I can’t believe I’ve been in Albania for two months already. Time flies when you’re having fun busy working… But the summer is (kind of) here and it’s time to move on. We’ll be leaving the most challenging country in Europe and taking off on our first road trip of the year.
Balkan Road Trip
We’ve covered a lot of ground in the Western Balkans over the last couple of years and as much as I love Croatia and last year’s fun Bosnian road trip this time we’re going to head east. I haven’t made any plans at all for this trip but we’ll be passing through three new countries for me, North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Romania. Then we’ll briefly drive through Hungary before ending the road trip in Kosice, Slovakia. If you have any tips for places to see along the way let me know in the comments.
I must admit to being a bit anxious about this road trip. Driving in countries where I have no clue about the language or the road rules always makes me nervous. It would be so much easier to drive through Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia where I’m familiar with the roads and places to stay but it’s time for a challenge! Wish me luck. 😉
Kosice Food Festival
From the 19th to 22nd June I’m being hosted by Kosice Tourism just in time to visit the Kosice Food Festival. This includes what appears to be an awful lot of Slovakian wine tasting followed by almost constant eating! I’ve only ever been to Bratislava in Slovakia so I’m looking forward to returning and exploring this year’s European Capital of Culture. You can follow this trip on Instagram or find where to stay.
New Social Wall
I’d also like to announce our new Social Wall. This is where you’ll find all our social media activity from around the web including Instagram photos not shared elsewhere, Pinterest pins of inspiring travel photos and our latest blog posts. This is a great place to follow our Balkan road trip as we’ll be sharing updates on the social wall as we go.
What are your travel plans for June?
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Hey Andrea, what a trip. We’re just back from Bulgaria and Romania. Options are limited between those two countries because there are only two bridges over their very long Danube border, and one of those only opens next week (at Vidin). The other is at Ruse, we went this way. Ruse is fantastic ‘like a little piece of Vienna broke off and sailed down the Danube.’ in various states of repair, plus some commie concrete. amazing. very handy for Bucharest too.
if you use the new bridge that’ll take you up the west side of Romania in which case don’t miss Timisoara. monumental multi towered churches (over 10 in some cases) and fine buildings and great colours.
finally, don’t be worried about driving in either of these countries. is normal. having said that we managed to bust a tyre on a pothole in Bulgaria – the only pothole we saw – really because we were obviously too close to the car in front… leave lots of space so you can avoid them. oh and watch out for the speeding police in Bulgaria. maximum 90kph. enjoy cheers
That both helps and makes me more nervous! I would freak out if I busted a tyre or had any kind of accident. Thanks for the tips on crossing the border. We plan to stick to the west side of Romania so we’ll definitely cross at the new bridge. I’ll have to check and make sure it’s definitely open when we’ll be crossing. I’m also hoping to stop at Timisoara as I’ve heard it’s an interesting place. Of course the biggest problem is going to be driving on Albanian roads on the way out…
Very interesting Andrea , I will be following you and learning a lot more. You are definitely always up for a challenge 🙂
Thanks Anne! I do like a challenge but it stresses me out at the same time. 😉