet'. You probably know where I'm...
The most beautiful valley in the world
Whether you like him or not, when a person like Hemingway says "it is the most beautiful valley in the world" you have to check it out. And so we did. After visiting my friend in Turro we headed to celebrate Easter in the Trebbia Valley, which was only a 45 minute...
The first van problems
While driving in Switzerland, from Liechtenstein to Zürich to be precise, the battery light started flickering suddenly. Not being panicked right away we continued driving towards Uster where a friend of us lives. Here we parked the car somewhere to check where we...
The land of dolce!
After one and a half week exploring the Swiss alps with their snowy peaks, magnificent lakes and cute villages it was time to cross into the land of dolce. Welcome to Italy Before we crossed the border with Italy we checked the Covid-19 situation in the country. Italy...
Going South
I have lived in Turkey for almost two years and in Argentina so I’m used to countries which have so many different places. But, I never imagined Switzerland being like that. We left Zürich behind to travel to the Southern part of the country. At the start we...
Another country & the first van problems
A lot has happened since the last time I wrote a blog. We’ve crossed borders, visited some castles and experienced our first car troubles. We also have left the rainy and cold days behind, had great hikes with friends and cooked our first meal! So, we feel real...
Crossing borders
After two nights in the cold, many steps in the snow and nothing but bread and pizza it was time to leave Germany and it's corona restrictions behind and head for another country and hopefully some sun. After visiting the Hohenzaller Castle we travelled all the way...
Hohenzollern Castle
Wales is known for it's many castles, if you didn't know shame on you! No, kidding. But, Wales is the country with the most castles on the planet, so if you love castles like we do that is definitely a place you should visit. However, Germany is also known for it's...
Freudenstadt & snow
Sleeping in a van in the snow, you’ve got to be prepared for that. Or not, like us…
The shadow
of the sun
Our world, seemingly global, is in reality a planet of thousands of the most varied and never intersecting provinces. A trip around the world is a journey from backwater to backwater, each of which considers itself, in its isolation, a shining star. For most people, the real world ends on the threshold of their house, at the edge of their village, or, at the very most, on the border of their valley. That, which is beyond is unreal, unimportant, and even useless, whereas that which we have at our fingertips, in our field of vision, expands until it seems an entire universe, overshadowing all else.
Often, the native and the newcomer have difficulty finding a common language, because each looks at the same place through a different lens. The newcomer has a wide-angle lens, which gives him a distant diminished view, although with a long horizon line, while the local always employs a telescopic lens that magnifies the slightest detail.
